Acknowledgements This project was supported by grants of the BMBF (to P.P.) and MOST (to W.L.). We wish to thank W.E.G. Müller (Johannes-Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany) for carrying out the cytotoxicity assay. A scholarship (Grant No. 10/6/117) granted and financed by the Egyptian Government (Ministry of High Education) to W.E. is gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewedPublisher PD