Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Pharmacognosy

Cupressus sempervirens L. and Cupressus macrocarpa L., two members of the cosmopolitan family Cupressaceae, are successfully cultivated in Egypt. The current study aimed to compare both species botanically, biologically and phytochemically in order to develop a proposed herbal preparation from the more promising species.To ensure quality and purity of the raw material, criteria for characterization of and/or discrimination between the two species were established via botanical & genetic profiling, biological analysis and phytochemical screening. Aerial parts of both species were subjected to a comparative biological and chemical studies to select the most effective from the medicinal and economic standpoints. In this respect, the cytotoxic and hepatoprotective potentials of the essential oils were assessed in-vitro; as well as, the hydro-ethanolic extract of both species were biologically investigated in-vivo. Meanwhile, the chemical composition of the aerial parts was examined through qualitative and quantitative comparative analyses of the phenolic components, in addition to GC/MS analysis of the lipid content. In this respect, the aerial parts of C. sempervirens L.were selected for more intensive phytochemical investigation. Results revealed that the essential oil of C. sempervirens L. exhibited broader cytotoxic effect and more pronounced hepatoprotective effect than that of C. macrocarpa L.; as well as, the evaluation of the hepatoprotective effect in DOX-induced toxicity of both hydro-ethanolic extracts revealed that C. sempervirens L. has more promising hepatoprotective effect, in addition to apparently higher content of bioactive constituents as revealed by UPLC/MS analysis whichled to the tentative assignment of 24 metabolites

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