ABSTRACT Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima D.) is an angiosperm belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family generally characterized by climbing herbaceous vine with tendrils. The fruits vary in size, colour, shape and weight and have a moderately hard rind, with a thick edible flesh, and numerous seeds in the fruit which are either plump and tan or soft white.Preliminary phytochemical evaluation on different extracts of seed and fruit of C.maxima reveals the presence of proteins, carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, steroids, coumerins, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and glycosides. A C.maximum contains antioxidants (such as: tocopherols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, carotenoids or ascorbic acid) which are molecule that are capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. They may protect cells from damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves.Free radical scavenging or antioxidant activity of the extract was determined on the basis of their scavenging activity of the stable 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. Antibacterial activity of the crude extract was determined by Cup-cut agar diffusion method.The pulp and seed extracts showed significant antioxidant activity in a dose-dependent manner with good IC50 values. For the pulp IC50(s) were 4.25 ± 0.05, 3.84 ± 1.18 and 4.12 ± 0.32 for petroleum ether, chloroform and Methanol extracts, respectively. In addition the the seed IC50(s) were 9.22 ± 0.20, 14.5 ± 0.14 and 5.97 ± 1.70 for petroleum ether, chloroform and Methanol extracts, respectively. C.maxima extracts contains antioxidants that prevent the oxidative damage to DNA in presence of DNA damaging agent (Sybr Gold) at a high concentration. The percentage of hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of C. maxima determines the ability of antioxidant to scavenge the hydroxyl radicals. The antioxidant activity of C. maxima extracts has high scavenging activity (thermodynamic property) and relatively high reaction rate (kinetic property); therefore, the second order rate constant (ks) of the H-atom transfer from antioxidant to the hydroxyl radical was seen. The seed extract showed antibacterial properties on both Gram- positive and Gram-negative bacteria used in this study. This means that C. maxima are useful as potential antibacterial agents. It was also observed from this study, the variations in the antibacterial activities of the C. maxima may be due to the differences in their bioactive compositions or concentrations. In conclusion, the physicochemical and preliminary phytochemical evaluation of fruit and seeds of C.maxima provide valuable information regarding their identification, authentication and chemical constituents which may be useful for the standardization and preparation of medicinal plants. The constituents of fruit and seeds of C. maxima may have several medicinal properties and can be utilized for the treatment of various diseases. Further research on this species in Libya may help in the isolation of therapeutically potent compounds which can be finally be subjected to pharmacological activities, thus leading to opening up new avenues in the use of natural products for therapeutic purpose.
إيناس عبدالله السعداوي (2016)

نبات القازول Allium roseum L نبات ينتمي إلى الفصيلة البصلية Alliaceae مستوطنا في شمال أفريقيا. يستعمل هذا النبات خلال فصل الربيع في إعداد بعض الوجبات الشعبية كما يستعمل كبديل عن الثوم Allium sativum.يستهدف هذا البحث دراسة الكيمياء النباتية لنبات القازول لمعرفة المواد الفعالة ولمعرفة القيمة الغذائية ومعرفة تأثيره كمضاد للتأكسد وكمضاد للتخثر.خضعت الأزهار والأبصال الطازجة كلا على حدة إلى التقطير البخاري وذلك لاستخلاص الزيوت الطيارة. كما خضعت الأزهار والأبصال المجففة في الظل للاستخلاص عن طريق عملية النقع في الميثانول في درجة حرارة الغرفة.طبقا لطرق التحاليل الكيميائية المرخصة (AOAC 2002) فإن النتائج أثبتت أن النبات يعتبر مصدرا جيدا للبروتين والدهون والألياف والسكريات حيث كانت (13.436 ±0.23, ,5.503 ±0.26 31.032 ±0.0و29.839±0.19) متتابعة بالنسبة للأزهار؛ (19.361 ±0.26, ,14.813 ±0.09 15.803 ±0.06 و34.714±0.9) متتابعة بالنسبة للأبصال.تم التعرف على التركيب الكيميائي للزيوت الطيارة والمستخلص الميثانولي لكل من الأزهار والأبصال عن طريق استخدام جهاز GC-MS. النتائج بينت أن المركب Triacoctane (40.47%) والمركب Isoelemicin (30.27%) كمكونين أساسيين بالنسبة للزيت الطيار للأزهار؛ والمركب 9,12Tetradecadien1ol,acetate,(Z,E) (88.43%) كمكون أساسي بالنسبة للزيت الطيار المستخلص من للأبصال. كما تم تحليل مستخلصات الميثانول بواسطة GC-MS وتم التعرف على مجموعة من المركبات.هذه الدراسة كشفت أن النبات له تأثير معتدل ضد التأكسد مقارنة بفيتامين ج؛ وأن معدل التأثير المضاد للتأكسد بالنسبة للأزهار أكبر من الأبصال.