Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Conventional cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy often face certain limitations in treating cancer, such as toxicity, resistance, and ineffectiveness against different cancer types. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative treatment strategies. One emerging area of interest is the use of bacterial oncolytic therapy. It employs the natural properties of bacteria to target and destroy cancer cells. Both natural and genetically modified bacterial strains have shown potential to target the hypoxic regions of tumors, which are often resistant to conventional treatments. These bacteria also produce therapeutic molecules that induce cancer cell death. Furthermore, they can stimulate immune responses against tumors, making them helpful in developing cancer vaccines and exploiting antitumor bacterial metabolites. The versatility of bacterial oncolytic therapy extends beyond direct tumor targeting. It can be combined with conventional methods to enhance overall treatment efficacy. Moreover, bacteria can also serve as delivery vehicles for anticancer drugs, ensuring more precise targeting and reduced side effects. Different bacterial genera, such as Salmonella, Clostridium, Bifidobacterium, and Listeria, have demonstrated significant anticancer potential. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of bacterial oncolytic therapy, exploring its various applications and potential in conjunction with traditional cancer treatments.

The antibacterial potential of three herbal compounds, namely gymnemic acid, eugenol and shogaol, extracted from Gymnema sylvestre L. (gur mar), Syzygium aromaticum L. (clove), and Zingiber officinale L. (ginger), along with their silver nanoparticles (AgNps) was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Klebsiella sp. Among all the herbal compounds and their AgNps, Eugenol showed highest antibacterial activity against E. coli (17 ± 0.5 mm), S. enterica (15 ± 0.4 mm), S. aureus (15 ± 0.28 mm) and MRSA (16 ± 0.28 mm) while Eugenol-AgNps remained more effective, with 16 ± 0.2 mm zone of inhibition for Klebsiella sp., as compared to pure eugenol. In broth dilution assay, eugenol (< 200 µl) and eugenol silver nanoparticles (< 12 mg) resulted in a significant decrease in bacterial growth, in all the tested bacteria. In silico screening of the selected herbal compounds against bacterial targets, including; 4CKL, 6J90, 7KHQ and 3DWK, was also performed. The in silico docking results also revealed eugenol as best the same on the basis of lowest binding energy (− 5.52 to − 7.08) and highest number of interactions (15 non-bonded contacts and 3 hydrogen bonds) with the target proteins. Tertiary screening of compounds was conducted on the basis of their oral bio-availability, LogP value and drug likeness properties. The drug likeness score of eugenol was − 0.74 i.e., in the range of non-drug like compounds, however, eugenol analogues EA3 (2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) ethane-1,1-diol), and EA4 (2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) ethane-1,1-diol) showed best drug likeness scores i.e., 0.26 and 0.39 respectively. Hence the hydroxylated analogues of eugenol can be the preferable drug candidates as broad spectrum antibacterial.

Using bacteriophages (phages) to target and neutralize food borne pathogens offers an innovative approach to improve safety and quality of various foods. In place of traditional antibiotics and chemical preservatives, this novel approach applies the use of phages as biocontrol agents against common bacterial pathogens. This review article comprehensively compiles latest literature, the historical background of phage therapy, its current uses in food safety and preservation, consumer acceptance and regulatory issues, and potential future applications of phage-based interventions in the food industry. Although phages show great promise in lowering food borne illness rates and prolonging food product shelf life, their actual use is dependent on overcoming current obstacles like phage resistance and maintaining regulatory compliance. To fully explore the advantages of phages in enhancing food safety, this work advocates for a multidisciplinary approach and emphasizes the necessity for additional research to maximize phage therapy in food systems.