Recent Advances in Herbal Nanomedicines for Cancer Treatment.

Cancer continues to be one of the deadliest diseases that adversely impacts the large population of the world. A stack of scientific documents reflects a huge number of potent plant-based anticancer drugs such as curcumin (CUR), podophyllotoxin, camptothecin (CPT), vincristine, vinblastine, paclitaxel (PTX), etc. that have been integrated into the modern practice of cancer treatment. The demand for natural products raises exponentially as they are generally considered to be safe, and devoid of critical toxic effects at the therapeutic dose when compared to their synthetic counterparts. Despite rising interest towards the potent phytoconstituents, formulation developer faces various challenges in drug development processes such as poor water solubility, low bioavailability, marginal permeability, and nonspecific drug delivery at the target site, etc. Further, adverse drug reaction and multidrug resistance are other critical issues that need to be addressed. Nanomedicines owing to their unique structural and functional attributes help to fix the above challenges for improved translational outcomes. This review summarises the prospects and challenges of a nanotechnology-based drug delivery approach for the delivery of plant-based anticancer drugs.

Recent Advances in Clinical Utility of Probiotics in Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders.

Clinically, probiotics have a significant role in nutrition, immune function, and maintenance of gut homeostasis. Unfortunately, the widespread use of antibiotics disrupts the symbiotic balance of gut microbiota, leading to the development of several gastrointestinal disorders. A recent study suggesting a combination of appropriate probiotics and prebiotics through its ability to fix dysbiosis issues has emerged as a potential alternative to treat various pathological conditions of the Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT). Evidenced-based clinical research suggests that probiotic's effectiveness depends on several factors including strain, dose, host immune system, underlying pathology, and duration of therapy. Moreover, the microflora enriched medium reinforces the host defense against chemical and microbial challenges. However, the limited information available to understand the molecular basis by which probiotic maintains the gut homeostasis. The objective of this review to emphasize recent clinical outcomes and possible mechanisms involved in probiotic action to combat the GIT disorders.

Identification and Molecular Docking Studies of Bioactive Principles from Alphonsea madraspatana Bedd. against Uropathogens.

AIMS: The present study aims to determine the antimicrobial efficacy of Alphonsea madraspatana leaves extract against selected uropathogens. BACKGROUND: The plant Alphonsea madraspatana is an endangered species, reported to exhibit high antimicrobial activity due to the presence of phenolic compounds. Prevalence of high UTI infection and increased cases of bacterial resistance directed for alternative approach to meet the challenge of drug resistance. OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to determine antimicrobial efficacy of Alphonsea madraspatana leaves extract against selected uropathogens and subsequent in-silico analysis to predict the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Phytochemicals extraction from the dried leaves of Alphonsea madraspatana was performed using solvent gradient technique. All the extracts were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial activity of the prepared extract was determined against the selected uropathogens using agar diffusion method. Finally, molecular docking study of the selected bio-actives was performed against a representative bacterial resistance enzyme ''DNA Gyrase". RESULTS: Methanolic extract exhibits relatively higher antimicrobial activity against the selected strains with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 1.56 ± 1 ug/mL and 6.25 ± 2 ug/mL, respectively. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of 3 flavonoids compounds such as Luteolin-7-O-glucoside, Kaempferol-3-O- rotinoside-7-O-rhamnoside and Genestein-7-O-glucoside. The results of molecular docking shows Luteolin-7-O-glucoside has best docking scores of -8.5 kcal/mol than other ligand molecules. Experimental simulation in presence of DNA Gyrase inhibitors showed lowest MIC and MBC value for E. Coli, which was found to be 1.56 ±1 ug/mL and 6.25±2 ug/mL respectively, support the docking outcomes. CONCLUSION: Outcomes of this study suggested that the methanolic extract of this plant shows good anti-microbial potential against resistant uropathogens.