كما تم دراسة التأثير الخارجي المضاد للتجلط المعروف باسم (وقت البروثرومبين) لمستخلصي الميثانول بأحجام مختلفة (25, 50 و75 ميكروليتر) حيث اختبرت على عينات دم لأشخاص طبيعيين بواسطة قياس وقت البروثرومبين. حيث وجد أنه يزداد الوقت المطلوب للتجلط بازدياد الحجم المضاف من المستخلص وأن مستخلص الأزهار له فعالية أقوى من مستخلص الأبصال .Abstract: This study deals with the chemical characterization of a medicinal and an aromatic plant of the Libyan flora: Allium roseum L, and aimed to identify new bioactive natural compounds in its flowers and bulbs, determine the nutrient and bioactive compounds and screening for their possible antioxidant and anticoagulant properties. The chemical composition of essential oils steam-distillized as well as methanolic extracts of both flowers and bulbs were analyzed by GC/MS. The results showed that the Triacoctane and Isoelemicin were detected as the major components of the flowers essential oil (40.47, 30.27%) repectively. For bulbs essential oil showed that 9,12Tetradecadien1ol, acetate, (Z, E) was detected as the major component (88.43%). The GC-MS analysis of the methanolic extracts of the flowers and bulbs of A. roseum showed the presence of: five compounds in flowers methanolic extract, in terms of percentage amounts 10,13-Octadecadienoic acid, methyl ester (19.92%), 2,2-dimethoxybutane(17.55%), Furan,tetrahydro-2,5-dimethyl (12.02 %) and Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (11.68 %); and nineteen compounds in methanolic extract of bulbs, in terms of percentage amounts: Heptadecane (13.96%), Octadecane (10.84%), Tetradeca-(9z,12e)-dienyl acetate (10.47%) and Hexadecane (8.97 %)were predominant in the extract. Association of the official analytical chemists methods (2002) are used for nutritional analysis of flowers and bulbs of A. roseum. Results indicated that this plant is an excellent source ofproteins, fats, fibers and carbohydrates (13.436 ±0.23, 5.503 ±0.26, 31.032 ±0.04 and 29.839±0.19) respectively for flowers and (19.361 ±0.26, 14.813 ±0.09, 15.803 ±0.06 and 34.714±0.9) respectively for bulbs. The study revealed that, A.roseum L had moderate antioxidant, scavenging effect of methanolic extracts of flowers and bulbs when compared with standards (ascorbic acid and quercetin). IC50 (µg/ml) 5 min following the order: quercetin (1.08) < ascorbic acid (2.14) < flower extract (116.17) < bulb extract. Free radical scavenging activity of these samples also increased with an increasing concentration. In vitro anticoagulant effects of methanolic extracts of both flowers and bulbs of A. roseum in different volumes (25, 50 and 75 μL) were examined in the blood samples of normal individuals by measuring prothrombin time (PT). The methanolic extracts of flowers and bulbs of A. roseum were found to inhibit coagulation process in vitro and significantly prolonged prothrombin time in a dose-dependent manner. Methanolic extract of flowers was more potent in prothrombin time prolongation than methanolic extract of bulbs. All results in this project were investigated for the first time on Libyan A. roseum L.
عبد العزيز شرف الدين سويدان (2015)

Background: The fat extracted from the nut of the African Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) is called Shea butter. It has multiple uses at the local level as it is used in cosmetic products and as a cocoa butter substitute in chocolate industries. It has a high nutritious value and is also a valuable product on the local, national, and international markets, making it the ideal candidate to research and invest in. Aim: This study is a comparative experimental study of the possible burn healing effects between imported South African raw Shea butter and samples in a Libyan market. Method: The control samples were brought from South Africa (Benin traditional markets). A total of 18 different samples were collected from different sale centers in Tripoli, including pharmacies, beauty shops, and spices shops, in addition to one sample brought from Poland. Animal experiment on burn healing effect was carried out on nine male Sprague Dawley (350–400 g) rats aged 6–8 weeks old. After shaving the animal’s dorsum hair, a metal cube was used to create a deep second degree burn wound, and the cube was heated to 100°C for 20 seconds. Medication with Shea butter (control, T1, and T2) was initiated daily for one for these groups by the application of a thin film of the Shea butter samples on the burned areas. On days 1, 3, and 7, the rats were anesthetised and a sample from the burned scar tissue and skin adjacent were evaluated using pathological parameters. Results: The histological study indicates that the use of Shea butter T1 as topical treatment induces an immune response, which enhances the form of the presence of a large number of inflammatory cells in the epidermis and dermis layers. The treatment of burned skin with T2 lasted for 72 hours and it showed slightly significant healing in the normal structure of proliferative granulation tissue with accumulation of fibroblasts and inflammatory cells surrounding the sebaceous glands and hair follicles. Small areas of the epidermis which formed few layers were observed and some hair roots were grown. This was well seen in cases of T1 and T2. Shea butter bought as raw might have a bad effect on burned skin. Conclusion: Shea butter bought as raw might have bad effect on burned skin. On the other hand, the sample from Poland had a therapeutic effect, which was because of the additives such as avocado oil, grape seed oil, and others. arabic 18 English 101
Sakina Salem Mohammed Saadawi, Soad Ali Abdulsalam Treesh, ٍSuhera Mehemed Abdulsalam Aburawi, , , (11-2020)