Heavy metals pollution is a major concern on a global scale. The present work evaluated the cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) concentrations in water, soil, forages (Avena sativa, Brassica campestris, Medicago sativa, Pennisetum glaucum and Trifolium alexandrinum), milk and hair samples of cows. The samples taken according to trophic levels of the food chain were collected from selected arid regions of Khushab, Punjab, Pakistan and analyzed by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The concentrations of Cd and Cu were found in the range of 0.041-0.065 mg/L, 0.585-1.341 mg/L in water; 0.223-2.600 mg/kg, 11.550-15.853 mg/kg in soil; 0.0037-0.682 mg/kg, 3.0917-8.208 mg/kg in fodder; 0.0457-0.137 mg/kg, 0.0167-0.690 mg/L in milk and 0.043-0.112 mg/kg, 0.0427-0.497 mg/kg in hair, respectively. The Cd and Cu concentrations in water, soil, forage, milk and hair were safer compared to standard limits. Bioconcentration factor (BCF), Enrichment factor (EF), Daily Intake of Metal (DIM), and Health Risk Index (HRI) were found less than 1 in Cd and Cu whereas PLI1 in Cu that indicates copper pollution in soil. So, regular monitoring of heavy metals was required to appraise contamination levels in the environment.

Plants are vital for life due to their various constituents, comprised of various parts like roots, stems, and leaves. Herbal medicines have been known to man for centuries. The study was designed to check and compare the antibacterial activity of onion (Allium cepa L.), neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.), and bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) methanolic extracts against four bacterial strains, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. All bacterial strains were cultured on nutritional agar plates. Three parameters were used in this research: concentrations, pH, and temperature. The five concentrations, 50 mg/mL, 70 mg/mL, 90 mg/mL, 110 mg/mL, and 130mg/mL were applied to all bacterial strains. At 110mg/mL, the methanolic extract of neem and bitter gourd applied to E.coli and S. aureus showed the largest zone of inhibition of 1.8 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Bacillus subtilis was 50 mg/mL when onion methanolic extract was applied. Onion and neem extract was found effective at 100 0C against E.coli and B. subtilis, while bitter gourd controls the growth of E.coli at 60 0C. The results of variable pH revealed that onion and bitter gourd were effective at pH 7 against B. subtilis, while neem was effective against S. aureus at pH 2. The results of the present study suggest that all onion, neem, and bitter gourd extracts have compounds containing antibacterial properties that can potentially be useful to control food-borne pathogens. By comparing the extracts of selected plants, neem was found to be more effective than onion and bitter gourd.

F. ZUBAIR, N. RIAZ, I. KHALID, N. AMJAD, M. USMAN, I.R. NOORKA, Z.I. KHAN, K. AHMAD, A. ASHFAQ, S. ASHRAF, A. IQBAL,and S. JAVED Citation: Zubair F, Riaz N, Khalid I, Amjad N, Usman M, Noorka IR, Khan ZI, Ahmad K, Ashfaq A, Ashraf S, Iqbal A, Javed S (2024).

Objective The current study examined the antibacterial properties of Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) against infectious strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and aimed to find a natural way to treat microbial diseases. The antibacterial substances such as bacteriocin have been produced by lactic acid bacteria. Lactobacillus served as probiotics and reduce the antibiotic resistance pressure. Methods L. acidophilus was isolated from a natural source (Yogurt) and grow on de Man Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) agar media. The extraction of bacteriocin from MRS broth culture of one week incubation of L. acidophilus was done via ammounium sulphate precipitation method. Agar well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of bacteriocin against these infectious strains. The values of zone of inhibition confirmed the potential of L. acidophilus as natural antibiotic agent. These test strains were characterized by Sanger sequence 16S ribotyping method. Key results In terms of temperature, pH and concentrations, the results demonstrated that bacteriocin expressed significant antibiotic activity. Bacteriocin showed maximum antibacterial effect against E.coli at 80 °C and against S. aureus at 100mg/mL and against E.coli at pH 5. The bacteriocin’s efficacy was compared with antibiotic amoxil (500mg) as a positive control. One-way ANOVA analysis showed statistically significant variations in mean zone of inhibition. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the bacteriocin produced by L. acidophilus has the ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. This antibacterial property of bacteriocin allows for potential treatments of various human and animal diseases, particularly against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Additionally, the findings indicate that the bacteriocin isolated from L. acidophilus becomes inactive at high pH levels and does not exhibit any bacteriostatic effects.