Khalid M. Alanazi

• Professor
• Professor at King Saud University

Medicinal plants possess the potential to yield bioactive compounds that offer significant health benefits; positioning them as valuable and promising sources for the development of innovative pharmaceutical products. This study aims to comprehensively assess the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effects of the aqueous extract of the plant Atrac...

Alternaria solani causes early blight disease in eggplants, threatening production and leading to significant economic losses. Fungicides are used to control fungal diseases, but their overuse raises resistance concerns. Finding novel, eco-friendly biocontrol agents is therefore a solution for the future. The coordination between antagonistic bacte...

Objective: This study aims to assess the interaction of ascorbic acid (AA) and pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP) with serum protein for binding affinity. These vitamins are investigated for the glucose-induced glycation products for 28 days at 37 °C. Methods: The interaction of AA-BSA and PLP-BSA complexes was analysed spectroflurometrically. The glycati...

Global crop productivity is consistently threatened by cadmium (Cd) soil contamination. Crosstalk between nitric oxide (NO) and melatonin (MT) in enhancing crop resilience to heavy metal stress has gained significant attention. Here, we evaluated the joint effect of sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 200 μM as NO donor) and MT (100 μM) on Cd‐stressed eggpl...

Cellular senescence, which involves a permanent growth arrest in cells, represents a multifaceted phenomenon requiring a detailed exploration of its complexities. As aging progresses, senescent cells build up and have been linked to the development of several age-related diseases. Senescence is believed to be crucial in suppressing tumors, aiding w...

Erigeron bonariensis, Mentha longifolia, Anisomales indica, Isodon rugosus, Bidens Pilosa and Digera muricata. The microscopic slides were prepared, and both the qualitative and quantitative characteristics were measured and described using LM techniques. The qualitative characteristics include pollen type, pollen shape, aperture features, and exin...

By means of this investigation, we were able to ascertain some hitherto undiscovered biological activities of Pergularia tomentosa. In this study, the chemical composition of P. tomentosa extracts (aqueous PtAE and hydroalcoholic PtHE) was investigated by liquid chromatography‐electrospray ionisation‐high‐resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI...

Among the biotic stresses, wilt disease severely affects tomato quality and productivity globally. The causal organism of this disease is Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol), which is very well known and has a significant impact on the productivity of other crops as well. Efforts have been made to investigate the effect of plant growth-prom...

Groundwater arsenic (As), contamination is a significant issue worldwide including China and Pakistan, particularly in canal command areas. In this study, 131 groundwater samples were collected, and three machine learning models [Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN)] were employed to predict As concentra...

Assessment of clouding development and thermodynamic parameters of the surfactant‐drug mixtures are crucial for chemists, industrialists, and researchers because of the numerous possible uses of this combined mixture in the pharmaceutical sectors. Cloud point (CP) of the surfactant triton X‐100 (TX‐100) and tetracaine hydrochloride (TCH) drug mixed...

Ascariasis, caused by the parasitic roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides , is a major public health issue, especially in developing nations such as Pakistan. It impacts millions, causing significant morbidity through starvation, stunted growth in children, and a variety of gastrointestinal issues. The taxonomy of the Ascaris genus, notably the distinctio...

Halophytes naturally occur in a variety of saline environments, and aeropalynology serves as an essential tool for the taxonomic and phylogenetic identification of species within their respective families. Halophytes are well-adapted to a range of saline habitats, and palynological analysis is instrumental in the taxonomic classification and identi...

Pesticides including insecticides are often applied to prevent distortion posed by plant insect pests. However, the application of these chemicals detrimentally affected the non-target organisms including soil biota. Fipronil (FIP), a broad-spectrum insecticide, is extensively used to control pests across the globe. The frequent usage calls for att...

Microplastics (MPs) have become a pressing concern due to their pervasive presence in the environment and bioaccumulation in fish organs, potentially threatening ecosystem health. This study examined the impact of polystyrene (PS) MPs on Labeo rohita fingerlings (7.15 ± 0.02 g/fish) by exploring histopathological changes in intestine, altered miner...

This study aims to investigate the honeybee’s flora in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of 16 species in the family Boraginaceae are involved in honeybee’s foraging activities namely Alkanna tinctoria, Anchusa arvensis, Arnebia decumbens, Arnebia griffithii, Arnebia hispidissima, Buglossoides arvensis,Gastrocotyle hispida, Heliotropium baccife...

