Anise (Pimpinella anisum L.) seeds have various nutritional and therapeutic benefits and are thus considered a valuable addition to animal and human health. Hence, in this study, we aimed to induce the nutritive and biological value of anise seeds. To this end, the potential biofortification effect of the endophytic Actinomycetota sp. JW0824 strain, isolated during the fall of 2023 from the medicinal plant Achyranthes aspera, exhibiting natural distribution in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia, was investigated in four varieties of anise seeds from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, and Morocco. Results revealed significant increments (p < 0.05) in the seed dry weight percentage (DW%) and oil yields. In line with increased biomass accumulation, the metabolism of the primary and secondary metabolites was increased. There were differential increases in proteins, sugars, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, vitamins (e.g., β-carotene, ascorbic acid), and essential oil components (e.g., phenylpropanoids and monoterpenes), along with their precursor phenylalanine. Consistently, the activity of L-phenylalanine aminolyase (PAL) was increased in the Egyptian and Tunisian varieties at 83.88% and 77.19%, respectively, while 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (DAHPS) activity increased in all varieties, with a significant 179.31% rise in the Egyptian variety. These findings highlight the beneficial effects of Actinomycetota sp. JW0824 as a bioinoculant for anise seeds, suggesting its potential application in agricultural practices to improve seed yield and quality. Further field trials are recommended to assess the commercial viability of this endophyte for enhancing anise seed production and potentially benefiting other plant species.

The need for improving plant production, nutritional value, and medicinal applications has become increasingly important due to the growing global population. The caraway (Carum carvi L) plant has been recognized for its broad range of nutritional and therapeutic uses. Consequently, this study aimed to increase caraway seeds’ nutritional and biological value. To achieve this, the Actinopolyspora sp. JTT-0 strain, isolated from the medicinal plant Tephrosia purpurea, was investigated for its potential biofortification role to enhance caraway yield and quality. Our results revealed significant improvements (p < 0.05) in various physical parameters, such as seed yield, pod length, and bulk density, in the treated seeds compared to the controls. Along with the yield increase, there were notable elevations in primary metabolites such as total sugars, proteins, and amino acids. Furthermore, secondary metabolites, including essential oils (EOs), alkaloids, steroids, phenols, and vitamins (e.g., tocopherol and ascorbic acid), also showed significant increases. Notably, the EO constituents showed varying levels of enhancements, with the highest increases in β-pinene (186.2%) and carvacrol (49.2%). Moreover, the treated seeds exhibited improved biological activity, as evidenced by their anti-oxidant (anti-lipid peroxidation and DPPH assays) and anti-microbial properties compared to the controls. The study reported a positive biofortification effect of the Actinopolyspora sp. JTT-01 strain on enhancing caraway seed’s quality and yield. However, additional field trials are needed to evaluate the commercial biofertilization capacity of this strain for caraway and other plants.

Natural polymers have good biological, biocompatible properties and a low degradation rate, so they can be used in medical applications. This study demonstrates an optimized biosynthesis for poly-gamma-glutamic acid nano-polymer (ɣ-PGA NP) using three bacterial isolates encoded as B4, B5, and B6. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolates showed 98.5, 99, and 99.8% similarity with Bacillus sp., with accession numbers MZ976778, MZ976779, and MZ956153, respectively. The optimal conditions of the biosynthesis were 35 °C, followed by incubation for 30 h, 7 pH, 0.7 O.D₆₀₀ of bacterial broth, carbon sources of glutamic acid and glucose, and ammonium sulfate as the nitrogen source. Biosynthesized ɣ-PGA NPs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Zeta sizer, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹HNMR). The TEM study showed the formation of oval-shaped ɣ-PGA NPs with sizes 31.75–32.69 nm, 18.63–21.66 nm, and 37.57–39.22 nm for B4, B5, and B6, respectively. XRD, FT-IR, and ¹HNMR confirmed the purity of the polymer. The hemolysis rates of the biosynthesized ɣ-PGA NPs were below the acceptable value. Moreover, the cytotoxicity test conducted using an MTT assay on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) revealed no significant effect on the cell viability within a dose range of up to 512 μg/mL.

