Xanthones are chemical substances in higher plants, marine organisms, and lower microorganisms. The most prevalent naturally occurring sources of xanthones are those belonging to the families Caryophyllaceae, Guttiferae, and Gentianaceae. Structurally, xanthones (9H xanthan-9-one) are heterocyclic compounds with oxygen and a γ-pyrone component. They are densely packed with a two-benzene ring structure. The carbons in xanthones are numbered from their nucleus and biosynthetic construct. They have mixed shikimate-acetate (higher plants) and acetate-malonate (lower organisms) biosynthetic origins, which influence their classification. Based on the level of oxidation of the C-ring, they are classified into monomers, dimers, and heterodimers. While based on the level of oxygenation or the type of ring residue, they can be categorized into mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexa-oxygenated xanthones, bis-xanthones, prenylated and related xanthones, xanthonolignoids, and other miscellaneous xanthones. This structural diversity has made xanthones exhibit considerable biological properties as promising antioxidant, antifungal, antimicrobial, and anticancer agents. Structure-activity relationship studies suggest C-1, C-3, C-6, and C-8 as the key positions that influence the biological activity of xanthones. Furthermore, the presence of functional groups, such as prenyl, hydroxyl, glycosyl, furan, and pyran, at the key positions of xanthones, may contribute to their spectrum of biological activity. The unique chemical scaffolds of xanthones, their notable biological activities, and the structure–activity relationships of some lead molecules were discussed to identify lead molecules as possible drug candidates.

Lung cancer remains a major public health concern among all cancer diseases due to the toxicity and side-effects of the available commercially synthesized drugs. Natural product-derived synthesized anticancer drugs are now of promising interest to fight against cancer death. Carvacrol is a major component of most essential oil-bearing plants with potential pharmacological activity, especially against various cancer cell lines. Among the other organometallic compounds, copper complexes have been reported to be effective anticancer agents against various cancer cell lines, especially lung and leukemia cancers, due to the nontoxic nature of copper in normal cells since it is an endogenic metal. In this study, we synthesized three carvacrol derivatives, i.e., carvacrol aldehyde, Schiff base, and copper–Schiff base complex, through an established synthesis protocol and characterized the synthesized product using various spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized derivatives were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic activity against different cancer cell lines, including human lung cancer (A549) and human fibroblast (BALB-3T3). Our findings showed that the copper–Schiff base complex derived from carvacrol inhibited the proliferation and migration of the A549 cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. This activity might be due to the inhibition of cell proliferation and migration at the G₂/M cell-cycle phase, as well as apoptosis, possibly through the activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the activity of the copper–Schiff base complex of carvacrol against A549 cell lines. Our result highlights that a new synthesized copper complex from carvacrol could be a novel potential drug in the treatment of lung cancer.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the subject of nanotechnology, with a range of methods developed to synthesize precise-sized and shaped nanoparticles according to particular requirements. Often, the nanoparticles are created by employing dangerous reducing chemicals to reduce metal ions into uncharged nanoparticles. Green synthesis or biological approaches have been used recently to circumvent this issue because biological techniques are simple, inexpensive, safe, clean, and extremely productive. Nowadays, much research is being conducted on how different kinds of nanoparticles connect to proteins and nucleic acids using molecular docking models. Therefore, this review discusses the most recent advancements in molecular docking capacity to predict the interactions between various nanoparticles (NPs), such as ZnO, CuO, Ag, Au, and Fe₃O_4, and biological macromolecules.

Cannabis sativa, otherwise known as hemp, is discussed to highlight the various problems and prospects associated with its use as an herbal ingredient. The chemical composition of hemp, with classification based on cannabinoid contents, its biological activities, current global scenarios and legality issues, economic importance, and future prospects, are discussed.

The luscious fruit‐bearing plant Elaeagnus pyriformis (Hook. f.), sometimes called oleaster or silverberry, is found in northeastern India. Natives from this region consume fruit because it is believed to be nutritious and to offer protection against various diseases. This study aimed to prepare wine from Elaeagnus fruits and assess its nutritional content and antioxidant and anticancer properties in cancer cell lines. GC‒MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) was utilized to determine the active phytocompounds in the wine, which were then docked against cancer‐related proteins. Simultaneously, 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis was conducted to identify the diverse bacterial species present in the wine samples. The results revealed significant amounts of free fatty acids, free amino acids, total sugars, total protein, macroelements, and microelements in Elaeagnus wine (oleaster wine). Oleaster wine exhibited high antioxidant activity, indicating its significant medicinal importance. Eleven putative phytocompounds were identified through GC‒MS analysis and a molecular docking study of these compounds revealed favorable interactions with the studied cancer‐related proteins. A cell line study revealed that the wine possessed noteworthy anticancer activity, supporting its potential medicinal and biological benefits, as demonstrated by the in silico results. Furthermore, metagenomic analysis of the 16S rRNA V₃–V₄ region revealed that the wine sample and microbial population contained diverse bacterial species, which play a vital role in the anticancer properties. Considering all the in vitro, in silico, and metagenomic data, it can be concluded that the wine offers therapeutic and health benefits.

Background: The Surinam cherry, Eugenia uniflora belongs to the family Myrtaceae, an edible fruit-bearing medicinal plant with various biological properties. Several anticancer studies have been conducted on its essential oils while the non-essential oil compounds including phenolics, flavonoids, and carotenoids have not been fully investigated. Purpose: Therefore, the study evaluated the in silico anticancer potentials of phenolic, flavonoid, and carotenoid compounds of E. uniflora against the MDM2 and Bcl-xL proteins, which are known to promote cancer cell growth and malignancy. The physicochemical parameters, validation, cytotoxicity, and mutagenicity of the polyphenols were determined using the SwissADME, pkCSM, ProTox-II, and vNN-ADMET online servers respectively. Lastly, the promising phytocompounds were validated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Results: An extensive literature search resulted in the compilation of forty-four (44) polyphenols from E. uniflora. Top-rank among the screened polyphenols is galloylastragalin, which exhibited a binding energy score of − 8.7 and − 8.5 kcal/mol with the hydrophobic interactions (Ala93, Val141) and (Leu54, Val93, Ile99), as well as hydrogen bond interactions (Tyr195) and (Gln72) of the proteins Bcl-xL and MDM2 respectively. A complete in silico toxicity assessment revealed that the compounds, galloylastragalin, followed by myricetin, resveratrol, p-Coumaroylquinic acid, and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, were potentially non-mutagenic, non-carcinogenic, non-cytotoxic, and non-hepatotoxic. During the 120 ns MD simulations, the RMSF analysis of galloylastragalin- MDM2 (complex 1) and galloylastragalin- Bcl-xL (complex 2) showed the fewest fluctuations, indicating the conformational stability of the respective complexes. Conclusion: This study has shown that polyphenol compounds of E. uniflora led by galloylastragalin, are potent inhibitors of the MDM2 and Bcl-xL cancer proteins. Thus, they may be considered as candidate polyphenols for further anticancer studies.