Le débitage Levallois du site d’Amane Oukider (Sud-Est du Maroc) : analyse technologique d’un assemblage standardisé

The Amane Oukider site (Tinghir, Anti-Atlas) was discovered by an Italo-Moroccan field crew during an archeological mapping project in South-East Morocco. It is an open-air site located near a outcrop of raw materials composed of dolerite. The only debitage method in evidence is the Levallois (lineal and recurrent centripetal) method; the plein débitage products were systematically exported from the site. The Levallois preferential flakes are characterized by a very high level of standardization and they were probably used as blanks for cleaver production.     

Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Activity of Eucalyptus torquata Luehm. and Eucalyptus salmonophloia F. Muell. Trunk Bark Essential Oils against Human SW620 and MDA-MB-231 Cancer Cell Lines

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the screening of natural active ingredients from Eucalyptus essential oils because of their evident importance in practical utility and their undeniable therapeutic properties. Based on this, the aim of the present study was to investigate the chemical profile of the essential oils of the trunk bark of Eucalyptus torquata Luehm. (ETEO), and E. salmonophloia F. Muell. (ESEO), growing in Tunisia. The in vitro cytotoxic properties of the extracted EOs were also evaluated against two human cancer cell lines: breast carcinoma cell lines MDA-MB-231 and colorectal cancer cell lines SW620. The analysis by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) led to the identification of 32 compounds from the ETEO, with the dominant constituents being the monoterpenes trans-myrtanol (73.4 %) and myrtenol (4.7 %), and the apocarotene (E)-β-ionone (3.9 %). In the case of ESEO, 29 compounds were identified with trans-myrtanol (25.0 %), decanoic acid (22.1 %), nonanoic acid (9.8 %), γ-elemene (6.5 %), γ-maaliene (5.5 %), and α-terpineol (5.3 %) as the main components. The cytotoxicity of EOs against the two chosen cell lines was tested using Crystal Violet Staining (CVS) assay and 5-fluorouracil as a reference drug. The two EOs exhibited a significant dose-dependent inhibition against the viability of the used cell lines. Their inhibitory effects were particularly observed towards SW620 colon carcinoma cells with IC₅₀ values of 26.71±1.22 and 22.21±0.85 μg/mL, respectively, indicating that both oils were more cytotoxic for SW620 cells compared to MDA-MB-231 one.     

Mineral composition of the exine of two male date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L)

The mineral composition of the exine of two male date palms “Deglet-noor” and “Takerboucht” was examined with Electronic Probe X Micro Analysis. Fresh pollen grains were (1). dried naturally and untreated, (2). lyophilized, (3). Gamma-ray irradiated, and analysed. Their composition is compared. A slight distinction between these two male date palms is established.