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Background: The Arisaema (Araceae) is a genus of approximately 180 perennial herbs widely distributed in the evergreen and deciduous forests. This genus (Arisaema) has been used as a medicinal agent since ancient times. Experimental investigations have shown a promising positive correlation with its folklore claim and this encourages us to report updated medicinal review (genus Arisaema) for future research. Objective: This review aimed to summarize the ethnobotany, folklore uses, chemistry and biological activities. Conclusion: The comprehensive literature on genus Arisaema indicates the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, and glycosphingolipids as the principal chemical constituents. Additionally, phytosterols, alkaloids, carboline derivatives and miscellaneous compounds were documented in plants of genus Arisaema. Biological investigations led to the credentials of antioxidant, anticancer, insecticidal, antimicrobial, anthelmintic and hepatoprotective activities. Following, several plant species are promising candidates for the treatment of cancer, parasitic diseases and microbial infection complications. Though, a lot of facets of this genus like phytoconstituents identification, mechanistic profile, adverse effects and clinical studies are still quite limited. Thus, this systematic review may act as a powerful tool in future studies for promoting health benefits against various health hazards.

Infections caused by HSV-2 are a public health concern worldwide, and there is still a great demand for the discovery of novel anti-herpes virus agents effective against strains resistant to current antiviral agents. In this context, medicinal plants represent an alternative source of active compounds for developing efficient antiviral therapies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiviral activity of Arisaema tortuosum, a plant used in the traditional medicine of India. A chloroform soluble fraction of the leaves exhibited anti-HSV-2 activity with a selectivity index of 758. The extract was also active against acyclovir-resistant HSV-2 and HSV-1. The mechanism of action of the extract was investigated evidencing inhibition of both early and late events of the HSV-2 replicative cycle. A HPLC-PDA-MS/MS analysis showed the presence of flavonoids including apigenin and luteolin in the chloroform extract (CE). Apigenin and luteolin showed a high inhibitory activity with EC50 values of 0.05 and 0.41 µg/mL, respectively. Both compounds exhibited antiviral activity when added up to 6 h post infection and were able to reduce the viral progeny production. In addition, apigenin interfered with cell-to-cell virus spread.

Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) has received substantial attention, because nanoparticles are produced in an eco-friendly way using biomolecules present in plant extracts in a single step reaction. This research article highlights GNPs obtained using shade-dried leaf extracts of Millettia pinnata (L.) with aqueous auric chloride (HAuCl4) at ambient temperature. In the present study, GNPs with average particle size 37 nm in size were fabricated. Furthermore, the synthesis method to obtain stable and monodispersed GNPs was advanced by optimising enzyme concentration 100 μg/ml, pH 5.4, substrate concentration 0.45 mM and 12 h time of reaction. The confirmation of GNPs formation and characterisation was followed by UV-vis-absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential (ZP) for the analysis of shape, size, and stability, respectively. TEM images and powder XRD revealed the GNPs synthesis of spherical-shaped nanoparticles in the face-centred cubic arrangement. Cytotoxicity of GNPs was studied against A549 lung cancer cells with IC50 14.76 μg/ml and found lower as compared to doxorubicin IC50 11.23 μg/ml but significant enough to be used as a vehicle GNPs produced using green source can be used as significant therapeutic agents and drug delivery carriers.

