The current study aimed to evaluate, in vitro, the antioxidant capacity and the human lymphocyte-protective effect of the ethanolic extract from Detarium microcarpum fruit pulp against oxidative stress damage. Human lymphocytes were incubated with different concentrations of extract, followed by the addition of hydrogen peroxide or tert-butyl hydroperoxide. Cell viability was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Furthermore, the antioxidant property of the extract was evaluated in vitro using hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide radical-scavenging assays. Compared to the vehicle, the fruit pulp ethanol extract did not exhibit a cytotoxic effect on human lymphocytes. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of hydrogen peroxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide to human lymphocytes was significantly reduced by fruit extract pretreatment. The extract and ascorbic acid exhibited similar cytoprotective activity (p > 0.05). The fruit pulp extract showed more antioxidant activity than gallic acid in the hydrogen peroxide-scavenging model, while in the nitric oxide-quenching model, the fruit extract and gallic acid showed similar activity. The fruit pulp of D. microcarpum contains potent antioxidant and cell-protective compounds. The use of the fruit pulp of D. microcarpum as a food supplement could rescue cellular oxidative damage responsible for numerous pathologies.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are currently the main treatments for cancer but their toxicities on the surrounding normal cells limit their use in cancer therapy. Moreover, many cancers have developed some resistance to the available anticancer chemicals and put in failure the chemotherapy currently used in the cancer treatment. This failure of the targeted monotherapy resulting from bypass mechanisms has obligated researchers to use agents that interfere with multiple cell-signaling pathways. Recently, researches focused on the use of natural products which can target cancer promoting factors genes expression. Of these natural products, honey has been extensively studied. The pharmacological properties of honey include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, immunomodulatory, estrogenic and anti-cancer effects. The honey bee’s products are potent sources of nutritional components including sugar, amino-acids, water and minerals. Furthermore honey contains chemopreventive compounds such as flavonoids, phenol acids, tannins, vitamins that may interfere with multiple cell’s pathways and hereby reduce the incidence of many types of cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms of honey bee’s products in cancer prevention and treatment are less known. This review highlights the molecular mechanism of honey bioactive compounds in cancer prevention and treatment.

Background: The emergence of the multidrug-resistant bacteria strain has become a global world crisis. This study was designed to evaluate the antibiofilm and synergistic effects of Lippia multiflora leaf extracts on the activity of cefotaxime against the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Methods: The synergistic effect of methanol and dichloromethane extracts on the bactericidal activity of cefotaxime was determined by using the antibiotic susceptibility test on agar medium. The antibiofilm activity of the extracts was measured by using the crystal violet method. The antioxidant potential of the extracts was assessed by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Ferric Reduction Activity Potential (FRAP) methods. The main secondary metabolites groups were analyzed by using different standard analytical tests. The total phenolics and total flavonoids were quantified spectrophotometrically. Results: The methanol extract (final concentration of 100 µg/ml) inhibited the formation of bacterial biofilm more than salicylic acid (p<0.05). All extracts combined with cefotaxime (20 µg and 200 µg) showed good synergistic bactericidal effect on S. aureus with inhibitory diameters of up to 40 mm. The methanol extract showed higher total phenolics (462.20±10.90 mg EAG/g) and total flavonoids (26.20±0.20 mg EQ/g) contents than the dichloromethane extract (96.70±1.70 mg EAG/g and 8.00±1.20 mg EQ/g). Moreover, the methanol extract showed a higher FRAP reducing power (353.6± 4.17 mmol EQ/g) than the dichloromethane extract (385.3±7.01 mmol EQ/g). Qualitative phytochemical analysis showed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, terpenes and sterols in both extracts. Conclusion: These data showed that L. multiflora leaves contain effective antibacterial phytomolecules for combating bacterial resistance.

