Isolated compounds 1 and 2 from Caulerpa cyclindracea inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Modelling studies suggest that the compounds may interfere with the spike-ACE2 interaction directly and also via an interaction with a spike allosteric site.

Salvia species play a significant role in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries due to their rich chemical profiles and notable biological activities. This study aimed, for the first time, to comprehensively investigate the phytochemical profile and antibacterial properties of eight selected Salvia species. Ethanol and water extracts were prepared from the dried aerial parts, and their chemical compositions were analyzed via LC-HRMS. Rosmarinic acid was the major compound in almost all the prepared extracts. Following rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, fumaric acid, salvianolic acid B, and hispidulin-7-O-glucoside were also identified as principal constituents. The antibacterial potential of the relevant metabolites was evaluated in silico, and their receptor binding profiles targeting dihydrofolate reductase and dihydropteroate synthase were elucidated. Additionally, the in vitro antibacterial efficacy of all the extracts was determined against various bacterial strains using a modified microbroth dilution method. Among all tested extracts, both the infusion and decoction of Salvia albimaculata exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. Additionally, the ethanol extracts of S. albimaculata, S. viridis, S. verticillata, and S. pilifera demonstrated moderate activity against MRSA. These findings contribute valuable insights into the development of natural-based antibacterial agents for the pharmaceutical and food industries.

The use of medicinal plants for treating various diseases dates back thousands of years and has been a part of many cultures around the world. Various parts of plants, including roots, leaves, and flowers, and their extracts have been used to develop remedies to cure different ailments like fever, pain, inflammation, infections, among others. In this research, the aerial parts of both Salvia varieties were extracted with ethanol and water to obtain infusion and decoction, separately. S. sericeotomentosa var. hatayica Celep & Doğan (SH) and Salvia sericeotomentosa Rech. f. var. sericeotomentosa (ST) plants were chemically analyzed for polar compounds using LC-HRMS for the first time. All SH and ST extracts were found to be very rich in rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, hispidulin-7-O-glucoside, and caffeic acid. The study also investigated the antiinflammatory and carbonic anhydrase inhibition properties of the most abundant secondary metabolites extracted from SH and ST. In silico studies were conducted for the first time to explore the effects of these metabolites on TNF-α, iNOS, and human carbonic anhydrase isoenzymes (hCAI and hCAII). Salvianolic acid B should be considered a strong antiinflammatory agent and a carbonic anhydrase I and II inhibitors due to low binding energy scores with the tested enzymes (TNF-α: -12.391 kcal/mol), (iNOS: -7.547 kcal/mol), (hCAI: -7.877 kcal/mol), and (hCAII: -4.312 kcal/mol).

Context: The genus Glaucium Mill., one of the important Papaveraceae family plants, is rich in isoquinoline alkaloids and distributed worldwide. Objective: Isolation and identification of bioactive alkaloids from Glaucium grandiflorum Boiss. & Huet. subsp. refractum (Nabelek) Mory var. torquatum (Cullen) Mory and G. corniculatum (L.) Rudolph var. corniculatum (Aslan 2012), and investigation of their antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities. Materials and methods: The aerial parts of each plant were dried, powdered, and percolated with methanol, then each extract was fractionated between 50% aqueous acetic acid and petroleum. Their aqueous acidic layer was adjusted to pH 7-8 with NH4OH and extracted with chloroform, the extract was subjected to CC separation and isolation. Structures of the isolated alkaloids were elucidated by 1D and 2D-NMR and mass spectral analyses. The alkaloid extracts and their pure alkaloids were tested for anticholinesterase (AChE and BuChE) and antioxidant (ABTS, CUPRAC, beta-carotene linoleic acid tests) activities in vitro. Results: Methanol extracts of Glaucium grandiflorum subsp. refractum var. torquatum and G. corniculatum var. corniculatum afforded a novel compound glauciumoline and seven known isoquinoline alkaloids three of which have an aporphine-type and the other five have a protopine-type skeleton. Among them, trans-protopinium (7) and cis-protopinium (8) were isolated from a Glaucium species for the first time. Tertiary amine extracts (TAEs) of both plants showed very strong acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity. The TAE of the plants also showed strong antioxidant activity while the isolated alkaloids showed no meaningful activity in the anticholinesterase and antioxidant tests. Discussion and conclusions: Glaucium species are considered promising therapeutic agents in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.