In December 2019, the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) virus emerged in Wuhan, China. The first resolved COVID-19 crystal structure (main protease) has been developed and various repurposing activities are in process. In this study, a knowledge gap in relation to COVID-19, with the previously known fatal Coronavirus (CoV) epidemics, Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) CoVs, is covered by the investigation of sequence statistics, molecular modelling, virtual screening, docking, and sequence comparison statistics of the COVID-19 main protease. COVID-19 main protease Mpro formed a sequence similarity group with SARS CoV that was distant from MERS CoV. The identity % was 96 and 51 for COVID-19/SARS and COVID-19/MERS CoV sequence comparisons, respectively. We used molecular docking and a molecular interaction approach to identify small-molecules that bind to the isolated Viral S-protein at its host receptor region. These molecules have good solubility and pharmacodynamics properties. They also obey Lipinski’s rule, which makes them promising compounds to pursue further biochemical and cell-based assays to explore their potential for use against COVID-19. We hypothesize that the top score identified molecules that may be used to limit viral recognition of host cells and/or disrupt host-virus interactions. A ranked list of selected compounds is given that can be tested experimentally.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Vachellia (Acacia) nilotica and other plants of this genus have been used in traditional medicine of Asian and African countries to treat many disorders, including sexually transmitted diseases, but few studies were performed to validate their anti-microbial and anti-viral activity against sexually transmitted infections. Aim of the study The present study was undertaken to explore whether the ethnomedical use of V.nilotica to treat genital lesions is substantiated by its antiviral activity against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the herpes simplex virus (HSV) and the human papillomavirus (HPV). Materials and methods The antiviral activity of V.nilotica was tested in vitro by virus-specific inhibition assays using HSV-2 strains, sensible or resistant to acyclovir, HIV-1IIIb strain and HPV-16 pseudovirion (PsV). The potential mode of action of extract against HSV-2 and HPV-16 was further investigated by virus inactivation and time-of-addition assays on cell cultures. Results V.nilotica chloroform, methanolic and water bark extracts exerted antiviral activity against HSV-2 and HPV-16 PsV infections; among these, methanolic extract showed the best EC50s with values of 4.71 and 1.80 µg/ml against HSV-2 and HPV-16, respectively, and it was also active against an acyclovir-resistant HSV-2 strain with an EC50 of 6.71 µg/ml. By contrast, no suppression of HIV infection was observed. Investigation of the mechanism of action revealed that the methanolic extract directly inactivated the infectivity of the HPV-16 particles, whereas a partial virus inactivation and interference with virus attachment (EC50 of 2.74 µg/ml) were both found to contribute to the anti-HSV-2 activity. Conclusions These results support the traditional use of V.nilotica applied externally for the treatment of genital lesions. Further work remains to be done in order to identify the bioactive components.

An attempt toward screening of phytoconstituents (Arisaema genus) against herpes viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) was carried out using in silico approaches. Human HSV-1 and HSV-2 are accountable for cold sores genital herpes, respectively. Two drug targets, namely thymidine kinase (TK; PDB: 2ki5) serine protease (PDB: 1at3) were selected for HSV-1 and HSV-2. Initially, molecular docking tool was employed to screened apex hits phytoconstituents against herpes infections. ADME-T studies of top ranked were also further highlighted to achieve their effectiveness. Following, molecular dynamics studies were also examined to further optimize the stability of ligands. Glide scores and binding interactions of phytoconstituents were compared with Acyclovir, the main drug used in treatment of HSV, the screened top hits exhibited more glide scores and better binding for both HSV-1 and HSV-2 receptors. Additionally, ADME-T showed an ideal range for top hits while molecular dynamics results also illustrated stability of models. Ultimately, the whole efforts reveal to top three most promising hits for HSV-1 (39, 21, 19) and HSV-2 (20, 51, 19) receptors which can be explored further in wet lab experiments as promising agents against HSV infections.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Ficus religiosa L. is one of the most relevant members of the family of Moraceae . It is the most sacred tree of South Asia, and it is used in traditional Ayurvedic and Unani medicine to cure respiratory disorders like cough, wheezing and asthma. Some studies were performed to investigate the anti-asthmatic potential of F. religiosa bark, leaves and fruit extracts but none of them tested their antiviral activity against viruses responsible for the exacerbation of wheezing and asthma. Aim of the study The present study was undertaken to investigate the antiviral activity of F. religiosa L. extracts against respiratory viruses such as human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human rhinovirus (HRV). Materials and methods The antiviral activity of F. religiosa L. was tested in vitro by plaque reduction and virus yield assays and the major mechanism of action was investigated by virus inactivation and time-of-addition assays. Results F. religiosa L. methanol bark extract was the most active against HRV with an EC 50 of 5.52 µg/mL. This extract likely inhibited late steps of replicative cycle. Water bark extract was the most active against RSV with an EC 50 between 2.23 and 4.37 µg/mL. Partial virus inactivation and interference with virus attachment were both found to contribute to the anti-RSV activity. Replication of both viruses was inhibited in viral yield reduction assays. Conclusions The results of the present study demonstrate that F. religiosa L. is endowed with antiviral activity against RSV and HRV in vitro . Further work remains to be done to identify the active components and to assess the therapeutic potential in vivo .

Treatment of breast cancer is not easy because of the complexity in molecular physiology. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy includes different sources of treating breast cancer. The systemic chemotherapy faces lot of challenges, mainly adverse effects. So, there is a need of newer drugs to be developed against breast cancer. The present work tries to justify the folklore claims of Tabernaemontana divaricata (L.) R. Br. ex Roem. & Schult. through a sound scientific background using modern analytical tools. It was found that phytoconstituents of the plant showed good docking score against 3ERT protein. The petroleum ether extract and chloroform extract showed anticancer activity. Petroleum ether extract was found to have GI50 value of 18.7µg/ml. Phytochemical Studies lead to the isolation of two compounds, 1 and 2. These compounds, isolated from the leaves were studied and characterized tentatively with the help of modern analytical tools like FTIR, 1H NMR and MS. Based upon spectral studies, compound 1 was characterized as 2-(1,6a,6b,9,9,12a,14b-heptamethyl 1, 2, 4a, 5, 6, 6a, 6b, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12a, 12b, 13, 14b-hexadecahydropicen-3-yl) propan-2-yl nonanoate. Compound 2 was found to be not pure enough to be characterized. The isolated compounds were also tested for their anti-proliferative activity against breast cancer.

Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to estimate and evaluate the levels of heavy metals in vegetables collected from various sites of Ranchi city (tribal dominated population) followed by health risk assessment by determining Metal Pollution Index (MPI), Daily intake of metal (DIM) and Health Risk Index (HRI). The concentration levels of Pb, Cd and Ni in vegetables were found to contain beyond than the permissible PFA limit. All sites showed quite a few higher concentrations of Lead (Pb), than the permissible PFA limit. Among thirteen vegetables, Beet, Cucumber, Pea, Beans, Lady's finger, Corriender leaves and Tomato showed high levels of Pb in vegetables collected from all sites. Health Risk Index was also found > 1 for Cd, Co and Pb. Health Risk Index for Cadmium was 1.64 and 2.38 in Cucumber from Site-6 and Site-8 respectively. In Spinach it was 2.19 and 2.15 respectively for Site-6 and Site-8. Health Risk Index for Pb was > 1 in Cucumber (All sites; 3.54 in Site-8), Pea (All sites except Site10; 2.45 in Site-7), Beans (All sites; 1.38 in Site-9), Lady's finger (All sites; 2.03 in Site-7), and Tomato (All sites except Site-10; 2.79 in Site-8). Lead and cadmium were among the most abundant heavy metals in the selected vegetables. The excessive content of these heavy metals in food may causes number of diseases. HRI more than 1 is considered to be not safe for human health. In present study, HRI indicates considerable risk and negative impact on human health.

Human rhino viruses (HRVs) serve as an imperative precursor for frequent cases of the common cold among children worldwide. An in-silico molecular docking attempt was made of some chief phytochemical entities (Arisaema plant species) as inhibitors of HRVs with selective therapeutic target action and minimal side effects. Around 60 phytoconstituents of different Arisaema species were docked against HRV receptor (PDB: 2XYA). Binding conformers of test ligands were compared with internal ligand. Finally, Syringaresinol 4'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (glide score: -10.86), Rutin (glide score: -9.04) & Apigenin-6,8-di-C-β-D-glucopyranoside (glide score: -7.88) have resulted in most promising hits which can be further act as an effective template to experimentally validate or further designed their choosy and budding analogue agents against HRVSs.

Molecular docking study was performed using Maestro Schrodinger suite 8.5 mainly on twenty nine phytoconstituents reported from the plant Aerva lanta for their antimicrobial potential. The crystal structure of protein data bank (PDB-ID: 3SRW) was obtained from RCSB (Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics) website. The ligands were obtained from the reported literature search of Aerva lanta plant. The top hits were analyzed for their binding affinity with the dihydrofolate reductase enzyme. The docking results revealed that rutin (Glide score: -11.75) exhibited better binding interaction to dihydrofolate reductase receptor.

