The increasing demand for plant-based medicines makes plant research attractive to find natural alternatives that can replace synthetic products or at least reduce their use. Saponins are a group of natural phytochemical compounds in most herbs, vegetables, and legumes. There are two different types of saponin compounds, which can be classified based on the nature of the aglycone bound to the oligosaccharide fragments, whether it is a steroid or triterpenoid. This paper is devoted to saponins with triterpenoid aglycone and aims to study the relationship between their content and several biological activities in different Juglans regia kernel extracts, including antioxidant, antimicrobial and antibacterial activities. Antioxidant activity was assessed against two free radicals: DPPH and ABTS. Oleanolic acid was used as a standard to quantify triterpenoid saponins, measured by the vanillin method, whereas Acarbose and Tetracycline were used as positive controls to evaluate the α-glucosidase inhibitory and antimicrobial activities, respectively, of walnut kernel extracts. Findings show that hydroalcoholic extract (EtOH 70%) has a considerable content of phenolic compounds, with 59.51 ± 0.26 mg GAE/g in total polyphenol contents, while the content of total flavonoids and condensed tannins were 3.14 ± 0.27 mg QE/g and 85.65 ± 0.37 mg CE/g of crude extract, respectively. In terms of antioxidant activity, the butanolic extract proved to be the most effective against DPPH with IC50 = 7.74 ± 1.49 µg/mL, while the precipitated extract showed the highest scavenging activity against the ABTS free radical with IC50 = 33.14 ± 2.96 µg/mL. In addition, butanolic and hydroalcoholic extracts of Juglans regia kernels showed an α-glucosidase inhibitory activity even more efficiently than synthetic drugs such as Acarbose, with IC50 values of 11.66 µg/mL and 16.17 µg/mL, respectively, versus 18.01 µg/mL in Acarbose. The evaluation of the antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia strains revealed that some extracts could inhibit these bacteria. This study successfully assessed the bioactivities of the extracts, suggesting that the extracts of medicinal plants can demonstrate stronger bioactivity than pure synthetic compounds.

Soil, the Earth's upper crust layer, is crucial for ecological processes, comprising mineral, organic, and biological components that determine fertility and multifuncionality. Human-induced degradation necessitates advancements in pedology and soil conservation. The rhizosphere, surrounding plant roots, houses a diverse microbial community, notably bacteria, which enhance plant growth and disease resistance. Root exudates fuel biological activity and nutrient cycling, supporting microbial growth, improving soil structure, and reducing plant stress. Plant-microorganism interactions in ecological and agricultural systems play a vital role for maintaining primary production and ecosystem sustainability. Moreover, arbuscular mycorrhizae and nitrogen-fixing bacteria are essential, influencing plant development, sustainability, and ecosystem health. Specific bacterial phyla populate the rhizosphere and endosphere, with Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), such as Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp., playing a prominent role. PGPR employ direct and indirect mechanisms, including phytohormone production, mineral solubilization, systemic resistance induction, antibiosis, competition for resources, and ACC deaminase activity, The amalgamation of these traits underscores the conceptual foundation for comprehending the ecological and agricultural implications of employing microbes. This inquiry is particularly relevant to sustainable agriculture, where the use of microbes, including PGPR, plays a crucial role in biofertilization and mitigating environmental stressors. Thus, investigating the ecological and agricultural implications through multi-omics approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics offers valuable insights. The integration of these multi-omics data provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the complex interactions between plants, bacteria, and fungi. This holistic perspective not only deepens our understanding of soil ecology but also lays the groundwork for informed and sustainable agricultural practices, fostering resilience against environmental stresses.

The Moroccan endemic plant Euphorbia officinarum is a traditional medicinal plant, known locally as Daghmus. Plants in the genus Euphorbia are well known for the chemical diversity of their diterpenoids and isoprenoid constituents, which perform many activities such as cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities, as well as different biological properties, that cannot be overlooked. The effect of bioactive compounds (antiviral, antidiabetic, anticancer, and antioxidant). Euphorbia officinarum is an important conventional medicine for the treatment of various conditions, including skin and ophthalmological diseases. It is also used against human pathogens (intestinal parasites). E. officinarum latex is the major part of the plant used for conventional medicine and synthesizing new bioactive compounds. The characterization and isolation of its components are necessary to exploiting and enhancing its therapeutic potential. However, to the best of our knowledge, no review is available to date. In order to have and define a research question, we adopt a strategy by considering the items of the PRISMA checklist. Therefore, this review aims to cover E. officinarum taxonomy, botanical description, distribution, conventional uses, and phytochemical compounds of this plant, including the biological activities of compounds isolated and of these semisynthesized compounds. This article provides a foundation for any further studies from this plant.