The outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic caught the world by surprise in late 2019 and has held it hostage for months with an increasing number of infections and deaths. Although coronavirus was first discovered in the 1960s and was known to cause respiratory infection in humans, no information was available about the epidemic pattern of the virus until the past two decades. This review addresses the pathogenesis, transmission dynamics, diagnosis, management strategies, the pattern of the past and present events, and the possibility of future outbreaks of the endemic human coronaviruses. Several studies have described bats as presumptive natural reservoirs of coronaviruses. In essence, the identification of a diverse group of similar SARS coronaviruses in bats suggests the possibility of a future epidemic due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-like) coronaviruses originating from different reservoir hosts. The study also identified a lack of vaccines to prevent human coronavirus infections in humans in the past, however, the recent breakthrough in vaccine discovery and approval for emergency use for the treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 is commendable. The high rates of genomic substitution and recombination due to errors in RNA replication and the potential for independent species crossing suggest the chances of an entirely new strain evolving. Therefore, rapid research efforts should be deployed for vaccination to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent a possible future outbreak. More sensitization and enlightenment on the need to adopt good personal hygiene practices, social distancing, and scientific evaluation of existing medications with promising antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 is required. In addition, intensive investigations to unravel and validate the possible reservoirs, the intermediate host, as well as insight into the ability of the virus to break the species barrier are needed to prevent future viral spillover and possible outbreaks.

Medicinal plants have long been a vital source of various natural products in the form of pure compounds or standardized extracts. The World Health Organization estimated that 80% of populations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America rely on traditional medicine for primary health care. In recent decades, endophytic microorganisms living within plants have gained attention for their ability to produce bioactive compounds with significant therapeutic potential. This review explores the diversity of medicinal plant endophytes, focusing on their pharmacological significance, including antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, and antioxidant properties. Additionally, we discuss the application of nanotechnology and computational tools in enhancing the potency and screening of endophyte-derived metabolites. Despite the promising potential, challenges such as scalability, safety, and commercial viability remain. Future research should prioritize optimizing production, elucidating biosynthetic pathways, and integrating advanced technologies to effectively harness these bioactive compounds for novel drug development.

The application of nanoparticles (NPs) as therapeutic strategies for treating microbial infections and cancer is gaining attention due to their physicochemical properties. In this study, we synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from the aqueous extract of the roots and leaves of Terminalia phanerophlebia . The physicochemical properties of the synthesized AgNPs were examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The AgNPs were studied for their antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. The AgNPs synthesized from T. phanerophlebia root (R‐AgNPs) and leaf (L‐AgNPs) showed spherical and cubic nanoparticles with average sizes of 46 and 41 nm, respectively. The R‐AgNPs and leaf L‐AgNPs also demonstrated antimicrobial activities against selected bacterial isolates, including Vibrio parahemolyticus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Listeria monocytogenes , and multidrug‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus and fungal isolates, including Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans , with L‐AgNPs showing the highest zone of inhibition against MRSA (29.33 mm) at 1 mg/mL. Cell viability assay showed that R‐AgNPs demonstrated a better cytotoxic effect against HepG2 cells (IC50 = 40.78 µg/mL), while L‐AgNPs demonstrated a better toxicity against MCF‐7 cells (IC ₅₀ of 39.89 µg/mL). The nanoparticles exhibited lower cytotoxicity toward HEK293 cells compared to the cancer cell lines. The nanoparticles also induced apoptosis in HepG2 and MCF‐7 cells. T. phanerophlebia AgNPs show potential as antimicrobial and anticancer agents and could be explored as sustainable alternatives due to their antibacterial, antifungal, antiproliferative, and apoptosis‐inducing effects against HepG2 and MCF‐7 cells.