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an annual, and dioecious herb belonging to the Cannabaceae family. This plant is native to Central and Southeast Asia. The wild races of this species are commonly growing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, as well as in Islamabad, Pakistan. This study provides crucial insights into how environmental variables i...

An examination and study were carried out in order to investigate the beneficial advantages of Drimia maritima aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts (DmAE/DmHE). The chemical profile was determined using rapid ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry analysis, revealing the presence of 31 bioactive...

Chloramphenicol, a widely used antibiotic for treating bacterial infections, is favored for its low cost. However, repeated use of this antibiotic can lead to adverse effects. To address this concern and detect the presence of chloramphenicol, we have developed a novel electrochemical sensor using Cd-doped TiO2 as the sensing material for the detec...

The substantial rise in metabolic illnesses that has occurred in both developed and developing countries over the last three decades has been linked to an increase in sugar-added foods and sweetened beverage intake. The significance of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases related to modern nutrition is...

This study provides taxonomic significance of palyno-morphology in context of identifying floral diversity and their pollen types in herbaceous plants of Lesser Himalayan region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan). The consideration of taxonomic correlations enhances the accuracy of plant identification and classification was crucial for biodivers...

In this groundbreaking study, we successfully synthesized pristine La nanoparticles and Cu-La composites with varying concentrations (25, 50, and 75% Cu) via precipitation technique which yielded a dual-phase with significantly reduced crystallite size from 39.9 nm to 27.3 nm as evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Moreover, Field Emissio...

Introduction Probiotics, one of functional feed additives (FFAs), have emerged as a potential supplement to strengthen fish health and mitigate oxidative stress. The main focus of our research was to explore the benefits of probiotics (protexin) on growth, digestibility, antioxidant enzyme activity, and blood indices of Cirrhinus mrigala fingerling...

In this research, the study utilized the root, leaf, and petiole parts of in vitro grown Salvia hispanica plants as explants. Following UV-C treatment applied to developing callus, methanol extracts were obtained and analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to investigate their anticancer properties. First, the seeds of S. his...

The current study is designed to explore the honeybee flora in district Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. To study the honeybee’s foraging behaviors in study area, a total of 18 species belonging to 9 different families were identified, namely Carduus acnthoides, Mentha spicata, Phlomis spectabilis, Ranunculus repens, Rubus armeniacus, Sonch...

Pakistan flora is enriched with potent bioactive compounds that must be explored while Alzheimer's disease (AD) poses a global challenge driven by neurochemical imbalances. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors traditionally alleviate symptoms, but addressing the root cause remains elusive. This gap has led to the exploration of herbal sources for...

Cultivated adlay or Job’s tear (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) is an important food crop having numerous therapeutic and nutraceutical health benefits. Our study aimed to determine nutrients, minerals, fatty acid composition, and functional groups of seven wild Adlay accessions (brown, black, yellow, grey, green, off-white, and purple) to find out their sco...

Infertility is a well-recognized multifactorial problem affecting the majority of people who struggle with infertility issues. In recent times, among infertility cases, the male factor has acquired importance, and now it contributes to approximately half of the infertility cases because of different abnormalities. In the current study, we used natu...

Nanotechnology offers promising opportunities in combating infectious agents, especially multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDR), which is a major concern in modern times. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are effective in delivering therapeutic agents to living systems due to their biocompatibility and bioactivity, making them effective against infect...

Sugar carbonyl groups interact with protein amino groups, forming toxic components referred to as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The glycation system (BSA, a model protein, and fructose) was incubated for five weeks at 37 °C in the presence and absence of Stevia leaf extract. The results indicated that the leaf extract (0.5 mg/mL) decrease...

Holy basil, tulsi, or Ocimum sanctum is a member of the Lamiaceae family. It is an aromatic herb native to India, USA, Italy, Iran, France and Egypt. Holy basil is cultivated in subtropical regions. It is a straight and highly branched plant of 30 to 60 cm height and covered with fine hairs. Holy basil leaves have toothed margins as well as an elli...

Background Spirulina ( Arthrospira platensis), a cyanobacterium, is being consumed worldwide owing to its high nutritional value and therapeutic potential. Objectives This study aims to determine the phytochemical content, antioxidant capacity, and antiglycation property of A. platensis PCC 7345 aqueous extract against glucose, fructose, and ribos...

