This study investigated the effect of CAPE on planktonic growth, biofilm-forming abilities, mature biofilms, and cell death of C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, and C. parapsilosis strains. Our results showed a strain- and dose-dependent effect of CAPE on Candida, and the MIC values were between 12.5 and 100 µg/mL. Similarly, the MBIC values of CAPE ranging between 50 and 100 µg/mL highlighted the inhibition of the biofilm-forming abilities in a dose-dependent manner, as well. However, CAPE showed a weak to moderate biofilm eradication ability (19-49%) on different Candida strains mature biofilms. Both caspase-dependent and caspase-independent apoptosis after CAPE treatment were observed in certain tested Candida strains. Our study has displayed typical apoptotic hallmarks of CAPE-induced chromatin margination, nuclear blebs, nuclear condensation, plasma membrane detachment, enlarged lysosomes, cytoplasm fragmentation, cell wall distortion, whole-cell shrinkage, and necrosis. In conclusion, CAPE has a concentration and strain-dependent inhibitory activity on viability, biofilm formation ability, and cell death response in the different Candida species.

One of the primary health concerns for diabetes individuals is wounds. The used drugs have several side effects, urging the need for new natural sources for therapeutics. This study was designed to estimate the wound healing potential of the methanolic extract of Globularia arabica and Malva sylvestris leaves and Rhus coriaria fruits. plant extracts were orally administered to the rats to determine their effect on the wound-healing process. Plant extracts significantly increased the contraction of the wound in non-diabetic and diabetic rats (P < 0.05) and increased the fibroblast's proliferation and migration resulting in a faster healing process. The plant extracts have no cytotoxic effects. The proliferation assay exhibited the lowest cell mortality after treatment with plant extract. These findings may indicate that the methanolic leaf extract of the above plants can be used as new therapeutics for wound healing in diabetic patients.

One of the most important roles for nanotechnology concerns is the development of optimizable experimental protocols for nanomaterials synthesis. The formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was supported by Rhizopus stolonifer MR11, which was isolated from olive oil mill soil samples. The ability of R. stolonifer MR11 to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles in response to various components of different culture media was tested. Furthermore, the conditions under which the reducing biomass filtrate was obtained, as well as the conditions of the bio-reduction reaction of AgNO₃ into AgNPs, were investigated. The fungal biomass filtrate of the strain Rhizopus stolonifer MR11 was capable of converting silver nitrate into AgNPs, as evidenced by the color change of the fungal filtrates. UV-Vis spectrophotometer, TEM, Zeta potential, Zeta sizer, FT-IR, and XRD analyses were used to characterize the AgNPs. TEM analysis revealed that the silver nanoparticles were 1–35 nm in size. R. stolonifer MR11 produced the maximum AgNPs when grown for 18 hours at 36°C in media with starch and yeast extract as the sole carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. The reducing biomass filtrate was obtained by incubating 5 g mycelial biomass in deionized water with a pH of 6 for 48 hours at 30°C. The optimal reduction conditions of the biosynthesis reaction were determined by adding 1.0 mM AgNO₃ to a pH 5 buffered mycelial filtrate and incubating it for 72 hours at 33°C. The current study's findings highlighted the importance of process parameters at each stage for optimal AgNPs biosynthesis.

This study investigated the in vitro effect of propolis ethanolic extract (PEE) on planktonic growth and biofilm forming abilities of five commercial probiotics (Enterol, Protexin, Normaflore, BioGaia and Linex). Broth microdilution method was used to investigate the susceptibility of the microbes of five commercial probiotics to PEE. Crystal violet assay was used for the quantitative assessment of biofilm formation and mature biofilm eradication tests. Effect of PEE on autoaggregation ability and swarming motility of Normaflore microbes was determined. Planktonic forms of probiotics showed varied susceptibilities with minimal inhibitory concentration values in the range of 100–800 µg/mL of PEE. However, low PEE concentrations significantly enhanced the planktonic growth of Linex and BioGaia microbes. Biofilm studies revealed that Enterol and Protexin were non-biofilm formers, while BioGaia, Linex and Normaflore showed weak biofilms, which were inhibited by 12.5, 25, and 800 µg/mL of PEE, respectively. PEE revealed double-face effect on the biofilms of Normaflore and Linex, which were enhanced at low concentrations of PEE and inhibited at higher concentrations. Interestingly, Normaflore biofilms were shifted from weak to strong biofilms at low PEE concentrations (12.5, 25, and 50 µg/mL). In conclusion, PEE has strain dependent controversial effects on the planktonic growth and biofilm forming ability of the tested probiotics, although high concentrations have inhibitory effect on all of them, low concentrations may have strain dependent prebiotic effect.

In this study, the methanolic extracts from four medicinal plants (Sarcopoterium spinosum, Paronychia argentea, Inula viscosa, and Achillea fragrantissima) were tested in vitro for antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The antibacterial properties of these MPEs were assessed using disc diffusion and Serial dilution techniques. The antioxidant properties were evaluated by DPPH and FRAP methods. The total phenolic compounds were measured according to Folin-Ciocalteu method. Differences were found among the tested plants in their antibacterial and antioxidant properties as well as the phenolic content. Among the four plants, I. viscosa revealed the highest antibacterial effects against all bacterial species under examination followed by S. spinosum. Gram-positive bacteria showed higher susceptibility to the MPEs than Gram-negative bacteria. Antioxidant capacity and polyphenolic content investigations revealed that S. spinosum and I. viscosa have the highest antioxidant activities and the highest amount of phenolic compounds. Moreover, a strong positive linear correlation was found between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. In conclusion, the MPEs of I. viscosa and S. spinosum have been proven to have good antibacterial and antioxidant activities which were highly related to their contents of phenolic compounds. These plant extracts could be interesting sources for natural antibacterial and antioxidant agents.