أبو الأحرار محمد محمود الزبيري وخدماته الأدبية

Renowned Yemeni poet and freedom fighter Muhammad Mahmood Al-Zubairi, also known as the father of freemen, born in Sanna in 1910 in a middle class family. He was one of  the Yemeni iconic revolutionaries who opposed the Imamate. He took part in the revolution in 1962, bringing about Yemen’s transition from a monarchy to a republic. He was one of the founders of the movement of liberals and the leader of opposition against the Imam’s rule. This led to his persecution and he suffered destitution and exile outside his country, settling finally in Pakistan where he had opportunity to translate the poetry of Pakistan’s national poet, Muhammad Iqbal into Arabic. Finally, in 1962, when the revolution against the Imam erupted in Yemen, he went back to his country and became the minister of education. He fallen victim to the royalist forces in 1965 and has been regarded since as one of the Yemen’s most acclaimed martyrs. Al- zubairi published several collection of poetry. In 1978, a volume of his collected poems was published entitled Diwan al-zubairi. His work  reflects a real originality of themes, ideas and method of treatment. This article discusses the literary work  of Abu Ahrar Muhammad Mahmood Al-Zubairi.

Phytochemistry and Bioactivity of Maytenus Royleanus and Ficus Faveolata

This dissertation deals with phytochemical and bioactivities studies on indigenous medicinal plants; Maytenus royleanus (Celastraceae) (Part A), Ficus faveolata (Moraceae) (Part B) and additional miscellaneous part C (Cyclotetrapeptides from Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis). Part-A Part A deals with phytochemical and bioactivities studies on the chemical constituents of the roots of Maytenus royleanus. The systematic phytochemical studies have led to the isolation and structure elucidation of three new compounds (1-3). In addition seven known compounds (4-10) have also been isolated for the first time from this species. Structures have been elucidation by advanced spectroscopic techniques. Royleanine A (1) 1β,2β,5β,7β,8β,11-Hexaacetoxy-4-hydroxy-3α,15-[2'',3''-dimethyl-3''(5''''-carboxy- 2''''-pyridyl)-propanoic acid] dicarbolactone-dihydro-agarofuran Royleanine B (2) 1β,2β,5β,7β,8β,11-Hexaacetoxy-3α,15-[2''-methyl-4''(5''''-carboxy-2''''- pyridyl)-butanoic acid] dicarbolactone-dihydroagarofuran Royleanine C (3) 1β,2β,5β,7β,8β,11-Hexaacetoxy-3α,15-[2''-methyl-2''β-benzoate-4''(4''''- carboxy-2''''-pyridyl)-butanoic acid] dicarbolactone-dihydroagarofuran Salaspermic acid (4) Orthosphenic acid (5) 3α,22β-Dihydroxyolean-12-en-29-oic acid (6) Oleuropein (7) Ligutroside (8) Quercetin (9) β-Sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glycopyrannoside (10) Part-B Part B deals with isolation and characterization of chemical constituents from Ficus faveolata. Five compounds were isolated from the stem methanolic extract of Ficus faveolata; two of them are new (11, 12) and three known compounds (13-15) hitherto unreported from this source. Their structures have been elucidated by spectroscopic techniques. Ficusonic acid (11) 3β,21β-Dihydroxy-olean-12-en-29-oic acid Ficusonolide (12) 3α-Hydroxylean-12-en-29,19α-olide Gallocatechine (13) β-Sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glycopyrannoside (14) 3β,22β-Dihydroxyolean-12-en-29-oic acid(15) Part-C Part C is the miscellaneous section which describes the isolation and characterization of two new Cyclotetrapeptides; ochrine A (16) and ochrine B (17) from the fungal strain Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis collected from Hawaii shallow water sediment. Their structures have been elucidated by modern spectroscopic techniques.