Schizothorax esocinus, commonly known as snow trout, is one of the main contributors of food and livelihood in the colder zone of Himalayan region. The comprehensive information on its hematological and serum biochemical reference intervals is not reported yet. In the present study an attempt has been made to elucidate the hematological and serum b...

Lovastatin is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA Reductase). The HMG-CoA reductase is responsible for the production of mevalonate by the reduction of HMG-CoA. It is a rate-limiting step in the production of cholesterol. The current study demonstrates the production of lovastatin from an ethidiu...

Cadmium toxicity is one of the deleterious abiotic factors that reduce wheat production. Two different cultivars (Akbar and Dilkash) were compared for their cadmium (0, 40 and 80 mg/kg) tolerance and responses towards Bacillus subtilis NA2, Aspergillus niger PMI-118 and L-proline. Both microbes were tested for heavy metal tolerance and production o...

The hotfoot mutation first occurred in strain of mice C57BL/Ks in 1964. The homozygous (ho/ho) hotfoot mutation show a quick pattern motion that produces a progressive neuromuscular disability of the hind legs. The (ho/ho) is an autosomal recessive mutation affects fertility and neuromuscular system in mice. Objective this study was implemented to...

Background: Glycation refers to the interaction between sugars and proteins leading to the production of harmful advanced glycation end‑products (AGEs). Many different diseases such as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and secondary complications in diabetic patients have reported the involvement of these products. Diabetes is one such disease, wh...

Larrea tridentata (Sesse and Moc. ex DC.) Coville (family: Zygophyllaceae) is an aromatic evergreen shrub with resin-covered leaves, known to use in traditional medicine for diverse ailments. It also has immense pharmacological significance due to presence of powerful phenylpropanoids antioxidant, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA). The RNA sequence/...

Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is an oxidizing agent that is extensively used as a food additive, it is also a productof cosmetic and pharmaceutical relevance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and apoptosis induced by KBrO3 in an experimental animal model. To study the toxic effects and oxidative stress, di...

The need for novel antiviral treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues with the widespread infections and fatalities throughout the world. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the deadly disease, relies on the non-structural protein Nsp1 for multiplication within the host cells and...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy and is ranked as the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Schinus molle (S. mole) L. is an important medicinal plant that contains many bioactive compounds with pharmacological properties. The role of S. molle leaf extract in the biosynthesis of sil...

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is unprecedented in recent memory owing to the non-stop escalation in number of infections and deaths in almost every country of the world. The lack of treatment options further worsens the scenario, thereby necessitating the exploration of already existing US FDA-approved drugs for their effectiveness aga...

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread around the world jeopardizing the global economy and health. The rapid proliferation and infectivity of the virus can be attributed to many accumulating mutations in the spike protein leading to continuous generation of vari...

BPA (BPA), an organic compound with two phenol functional groups, is a widely used industrial plasticizer with known estrogenic properties. It is used in the manufacture of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics. This study was designed to evaluate and assess the possible toxicity arising from the oral administration of BPA to pregnant mice. Pregn...

Background: Glycation is the multi‑step process wherein the carbonyl group of glucose reacts with the amino group of other nitrogen‑ containing compounds like proteins and DNA. This interaction leads to the generation of harmful metabolites commonly known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These AGEs have been implicated in various disease...

Houttuynia cordata Thunb., a perennial herb belonging to the Saururaceae family is a well-known ingredient of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with several therapeutic properties. During the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in China, it was one of the approved ingredients in SARS preventative formulations and therefore, the plant...

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most prevalent protein in the blood plasma which binds an array of exogenous compounds. Drug binding to HSA is an important consideration when developing new therapeutic molecules, and it also aids in understanding the underlying mechanisms that govern their pharmacological effects. This study aims to investigate th...

The diversity of natural phytochemicals represents an unlimited source for discovery and development of new drugs. Ochradenus arabicus, (family: Resedaceae) a notable medicinal plant displays a high content of flavonoid glycosides. This study investigates a possible preventative role of zinc nanoparticles biosynthesized by O. arabicus leaf extracts...