In this study, a biodegradable poly-gamma-glutamic-acid nanopolymer (Ɣ-PGA NP) was investigated for its activity against clinical strains of Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes) and Gram-negative (Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli), and reference strains of S. aureus ATCC 6538, S. pyogenes ATCC 19615 (Gram-positive), and Gram-negative E. coli ATCC 25922, and K. pneumoniae ATCC 13884 bacterial biofilms. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) effect of Ɣ-PGA NP showed inhibitory effects of 0.2, 0.4, 1.6, and 3.2 μg/mL for S. pyogenes, S. aureus, E. coli, and K. pneumoniae, respectively. Also, MIC values were 1.6, 0.8, 0.2, and 0.2 μg/mL for K. pneumoniae ATCC 13884, E. coli ATCC 25922, S. aureus ATCC 6538, and S. pyogenes ATCC 19615, respectively. Afterwards, MBEC (minimum biofilm eradication concentration) and MBIC (minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration) were investigated to detect Ɣ-PGA NPs efficiency against the biofilms. MBEC and MBIC increased with increasing Ɣ-PGA NPs concentration or time of exposure. Interestingly, MBIC values were at lower concentrations of Ɣ-PGA NPs than those of MBEC. Moreover, MBEC values showed that K. pneumoniae was more resistant to Ɣ-PGA NPs than E. coli, S. aureus, and S. pyogenes, and the same pattern was observed in the reference strains. The most effective results for MBEC were after 48 h, which were 1.6, 0.8, 0.4, and 0.2 µg/mL for K. pneumoniae, E. coli, S. aureus, and S. pyogenes, respectively. Moreover, MBIC results were the most impactful after 24 h but some were the same after 48 h. MBIC values after 48 h were 0.2, 0.2, 0.2, and 0.1 μg/mL for K. pneumoniae, E. coli, S. aureus, and S. pyogenes, respectively. The most effective results for MBEC were after 24 h, which were 1.6, 0.8, 0.4, and 0.4 µg/mL for K. pneumoniae ATCC 13884, E. coli ATCC 25922, S. aureus ATCC 6538, and S. pyogenes ATCC 19615, respectively. Also, MBIC results were the most impactful after an exposure time of 12 h. MBIC values after exposure time of 12 h were 0.4, 0.4, 0.2, and 0.2 μg/mL for K. pneumoniae ATCC 13884, E. coli ATCC 25922, S. aureus ATCC 6538, and S. pyogenes ATCC 19615, respectively. Besides that, results were confirmed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), which showed a decrease in the number of living cells to 80% and 60% for MBEC and MBIC, respectively, for all the clinical bacterial strains. Moreover, living bacterial cells decreased to 70% at MBEC while decreasing up to 50% at MBIC with all bacterial refence strains. These data justify the CFU quantification. After that, ImageJ software was used to count the attached cells after incubating with the NPs, which proved the variation in live cell count between the manual counting and image analysis methods. Also, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to detect the biofilm architecture after incubation with the Ɣ-PGA NP. In in vivo wound healing experiments, treated wounds of mice showed faster healing (p < 0.00001) than both the untreated mice and those that were only wounded, as the bacterial count was eradicated. Briefly, the infected mice were treated faster (p < 0.0001) when infected with S. pyogenes > S. aureus > E. coli > K. pneumoniae. The same pattern was observed for mice infected with the reference strains. Wound lengths after 2 h showed slightly healing (p < 0.001) for the clinical strains, while treatment became more obvious after 72 h > 48 h > 24 h (p < 0.0001) as wounds began to heal after 24 h up to 72 h. For reference strains, wound lengths after 2 h started to heal up to 72 h.

The development of environmentally friendly and highly efficient materials is critical for next-generation antibacterial and optoelectronic applications. In this study, we present the successful synthesis of a novel lead-free perovskite, KCsSnI_1.7Cl_1.3, via a rapid and scalable chemical bath deposition method at 150 °C for just 5 min. The resulting film features well-defined orthorhombic, pyramid-like crystals with uniform grain sizes (800–1000 nm) and a compact, pinhole-free morphology. Remarkably, the material exhibits strong optical absorption up to 800 nm, positioning it as a promising candidate for hot electron generation and light-driven applications. KCsSnI_1.7Cl_1.3 also demonstrated outstanding antibacterial performance, showing broad-spectrum activity against multiple bacterial strains. The highest inhibition was recorded against Staphylococcus aureus, with inhibition zones increasing from 17 mm in the dark to 35 mm under UV illumination—highlighting its efficient photocatalytic response. The antibacterial effect followed the order: S. aureus > B. subtilis > E. coli > Salmonella sp., and was significantly enhanced with increasing concentrations (100–400 ppm). No inhibition was observed in control wells, confirming the selective activity of the material. With its lead-free composition, strong light-harvesting ability, and exceptional antibacterial properties, KCsSnI_1.7Cl_1.3 emerges as a highly promising material for future applications in antibacterial coatings, water purification systems, and advanced optoelectronic devices. Its green synthesis, scalability, and multifunctionality offer a sustainable pathway toward real-world deployment in environmental and biomedical fields.