Exploring the potential anti-inflammatory and wound-healing proprieties of Cepaea hortensis snail mucin

Long before its popularization as a skincare ingredient, snail slime was reported to have a variety of health-promoting attributes. Its medicinal use involved the treatment of ailments, such as anthrax, hernias, stomach pain, chest pain, as well as tuberculosis. The main aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties of snail slime from Cepaea hortensis (Müller, 1774) (brown garden snail). The slime was extracted by a mild method, and the anti-inflammatory characteristics were determined by croton-oil-induced mouse-ear edema. The histological study showed that the snail slime exerts its action at the level of inflammatory mediators, explaining the drastic decrease of edema (59% in comparison to the 47% of indomethacin). The daily application of 50 µL (15 mg/kg) of snail slime on excision wounds in rabbits proved to induce an almost full tissue repair after 24 days of treatment (87.80–92.7% wound closure in width and length, respectively). Analysis of the slime’s safety aspect allowed affirming the nontoxicity of snail slime on both the skin and eyes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antibacterial activity of the Essential oils against multiresistant bacterial strains isolated from hospital

Due to increasing bacterial resistance, the research for antimicrobials of plant origin has been an important alternative. Thus, this study aimed to determine the antibacterial effect of essential oils from T .riatarum, and R. officinalis against 17 bacterial pathogens responsible for nosocomial infections isolated from hospitalized patients. The antibacterial activity was assessed by means of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) using the microdilution method. The essential oils of R. officinalis produced high inhibition zones against Micrococaceae especially towards Staphylococcus aureus strains (25 mm and 30 mm), in comparison, T. riatarum essential oils presented a moderate effect with inhibition diameters ranging from 9 mm to 15 mm. Overall, the T. riatarum and R. officinalis E.Os posses a significant antibacterial activity against 17 bacterial pathogens representing the most common pathogenic microorganisms, particularly, A. baumannii and staphylococcus strains which have been the most sensitive to T. riatarum oils, on the other hand, the most sensitive strains towards R. officinalis have been Gram (+) streptococci and E. coli for Gram (-) bacteria. This study emphasizes the high beneficial effects of the essential oils of T. ritarum and R. officinalis in inhibiting the growth of bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections. These EOs can be used to develop new therapeutic protocols for resistant infectious disease

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad: Chemical characterization, scavenging and cytotoxic activities

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad (C. colocynthis) called colocynth is a wild species that belongs to the family cucurbitaceae. The present research work aimed to study the phytochemical composition, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of C. colocynthis seed extract. The chemical characterization of C. colocynthis seeds was effectuated using a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The cytotoxic activity of C. colocynthis seed extract against breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231) and colon cancer cell lines (HT-29) was assessed using the WST-1 bioassay. The antioxidant power was evaluated by the DPPH assay. The phytochemical characterization of C. colocynthis seed extract showed the richness of C. colocynthis seed extract in several families of bioactive compounds. Regarding the cytotoxic activity, the IC50 (the half-maximal inhibitory concentration) of C. colocynthis seed extract in inhibiting MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 were 170.34 and 132.31 µg/mL, respectively. The cancerous cell lines MDA-MB-231 seem to be more sensitive to C. colocynthis seed extract than HT-29 cell lines. C. colocynthis seed extract exhibited a strong antioxidant power with an IC50 value of 1.37 mg/mL. Insight into the results obtained, C. colocynthis seed extract may be used as a promising weapon to fight against cancer and free radicals’ damage