Cancer is a serious and significantly progressive disease. Next to cardiovascular disease, cancer has become the most common cause of mortality in the entire world. Several factors, such as environmental factors, habitual activities, genetic factors, etc., are responsible for cancer. Many cancer patients seek alternative and/or complementary treatments because of the high death rate linked with cancer and the adverse side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Traditional medicine has a long history that begins with the hunt for botanicals to heal various diseases, including cancer. In the traditional medicinal system, several plants used to treat diseases have many bioactive compounds with curative capability, thereby also helping in disease prevention. Plants also significantly contributed to the modern pharmaceutical industry throughout the world. In the present review, we have listed 33 medicinal plants with active and significant anticancer activity, as well as their anticancer compounds. This article will provide a basic set of information for researchers interested in developing a safe and nontoxic active medicinal plant-based treatment for cancer. The research will give a scientific foundation for the traditional usage of these medicinal herbs to treat cancer.

Soil salinity has been one of the biggest hurdles in achieving better crop yield and quality. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are the symbiotic heterogeneous bacteria that play an important role in the recycling of plant nutrients through phytostimulation and phytoremediation. In this study, bacterial isolates were isolated from salt-polluted soil of Jhajjar and Panipat districts of Haryana, India. The potential salt-tolerant bacteria were screened for their PGPR activities such as phosphate solubilization, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), indole acetic acid (IAA) and ammonia production. The molecular characterization of potent isolates with salt tolerance and PGPR activity was done by 16S rDNA sequencing. Eighteen soil samples from saline soils of Haryana state were screened for salt-tolerant bacteria. The bacterial isolates were analyzed for salt tolerance ranging from 2 to 10%. Thirteen isolates were found salt tolerant at varied salt concentrations. Isolates HB6P2 and HB6J2 showed maximum tolerance to salts at 10% followed by HB4A1, HB4N3 and HB8P1. All the salt-tolerant bacterial isolates showed HCN production with maximum production by HB6J2. Phosphate solubilization was demonstrated by three isolates viz., HB4N3, HB6P2 and HB6J2. IAA production was maximum in HB4A1 (15.89) and HB6P2 (14.01) and least in HB4N3 (8.91). Ammonia production was maximum in HB6P2 (12.3) and least in HB8P1 (6.2). Three isolates HB6J2, HB8P1 and HB4N3 with significant salt tolerance, and PGPR ability were identified through sequencing of amplified 16SrRNA gene and were found to be Bacillus paramycoides, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus pumilus, respectively. The salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) isolated from saline soil can be used to overcome the detrimental effects of salt stress on plants, with beneficial effects of physiological functions of plants such as growth and yield, and overcome disease resistance. Therefore, application of microbial inoculants to alleviate stresses and enhance yield in plants could be a low cost and environmental friendly option for the management of saline soil for better crop productivity.

Wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) of family Laminaceae is an unexplored perennial medicinal shrub. Aerial part of this plant is traditionally used for the treatment of respiratory and gastrointestinal problems. The current study was designed to evaluate the GC-MS, antimicrobial and synergistic potential of T. serpyllum essential oil (TEO). Chemical characterization of TEO showed the presence of thymol (15.79%), Phenol, 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl) (11.55%), o-Cymene (10.96%) as major phytocompounds. Antimicrobial activity of TEO in terms zone of inhibition (ZOI) varied from 13.66 ± 0.58 mm to 33.66 ± 1.52 mm, while, thymol (10%, v/v) showed ZOI ranged from 15.5 ± 0.5 mm to 26.33 ± 2.08 mm against tested bacterial and fungal species. MIC of TEO was 0.039% to 0.078% against tested bacterial and fungal species, whereas, thymol showed 1.25% to 2.5% MIC against tested bacterial and fungal species. Different combinations of TEO (2MIC to ½MIC) and thymol (2MIC to ½MIC) with antibacterial and antifungal antibiotics (2MIC to ½MIC) were found to increase the efficacy of antibiotics by 4-130 folds against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Molecular docking showed the good binding of thymol with both bacterial and fungal targets. Whereas MD simulation showed the stability of thymol complexed with target proteins over 100 ns time scale. Thymol also fulfills the Lipinski rule and showed characteristics similar to that of drugs. Therefore, it can be concluded from the present study that TEO and its major phytocompound, thymol can act as a bioactivity enhancer of antibacterial and antifungal antibiotics and could be used as a potential candidate to fight against antimicrobial drug resistance. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf is an aromatic perennial herb of Gramineae (Poaceae) family and is known for its application in food and healthcare industry. The present study aimed to evaluate anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of C. citratus essential oil (CEO) through in vitro and in silico studies. Chemical characterization of CEO was done using Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) method. In vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2, 2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, while egg albumin denaturation method was used to evaluate in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of CEO. Molecular docking investigation of major phytocompounds of CEO was done using Autodock vina software against human peroxiredoxin 5 (PDB ID: 1HD2) and human cyclooxygenase 2 (PDB ID: 5IKQ) proteins, which were further analyzed through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using YASARA. GC-MS analysis of CEO showed the presence of geranial (48%) neral (34.04%), β-myrcene (9.77%), geraniol (1.88%), linalool (0.84%), isogeranial (0.81%), β-caryophyllene (0.80%), D-limonene (0.51%) as major constituents. CEO showed significant antioxidant activity with DPPH (IC₅₀-47.53 ± 2.16 µg/ml), FRAP (IC₅₀-30.7 ± 0.31 µM), and ABTS assays (IC₅₀-27.87 ± 0.09 µg/ml). CEO also exhibited significant in-vitro anti-inflammatory activity with IC₅₀-29.71 ± 1.95 µg/ml as compared to that of Diclofenac sodium (IC₅₀-36.52 ± 1.95 µg/ml). Molecular docking revealed that β-caryophyllene showed considerable binding potential with human peroxiredoxin 5 receptor (-6.0 kcal/mol) and human cyclooxygenase 2 receptor (-10.1 kcal/mol). Further, MD simulations demonstrated considerable and stable interactions of β-caryophyllene with 1HD2 and 5IKQ proteins up to 100 ns. Drug-likeness and ADME/T features also showed that β-caryophyllene can be used as a potential candidate to replace the synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs with side effects and also act as natural antioxidants. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma