Cancer is considered one of the top global causes of death. Natural products have been used in oncology medicine either in crude form or by utilizing isolated secondary metabolites. Biologically active phytomolecules such as gallic acid and quercetin have confirmed antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and neoplastic properties. There is an agreement that microorganisms could mediate oncogenesis or alter the immune system. This research project aims to develop a novel formulation of co-loaded gallic acid and quercetin into nanoliposomes and investigate the efficacy of the free and combined agents against multiple cancerous cell lines and bacterial strains. Thin-film hydration technique was adopted to synthesize the nanocarriers. Particle characteristics were measured using a Zetasizer. The morphology of nanoliposomes was examined by scanning electron microscopy, Encapsulation efficiency and drug loading were evaluated using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. Cytotoxicity was determined against Breast Cancer Cells MCF-7, Human Carcinoma Cells HT-29, and A549 Lung Cancer Cells. The antibacterial activities were evaluated against Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Therapeutic formulas were categorized into groups: free gallic acid, free quercetin, free-mix, and their nano-counterparts. Findings revealed that drug loading capacity was 0.204 for the mix formula compared to 0.092 and 0.68 for free gallic acid and quercetin, respectively. Regarding the Zeta potential, the mix formula showed more amphiphilic charge than the free quercetin and free gallic acid formulas (P-values 0.003 and 0.002 receptively). On the contrary, no significant difference in polydispersity indices was reported. Lung cancerous cells were the most affected by the treatments. The best estimated IC50 values were observed in breast and lung cancer lines for the nano-gallic acid and co-loaded particles. The nano-quercetin formula exhibited the least cytotoxicity with an IC50 value of ≥200 μg/mL in both breast (MCF-7) and colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines (HT-29) with no activity against the lung. A remarkable improvement in the efficacy of quercetin was measured after mixing it with gallic acid against the breast and lungs. The tested therapeutic agents exhibited antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria. Nano-liposomes can either enhance or reduce the cytotoxicity activity of active compounds depending on the physical and chemical properties of drug-loaded and type of cancer cells.

Background and Aim: Interest in plants with antimicrobial properties has been revived due to emerging problems associated with using antibiotics to eradicate Helicobacter pylori. Accordingly, this study aims to assess the antibacterial effects of Punica granatum and the possible synergistic effect of its extract along with metronidazole against H. pylori. Materials and Methods: Pomegranate peel ethanol extracts (PPEE) was tested against a control strain of H. pylori (NCTC 11916) in vitro and in vivo in female Wistar rats. Moreover, the synergistic effect of PPEE in combination with metronidazole was tested in vitro. Results: The PPEE exhibited a remarkable activity against H. pylori with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.156 mg/mL. Furthermore, the extract exhibited a pronounced urease inhibitory activity (IC50 ∼6 mg/mL) against the tested strain. A synergistic effect between PPEE and metronidazole was also observed (fractional inhibitory concentrations <0.5). Oral treatment of rats with PPEE for 8 days produced a significant reduction in H. pylori gastritis and a significant decrease in both lymphocytic and positive chronicity. Conclusion: Pomegranate extract is probably safe and represents a potential alternative and complementary therapy for reducing H. pylori associated with gastric ulcers.

The accumulation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in plants is considered one of the most serious threats faced by mankind because of their persistence in the environment and their carcinogenic and teratogenic effect on human health. The concentrations of sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (16 PAHs) were determined in four types of edible vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants, and cucumbers), irrigation water, and agriculture soil, where samples were collected from the Jordan Valley, Jordan. The mean total concentration of 16 PAHs (∑16PAHs) ranged from 10.649 to 21.774 µg kg⁻¹ in vegetables, 28.72 µg kg⁻¹ in soil, and 0.218 µg L⁻¹ in the water samples. The tomato samples posed the highest ∑16PAH concentration level in the vegetables, whereas the zucchini samples had the lowest. Generally, the PAHs with a high molecular weight and four or more benzene rings prevailed among the studied samples. The diagnostic ratios and the principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the PAH contamination sources in soil and vegetables mainly originated from a pyrogenic origin, traffic emission sources, and biomass combustion. The bioconcentration factors (BCF) for ∑16PAHs have been observed in the order of tomatoes > cucumbers and eggplants > zucchini. A potential cancer risk related to lifetime consumption was revealed based on calculating the incremental lifetime cancer risk of PAHs (ILCR). Therefore, sustainable agricultural practices and avoiding biomass combusting would greatly help in minimizing the potential health risk from dietary exposure to PAHs.

Helicobacter pylori infection can lead to gastritis, peptic ulcer, and the development of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Treatment and eradication of H. pylori infection can prevent relapse and accelerate the healing of gastric and duodenal ulcers as well as regression of malignancy. Due to the increasing emergence of antibiotic resistance among clinical isolates of H. pylori, alternative approaches using newly discovered antimicrobial agents in combination with the standard antibiotic regimens for the treatment of H. pylori are of major importance. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of newly synthesized 8-amino 7-substituted fluoroquinolone and their correspondent cyclized triazolo derivatives when either alone or combined with metronidazole against metronidazole-resistant H. pylori. Based on standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods and checkerboard titration assay, all of the tested compounds showed interesting antimicrobial activity against 12 clinical strains of H. pylori, with best in vitro effect for compounds 4b and 4c. Fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) mean values showed synergistic pattern in all compounds of Group 5. In addition, additive activities of some of the tested compounds of Group 4 were observed when combined with metronidazole. In contrast, the tested compounds showed no significant urease inhibition activity. These results support the potential of new fluoroquinolone derivatives to be useful in combination with anti-H. pylori drugs in the management of H. pylori-associated diseases.

One of the major therapeutic approaches to preventing relapse and accelerating the healing of duodenal and gastric ulcers is the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance among clinical strains of H. pylori, alternative approaches using newly discovered antimicrobial agents in combination with the standard regimens for the treatment of H. pylori are increasingly needed. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of newly synthesized 8-nitroflouroqunolone derivatives when used either alone or when combined with metronidazole against metronidazole-resistant H. pylori. Based on the standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods and checkerboard titration assay, all of the tested compounds showed interesting antimicrobial activity against 12 clinical strains of H. pylori, with the best in vitro effect for compound 3c. In addition, synergistic and additive activities of some of the tested compounds were observed when combined with metronidazole. Furthermore, among the tested nitroflouroquinolone derivatives, compound 3b showed significant urease inhibition activity with IC₅₀ of 62.5 µg/mL. These results suggest that 8-nitroflouroquinolone derivatives may have a useful role in combination with anti-H. pylori drugs in the management of H. pylori-associated diseases.

Antibiotic resistance has become a major worldwide priority, and identifying natural antimicrobial compounds may help overcome this problem. In this study, ethanolic extracts of 12 plants commonly used in traditional medicine were tested against two strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 33591 and ATCC 43300) in terms of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Furthermore, the effect of combining plant extracts with clindamycin antibiotic was also investigated using the checkerboard method. Among the tested plants, Camellia sinensis, Thymus vulgaris, Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia officinalis exhibited potent inhibitory activity against both strains with MICs ranges (125–500 µg ml⁻¹). Synergistic activity was confirmed for the four plants combined with clindamycin with fractional inhibitory concentration index <0·5. However, no antagonistic activity was found for these combinations. Our findings suggest that using an antibiotics-plants combination might be a successful technique to reduce antibiotic consumption, which would overcome the antibiotics resistance or delay its onset.