Israt Jahan

Verbascum species (Scrophulariaceae) are recognized in ethnopharmacology for their diverse therapeutic properties. To investigate these claims scientifically, this study characterized a methanol extract of Verbascum tenue Murb., leaves (VTE) for its phytochemical composition, in vitro cytotoxicity, and anti-migratory activity. Phytochemical profiling via LC-ESI-MS/MS identified nine compounds, with vanillic acid, vanillin, and trans-ferulic acid as the major constituents. The cytotoxic effects of VTE were evaluated on a panel of cell lines—including SKOV-3 (ovarian adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (breast carcinoma), U87 (glioblastoma), and HDF (human dermal fibroblast) cells—using the MTT assay across a concentration range of 15.625–500 µg/mL. VTE exhibited differential cytotoxicity, with IC₅₀ values of 236.74 µg/mL in SKOV-3 cells, 374.5 µg/mL in MCF-7 cells, and 386.68 µg/mL in HDF cells. The wound healing assay was conducted with 125 µg/mL VTE, a concentration selected for its high toxicity on SKOV-3 (viability 59.21%) and low toxicity on HDF (viability 91.06%). VTE significantly suppressed wound closure to 25.86% relative to the 40.36% observed in controls over 12 hours. This inhibition of cell migration, in conjunction with its cytotoxic profile, supports the potential of VTE as an agent with both anticancer and anti-metastatic properties.

Gum tragacanth (GT) is a natural plant exudate discharged from the twigs and stems of Asiatic species of the Astragalus genus. GT is a heterogeneous polysaccharide which has been utilized in various biomedical fields and traditionally in ethnomedicine because of its distinctive physicochemical and biological properties, such as great biocompatibility, thermal stability biodegradability, hydrophilicity and antioxidant activity. The aim of this study was to examine whether GT has cytotoxic effects on various cancer cell lines. For this aim, four cancer cell lines i.e., human colorectal adenocarcinoma (CACO-2), glioblastoma multiforme tumor (T98G), ovarian sarcoma (SKOV-3), and breast cancer (MCF-7) cells were used. GT was prepared at the concentration of 200 µg/mL, 100 µg/mL, 50 µg/mL, 25 µg/mL and 12.5 µg/mL, using both 5% DMSO and dH2O as solvent. MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) colorimetric assay was used for in vitro cytotoxicity study. GT had no cytotoxic effect on these cancer cells since cell viability percentages were found to be above 80% for all the treatments. However, remarkable dose-dependent cell proliferation efficiency of GT at certain concentrations was observed on all cancer cells except MCF-7. In conclusion, this study suggests that cancer patients should be careful about the use of GT or products containing GT due to the increasing effect of GT on the proliferation of cancer cells.

Since thermophilic microorganisms are valuable sources of thermostable enzymes, it is essential to recognize the potential toxicity of silver nanoparticles used in diverse industrial sectors. Thermophilic bacteria Geobacillus vulcani 2Cx, Bacillus licheniformis 3CA, Paenibacillus macerans 3CA1, Anoxybacillus ayderensis FMB1, and Bacillus paralicheniformis FMB2-1 were selected, and their MIC and MBC values were assessed by treatment with AgNPs in a range of 62.5–1500 μg mL⁻¹. The growth inhibition curves showed that the G. vulcani 2Cx, and B. paralicheniformis FMB2-1 strains were more sensitive to AgNPs, demonstrating a reduction in population by 71.1% and 31.7% at 62.5 μg mL⁻¹ and by 82.9% and 72.8% at 250 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. TEM and FT-IR analysis revealed that AgNPs caused structural damage, cytoplasmic leakage, and disruption of cellular integrity. Furthermore, cell viability showed a significant decrease alongside an increase in superoxide radical (SOR; O₂⁻) production. β-galactosidase biosynthesis decreased to 28.8% level at 500 μg mL⁻¹ AgNPs for G. vulcani 2Cx, 32.2% at 250 μg mL⁻¹ for A. ayderensis FMB1, and 38.8% only at 62.5 μg mL⁻¹, but it was completely inhibited at 500 μg mL⁻¹ for B. licheniformis 3CA. Moreover, B. paralicheniformis FMB2-1 showed a significant decrease to 11.2% at 125 μg mL⁻¹. This study is the first to reveal the toxic effects of AgNPs on thermophilic bacteria.

