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Many known purification systems have failed in the removal of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and there is no known natural degradation process. PFAS are a group of synthetic fluoroorganic compounds that have a unique dual nature of both lipophobic and hydrophobic, as well as high-energy chemical bonds that make them pervasive in the environment. Currently, these compounds receive less attention; however, they pose serious health problems. Studies have shown PFAS's dispersion pathways, health concerns, and suggestions for their removal in soil and water, but there is still limited information on the natural or subjective degradation of the compounds. Several technologies, such as phytoremediation, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, and photolysis, have been demonstrated to remove PFAS. However, these techniques come with their challenges and drawbacks, especially in the complete removal of the compounds. Thus, this overview described the pathways and mechanisms of some PFAS, including biotransformation pathways of 6:2 FTOH, biotransformation and degradation pathways of 8:2 FTOH, and fragmentation pathways for PFOA, PFOS, and 8:2 FTOH, degraded by the Phanerochaete chrysosporium fungus. Furthermore, this study suggests that the integration of plants and fungi into constructed wetland technology holds promise for effective PFAS removal.

Pelargonium quercifolium is an aromatic herb with a strong resinous scent. It is used traditionally to treat heart disease, hypertension, stress, rheumatism, combat hidden hunger, and inhibit HIV-1. The present study aimed to evaluate the toxicity, anti-HIV, antioxidant nutrients and anticancer potentials of the ethanol extract of P. quercifolium. In this study, high-resolution ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-D AD), xCELLigence real-time cell analyser single plate (RTCA-SP), MTT assays and luciferase-based assay were employed to elucidate the phytochemicals, cytotoxicity, anti-HIV, antioxidant nutrients and anticancer metabolites in P. quercifolium. Results show that the characterized metabolites in P. quercifolium most of which were flavonoids, phenolic derivatives, alkaloids and coumarins could arrest cancer cell proliferation and inhibit HIV infection given the high level of cytotoxicity of the tested plant extract. It was also observed and reported for the first time, the nutrient profile of P. quercifolium is higher than most vegetables consumed as a staple food. This study underpins the potential of using anticancer and antiviral metabolites from leaf extract of P. quercifolium as a pharmacological option.

The fast-growing world population places food production under enormous pressure to ensure food security. One of the most common methods to increase food production is the use of pesticides, but the continuous use thereof has numerous detrimental effects on the environment. The interest in biopesticides for a possible substitute has grown over the past two decades. To determine the research evolution of biopesticides (green pesticides), a bibliometric analysis from 1994 to 2019 was carried out. A total of 580 documents were found eligible in the Scopus database for this analysis. Parameters such as the number of articles, article citations, keywords, source impact, and countries of publication were used to analyse the documents and rank countries based on authors, productivity, article citations, and co-authorship. The analysis reveals production increased significantly from 2009 and has the most published documents in 2019 with a total of 74 articles. Asia’s most populous countries, India and China, were ranked first and second, respectively, and the USA third in terms of the most productive countries in the field of plant biopesticides. Countries in Europe and Africa however have fewer publications than expected in this field, given the fact that they are high consumers of pesticides. India, China, and the USA have 4.08%, 2.94%, and 12.5% multiple country publications (MCPs), respectively, with the USA having a stronger collaboration. Finally, there is a clear indication in this study that India and China are taking the lead in substituting synthetic pesticides with the alternative natural plant biopesticide.

The genus Merremia Dennst. ex Endl. (Convolvulaceae) is a rich source of structurally diverse phytochemicals with therapeutic relevance. This review presents the first comprehensive, up-to-date information and research progression on the nutritional value, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and toxicity of the genus Merremia. Using the key search term “Merremia”, relevant documents and information were retrieved from electronic databases. Relevant documents were uploaded in RStudio with installed bibliometric software packages and used for data retrieval, tabulation, and network visualization. Bibliometric analysis revealed that ca. 55% of the studies related to Merremia were published in the last decade, which can be grouped into four thematic areas: (i) drug formulation, (ii) taxonomy, (iii) chemical analysis, and (iv) treatment of diseases. Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and biological activities studies showed that species in the genus are promising medicinal plants with various pharmaceutical potentials. However, clinical studies to validate the efficacy of the reported bioactivities and the mechanisms underlying the various activities are lacking and should constitute a future research focus. Additionally, reports on the nutritional and antinutritional constituents of Merremia species revealed that the species meet high nutritional quality criteria for animals and are therefore suitable for inclusion in livestock diets. The few available investigations on toxicity indicated that most Merremia species are safe for human and animal use but not with prolonged chronic administration.

Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant activities and phytochemical content of the leaf and root extracts of Rumex crispus using the solvents extraction; methanol extract, ethanol extract, acetone extract (ACE), and water extract. Methods: Total flavonoids content, total phenolic content, and total proanthocyanidin were evaluated using spectrophotometric equivalents of the standards, quercetin, gallic acid and catechin respectively. The antioxidant activities of the plant extracts were determined using ABTS, DPPH, ferric reducing antioxidant power, total antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide scavenging assays. Results: The flavonoids and phenols contents of the extracts were in the range of (19.39 ± 4.08) to (526.23 ± 17.52) mg QE/g and (16.95 ± 12.03) to (240.68 ± 3.50) mg GAE/g, respectively. ACE of the leaf has the highest value of total flavonoids content (526.23 ± 17.52) mg QE/g while ACE of the root has the highest value of total phenolic content (240.68 ± 3.50) mg GAE/g. The highest content of total proanthocyanidin (645.38 ± 1.33) mg CE/g was in ACE of the root. Significant amounts of saponin and alkaloid were also present in the root and leaf extracts. All solvent fractions showed significant antioxidant activities (P

The morbidity caused by parasite worms on susceptible hosts is of great concern and studies were carried out to explain the mechanism of infection, prevalence, host-parasite interaction and resistance of the parasite to treatment. This review elucidates the prevalence of parasitic worm infections; which is on the increases with the increase in the world population, global warming, poor standard of living particularly in troubled regions and developing nations. The neglect of the disease coupled with the resistance of these parasites to the few available drugs becomes a huge challenge that influences global disease burden. Helminths infections pose a life threat and increase the disability-adjusted life year (DALYs) of the poor and vulnerable people. On the other hand, exploration of medicinal plants as an alternative source of treatment against drugs resistance helminths, attract insufficient attention. This review focused on providing a general overview of the prevalence of helminths, host-parasite interactions, the resistance of helminths and the medicinal plants used to treat helminthic infections.

This study aimed at assessing the biological activities of Mucuna pruriens seeds using cytotoxicity, phytochemical, antiparasitic screening, and antioxidant assays. Mature fruits of M. pruriens were harvested from Fort Hare University’s Research Farm located in Alice, South Africa. The collected seeds were pulverized in a standard process and taken to the laboratory for crude extraction and further treatments. Cytotoxic, antimalarial, and trypanocidal effects of crude extracts obtained from ethanol and water were tested, while the total phenolic, proanthocyanidin, and flavonoid contents of the aqueous extracts as well as their pharmacological activities were determined in vitro using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl ethanol (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Although the extracts showed mild antiparasitic (antiplasmodial and trypanocidal) effects, results from the cytotoxic experiment revealed that M. pruriens is not toxic to human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells when tested using 50 µg/mL of extracts. It was observed that the seeds were remarkably rich in phenol (3730.1 ± 15.52 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g) compared to flavonoids (63.03 ± 1.95 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g) and proanthocyanidin (18.92 ± 1.09 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g). Also, the antioxidant activities of the extracts were comparable to those of the standard antioxidant drugs (rutin and gallic acid) used, in a concentration-dependent manner. There was a direct relationship between phenolic acid content and antioxidant effects. It is therefore suggested that M. pruriens seeds be incorporated into human diets as a supplement to promote healthy living. Pharmaceutical industries with a particular interest in natural phenolic acids should consider using seeds of M. pruriens as pharmaceutical precursors.

Medicinal plants are a pertinent and effective remedy, employed in indigenous healthcare systems by traditional healers. This study focused on proximate parameters, minerals, vitamins, anti-nutrients and essential oil of the root and leaf of the medicinal plant; R. crispus, using the standard food analysis techniques. The result reveals that the moisture content of the leaf (7.57 ± 0.40%) and root (7.59 ± 0.08%) was not significantly different. The leaf has a higher ash, crude fat, fibre and mineral content than the root, except the carbohydrate (57.74 ± 3.06%) and Ca (1190.0 ± 0 mg/100g) values which are quite higher in the root. Traces of phytate was found in the leaf (1.15 ± 0.74%) and root (1.38 ± 0.27%) of R. crispus. The highest value of retinol, ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol was found in dried leaf (1.29 ± 0.014 mg retinol/100g), fresh leaf (159.73 ± 26.77 mg ascorbic acid/100g) and fresh root (54.90 ± 0.39 mg α-tocopherol/100g) respectively. The principal compound in the essential oil of the leaf are; 5-Eicosene, (E)-, docos-1-ene, trans-5-Octadecene, tetradecane while those found in the root are; 1-Heptacosanol, 4-Methyloctane, ethylcyclohexane, eucalyptol, m-Xylene, octadecane, phytol, and tetradecane. The research reveals that R. crispus may not only be used for medicinal purposes but could also be suitable for a complementary diet.