Pyrethrin; derived from natural source (Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium) confirmed as a fundamental nucleus for the development of pyrethroids which ultimately resulted in the outstanding insecticidal activity by targeting the nervous systems of insects. To date, the binding and entry mechanism by which RSV infects respiratory epithelial cells is not still well understood and need to be explored. Notably, pyrethrins have exhibited considerable antiviral potential & thus an effort was made computationally to evaluate the pyrethroids as hopeful inhibitors of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Type 1 & type 2 Pyrethroids were subjected to docking simulations by using Maestro 9.2 version (Schrodinger LLC). Cyfluthrin showed better binding interactions against RSV (Glide score: -4.54). Remarkably, it showed two hydrogen bonding interactions with Lys46 (1.82 A) & Hie151 (2.19 A) of RSV protein receptor. The decrease in glide score is evidence for greater bond stability with protein. Based on the current findings, these studies in future may act as effective predecessor tool to further validate pyrethroids with wet lab experiments as capable antiviral agents for RSV.

Ficus religiosa extracts have been used in traditional Indian medicine to treat sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea and genital ulcers. The aim of this study was to investigate the antiviral activity of F. religiosa extracts against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), the main causative agent of genital ulcers and sores. Water and chloroform bark extracts were the most active against HSV-2, and also against an acyclovir-resistant strain. We demonstrate that the water extract has a direct virus-inactivating activity. By contrast, the chloroform extract inhibits viral attachment and entry and limits the production of viral progeny.

Introduction: Aerva lanata (Linn) of family Amaranthaceae is an important and commonly used plant for its medicinal and pharmacological properties and proving the traditional uses of flowers of A. lanata Linn. Objective: All extracts of A. lanata were further evaluated for antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiurolithiatic potential to scientifically prove the traditional uses. Materials and Methods: In the present investigation, different solvent extracts of flowers were obtained using a Soxhlet extractor. Microorganisms were obtained from IMTECH, Chandigarh. Antiurolithiatic study was carried out in Albino Research and Training Centre, Hyderabad. Results: Regardless of the antioxidant studied, the methanolic extract presented the highest antioxidant activity and the aqueous extracts offered the lowest, following the order: methanolic extract > ethyl acetate > chloroform > aqueous. The results of this antimicrobial study indicate that methanolic extract of A. lanata could be used as antimicrobial agents. Overall, the methanolic flower extract of A. lanata (Linn) was significantly more promising as antiurolithiatic spectrum. This result also suggested the potential usefulness of the methanolic extract as an antiurolithiatic agent. Conclusion: Henceforward, this research can be acknowledged as a prime new report that focuses on the application of A. lanata (Linn) as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiurolithiatic agent. Abbreviations used: IMTECH Chandigarh: Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh; IMMT: Institute of Mineral and Material Technology; CSIR: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research; DPPH: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl; MTCC: Microbial Type Culture Collection; BHT: Butylated Hydroxyl Toluene.

Ziziyphus nummularia (family: Rhamnaceae) is a thorny small bush, grows in abundance in the grazing lands of the arid areas of Rajasthan, India. It is an important ethnomedicinal plant of the Thar Desert; local inhabitants use every part of the plant as medicine. Kernels are prescribed in pregnancy as soporific, antiemetic and for relieving abdominal pain. The insect gall is powered and given orally with water to cure bone fracture. Crushed root is applied on the paining shoulder of the bullock. The decoction of leaves is used for the treatment of cough and cold; leaves are also regarded as diaphoretic and prescribed in typhoid. Paste of leaves is used for healing of cuts, boils and cutaneous disease. It is widely used in pain and inflammatory conditions. Z. nummularia contains a unique group of alkaloids known as cyclopeptide alkaloids, in continuation of our work carried out on the leaves of Z. nummularia, present study was initiated to explore antiinflammatory and analgesic potential of cyclopeptide alkaloids isolated from the leaves of Z. nummularia (IFZN). Anti-inflammatory activity was tested against rat paw oedema, mouse peritonitis and cotton pellet granuloma. For screening of analgesic activity, acetic acid induced writhing, tail flick and hot plate test were performed. IFZN 30 mg/kg shows the anti-oedematogenic effect against paw oedema induced by carrageenan, dextran, serotonin and histamine; IFZN 20 and 30 mg/kg were found to have highly significant anti-nociceptive effects. Result of pharmacological studies indicated that IFZN is a potent and efficacious analgesic agent. The analgesic activity of IFZN is mediated by the peripheral as well as central pathways.