Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Despite recent advances, current chemotherapeutic options often have undesirable side effects, and the development of resistance limits their long-term effectiveness. The botanical kingdom contains a vast repository of phytochemicals with varying biological activities. This review examines the anticancer potential of various classes of plant bioactive compounds. Specific alkaloids like berberine demonstrate remarkable apoptosis induction through mitochondrial stress and caspase activation in numerous cancer cell lines. Curcumin modulates multiple oncogenic pathways, including PI3K/Akt, Wnt/β-catenin, and MAPK signaling. Resveratrol elicits favorable anti-tumor responses through intrinsic apoptosis, autophagy stimulation, and antiangiogenic effects. Promising preclinical studies have elucidated the underlying molecular mechanisms by which bioactive components such as quercetin, genistein, and epigallocatechin gallate exert chemopreventive effects. While intensive research is still required, progress in standardizing extracts, isolating marker compounds, and clinical testing validates nature's treasure as a source for novel anticancer options. Future studies should focus on overcoming translational barriers to move these promising compounds from bench to bedside.

Lamiaceae contains many medicinal and aromatic plants for which accurate identification can be problematic due to morphological resemblance of related species, environmental plasticity, renaming (e.g., Rosmarinus officinalis, currently considered Salvia rosmarinus), and substitution/adulteration of herbal material dried and processed. This narrative review, based on laboratory and in Silico data as examples, provides a workflow for the identification and molecular authentication of some species of Lamiaceae, starting from their field collection. Literature regarding plant barcoding (e.g., rbcL, matK, ITS2, trnH-psbA) and additional methods such as species-specific PCR, high-resolution melting, digital PCR and metabarcoding was synthesised. The workflow includes field collection and botanical identification of voucher specimens; CTAB DNA extraction procedure, optionally supplemented with spin-column DNA purification; assessment of DNA quality and amplicon size using agarose gel electrophoresis; SYBR Green real-time qPCR (targeting GAPDH and ITS2); GenBank and BOLD search followed by MUSCLE multiple alignment and phylogenetic analysis in MEGA 12.1.3 (1,000 bootstrap replicates). However, no one marker is considered to be able to discriminate all taxa, rbcL and matK markers form the basis, while ITS2 and trnH-psbA can be used as complementary markers. For example, in the case of the rbcL tree based on the alignment of ten reference sequences, the maximum level of support (100%) could be seen for the Origanum majorana- Ocimum tenuiflorum clade only, while the other nodes have low levels of support (less than 50%). Taxonomic identification thus needs to involve voucher information, sequence comparison, phylogenetic placement and, when necessary, chemical composition.

Efficient and reliable DNA extraction is essential for molecular biology research. The diverse chemical composition of plant species and the possibility of secondary reactions during extraction pose obstacles to establishing a uniform protocol. This study compared the efficiency of four DNA extraction methods (CTAB, Edward, Manitol, and Sorbitol) across three distinct plant species: Physcomitrella patens (bryophyte), Brassica campestris (angiosperm), and Pinus taeda (gymnosperm). DNA was isolated from roots, stems, and leaves of each species, with three replicates per tissue type. The methods were assessed according to DNA yield, purity, and integrity by spectrophotometry and agarose gel electrophoresis. The CTAB method consistently yielded the highest DNA concentrations and purity ratios (A260/A280) between 1.78 and 1.84, demonstrating little protein contamination across all species and tissues, particularly in roots. Manitol and Sorbitol methods provided intermediate yields and purity, with Manitol being more effective for B. campestris and P. patens, while Sorbitol was beneficial for woody plants like P. taeda. The Edward method produced the lowest DNA yields and purity, particularly in samples with high concentrations of phenolic compounds and polysaccharides. Agarose gel electrophoresis revealed clear bands for all methods, with CTAB and Manitol yielding more pronounced, high-molecular-weight DNA bands. Statistical analysis using two-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test showed significant effects of species and extraction protocol on DNA yield and purity, with a significant species × protocol interaction. The CTAB method demonstrated significantly higher yields and purity compared to other methods. These findings highlight the importance of selecting an appropriate DNA extraction method based on plant species and tissue type, to ensure optimal yield, purity, and integrity for subsequent molecular applications.

Salmonella typhi is developing a high risk resistant to different antibiotics in last few years. A gradual change in antimicrobial susceptibility has led to serious challenges in treatment. Using antibiotics without first determining the sensitivity of the bacteria can lead to treatment failure. Hence bacterial isolation and susceptibility testing are essential for effective antibiotic therapy. A study was conducted from July 2022 to August 2023 to evaluate the prevalence of multi-drug resistant S. typhi in clinical samples and determine its susceptibility pattern in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of 1625 blood samples were collected from patients with symptoms of enteric fever in Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, and Dir. Out of 1625 samples, 341 isolates were identified as S. typhi through biochemical tests and PCR amplification of the fliC gene. Kirby Bauer's disc diffusion method was used to assess the antimicrobial activity using 11 different routinely used first-line and second-line antibiotics. Results showed that, the occurrence of S. typhi was 20.98 % in KP, appeared to be more prevalent in males (57.7%) than females (42.22%) while the age group ≤ 10 years had the highest infection rate of 54.25%. Seasonal analysis showed the highest occurrence of S. typhi in the summer season (38.41%). Peshawar had the highest prevalence of S. typhi (78.29%), followed by Dir (14.36%) and Mardan (7.03%). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that 90.71% of isolates were susceptible to Meropenem, while 71.83% were susceptible to Tetracycline. Higher resistance rates were observed for Ampicillin (77.40%), Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (74.61%), Ceftriaxone (73.68%), and Erythromycin (71.52%). Significant portion of S. typhi isolates were identified as multi-drug resistant (71.94%) and extensively drug-resistant (22.38%). The study highlighted the high prevalence of multi-drug resistant S. typhi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and emphasize the need for effective surveillance and control measures to combat the spread of this pathogen