Since thermophilic microorganisms are valuable source of thermostable enzymes, it is essential to recognize the potential toxicity of silver nanoparticles used in diverse industrial sectors. Thermophilic bacteria Geobacillus vulcani 2Cx, Bacillus licheniformis 3CA, Paenibacillus macerans 3CA1, Anoxybacillus ayderensis FMB1, and Bacillus paralicheniformis FMB2-1 were selected, and their MIC and MBC values were assessed by treating with AgNPs at a range of 62.5-1500 μg mL−1. The growth inhibition curves showed that G. vulcani 2Cx, and B. paralicheniformis FMB2-1 strains were more sensitive to AgNPs, demonstrating a reduction in population by 71.1% and 31.7% at 62.5 μg mL−1 and by 82.9% and 72.8% at 250 μg mL−1, respectively. TEM and FT-IR analysis revealed that AgNPs caused structural damage, cytoplasmic leakage, and disruption of cellular integrity. Furthermore, the cell viability showed a significant decrease alongside an increase in superoxide radicals (SOR; O2·−) production. The β-galactosidase biosynthesis decreased to 28.8% levels at 500 μg mL−1 AgNPs for G. vulcani 2Cx, 32.2% at 250 μg mL−1 for A. ayderensis FMB1, 38.8% only at 62.5 μg mL−1 but completely inhibited at 500 μg mL−1 for B. licheniformis 3CA. Moreover, B. paralicheniformis FMB2-1 showed significant decrease to 11.2% at 125 μg mL−1. This study is the first to reveal the toxic effects of AgNPs on thermophilic bacteria.

Cyclotrichium origanifolium is a medicinal plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. In this study, phenolic content analysis, antimicrobial effects, and cytotoxic effects of extracts of C. origanifolium were investigated. In the extracts, phenolic compound analysis by the liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry method, antimicrobial effect by the minimum inhibition concentration method, and cytotoxic effect on human dermal fibroblasts (HDF), glioblastoma cell (U87), ovarian adenocarcinoma cell (Skov‐3), and human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell (CaCo‐2) cancer cell lines were investigated. Cytotoxicity analyses were performed by the MTT method. In addition, the GST and AChE enzyme activities of the extracts were also measured. Around 18 compounds were detected in both the methanol and ethanol extract. It was found that the best antimicrobial effect on Gram‐negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa was on methanol extract, while the ethanol extract was on Candida albicans fungus (respectively, 2.50 mg/ml, 5.0 μg/ml). A 500 μg/ml of methanol extract has been shown to have cytotoxic activity high effect on HDF cells. GST and AChE activity were found to decrease in a concentration‐dependent manner.

Green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles through natural entities (i.e., bacteria, actinomycetes, yeast, fungus, microalgae, seaweed, plants, and plant-derived materials) has become an advantageous and ecofriendly approach. However, phytocompounds of plant extract have achieved huge attention since by utilizing them high yield NPs with desirable size and shape, which can be produced through single-step synthesis scheme. Plants retain diverse biochemicals that exhibit strong hyper-accumulating potential, crucial for metallic ion reduction to metallic NPs, like platinum, gold, silver, titanium oxide, iron oxide, copper oxide, zinc oxide, palladium, etc. Here, previously published studies were reviewed for providing the latest scientific evidence on biosynthesis of metal and metal oxide NPs using different plant materials, especially medicinal plants and food and agro-wastes.

Nanotechnology facilitates exclusive opportunities for investigating and controlling a wide range of biomedical approaches at nano-scale, which could provide a groundbreaking impact on medicine, biology, and other health-related areas. This latest technology offers certain distinctive benefits in different aspects such as nanocarriers of targeted drug delivery system, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, vaccination and immunotherapy, biosensing and imaging for clinical diagnosis. A wide range of nanomaterials with biomedical prominence have already been exploited for drug delivery and cancer therapy comprising, solid lipid nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, carbon nanotube, nanogel-based compounds, nanocapsules, magnetic nanoparticles, nanofluids, nanowires, liposomes, etc. Therefore, this chapter reviewed the potential use of different nanomaterials for therapeutic applications, especially for drug delivery and cancer diagnosis and therapy by focusing their suitability and biocompatibility for extensive and safer usages.

In this study, biofunctionalized globular or oval shaped silver nanoparticles were obtained by using aqueous extract of lemon peel (Citrus limon) via microwave-accelerated heating system. While UV−visible spectroscopy, FTIR and XRD analyses were applied to recognize the formation of nano-silver, TEM and Zeta analysis were employed to reveal their morphological features. UV–vis spectrum of fabricated AgNPs indicated its characteristic maximum absorbance at 445 nm. Phytosynthesized silver nanoparticles were poly-dispersed with Z-average value of 41.86 nm, and showed excellent stability for several months with no aggregation and agglomeration. The non-toxic nature of the developed Ag nanoparticles was further confirmed by applying on healthy mouse fibroblast L929 cell line, which may expand their potentials for further studies related to medical science and other biological applications.