Comparison of the Dendrosicyos socotranus and Corallocarpus boehmii (tribe Coniandreae, family Cucurbitaceae) plastome data was of interest. Data on RNA, tRNA, GC%, plastome size, CDS and pseudogene were tabulated for the two species. The total length of 1,57,380 bp and 1,58,744 bp which includes LSC, SSC, IRa, and IRb, while their GC content was 3...

Ficus carica L., commonly known as fig, has been used in traditional medicine for metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer. Various bioactive compounds have been previously isolated from the leaves, fruit, and bark, which have different pharmacological properties, but the anticancer mechanisms of this plant are...

It is of interest to refine the taxonomic status of C. melo ssp. agrestis using its plastome data. The chloroplast size and GC% was found to be 1,56,016 bp and 36.92% respectively in Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis. The plastome of C. melo subsp. agrestis comprises of two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,797 bp each. It consisted of 133 genes with 8...

The recent outbreak of the deadly coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic poses serious health concerns around the world. The lack of approved drugs or vaccines continues to be a challenge and further necessitates the discovery of new therapeutic molecules. Computer-aided drug design has helped to expedite the drug discovery and development proc...

Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult. belonging to the family Apocynaceae, is remarkable for its horticultural and ornamental values, poisonous nature, and medicinal uses. In order to have understanding of cp genome characterization of highly valued medicinal plant, and the evolutionary and systematic relationships, the complete plastome / chlor...

Background There has been tremendous pressure on healthcare facilities globally due to the recent emergence of novel coronavirus infections known as COVID-19 and its rapid spread across the continents. The lack of effective therapeutics for the management of the pandemic calls for the discovery of new drugs and vaccines. Objective In the present s...

Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult. belonging to the family Apocynaceae, is remarkable for its horticultural and ornamental values, poisonous nature, and medicinal uses. In order to have understanding of cp genome characterization of highly valued medicinal plant, and the evolutionary and systematic relationships, the complete plastome / chlor...

Two types of NiO-based composites (NiO@ diatomite and Ni/NiO@diatomite) were synthesized as modified products of enhanced catalytic performances during the trans-esterification reactions of waste cooking oil. The influence of the diatomite substrate and the integration of metallic Ni 0 in inducing the catalytic activity were evaluated in a series o...

Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of morbidity in diabetes. Oxidative stress and inflammation are implicated in the development and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). This study explored the cardioprotective effect of galangin (Gal), a natural flavonoid with radical-scavenging and anti-inflammatory activities, in diabeti...

Context Traditionally, Inula racemosa Hook. f. (Asteraceae) has been reported to be effective in cancer treatment which motivated the authors to explore the plant for novel anticancer compounds. Objective To isolate and characterize new cytotoxic phytoconstituents from I. racemosa roots. Materials and methods The column chromatography of I. racem...

Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Willd. (subfamily Detarioideae, family Fabaceae) is a perennial evergreen sacred medicinal tree classified under ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN. The chloroplast (cp) genome / plastome which follows uniparental inheritance contains many useful genetic information because of its conservative rate of evolution. The assembled cp genome o...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is a well-characterized therapeutic target which is a key player driving the viral replication and transcription machinery. The recent elucidation of the experimental structure of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp enzyme complexed with triphosphate form of Remdesivir (RT...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a fatal infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus infection is initiated upon recognition and binding of the spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) to the host cell surface receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Blocking the interac...

Propolis is a naturally produced resinous mixture the bees are secreted through collecting resin of plants, buds, and exudates. According to several studies, propolis possessed various properties, one of which known as immunomodulatory property. Immunomodulatory property can be assessed and observed through the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxicity pr...

Genomic selection has an essential role in the livestock economy by increasing selection productivity. Genomics provides a mechanism to increase the rate of genetic gain using marker-assisted selection. Various quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with body, carcass and meat quality traits in beef cattle have been found. It is widely accepted t...

Background: Newcastle disease (ND) causes severe economic losses in poultry industry worldwide. Egyptian poultry industry suffered from severe economic losses since the isolation of Velogenic Newcastle disease virus (vNDV) genotype VIId in 2011 and up till now despite the use of different vaccination programs. So, this study aimed to isolate and c...

Coronaviruses are enveloped positive-strand RNA viruses belonging to family Coronaviridae and order Nidovirales which cause infections in birds and mammals. Among the human coronaviruses, highly pathogenic ones are Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which have bee...

