Wild plants supply food and shelter to several organisms; they also act as important sources of many nutrients and pharmaceutical agents for mankind. These plants are widely used in traditional medicinal systems and folk medicines. The present study analyzed the nutritional and proximate composition of various compounds in selected wild plants available in the UAE, viz., Chenopodium murale L., Dipterygium glaucum Decne., Heliotropium digynum Asch. ex C.Chr., Heliotropium kotschyi Gürke., Salsola imbricata Forssk., Tribulus pentandrus Forssk., Zygophyllum qatarense Hadidi. The predominant amino acids detected in the plants were glycine, threonine, histidine, cysteine, proline, serine, and tyrosine; the highest quantities were observed in H. digynum and T. pentandrus . The major fatty acids present were long-chain saturated fatty acids; however, lauric acid was only present in S . imbricata . The presence of essential fatty acids such as oleic acid, α-Linoleic acid, and linolenic acid was observed in H. digynum , S. imbricata , and H. kotschyi . These plants also exhibited higher content of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, ash, and fiber. The predominant vitamins in the plants were vitamin B complex and vitamin C. C. murale had higher vitamin A, whereas vitamin B complex was seen in T. pentandrus and D. glaucum . The phosphorus and zinc content were high in T. pentandrus ; the nitrogen, calcium, and potassium contents were high in H. digynum , and D. glaucum . Overall, these plants, especially H. digynum and T. pentandrus contain high amounts of nutritionally active compounds and important antioxidants including trace elements and vitamins. The results from the experiment provide an understanding of the nutritional composition of these desert plant species and can be better utilized as important agents for pharmacological drug discovery, food, and sustainable livestock production in the desert ecosystem.

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Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a widespread group of secondary metabolites in plants. PAs are notorious for their acute hepatotoxicity, genotoxicity and neurological damage to humans and animals. In recent decades, the application of PAs for beneficial biological activities to cure disease has drawn greater attention. Here, we review the current knowledge regarding the pharmacological properties of PAs and discuss PAs as promising prototypes for the development of new drugs.

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For a long time, the people of Saudi Arabia have been using medicinal plants (MPs) as conventional medicine to heal diverse human and livestock diseases. The present work is the first study on ethnobotanical uses of 124 MPs species used by the local tribal communities of Jazan province in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia. Ethnobotanical data were collected by interviewing 174 local informants using semistructured interviews. Informants of different ages, from several settlements belonging to several tribal communities, were interviewed. It is worth noticing that the age of informants and their knowledge of MPs were positively correlated, whereas the educational level and MP knowledge of participants were negatively correlated. To find out if there was agreement in the use of certain plants in the treatment of given ailments, we used Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). To determine the most frequently used plant species for treating a particular ailment category by local people we used the fidelity level (FL%). The Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) was used to indicate the local importance of a species and the relative importance (RI) level was used to check the therapeutic potentials of the cited plants. A total of 124 MPs belonging to 103 genera and 48 families were collected and identified. The majority of these plants were shrubs (45%), perennial herbs (21%), annual herbs (19%), or trees (18%). The Asteraceae (10.48%), Fabaceae (7.25%), and Apocynaceae (7.25%) families were the most represented. Leaves, fruits, and whole plant (24%, 18%, and 16%, respectively) were the most used plant parts in formulating traditional medicines. Ziziphus spina-christi and Calotropis procera with the highest RI level (2.0) were found to have the highest range of therapeutic uses. They were followed by Datura stramonium (1.86), Withania somnifera, and Aloe vera (1.81). The ICF ranged from 0.02 to 0.42 covering 12 disease categories with a prevalence of disease categories related to skin and hair problems (ICF=0.42) having 75 species cited, while 73 species were cited for gastrointestinal tract (GIT) disorders (ICF = 0.40). Senna alexandrina (67%), Tribulus terrestris (64%), Pulicaria undulata (60%), Leptadenia pyrotechnica (55%), and Rumex nervosus (55%) had the highest FL which indicates their good healing potential against specific diseases. The high-FL species are the most promising candidate plants for in-depth pharmacological screening and merit further consideration. Accordingly, Jazan flora has good ethnobotanical potential. Unfortunately, many MP species are endangered by drought, overgrazing, and overexploitation. Some protection measures should be undertaken to prevent these species from becoming extinct. Natural reserves and wild nurseries are typical settings to retain medically important plants in their natural habitats, while botanic gardens and seed banks are important paradigms for ex situ conservation.

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Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are widely distributed in plants throughout the world, frequently in species relevant for human consumption. Apart from the toxicity that these molecules can cause in humans and livestock, PA are also known for their wide range of pharmacological properties, which can be exploited in drug discovery programs. In this work we review the current body of knowledge regarding the chemistry, toxicology, pharmacology and food safety of PA.

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Primula veris L. is an important medicinal plant with documented use for the treatment of gout, headache and migraine reaching back to the Middle Ages. Triterpenoid saponins from roots and flowers are used in up-to-date phytotherapeutic treatment of bronchitis and colds due to their expectorant and secretolytic effects. In addition to the wild type plants with yellow petals, a red variant and an intermediate orange form of Primula veris L. have recently been found in a natural habitat. The secondary metabolite profiles of roots, leaves and flowers of these rare variants were investigated and compared with the wild type metabolome. Two flavonoids, six flavonoid glycosides, four novel methylated flavonoid glycosides, five anthocyanins and three triterpenoid saponins were identified in alcoholic extracts from the petals, leaves and roots of the three variants by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detection (DAD)/mass spectrometry (MS n ) analyses. Anthocyanins were detected in the petals of the red and orange variety, but not in the wild type. No other effects on the metabolite profiles of the three varieties have been observed. The possibility is discussed that a regulatory step of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway may have been affected by mutation thus triggering color polymorphism in the petals.

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