Understanding the Risks of Diffusion of Cyanobacteria Toxins in Rivers, Lakes, and Potable Water.

Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, may be prevalent in our rivers and tap water. These minuscule bacteria can grow swiftly and form blooms in warm, nutrient-rich water. Toxins produced by cyanobacteria can pollute rivers and streams and harm the liver and nervous system in humans. This review highlights the properties of 25 toxin types produced by 12 different cyanobacteria genera. The review also covered strategies for reducing and controlling cyanobacteria issues. These include using physical or chemical treatments, cutting back on fertilizer input, algal lawn scrubbers, and antagonistic microorganisms for biocontrol. Micro-, nano- and ultrafiltration techniques could be used for the removal of internal and extracellular cyanotoxins, in addition to powdered or granular activated carbon, ozonation, sedimentation, ultraviolet radiation, potassium permanganate, free chlorine, and pre-treatment oxidation techniques. The efficiency of treatment techniques for removing intracellular and extracellular cyanotoxins is also demonstrated. These approaches aim to lessen the risks of cyanobacterial blooms and associated toxins. Effective management of cyanobacteria in water systems depends on early detection and quick action. Cyanobacteria cells and their toxins can be detected using microscopy, molecular methods, chromatography, and spectroscopy. Understanding the causes of blooms and the many ways for their detection and elimination will help the management of this crucial environmental issue.

Skin Pigmentation Types, Causes and Treatment-A Review.

Human skin pigmentation and melanin synthesis are incredibly variable, and are impacted by genetics, UV exposure, and some drugs. Patients' physical appearance, psychological health, and social functioning are all impacted by a sizable number of skin conditions that cause pigmentary abnormalities. Hyperpigmentation, where pigment appears to overflow, and hypopigmentation, where pigment is reduced, are the two major classifications of skin pigmentation. Albinism, melasma, vitiligo, Addison's disease, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which can be brought on by eczema, acne vulgaris, and drug interactions, are the most common skin pigmentation disorders in clinical practice. Anti-inflammatory medications, antioxidants, and medications that inhibit tyrosinase, which prevents the production of melanin, are all possible treatments for pigmentation problems. Skin pigmentation can be treated orally and topically with medications, herbal remedies, and cosmetic products, but a doctor should always be consulted before beginning any new medicine or treatment plan. This review article explores the numerous types of pigmentation problems, their causes, and treatments, as well as the 25 plants, 4 marine species, and 17 topical and oral medications now on the market that have been clinically tested to treat skin diseases.

Antifungal and Antibacterial Activities of Isolated Marine Compounds.

To combat the ineffectiveness of currently available pharmaceutical medications, caused by the emergence of increasingly resistant bacterial and fungal strains, novel antibacterial and antifungal medications are urgently needed. Novel natural compounds with antimicrobial activities can be obtained by exploring underexplored habitats such as the world's oceans. The oceans represent the largest ecosystem on earth, with a high diversity of organisms. Oceans have received some attention in the past few years, and promising compounds with antimicrobial activities were isolated from marine organisms such as bacteria, fungi, algae, sea cucumbers, sea sponges, etc. This review covers 56 antifungal and 40 antibacterial compounds from marine organisms. These compounds are categorized according to their chemical structure groups, including polyketides, alkaloids, ribosomal peptides, and terpenes, and their organismal origin. The review provides the minimum inhibitory concentration MIC values and the bacterial/fungal strains against which these chemical compounds show activity. This study shows strong potential for witnessing the development of new novel antimicrobial drugs from these natural compounds isolated and evaluated for their antimicrobial activities.

Classification, Toxicity and Bioactivity of Natural Diterpenoid Alkaloids.

Diterpenoid alkaloids are natural compounds having complex structural features with many stereo-centres originating from the amination of natural tetracyclic diterpenes and produced primarily from plants in the Aconitum, Delphinium, Consolida genera. Corals, Xenia, Okinawan/Clavularia, Alcyonacea (soft corals) and marine sponges are rich sources of diterpenoids, despite the difficulty to access them and the lack of availability. Researchers have long been concerned with the potential beneficial or harmful effects of diterpenoid alkaloids due to their structural complexity, which accounts for their use as pharmaceuticals as well as their lousy reputation as toxic substances. Compounds belonging to this unique and fascinating family of natural products exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activities. Some of these compounds are on the list of clinical drugs, while others act as incredibly potent neurotoxins. Despite numerous attempts to prepare synthetic products, this review only introduces the natural diterpenoid alkaloids, describing 'compounds' structures and classifications and their toxicity and bioactivity. The purpose of the review is to highlight some existing relationships between the presence of substituents in the structure of such molecules and their recognised bioactivity.

The Biological Activity of Natural Alkaloids against Herbivores, Cancerous Cells and Pathogens.

The growing incidence of microorganisms that resist antimicrobials is a constant concern for the scientific community, while the development of new antimicrobials from new chemical entities has become more and more expensive, time-consuming, and exacerbated by emerging drug-resistant strains. In this regard, many scientists are conducting research on plants aiming to discover possible antimicrobial compounds. The secondary metabolites contained in plants are a source of chemical entities having pharmacological activities and intended to be used for the treatment of different diseases. These chemical entities have the potential to be used as an effective antioxidant, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial agents. Among these pharmacologically active entities are the alkaloids which are classified into a number of classes, including pyrrolizidines, pyrrolidines, quinolizidines, indoles, tropanes, piperidines, purines, imidazoles, and isoquinolines. Alkaloids that have antioxidant properties are capable of preventing a variety of degenerative diseases through capturing free radicals, or through binding to catalysts involved indifferent oxidation processes occurring within the human body. Furthermore, these entities are capable of inhibiting the activity of bacteria, fungi, protozoan and etc. The unique properties of these secondary metabolites are the main reason for their utilization by the pharmaceutical companies for the treatment of different diseases. Generally, these alkaloids are extracted from plants, animals and fungi. Penicillin is the most famous natural drug discovery deriving from fungus. Similarly, marines have been used as a source for thousands of bioactive marine natural products. In this review, we cover the medical use of natural alkaloids isolated from a variety of plants and utilized by humans as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anticancer agents. An example for such alkaloids is berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid, found in roots and stem-bark of Berberis asculin P. Renault plant and used to kill a variety of microorganisms.

Bitterless guaifenesin prodrugs-design, synthesis, characterization, in vitro kinetics, and bitterness studies.

A respected number of drugs suffer from bitter taste which results in patient incompliance. With the aim of solving the bitterness of guaifenesin, dimethyl maleate, maleate, glutarate, succinate, and dimethyl succinate prodrugs were designed and synthesized. Molecular orbital methods were utilized for the design of the ester prodrugs. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the hydrolysis efficiency of the synthesized prodrugs is significantly sensitive to the pattern of substitution on C=C bond and distance between the nucleophile and the electrophile. The hydrolysis of the prodrugs was largely affected by the pH of the medium. The experimental t1/2 for the hydrolysis of guaifenesin dimaleate ester prodrugs in 1N HCl was the least and for guaifenesin dimethyl succinate was the highest. Functional heterologous expression of TAS2R14, a broadly tuned bitter taste receptor responding to guaifenesin, and experiments using these prodrugs revealed that, while some of the prodrugs still activated the receptor similarly or even stronger than the parent substance, succinate derivatization resulted in the complete loss of receptor responses. The predicted binding modes of guaifenesin and its prodrugs to the TAS2R14 homology model suggest that the decreased activity of the succinate derivatives may be caused by a clash with Phe247.