Coronaviruses with the largest viral genomes are positive-sense RNA viruses associated with a history of global epidemics such as the severe respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and recently the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There has been no vaccines or drugs available for the treatment of human coronavir...

Objective The molecular interactions between ursolic acid and cucurbitacin E with the eight potential Mtb target proteins were investigated with the objective of finding drug-like inhibitors. Background Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), an obligate human pathogen causes tuberculosis and is one of the major causes of death worldwide. A few combinat...

A new SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) belonging to the genus Betacoronavirus has caused a pandemic known as COVID-19. Among coronaviruses, the main protease (Mpro) is an essential drug target which, along with papain-like proteases catalyzes the processing of polyproteins translated from viral RNA and recognizes specific cleavage sites. There are no...

Objectives Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are one of the most vital and fascinating nanomaterials used in biomedical applications. Moreover, natural products from medicinal plants provide unlimited opportunities for drug development owing to the unmatched availability of a biochemical diversity. In this study, we biosynthesized AgNPs from the leaf ex...

Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult. is a promising medicinal plant belonging to the Apocynaceae family. It is a rich source of various phytochemicals such as cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, terpeniods, pregnanes etc. which have different pharmacological properties such as anticancer, antibacterial, acaricidal etc. While previous reports showed...

This study is undertaken for genetic characterization of local Saudi goat populations for maintaining genetic variability of livestock population. Genomic DNA was extracted from three goat populations namely Ardi, Hollandi and Shami and subjected for genotyping using eighteen recommended microsatellite markers. The average values obtained for numbe...

Background: Estrogen Receptors (ER) are members of the nuclear intracellular receptors family. ER once activated by estrogen, it binds to DNA via translocating into the nucleus and regulates the activity of various genes. Withaferin A (WA) - an active compound of a medicinal plant Withania somnifera was reported to be a very effective anti-cancer...

The complete chloroplast genome sequences of vulnerable medicinal plant Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Willd. (Fabaceae) was sequenced. A total of 5,206,216,851 paired-end filtered reads of 151 bp were obtained. The plastome length (including LSC, SSC, IRa, and IRb) was 137,743 bp (GC content: 35.26%). A total of 126 coding genes which includes 97 CDS, 24 tR...

Fluorescent labeling is limited to certain molecules and alters biomolecule functionality. A new class of nanomaterial with anticancer activity and fluorescence properties has been designed and prepared. This nanotherapeutic conjugate of natural molecules has a selective binding site in cancer cell lines. Natural drug umbelliferone was taken with c...

Efficient and inexpensive synthesis of 2‐amino‐5‐arylazothiazoles derivatives was made in simple steps and in good yields. Spectral and physical analyses techniques were applied to prove the structures of all synthesized analogues. It was obvious that the synthesized derivatives exhibited efficient biological activities as antibacterial, antioxidan...

The extracts prepared from various areal parts of the Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult. (Family: Apocynaceae) including leaves, fruit and seeds ethanolic extracts and seed aqueous extract were evaluated against MCF-7 cells in order to investigate its potential of cytogenotoxicity and induction of apoptosis. The ethanolic seeds extract had co...

Commiphora molmol possesses multiple therapeutic benefits against various diseases; however, its protective role against methotrexate (MTX) renal toxicity has not been previously investigated. MTX is a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor that can induce acute kidney injury (AKI). This study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant activity and the protecti...

The designing of metal-based anticancer therapeutic agents can be optimized in a better and rapid way if the ligands utilized have standalone properties. Therefore, even when the organometallic/coordination complex (i.e., metallodrug) gets dissociated in extreme conditions, the ligand can endorse its biological properties. Herein, we have synthesiz...

The present study was conducted to demonstrate cytotoxicity, apoptosis and hepatic damage induced by gemcitabine in laboratory mice. Animals were treated with a single dose of gemcitabine (415 mg/kg body wt), equivalent to a human therapeutic dose, and sacrificed after 1, 2 and 3 weeks. A significant decrease in mean body weight and absolute liver...

Herein, we report the synthesis and structural investigation of CuII-NaI heterobimetallic complex 1, which comprises of the compartmental Schiff-base ligand (H2L) derived from DACH (1,2-Diaminocyclohexane) and o-vanillin. B3LYP/TZVP DFT calculation was performed to get a deeper insight of the ground state electronic structure, and quantitative anal...