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Cancer is one of the major causes of death both in developed and developing countries. Recently the secondary metabolites produced by plants are being investigated due to their promising anticancer activities. Accordingly in the present study the anti-cancer potentials of Euphorbia hirta L., a well-known medicinal plant was explored for its anticancer activity. The methanol and aqueous extracts of Euphorbia hirta L. (EHA and EHM) were tested against Artemia salina nauplii for toxicity and MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines for its cytotoxic potentials. Both the extracts EHA and EHM exhibited maximum toxicity towards Artemia salina among which the methanol extract was able to kill all the nauplii in its highest concentration. Excitingly, Euphorbia hirta L. extracts exhibited minimal cytotoxicity on normal cells (VERO) than in human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). In conclusion, the results suggest that EHM extract of the selected plant may have promising therapeutic potential against human breast cancers and may lead to the development of new clinical drug specifically against ER-positive breast cancer.

Cancer is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The interests in the use of plants or plant-derived compounds are increasing recently due to their promising results in chemoprevention. The present study investigates the anti-cancer potentials of Sida acuta, a traditionally well-known medicinal plant. Accordingly, the methanol and aqueous extracts of S. acuta (SAM and SAA) were tested against Artemia salina nauplii for toxicity and on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines for cytotoxic and apoptotic properties. Both the extracts, SAM and SAA exhibited higher toxicity towards Artemia salina. Interestingly, the extracts exhibited minimal cytotoxicity in normal cells (VERO) than in human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). The highly active SAA successfully induced apoptosis in MDA MB 231 and MCF-7 cells showing 17.81% and 4.27% of late apoptotic cells and 27.14% and 37.32% of early apoptotic cells, respectively. Most of the drugs being developed from plant sources had landed successfully in clinical trials. In conclusion, the observations clearly suggest that SAA may have possible therapeutic potential against human breast cancer-derived diseases specifically against ER-positive breast cancer.

Diphtheria is caused by a toxigenic bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheria which is being an emerging pathogen in India. Since diphtheria morbidity and mortality continues to be high in the country, the present study aimed to study the molecular epidemiology of C. diphtheriae strains from India. A total of 441 diphtheria suspected specimens collected as part of the surveillance programme between 2015 and 2020 were studied. All the isolates were confirmed as C. diphtheriae with standard biochemical tests, ELEK’s test, and real-time PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for the subset of isolates showed intermediate susceptibility to penicillin and complete susceptible to erythromycin and cefotaxime. Isolates were characterized using multi locus sequence typing method. MLST analysis for the 216 C. diphtheriae isolates revealed major diversity among the sequence types. A total of 34 STs were assigned with majority of the isolates belonged to ST466 (30%). The second most common ST identified was ST405 that was present in 14% of the isolates. The international clone ST50 was also seen. The identified STs were grouped into 8 different clonal complexes (CC). The majority belongs to CC5 followed by CC466, CC574 and CC209, however a single non-toxigenic strain belongs to CC42. This epidemiological analysis revealed the emergence of novel STs and the clones with better dissemination properties. This study has also provided information on the circulating strains of C. diphtheriae among the different regions of India. The molecular data generated through surveillance system can be utilized for further actions in concern.

Skin cancer in humans represents about 30% of all new cancers and is by far the most common malignancy in the Caucasian population. Exposure to radiations especially ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation is the major cause for development of skin cancers along with other chemical or biological factors. The growing incidence rates of skin cancer around the world, demand the need for new treatment options. Understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of skin cancer is therefore crucial for developing an effective drug against this prevailing disease. Medicinal plants are rich with numerous secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, which are now known to treat various chronic diseases, including inflammations and cancers. Flavonoids are sub-classified in to flavones, flavonols, iosflavones, flavanones, flavanols and anthocyanidins. They act on different targets including scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), regulation of the cell cycle, and initiation of DNA repair mechanisms, apoptotic induction and inhibition of metastasis. Innumerable evidence suggested that an increased consumption of flavonoid-rich fruits and vegetables rendered DNA protection to normal skin exposed to carcinogens such as UV-B radiation. Flavonoids also showed the potential to induce cell death mechanisms in melanoma, the most dreadful form of skin cancer. This comprehensive review presents flavonoids and their mechanism of action in relation to inflammation and skin cancer management.

Sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) is a metalloid which is present widely in the environment and its chronic exposure can contribute to the induction of oxidative stress, resulting in disturbances in various metabolic functions including liver cell death. Hence, there is a need to develop drugs from natural sources, which can reduce arsenic toxicity. While there have been reports regarding the antioxidant and protective potentials of Annona muricataleaf extracts, our study is the first ofits kind to extend these findings by specifically evaluating its ability to render protection against sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) induced toxicity (10 μM) in WRL-68 (human hepatic cells) and human erythrocytes by employing XTT and haemolysis inhibition assays respectively. The methanolic extract exhibited higher activity than the aqueous extract in both assays. The results showed a dose-dependent decrease in arsenic toxicity in both WRL-68 cells and erythrocytes, suggesting the protective nature of Annona muricatato mitigate arsenic toxicity. Hence the bioactive extracts can further be scrutinized for the identification and characterization of their principal contributors.

Typhoid fever remains a serious problem in many developing countries. Due to resistance to multiple first line drugs, azithromycin has evolved as an important drug in the treatment of typhoid. While therapy with azithromycin is highly effective, no clinically validated mean inhibitory concentration (MIC) break points or disc diffusion cutoff guidelines are available so far. We describe an Indian adult with clinical and microbiological failure to azithromycin despite low azithromycin MIC.

Sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) is a metalloid which is present widely in the environment and its chronic exposure can contribute to the induction of oxidative stress, resulting in disturbances in various metabolic functions including liver cell death. Hence, there is a need to develop drugs from natural sources, which can reduce arsenic toxicity. While there have been reports regarding the antioxidant and protective potentials of Annona muricataleaf extracts, our study is the first ofits kind to extend these findings by specifically evaluating its ability to render protection against sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) induced toxicity (10 μM) in WRL-68 (human hepatic cells) and human erythrocytes by employing XTT and haemolysis inhibition assays respectively. The methanolic extract exhibited higher activity than the aqueous extract in both assays. The results showed a dose-dependent decrease in arsenic toxicity in both WRL-68 cells and erythrocytes, suggesting the protective nature of Annona muricatato mitigate arsenic toxicity. Hence the bioactive extracts can further be scrutinized for the identification and characterization of their principal contributors.

Aim: Sequencing technology has replaced conventional methods in identifying and characterizing bacterial pathogens. We characterized 23 nonserotypeable Shigella that biochemically resembled Shigella spp. using whole genome sequencing. Materials & methods: Genome sequences were analyzed using online tools based on 16S rRNA, k-mer, gyrB sequences and analysis of O-antigen arrangement was done using PATRIC database for species identification. Sequence types, plasmid types, antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes were also investigated. Results: The SpeciesFinder using 16S rRNA sequences identified only 74% of the isolates, whereas KmerFinder and gyrB sequence analysis identified 100% of the isolates to its species level. Antimicrobial resistance, virulence and plasmid incompatibility groups were identified in all the isolates. Sequence types were determined. Conclusion: This study shows that whole genome sequencing approach for Shigella O-antigen analysis has greater discriminative power than other methods using different bioinformatics pipeline for identification of nonserotypeable Shigella., Lay abstract Shigellosis is one of the major health concerns in developing countries. Shigella spp. that is not serotypeable with available antisera is a hurdle in laboratory diagnosis. Sequencing technology has replaced conventional methods in identifying nonserotypeable Shigella. In this study, we characterized 23 nonserotypeable Shigella using whole genome sequences. Manual comparison of O-antigen gene arrangement provided definitive results compared with other methods. Development of a database including whole genome sequencing of all known serotypes will help in easy identification of Shigella serotypes in the future.