Propolis (bee glue) is a bee glue, sticky resinous material released from various plant sources such as bud exudates, flowers, and leaves modified by bee secretions and wax propolis is composed of resins, waxes, polyphenols, polysaccharides, volatile materials, and secondary metabolites that are responsible for various bioactivity such as antibacterial, anti-angiogenic, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-viral activities. The physico-chemical characteristics and the natural properties of various kinds of propolis have been studied for the past decade. Novel active anti-microbial compounds have been identified in propolis. Those compounds positively modulated the antimicrobial resistance of multidrug resistant bacteria. Published research has indicated that propolis and its derivatives has many natural antimicrobial compounds with a broad spectrum against different types of bacteria and that it enhanced the efficacy of conventional antibiotics. Besides, the combination of propolis with other compounds such as honey has been studied whereby, such combinations have a synergistic effect against bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The activity of propolis is very much dependent on seasonal and regional factors, and Middle Eastern propolis have shown best antibacterial efficacy. Propolis and its main flavonoids ingredients should not be overlooked and should be evaluated in clinical trials to better elucidate their potential application in various fields of medicine. Clinical antibacterial potential and its use in new drugs of biotechnological products should be conducted. This review aims at highlighting some of the recent scientific findings associated with the antibacterial properties of propolis and its components.

The FilmArray platform (FA; BioFire, Salt Lake City, UT) is a closed diagnostic system allowing high-order multiplex PCR analysis with automated readout of results directly from positive blood cultures in 1 h. In the present study, we evaluated the clinical performance of the FilmArray blood culture identification (BCID) panel, which includes 19 bacteria, five yeasts, and three antibiotic resistance genes. In total, 206 blood culture bottles were included in the study. The FilmArray could identify microorganisms in 153/167 (91.6%) samples with monomicrobial growth. Thirteen of the 167 (7.8%) microorganisms were not covered by the FilmArray BCID panel. In 6/167 (3.6%) samples, the FilmArray detected an additional microorganism compared to blood culture. When polymicrobial growth was analyzed, the FilmArray could detect all target microorganisms in 17/24 (71%) samples. Twelve blood culture bottles that yielded a positive signal but showed no growth were also negative by FilmArray. In 3/206 (1.5%) bottles, the FilmArray results were invalid. The results of the FilmArray were reproducible, as demonstrated by the testing and retesting of five bottles in the same day and a longitudinal follow-up of five other blood cultures up to 4 weeks. The present study shows that the FilmArray is a rapid identification method with high performance in direct identification of bacteria and yeasts from positive blood culture bottles.

The medicinal administration of Aloe vera gel has become promising in pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications particularly with the development of the nanotechnology concept. Nowadays, effective H. pylori treatment is a global problem; therefore, the development of natural products with nanopolymers such as chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) could represent a novel strategy for the treatment of gastric infection of H. pylori. HPLC analysis of A. vera gel indicated the presence of chlorogenic acid as the main constituent (1637.09 µg/mL) with other compounds pyrocatechol (1637.09 µg/mL), catechin (1552.92 µg/mL), naringenin (528.78 µg/mL), rutin (194.39 µg/mL), quercetin (295.25 µg/mL), and cinnamic acid (37.50 µg/mL). CSNPs and A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs were examined via TEM, indicating mean sizes of 83.46 nm and 36.54 nm, respectively. FTIR spectra showed various and different functional groups in CSNPs, A. vera gel, and A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs. Two strains of H. pylori were inhibited using A. vera gel with inhibition zones of 16 and 16.5 mm, while A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs exhibited the highest inhibition zones of 28 and 30 nm with resistant and sensitive strains, respectively. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 15.62 and 3.9 µg/mL, while the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) was 15.60 and 7.8 µg/mL with MBC/MIC 1 and 2 indexes using A. vera gel and A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs, respectively, against the resistance strain. DPPH Scavenging (%) of the antioxidant activity exhibited an IC₅₀ of 138.82 μg/mL using A.vera gel extract, and 81.7 μg/mL when A.vera gel was incorporated with CSNPs. A.vera gel incorporated with CSNPs enhanced the hemolysis inhibition (%) compared to using A.vera gel alone. Molecular docking studies through the interaction of chlorogenic acid and pyrocatechol as the main components of A. vera gel and CSNPs with the crystal structure of the H. pylori (4HI0) protein supported the results of anti-H. pylori activity.

The toxicity of the ecosystem has increased recently as a result of the increased industrial wastewater loaded with organic contaminants, including methylene blue (MB), which exerts serious damage to the environment. Thus, the present work aims to green the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and to evaluate their degradability of notorious MB dye, as well as their antimicrobial activities. Ag-NPs were synthesized by Cytobacillus firmus extract fully characterized by UV-vis, TEM, DLS, XRD, and FTIR. Ag-NPs showed good antibacterial and antifungal activities against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Enterococcus feacalis ATCC 29212, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and Candida albicans ATCC 90028. Moreover, Ag-NPs exhibited a high biodegradability level (98%) of MB dye after 8 h of co-incubation in the presence of sunlight. Additionally, the phytotoxicity of treated MB dye-contaminated water sample showed good germination of Vicia faba as compared with non-treated MB dye-contaminated solution. In conclusion, the herein biosynthesized Ag-NPs demonstrated its feasibility of the purification of contaminated water from microbes and methylene blue dye and the probability of reusing purified water for agricultural purposes.

This study explored the in vivo wound healing potential of Vitis vinifera seed extract using an excision wound model with focus on wound healing molecular targets including TGFBR1, VEGF, TNF-α, and IL-1β. The wound healing results revealed that V. vinifera seed extract enhanced wound closure rates (p < 0.001), elevated TGF-β and VEGF levels, and significantly downregulated TNF-α and IL-1β levels in comparison to the Mebo^®-treated group. The phenotypical results were supported by biochemical and histopathological findings. Phytochemical investigation yielded a total of 36 compounds including twenty-seven compounds (1–27) identified from seed oil using GC-MS analysis, along with nine isolated compounds. Among the isolated compounds, one new benzofuran dimer (28) along with eight known ones (29–36) were identified. The structure of new compound was elucidated utilizing 1D/2D NMR, with HRESIMS analyses. Moreover, molecular docking experiments were performed to elucidate the molecular targets (TNF-α, TGFBR1, and IL-1β) of the observed wound healing activity. Additionally, the in vitro antioxidant activity of V. vinifera seed extract along with two isolated compounds (ursolic acid 34, and β-sitosterol-3-O-glucopyranoside 36) were explored. Our study highlights the potential of V. vinifera seed extract in wound repair uncovering the most probable mechanisms of action using in silico analysis.