Medicinal plants have played an essential role in the treatment of various diseases. Thymus vulgaris, a medicinal plant, has been extensively used for biological and pharmaceutical potential. The current study was performed to check the biopotential of active biological compounds. The GC-MS analysis identified 31 compounds in methanolic crude extract, among which thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene, and eugenol are the main phytoconstituents present in T. vulgaris. The HPLC analysis quantified that flavonoids and phenolic acids are present in a good concentration in the active fraction of ethyl acetate and n-butanol. FTIR confirmed the presence of functional groups such as phenols, a carboxylic group, hydroxy group, alcohols, and a benzene ring. Among both fractions, ethyl acetate showed high antioxidant activity in the DPPH (84.1 0.88) and ABTS (87.1 0.89) assays, respectively. The anti-inflammatory activity of the fractions was done in vitro and in vivo by using a carrageenan-induced paw edema assay, while the hexane-based extract showed high anti-inflammatory activity (57.1 0.54) in a dose-response manner. Furthermore, the lead compound responsible for inhibition in the denaturation of proteins is thymol, which exhibits the highest binding affinity with COX1 (−6.4 KJ/mol) and COX2 (−6.3 KJ/mol) inflammatory proteins. The hepatotoxicity analysis showed that plant-based phytoconstituents are safe to use and have no toxicity, with no necrosis, fibrosis, and vacuolar degeneration, even at a high concentration of 800 mg/kg body weight. Furthermore, the in silico analysis of HPLC phytochemical compounds against gastric cancer genes showed that chlorogenic acid exhibited anticancer activity and showed good drug-designing characteristics. Thrombolysis and hemolysis are the major concerns of individuals suffering from gastric cancer. However, the T. vulgaris fractions showed thrombolysis from 17.6 to 5.4%; similarly, hemolysis ranged from 9.73 to 7.1% at a concentration of 12 mg/mL. The phytoconstituents present in T. vulgaris have the potential for multiple pharmacological applications. This should be further investigated to isolate bioactive compounds that can be used for the treatment of different ailments.

Introduction: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been found to exhibit unique properties which show their potential to be used in various therapies. Green synthesis of AgNPs has been progressively gaining acceptance due to its cost-effectiveness and energy-efficient nature. Objective: In the current study, aqueous extract of Thymus vulgaris (T. vulgaris) was used to synthesize the AgNPs using green synthesis techniques followed by checking the effectiveness and various biological activities of these AgNPs. Methods: At first, the plant samples were proceeded for extraction of aqueous extracts followed by chromatography studies to measure the phenolics and flavonoids. The synthesis and characterization of AgNPs were done using green synthesis techniques and were confirmed using Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), zeta potential, zeta sizer and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. After confirmation of synthesized AgNPs, various biological activities were checked. Results: The chromatography analysis detected nine compounds accounting for 100% of the total amount of plant constituents. The FT-IR, UV–vis spectra, SEM, zeta potential, zeta sizer and XRD analysis confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs and the variety of chemical components present on the surface of synthesized AgNPs in the plant extract. The antioxidant activity of AgNPs showed 92% inhibition at the concentration of at 1000 μg/mL. A greater inhibitory effect in anti-diabetic analysis was observed with synthesized AgNPs as compared to the standard AgNPs. The hemolytic activity was low, but despite low concentrations of hemolysis activity, AgNPs proved not to be toxic or biocompatible. The anti-inflammatory activity of AgNPs was observed by in-vitro and in-vivo approaches in range at various concentrations, while maximum inhibition occurs at 1000 μg (77.31%). Conclusion: Our data showed that the potential biological activities of the bioactive constituents of T. vulgaris can be enhanced through green synthesis of AgNPs from T. vulgaris aqueous extracts. In addition, the current study depicted that AgNPs have good potential to cure different ailments as biogenic nano-medicine.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are the second most prevalent metal oxide, owing to their characteristics of low cost, safe, and easily prepared. ZnO NPs have been found to exhibit unique properties which show their potential to be used in various therapies. Numerous techniques have been devised for the manufacture of zinc oxide because it is one of the nanomaterials that has received major research interest. Mushroom sources are proven to be efficient, ecologically friendly, inexpensive, and safe for humankind. In the current study, an aqueous fraction of methanolic extract of Lentinula edodes (L. edoes) was used to synthesize ZnO NPs. The biosynthesis of ZnO NPs was achieved by using the reducing and capping capability of an L. edodes aqueous fraction. Bioactive compounds from mushroom, such as flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds, are used in the green synthesis process to biologically reduce metal ions or metal oxides to metal NPs. Biogenically synthesized ZnO NPs were further characterized by using UV–Vis, FTIR, HPLC, XRD, SEM, EDX, zeta sizer and zeta potential analyses. The FTIR showed the functional group at the spectra in the range 3550–3200 cm⁻¹ indicated the presence of the hydroxyl (OH) group, while bands in the range 1720–1706 cm⁻¹ indicated C=O carboxylic stretches bonds. Furthermore, the XRD pattern of ZnO NPs created in the current study was found to be nanocrystals which are hexagonal. The SEM analysis of ZnO NPs showed spherical shapes and size distributions in the range 90–148 nm. Biologically synthesized ZnO NPs have substantial biological activities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, antipyretic, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory potential. Biological activities showed significant antioxidant (65.7 ± 1.09), antidiabetic (85.18 ± 0.48), and anti-inflammatory potential (86.45 ± 0.60) at 300 µg inhibition in paw inflammation of (1.1 ± 0.06) and yeast-induced pyrexia (97.4 ± 0.51) at 10 mg in a dose-dependent manner. The outcomes of this research indicated that ZnO NPs significantly reduced inflammation and have the ability to scavenge free radicals and prevent protein denaturation, while also indicating their possible use in food and nutraceutical applications to treat various ailments.

