The usages of medicinal plants as therapeutic agents have been practiced in a large scale of applications that make studies of their mutagenicity and/or anti-mutagenic /anti-carcinogenic effects very essential. The current investigation is focused on the anti-mutagenic effects of the Tamarix nilotica (Ehrenb) crude extract using chromosomal aberrations analysis in mice bone marrow. In fact, a single plant may have diversity of phytochemicals ranging from bitter compounds that stimulate digestive system, phenolic compounds for antioxidants and many other pharmacological properties, antibacterial, and antifungal, tannins that work as natural antibiotics, diuretic substances and alkaloids, etc. Tamarix is represented in Egypt with two indigenous species which are Tamarix aphylla (L.) (H.Karst) and T. nilotica (Ehrenb.) Bunge (T. nilotica (Ehrenb.). In addition, it was used in Egyptian traditional medicine as an antiseptic agent. Extracts of Tamarix species have been widely used in traditional medicine in Asia and Africa mainly for their antiseptic, astringent, diaphoretic and diuretic properties. The current investigation is focused on the anti-mutagenic effects of the Tamarix nilotica crude extract using chromosomal aberrations analysis in mice bone marrow. Mitomycin C (MMC) was administered to mice as a positive control alone before and after treatment with 5 or 0.5 mg/ kg b.wt Tamarix crude extract as acute (24 and 48 h) and sub-acute (15 consecutive days) doses respectively. Results indicated that the Mitomycin C (MMC) exposure induced statistically significant increase in chromosomal aberrations compared to the control, however T. nilotica revealed slight insignificant effect on aberrant mitosis rate. Chromosomal aberration domain structural and numerical aberrations. The frequency of chromosomal aberrations (CA) and mitotic index (MI) decreased with increasing the dose and time of T. nilotica treatment, especially pre-treatment (plant + MMC). This effect was found to be dose-dependent. In conclusion, the results showed that T. nilotica could be considered as a good anti-mutagenic agent.

The insecticide malathion (57% E.C.) was applied at the rate of 712.5 gm active ingredient per feddan on dill, Anethum graveolens L. and coriander, Corianderum sativum L. for controlling aphids infesting these plants. An analytical method, using gas chromatography equipped with flame photometric detector was used for detecting the insecticide residues. A field trial was conducted to determine the rate of dissipation of malathion in dill and coriander plants and in the resulting oil. Residue analysis showed that the initial deposits determined one hour after application were 35.81 & 22.7 ppm in dill and coriander plants, respectively. Rates of dissipation of malathion were 4.72, 51.1, 68.39, 88.41 and 93.49% in dill plants and were 13.61, 43.22, 66.78, 86.26 and 91.85% in coriander plants at 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days post treatment, respectively. The pesticide was decayed quite rapidly in and on dill and coriander plants and detectable residues (1.62 and 0.93 ppm) were observed in these plants 28 days after treatment. At harvest 46 days for coriander and 70 days for dill after application malathion was found at average levels of 0.78 mg/kg and 0.54 mg/kg in dill and coriander dry seed, respectively. The volatile oil extracted from the seed by steam distillation process was contaminated with the insecticide at a higher levels than in the seed [about sevenfold in dill oil, 5.21 mg/kg and ninteenfold in coriander oil 10.16 mg/kg]. This means that malathion had tendency to co-distill with the dill and coriander oil throughout steam distillation process.

The interest in medicinal plants is not only due to the fact that it is a source of food additives, but it is also a major source of medicines. Medical plants contain many important vital ingredients used in the treatment of many diseases. Therefore, medicinal plants are considered a safe source of medical drugs. Many medicinal plants have a significant economic importance to increase their demand. The plant families include many families, such as solanaceae family, which is one of the largest plant families with more than 3000 plant species And the plants of this family contains many important biological components and because of its importance, it was necessary to study and identify these plants by making fingerprinting, detect the molecular genetic markers for this family, study the genetic diversity of these species and determine the relationships between  species of this family by using genetic techniques such as the technique of  Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR). The results obtained in the five solanaceae species (Lycium shwaii, Hyoscyamus muticus, Solanum nigrum from Northwestern coast, Solanum nigrun from Saint Katherine, and Nicotiana gluca) indicated that, 6 primers were applied. The HB15 primer which gave 12 bands, showed the highest polymorphism 58.33%, and the 49A primer, which gave 6 bands gave a lowest polymrphism 16.66% between the used plants populations, these results mean that ISSR technique is an powerful tool to make genetic diversity assessment for species.

In this study, anticancer activity of Zygophyllum album and Suaeda palastina extracts was evaluated. Dichloromethane, methanol and hot water were used as solvents for extraction. Results indicated that the highest half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) on human lung carcinoma (A549) cell lines was achieved by dichloromethane extracts of Z. album and S. palastina (70.48 μg/ml and 34.82 μg/ml respectively) compared to methanolic and hot water extracts. Furthermore, dichloromethane extracts of both plants had antiproliferative effect and highly cytotoxicity on human cancer cells. IC50 of Z. album was 27.74 μg/ml in the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), while IC50 of S. palaestina was 30.76 μg/ml with no cytotoxic activity on normal cell lines. In conclusion, these results suggest that Z. album and S. palaestina could be a good candidate species as a natural source of anticancer agents.