Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (belonging to the family Leguminosae), commonly known as Licorice, is a popular medicinal plant that has been used in traditional medicine worldwide for its ethnopharmacological efficacy in treating several ailments. Natural herbal substances with strong biological activity have recently received much attention. The main metabolite of glycyrrhizic acid is 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (18βGA), a pentacyclic triterpene. A major active plant component derived from licorice root, 18βGA has sparked a lot of attention due to its pharmacological properties. The current review thoroughly examines the literature on 18βGA, a major active plant component obtained from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. The current work provides insight into the pharmacological activities of 18βGA and the potential mechanisms of action involved. The plant contains a variety of phytoconstituents such as 18βGA, which has a variety of biological effects including antiasthmatic, hepatoprotective, anticancer, nephroprotective, antidiabetic, antileishmanial, antiviral, antibacterial, antipsoriasis, antiosteoporosis, antiepileptic, antiarrhythmic, and anti-inflammatory, and is also useful in the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension, antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia, and cerebral ischemia. This review examines research on the pharmacological characteristics of 18βGA throughout recent decades to demonstrate its therapeutic potential and any gaps that may exist, presenting possibilities for future drug research and development.

Chromium and chromium containing compounds are discharged into the nature as waste from anthropogenic activities, such as industries, agriculture, forest farming, mining and metallurgy. Continued disposal of these compounds to the environment leads to development of various lethal diseases in both humans and animals. In this paper, we report a soil borne bacterium, B2-DHA that can be used as a vehicle to effectively remove chromium from the contaminated sources. B2-DHA is resistant to chromium with a MIC value of 1000 µg mL⁻¹ potassium chromate. The bacterium has been identified as a Gram negative, Enterobacter cloacae based on biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA gene analysis. TOF-SIMS and ICP-MS analyses confirmed intracellular accumulation of chromium and thus its removal from the contaminated liquid medium. Chromium accumulation in cells was 320 µg/g of cells dry biomass after 120-h exposure, and thus it reduced the chromium concentration in the liquid medium by as much as 81%. Environmental scanning electron micrograph revealed the effect of metals on cellular morphology of the isolates. Altogether, our results indicate that B2-DHA has the potential to reduce chromium significantly to safe levels from the contaminated environments and suggest the potential use of this bacterium in reducing human exposure to chromium, hence avoiding poisoning.

Heavy metals in the environment cause adverse effects on living organisms. Agro-wastes have the potential to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions. In this study, the orange peel cellulose (OPC) beads were utilized as adsorbents to remove metals from wastewater. The surface of the adsorbent was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The concentrations of the metals before and after adsorption were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The removal of the metal ions (i.e., Cr⁶⁺, Cd²⁺, and Pb²⁺) using the OPC was investigated by varying the pH, contact time, and adsorbent dosages parameters. The maximum removal efficiency obtained for the metal ions occurred at pHs 4–8. The use of the Langmuir isotherm and Freundlich isotherm models demonstrated the statistical significance of the heavy metal adsorption processes (R² > 0.96). At a neutral pH, the OPC adsorption order was Pb²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Cr⁶⁺ with % removal values of 98.33, 93.91, and 33.50, respectively. The adsorption equilibrium for Cr⁶⁺ was reached after 36 h. For Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺, equilibrium was reached after 8 and 12 h, respectively. The FT-IR and SEM-EDS confirmed the presence of many functional groups and elements on the adsorbent. The adsorption of heavy metals using the OPC is a low-cost, eco-friendly, and innovative method for the removal of metals in aquatic environments. The findings of this study will be highly significant for the public in the affected areas worldwide that have credible health concerns due to water contamination with heavy metals.

Water quality is under constant threat worldwide due to the discharge of heavy metals into the water from industrial waste. In this report, we introduce a potential candidate, chitosan, extracted and isolated from shrimp shells, that can adsorb heavy metals from polluted water. The waste shrimp shell chitosan was characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The adsorption capacity of heavy metals on the modified shrimp shell was measured using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry before and after adsorption. The highest adsorption of arsenic, nickel, and cobalt was 98.50, 74.50, and 47.82%, respectively, at neutral pH, whereas the highest adsorption of chromium was 97.40% at pH 3. Correspondingly, the maximum adsorption capacities of MSS for As, Cr, Ni, and Co were observed to be 15.92, 20.37, 7.00, and 6.27 mg/g, respectively. The application of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models revealed that the adsorption processes for the heavy metals were statistically significant (r² > 0.98). The kinetic studies of metal adsorption, using modified shrimp shell, were well explained by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model with linear coefficients (r²) of >0.97. The presence of a greater number of functional groups on the adsorbent, such as N–H coupled with H–O, –COO⁻, C–H, N–N, and C–O–C, was confirmed by FTIR analyses. Furthermore, SEM-EDX analysis detected the presence of elements on the surface of modified shrimp shell chitosan. This noteworthy adsorption capacity suggests that MSS could serve as a promising, eco-friendly, and low-cost adsorbent for removing toxic heavy metals including Cr, Ni, As, and Co and can be used in many broad-scale applications to clean wastewater.

The main objective of this study was to identify and isolate arsenic resistant bacteria that can be used for removing arsenic from the contaminated environment. Here we report a soil borne bacterium, B1-CDA that can serve this purpose. B1-CDA was isolated from the soil of a cultivated land in Chuadanga district located in the southwest region of Bangladesh. The morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA analysis suggested that the isolate belongs to Lysinibacillus sphaericus. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the isolate is 500 mM (As) as arsenate. TOF-SIMS and ICP-MS analysis confirmed intracellular accumulation and removal of arsenics. Arsenic accumulation in cells amounted to 5.0 mg g(-1) of the cells dry biomass and thus reduced the arsenic concentration in the contaminated liquid medium by as much as 50%. These results indicate that B1-CDA has the potential for remediation of arsenic from the contaminated water. We believe the benefits of implementing this bacterium to efficiently reduce arsenic exposure will not only help to remove one aspect of human arsenic poisoning but will also benefit livestock and native animal species. Therefore, the outcome of this research will be highly significant for people in the affected area and also for human populations in other countries that have credible health concerns as a consequence of arsenic-contaminated water.