The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic is hastening the discovery of the most efficient vaccines. The development of cost-effective vaccines seems to be the only solution to terminate this pandemic. However, the vaccines’ effectiveness has been questioned due to recurrent mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Most of the mutations are associated with the spike protein, a vital target for several marketed vaccines. Many countries were highly affected by the 2nd wave of the SARS-CoV-2, like the UK, India, Brazil and France. Experts are also alarming the further COVID-19 wave with the emergence of Omicron, which is highly affecting the South African populations. This review encompasses the detailed description of all vaccine candidates and COVID-19 mutants that will add value to design further studies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The information was generated using various search engines like google scholar, PubMed, clinicaltrial.gov.in, WHO database, ScienceDirect, and news portals by using keywords SARS-CoV-2 mutants, COVID-19 vaccines, efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, COVID-19 waves. This review has highlighted the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants and the vaccine efficacy. Currently, various vaccine candidates are undergoing several phases of development. Their efficacy still needs to check for newly emerged variants. We have focused on the evolution, multiple mutants, waves of the SARS-CoV-2, and different marketed vaccines undergoing various clinical trials and the design of the trials to determine vaccine efficacy. Various mutants of SARS-CoV-2 arrived, mainly concerned with the spike protein, a key component to design the vaccine candidates. Various vaccines are undergoing clinical trial and show impressive results, but their efficacy still needs to be checked in different SARS-CoV-2 mutants. We discussed all mutants of SARS-CoV-2 and the vaccine’s efficacy against them. The safety concern of these vaccines is also discussed. It is important to understand how coronavirus gets mutated to design better new vaccines, providing long-term protection and neutralizing broad mutant variants. A proper study approach also needs to be considered while designing the vaccine efficacy trials, which further improved the study outcomes. Taking preventive measures to protect from the virus is also equally important, like vaccine development.

Breast cancer (BC) is mostly observed in women and is responsible for huge mortality in women subjects globally. Due to the continued development of drug resistance and other contributing factors, the scientific community needs to look for new alternatives, and drug repurposing is one of the best opportunities. Here we light upon the drug repurposing with a major focus on breast cancer. BC is a division of cancer known as the leading cause of death of 2.3 million women globally, with 685,000 fatalities. This number is steadily rising, necessitating the development of a treatment that can extend survival time. All available treatments for BC are very costly as well as show side effects. This unfulfilled requirement of the anti-cancer drugs ignited an enthusiasm for drug repositioning, which means finding out the anti-cancer use of already marketed drugs for other complications. With the advancement in proteomics, genomics, and computational approaches, the drug repurposing process hastens. So many drugs are repurposed for the BC, including alkylating agents, antimetabolite, anthracyclines, an aromatase inhibitor, mTOR, and many more. The drug resistance in breast cancer is rising, so reviewing how the challenges in breast cancer can be combated with drug repurposing. This paper provides the updated information on all the repurposed drugs candidates for breast cancer with the molecular mechanism responsible for their anti-tumor activity. Additionally, all the challenges that occur during the repurposing of the drugs are discussed.

Members of the genus Lathyrus are used as food and as traditional medicines. In order to find new sources of biologically-active compounds, chemical and biological profiles of two Lathyrus species (L. czeczottianus and L. nissolia) were investigated. Chemical profiles were evaluated by HPLC-ESI-MSⁿ, as well as by their total phenolic and flavonoid contents. In addition, antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, and cytotoxic effects were also investigated. Antioxidant properties were tested by using different assays (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelation). Cholinesterases (AChE and BChE), tyrosinase, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase were used to evaluate enzyme inhibitory effects. Moreover, vitexin (apigenin-8-C-glucoside) and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid were further subjected to molecular docking experiments to provide insights about their interactions at molecular level with the tested enzymes. In vitro cytotoxic effects were examined against human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) by using iCELLigence real time cell analysis system. Generally, L. czeczottianus exhibited stronger antioxidant properties than L. nissolia. However, L. nissolia had remarkable enzyme inhibitory effects against cholinesterase, amylase and glucosidase. HPLC-ESI-MSⁿ analysis revealed that flavonoids were major components in these extracts. On the basis of these results, Lathyrus extracts were rich in biologically active components; thus, these species could be utilized to design new phytopharmaceutical and nutraceutical formulations.