Background: Bacterial infections constantly have a large impact on public health, because of increased rates of resistance and reduced frequency of development of novel antibiotics. The utility of conventional antibiotics for treating bacterial infections has become increasingly challenging. The aim of the study was to assess the antibacterial effect of β-Lapachone (β-Lap), a novel synthetic compound. Methods: The antibacterial activity of the β-Lap compound was examined against laboratory strains by agar well diffusion method and broth dilution assay. Growth kinetics in presence of β-Lap on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) were assessed by microplate alamarBlue assay. Crystal violet blue assay was used for biofilm inhibition and biofilm eradication. P. aeruginosa catalase (KatA) complexed with β-Lap was modeled using molecular docking approach. Results: β-Lap exhibited potent antimicrobial activity against laboratory strains of bacteria with MIC of 0.2 mM for S. saprophyticus and Staphylococcus aureus, and 0.04 mM for Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. The inhibition of catalase enzyme was found to be the cause for its antibacterial activity. Bioinformatics analysis suggests that β-Lap can inhibit KatA activity by interacting with catalase proximal active site and heme binding site. The activity of some commercial antibiotics was enhanced in association with β-Lap. In addition, β-Lap inhibited the biofilm formation and eradicated the already formed and ultra-mature biofilms of aforesaid bacterial strains. Conclusion: These observations indicated that β-Lap could be a promising antibacterial agent for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

Background: Plant-derived products or extracts are widely used in folk/traditional medicine to treat several infections, ailments, or disorders. A well-known medicinal herb, Myrtus communis is an evergreen fragrant plant native to the Mediterranean region that has been used for ages in traditional medicine around the world. Materials and methods: The microplate alamarBlue assay and the well diffusion method were used to evaluate the zone of inhibition and MIC, respectively. The double-disc diffusion method was used to investigate the synergy between antibiotics and the extract. The crystal violet method was used to investigate biofilm development. The SulphoRhodamine-B assay and DNA flow cytometry were used to investigate the proliferation and subsequent distribution of cells among different phases of the cell cycle. The apoptotic and necrotic phases of the cancer cells were examined using flow cytometry in conjunction with Annexin V-FITC/PI labeling. Using the IBM SPSS statistical program, a one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test was employed for statistical analysis. Results: The ethanolic leaf extract of M. communis showed a strong growth inhibition effect (zone of inhibition: 20.3 ± 1.1–26.3 ± 2.5 mm, MIC: 4.88–312.5 µg/mL, and MBC: 39.07–1250 μg/mL) against several rapidly growing and slow-growing mycobacterial strains in a dose-dependent manner. Damage to the cell wall of bacterial cells was determined to be the cause of the antimycobacterial action. The extract inhibited biofilm formation (MBIC of 9.7 µg/mL) and eradicated already-formed mature and ultra-mature biofilms of M. smegmatis, with MBEC values of 78 µg/mL and 156 µg/mL, respectively. Additionally, the extract exhibited potent anticancer effects against diverse cancer cell lines of the breast (MCF-7), liver (HepG2), cervix (HeLa), and colon (HCT116) (IC₅₀ for HCT116: 83 ± 2.5, HepG2: 53.3 ± 0.6, MCF-7: 41.5 ± 0.6, and HeLa: 33.3 ± 3.6) by apoptosis after arresting the cells in the G₁ phase of the cell cycle. Conclusions: These results suggest that M. communis leaf extract is a potential source of secondary metabolites that could be further developed as potential anticancer and antimycobacterial agents to treat diverse types of cancers and mycobacterial infections.

Background: Bacterial infections constantly have a large impact on public health, because of increased rates of resistance and reduced frequency of development of novel antibiotics. The utility of conventional antibiotics for treating bacterial infections has become increasingly challenging. The aim of the study was to assess the antibacterial effect of β -Lapachone, a novel synthetic compound. Methods: The antibacterial activity of the β -Lapachone compound was examined against laboratory strains by agar well diffusion method, minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs), and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBCs). Growth kinetics inhibition in presence of β -Lapachone on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) was assessed by MABA. Crystal violet blue assay was used for biofilm inhibition assays, biofilm eradication assay and for molecular modeling PyMOL was used. Results: β -Lapachone exhibited potent antimicrobial activity against laboratory strains of bacteria with MIC of 0.2 mM for S. saprophyticus and Staphylococcus aureus, and 0.04 mM for Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. The inhibition of catalase enzyme was found to be the cause for its antibacterial activity. Molecular modeling predicted the binding of β -Lap at active site and heme binding site of catalase, KatA. The activity of some commercial antibiotics was enhanced in association with β -Lap. In addition, β -Lap inhibited the biofilm formation and eradicated the already formed and ultra-mature biofilms of aforesaid bacterial strains.

Earlier diagnosis of heart disease can occur via awareness of biochemical changes. Keeping this in view, we wanted to determine if there was any difference between biochemical heart parameters between non-smokers (the control group), smokers who live at a high altitude, or smokers who live at sea level. There were 180 participants categorised into three groups, A, B, and C, depending upon their smoking/non-smoking classification, or distance from sea level. Blood samples were taken as per requirements to check levels of creatine kinase-MB, troponin-I, troponin-T, Triiodothyronine (T3), Thyroxine (T4), Apolipoprotein B (apo-B), and homocysteine, and subjected to enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) investigations. Creatine kinase-MB, troponin-I, troponin-T, T3, thyroxine, apoprotein-B, and homocysteine all exhibited a noteworthy difference ( p≤0.01) when compared between non-smokers and smokers (either at a high altitude or sea level), but only troponin I and T3 showed a noteworthy difference when compared between smokers at a high altitude versus at sea level (p≤0.01) as follows: Creatine kinase-MB, p=0.434; troponin-I, troponin-T, p=0.208; T3, p≤0.01; thyroxine, p=0.190; apoprotein-B, p=0.008; and homocysteine, p=0.039. It has been found that significant differences exist between smokers and non-smokers regarding cardiovascular (CV) pathology, whether the person resides at a high altitude or sea level. However, additional studies should be performed to find the correlation between smokers at a high altitude versus and smokers at sea level, which can change the treatment methods at high altitudes and pave the way for finding new medicines.