Garlic (Allium sativum), a popular food spice and flavoring agent, has also been used traditionally to treat various ailments especially bacterial infections for centuries in various cultures around the world. The principal phytochemicals that exhibit antibacterial activity are oil-soluble organosulfur compounds that include allicin, ajoenes, and allyl sulfides. The organosulfur compounds of garlic exhibit a range of antibacterial properties such as bactericidal, antibiofilm, antitoxin, and anti-quorum sensing activity against a wide range of bacteria including multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains. The reactive organosulfur compounds form disulfide bonds with free sulfhydryl groups of enzymes and compromise the integrity of the bacterial membrane. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the development of antibiotic resistance as a global health concern and emphasizes antibiotic stewardship along with the urgent need to develop novel antibiotics. Multiple antibacterial effects of organosulfur compounds provide an excellent framework to develop them into novel antibiotics. The review provides a focused and comprehensive portrait of the status of garlic and its compounds as antibacterial agents. In addition, the emerging role of new technologies to harness the potential of garlic as a novel antibacterial agent is discussed.

Silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-polymer nanocomposites offer enhanced antimicrobial properties for biomedical applications, including medical devices and implants. Stability and biocompatibility remain key challenges to apply AgNPs in biomedical fields.

The role of silver nanoparticles (AgNps) is an attractive proposition for advancing modern diabetes therapies and applied science. Stable AgNps with a size range of 3-25 nm were synthesized using aqueous leaf extracts from Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum sanctum, and in combination. The concentration of the extracts facilitated the reduction of silver nitrate that led to the rapid formation of AgNps at room temperature, indicating a higher reaction rate as opposed to harsh chemical methods, and high conversion energy usually involved in the synthesis. The size, shape and elemental analysis were carried out using UV-Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential whilst, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) supported by gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) was used to identify the type of capping agents. Inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes retards the rate of carbohydrate digestion, thereby provides an alternative and a less evasive strategy of reducing postprandial hyperglycaemia in diabetic patients. The AgNps derived from O. sanctum and O. basilicum, respectively displayed an inhibitory effect at 89.31 ± 5.32%, and 79.74 ± 9.51%, respectively, against Bacillus stearothermophilus α-glucosidase enzyme model, indicating an enhanced biocatalytic potential compared to their respective crude extracts and the control. Furthermore, the emerging rate of infections in diabetic patients validates the need for the discovery of dual diabetes therapies. As a result, the bioderived AgNps displayed antimicrobial activity against bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Salmonella species.

In the present study, green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was performed using flower extracts of Aerva lanata (Al) from Amaranthaceae family. The size, shape, and elemental composition of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and UV-visible spectroscopy. The dynamic light scattering (DLS), of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibited mean size of 7.6 nm in the range of 5–15 nm, having a poly-dispersed indexed value of 0.419. Zeta potential contributing to the stability of silver nanoparticles was recorded as −18.7 mV. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis confirmed the presence of the synthesized AgNPs with an average size range 7 ± 3 nm. The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles displayed antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The 2,2’-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay revealed antioxidant potential of silver nanoparticles in the concentration of 100 µg/ml. The photocatalytic activity of silver nanoparticles was evaluated using decolourization of the dyes under the sunlight using UV-Vis. spectroscopy. The results suggest that biosynthesized silver nanoparticles from A. lanata (Al-AgNPs) flower extracts have broad spectrum antibacterial, antioxidant and catalytic activities may be useful in a variety of biomedical and industrial applications. Graphical Abstract

Medicinal plants are sources of crude traditional herbal medicines that are utilized to reduce the risk of, treat, or manage diseases in most indigenous communities. This is due to their potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. It is estimated that about 80% of the population in developing countries rely on herbal traditional medicines for healthcare. This signifies the need for traditional herbal medicines, which are polyherbal formulations prepared by traditional health practitioners. This review examines preparatory steps to extract bioactive phytoconstituents and post-extraction processes to increase the potency of the extracted bioactive phytoconstituents. Achieving this will allow for the reduced use of plant materials and promote the sustainable use of the limited resource of medicinal plants, especially in our South African context. Electronic ethnobotanical books and online databases were used to find studies that focus on phytoconstituent extraction and post-extraction processing to enhance the potency of the extracted bioactive phytoconstituents. Modification of the extracted bioactive phytoconstituents to synthesize daughter compounds facilitates an enhancement in their potency and bioavailability. Based on the data collected through this review, the importance of understanding the properties of the targeted phytoconstituents is essential in selecting the required extraction method. This determines the quality and yield of extracted bioactive phytoconstituents.