Herbal products are preferable to synthetic medicines, and the use of traditional medicines is increasing day-by-day. The current study was designed to evaluate the potentials of bioactive compounds from Citrullus colocynthis by performing FTIR, HPLC, and GC-MS analyses, which explore the good concentration of the secondary metabolites, such as gallic acid (74.854 ppm), vanillic acid (122.616 ppm), and ferulic acid (101.045 ppm) with considerable bioactivities. Antimicrobial protein was estimated by performing SDS-PAGE, ranging from 15 to 70 kDa in all protein fractions. The current study also checked the cytotoxicity of the bioactive compounds in the active fraction of C. colocynthis, and to perform this activity, the groups of rats were arranged with 16 rats randomly divided into four groups (three experimental and one control) by administering various dosage of methanolic fractions in dose-dependent manner. Histopathology was conducted on the livers of the rats after 15 days of sacrifice under deep anesthesia. In liver cell slides examined at the maximum dose of 600 mg/kg, minimal morphological changes, such as slight ballooning, nuclear variation, vacuolar degeneration, and hydropic degeneration, were observed. Furthermore, the in silico analysis identified bioactive compounds as potential drug candidates.

Mushrooms are considered one of the safe and effective medications because they have great economic importance due to countless biological properties. Cordyceps militaris contains bioactive compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-cancerous properties. This study was projected to analyze the potentials of biometabolites and to extract antimicrobial peptides and protein from the C. militaris. An in-vitro analysis of biometabolites and antimicrobial peptides was performed to investigate their pharmacological potentials followed by quantification and characterization of extracted protein. Computational analysis on non-small cell lung cancer genes (NSCLC) was performed on quantified compounds to interpret the biometabolites from C. militaris that could be potential drug candidate molecules with high specificity and potency. A total of 34 compounds representing 100% of total detected constituents identified were identified using GCMS analysis and 20 compounds using LC-MS which showed strong biological activities. FT-IR spectroscopy manifest powerful instant peaks to have different bioactive components including carboxylic acid, phenols, amines and alkanes present in methanolic extract of C. militaris. In C. militaris, higher protein concentration was observed in 70% concentration of protein extract (500 μg/ml ± 0.025). The best antioxidant activity (% Radical scavenging activity) of methanolic extracts was 80a ± 0.03, antidiabetic activity was 37 ± 0.057 and anti-inflammatory activity was 40 ± 0.021 at 12 mg/ml. Antibacterial activity for different concentrations of Cordyceps protein and methanolic extracts was significantly (p < 0.05). Indolizine, 2-(4-methylphenyl) has most binding affinity (micromolar) and optimized properties to be selected as the lead inhibitor. It interacts favorably with the active site of RET gene of NSCLC and is neuroprotective and hepatoprotective.

Medicinal plants have been extensively exploited for their immense pharmacological and immune-supporting potential. Fruit of Citrullus colocynthis has several active secondary metabolites such as phenolics, flavonoids, and essential oils that are used in traditional medicines as antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial agents. In this study, phytoconstituents in organic fractions ( n-hexane, chloroform, and ethyl acetate) of the methanolic extract of C. colocynthis were analyzed and identified by FT-IR, HPLC, and GC-MS analysis. Ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest antioxidant scavenging (76 ± .769%) and anti-inflammatory (40 ± .473%) activities at the concentration of 3 mg/mL. Similarly, antidiabetic effect was measured by inhibition of α-amylase where, ethyl acetate fraction (77 ± .844%) exhibited the highest antidiabetic activity. Among all organic fractions, ethyl acetate exhibited strong antimicrobial potential followed by n-hexane and chloroform fractions against selected pathogenic bacteria. Various concentrations of the ethyl acetate extract were tested in-vivo for cytotoxicity and results indicated minor morphological changes in liver cells including ballooning, fatty droplets, and slight accumulation of extracellular matrix even at concentrations of 400 mg/kg. In-silico study showed that stigmasta-7,16-dien-3-ol had a strong interaction with COX-1 and COX-2 to reduce inflammation. The abovementioned results indicate the pharmacological strengths of C. colocynthis to fight several diseases.