Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of the Leaf Exudate of Aloe megalacantha Baker

In vitro study of the antioxidant, sun factor protection, antimicrobial, and antifungal activities with molecular docking of methanolic extracts from leaves and fruit of Phillyrea angustifolia L

This study aimed to evaluate the potential therapeutic effects of Phillyrea angustifolia L leaves and fruits from Algeria. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents, sun protection factor, antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities such as DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, CUPRAC, and o-phenanthroline reduction were determined. The findings of the comparative analysis revealed that the leaves contained higher levels of total phenolic content (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC) compared to the fruit, indicating their maximum antioxidant potential. TPC values for leaves ranged from 528.411 ± 9.94 to 816.352 ± 5.09 µg EAG/mg of dry extract, while for fruits, it ranged from 378.215 ± 5.26 to 579.392 ± 14.2 µg EAG/mg extract/ml. Similarly, TFC values for leaves varied from 65.833 ± 9.42 to 147.986 ± 5.59 µg EAG/mg of dry extract, and for fruits, it ranged from 45.486 ± 5.00 to 90.208 ± 6.77 µg EAG/mg extract/ml. Moreover, both leaves and fruit extracts showed significant growth inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis, with the highest activity against Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Escherichia coli. The sun protection factor (SPF) values of both leaves and fruits extracts are close to the values of standard sunscreen VICHY. In addition, molecular docking studies identified promising compounds, including Demethyloleuropein, Luteolin-7-O-glucoside, Apigenin 7-Glucoside, Oleuropein, Pinoresinol, and Syringaresinol monoglucopyranoside of leaves from P. angustifolia L, these compounds are showing a better binding affinity than native ligands against Rhomboid protease GlpG from E. coli, the same thing about luteolin-7-O-glucoside and apigenin 7-glucoside exhibited similar binding free energy values to the target protein S. aureus sortase A. The study suggests that leaves and fruits of Phillyrea angustifolia L could be valuable sources for developing drugs against pathogenic oral yeasts, Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03877-5.

Ethnobotanical study of traditional medicinal plants in Kebridehar and Shekosh districts, Korahi zone, Somali Region, Ethiopia

This study was conducted in Kebridehar and Shekosh districts, Ethiopia, to investigate an ethnobotanical study on traditional medicinal plants. Systematic random sampling techniques were used for data collection. Preference ranking, paired comparison, informant consensus factor, direct matrix ranking, and jaccard comparison were used for data analysis. A total of 44 medicinal plant species from 34 genera and 23 families have been documented as being used to treat 38 human, 5 livestock, and 1 both human and livestock ailment. The shrub category was the dominant growth form in the study area. The study showed that the most frequently used plant parts for the preparation of traditional medicine were roots (45.45 %), followed by leaves, glue, and liquid (11.36 % each). The most common route of administration was oral (30.77 %), followed by dermal (20.51 %). Jaccard's Coefficient of Similarity for Kebridehar and Shekosh for the reported traditional medicinal plants were 0.21, indicating some trend towards using common plants. Methanol extracts were more effective than ethanol extracts. The results of this study provide an insight into the anti-bacterial properties of the extracts of Aloe megalacantha, Ephorbiarobecchi, and Oppiliacampestris. This in vitro study demonstrated that these three folklore medicinal plants have good potential. In conclusion, the main threat to medicinal plants in the study area was drought. Therefore, it is recommended that the cultivation of medicinal plants be encouraged in home gardens.

Antibacterial Activity of a Phenylpropanoid from the Root Extract of Carduus leptacanthus Fresen

Background

The emergence and rapid spread of antimicrobial drug-resistance microorganisms exacerbate the treatment of infectious diseases, underscoring the importance of finding new, safe, and effective drugs. In Ethiopia, the roots of Carduus leptacanthus have traditionally been employed to treat microbial infectious diseases The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the root extract and its primary components against six bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumonia).

Methods

The extraction involved maceration of air-dried and powdered roots of C. leptacanthus with 80% methanol. The compound was isolated from the root extract using silica gel column chromatography and recrystallization in CHCl3/MeOH (9 : 1) and was characterized using ESI-MS and 1D-NMR spectroscopy. Antibacterial activity of the extract was assessed using agar well diffusion and broth microdilution methods.

Results

Syringin, a phenylpropanoid, was isolated and characterized from the extract of C. leptacanthus. The extract showed the most substantial efficacy against S. epidermidis (MIC = 5.33 mg/ml and inhibition zone diameter of 24 mm at 200 mg/m). Syringin also elicited antibacterial activity against S. aureus (MIC = 13.33 mg/ml), S. epidermidis (MIC = 16 mg/ml), and S. agalactiae (MIC = 16 mg/ml). Despite being tested up to a maximum concentration of 16 mg/ml, syringin did not exhibit antibacterial activity against the Gram-negative bacteria (P. aeruginosa, E. coli, and K. pneumonia).

Conclusions

In conclusion, the findings suggest that syringin exhibits partial involvement in the root extract's antibacterial activity, thereby potentially supporting the traditional medicinal use of the plant.

Fungal Infections as an Uprising Threat to Human Health: Chemosensitization of Fungal Pathogens With AFP From Aspergillus giganteus

Occurrence and intensity of systemic invasive fungal infections have significantly risen in recent decades with large amount of mortality and morbidity rates at global level. Treatment therapy lies on the current antifungal interventions and are often limited due to the emergence of resistance to antifungal agents. Chemosensitization of fungal strains to the conventional antimycotic drugs are of growing concern. Current antifungal drugs often have been reported with poor activity and side effects to the host and have a few number of targets to manifest their efficacy on the pathogens. Indiscriminately, the aforementioned issues have been easily resolved by the development of new intervention strategies. One such approach is to employ combinational therapy that has exhibited a great level of inhibitions than that of a single compound. Chemosensitization of pathogenic mycoses to commercial antifungal drugs could be drastically enhanced by co-application of chemosensitizers along with the conventional drugs. Chemosensitizers could address the resistance mechanisms evolved in the pathogenic fungi and targeting the system to make the organism susceptible to commercially and clinically proven antifungal drugs. However, this strategy has not been overreached to the greater level, but it needs much attention to fight against not only with the pathogen but combat the resistance mechanisms of pathogens to drugs. Natural compounds including plant compounds and microbial proteins act as potential chemosensitizers to break the resistance in mycoses. Aspergillus giganteus, a filamentous fungus, is known to produce a cysteine rich extracellular protein called as antifungal protein (AFP). AFP has shown enhanced efficacy against several filamentous and non-filamentous fungal pathogens. On the basis of the reported studies on its targeted potential against pathogenic mycoses, AFP would be fabricated as a good chemosensitizer to augment the fungicidal efficacy of commercial antimycotic drugs. This paper reviews on breakthrough in the discovery of antifungal drugs along with the resistance patterns of mycoses to commercial drugs followed by the current intervention strategies applied to augment the fungicidal potential of drugs.

Formulation and Optimization of Butenafine-Loaded Topical Nano Lipid Carrier-Based Gel: Characterization, Irritation Study, and Anti-Fungal Activity

The present study aims to prepare and optimize butenafine hydrochloride NLCs formulation using solid and liquid lipid. The optimized selected BF-NLCopt was further converted into Carbopol-based gel for topical application for the treatment of fungal infection. Box Behnken design was employed to optimize the nanostructure lipids carriers (NLCs) using the lipid content (A), Tween 80 (B), and homogenization cycle (C) as formulation factors at three levels. Their effects were observed on the particle size (Y₁) and entrapment efficiency (Y₂). The selected formulation was converted into gel and further assessed for gel characterization, drug release, anti-fungal study, irritation study, and stability study. The solid lipid (Compritol 888 ATO), liquid lipid (Labrasol), and surfactant (tween 80) were selected based on maximum solubility. The optimization result showed a particle size of 111 nm with high entrapment efficiency of 86.35% for BF-NLCopt. The optimized BF-NLCopt converted to gel (1% w/v, Carbopol 934) and showed ideal gel evaluation results (drug content 99.45 ± 2.11, pH 6.5 ± 0.2, viscosity 519 ± 1.43 CPs). The drug release study result depicted a prolonged drug release (65.09 ± 4.37%) with high drug permeation 641.37 ± 46.59 µg (32.07 ± 2.32%) than BF conventional gel. The low value of irritation score (0.17) exhibited negligible irritation on the skin after application. The anti-fungal result showed greater efficacy than the BF gel at both time points. The overall conclusion of the results revealed NLCs-based gel of BF as an ideal delivery system to treat the fungal infection.