Bacteria use different types of motilities in order to colonize and adapt to new environments. These motilities also play an important role in the formation of biofilm, allowing bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics and host’s immune systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of essential oils of Lippia multiflora flowers to inhibit biofilm formation and motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. The capacity of essential oil of Lippia multiflora flowers to inhibit biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa was evaluated spectrophotometrically by using the crystal violet method. The property of the essential oil to inhibit different types of motilities such as swimming, swarming and twitching was further evaluated by measuring the diameters of bacterial migration on liquid or semi-liquid Luria Bertani agar medium. The essential oil exhibited good anti-biofilm activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. At a concentration of 1%, essential oil presented a degree of biofilm inhibition similar to that of salicylic acid used as a reference (P > 0.05). In addition, the essential oil significantly inhibited swarming, twitching and swimming in Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to the control (P < 0.001). The inhibition of biofilm formation as well as that of bacterial motility increases with the concentration of the essential oil. The essential oil of Lippia multiflora flowers possesses an anti-bacterial potential to fight against multi-resistant bacteria.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a global health challenge, partly due to biofilm formation, which protects bacteria against drugs and the immune system. This study investigated the potential of essential oils from Lippia multiflora flowers to inhibit bacterial biofilms, offering a natural alternative to address bacterial resistance. Antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans was assessed using the agar diffusion method on Luria Bertani agar. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using the serial liquid dilution process and the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) by the bacterial growth assay on Luria Bertani agar. Biofilm inhibition was tested spectrophotometically at 590 nm using the crystal violet assay, antioxidant activity was performed using the DPPH method, and phytochemical composition was determined by gaz chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. The essential oils produced larger inhibition zones against S. aureus (28.38 ± 0.23 mm) and S. mutans (24.5 ± 0.25 mm) compared with standard antibiotics (gentamicin disc, 13.5 ± 0.07 mm for S. aureus; oleandomycin disc, 16.5 ± 0.05 mm for S. mutans). MIC was ranged from 0.10 ± 0.00% for both S. aureus and S. mutans, and MBC was not achieved within the tested range (≤ 0.10%). The essential oils inhibited biofilm formation more effectively than salicylic acid (p < 0.001), with inhibition rates of 59.97 ± 0.68% for S. aureus and 71.63 ± 0.15% for S. mutans. Essential oils showed stronger antioxidant activity (DPPH IC₅₀ value of 0.23 ± 0.02 µg/µL) compared with the ascorbic acid (DPPH IC₅₀ value of 0.33 ± 0.01 µg/µL). GC–MS analysis identified 22 terpenes, including major components β-caryophyllene (43.55%), germacrene D (16.44%), elemol (10.33%) and eucalyptol (6.41%). These results demonstrated that the essential oils of L. multiflora flowers are a potent source of antibacterial compounds.

Background: Infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide because of antibiotic resistance. Ageratum conyzoides is one of the antimicrobial medicinal plants that is being used to fight various multi-resistant pathogenic bacteria in Burkina Faso. Aim: The aim was to promote safe medicinal use of A. conyzoides by highlighting the anti-biofilm and anti-motility effects of its methanol extract. Setting: The study was conducted at the Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Methods: The antibacterial activities of methanol extract were evaluated by evaluating swimming, swarming and twitching motilities performed in an agar medium. The anti-biofilm effect was conducted in microtiter plates using the crystal violet method. The antioxidant and enzyme inhibition activities were evaluated using 2,2-diphényl-1-picrylhydrazyl; 2,2’-azino-bis (3-éthylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power and conducting lipoxygenase test. Results: From the study, 100 µg/mL and 200 µg/mL of extract presented significant inhibition of P. aeruginosa and E. coli swarming motility but did not exhibit a significant effect on P. aeruginosa swimming and E. coli twitching motilities. The extract was effective in reducing biofilm formation in a concentration-dependent manner without affecting bacterial growth. In addition, the extract showed some capabilities to inhibit lipoxygenase activity and exhibit antioxidant potential, which could contribute to the control of oxidative stress-related diseases. Conclusion: From this study the anti-biofilm and anti-motility potential of the A. conyzoides extract provided the experimental background for the further development of antibacterial drugs. Contribution: This study provided additional scientific evidence to support the use of A. conyzoides in traditional medicine against bacterial infections.