Outbreak of Zika virus pathogenesis and quest of its vaccine development: Where do we stand now?

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is a life-threatening tropical infection, mainly caused by mosquito bite. After a very long period of quietness, ZIKV infections have become a problematic issue again. Previously, the virus was limited to Africa and Asia only but later it emerged in Brazil, South America, and other parts of the world in 2015. In 2016, there are emerging new cases of sexually transmitted ZIKV infection as well. At present, there is no proper treatment and available pronounced vaccines for the treatment of ZIKV infection. The prime focal point of this review is not only to provide imperative epidemiological information on ZIKV infection in brief but also the current situation of vaccines testing on animal model as well as in clinical trial phases. Currently there is no human vaccine for this pestiferous viral infection. Therefore, prevention, proper management, and up-to-date recommendation are crucial to mitigate the possible risk of vector and non-vector transmission of ZIKV

Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles Using Cannonball Leaves and Their Cytotoxic Activity against MCF-7 Cell Line

Cannonball (Couroupita guianensis) is a tree belonging to the family Lecythidaceae. Various parts of the tree have been reported to contain oils, keto steroids, glycosides, couroupitine, indirubin, isatin, and phenolic substances. We report here the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using cannonball leaves. Green synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, and FTIR. Cannonball leaf broth as a reducing agent converts silver ions to AgNPs in a rapid and ecofriendly manner. The UV-Vis spectra gave surface plasmon resonance peak at 434 nm. TEM image shows well-dispersed silver nanoparticles with an average particle size of 28.4 nm. FTIR showed the structure and respective bands of the synthesized nanoparticles and the stretch of bonds. Green synthesized silver nanoparticles by cannonball leaf extract show cytotoxicity to human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Overall, this environmentally friendly method of biological silver nanoparticles production provides rates of synthesis faster than or comparable to those of chemical methods and can potentially be used in various human contacting areas such as cosmetics, foods, and medical applications

Neoteric advancement in TB drugs and an overview on the anti-tubercular role of peptides through computational approaches

Peptides of varied origins such as human immune cells and non-immune cells, bacteria, fungi, and venoms have been widely investigated as anti-tubercular agents for the replacement of existing anti-tubercular drugs in future. In the present review, we spotlighted not only on the mechanisms of action and mode of administration of currently available anti-tubercular drugs but also the recent comprehensive report of World Health Organization (WHO) on TB epidemic, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. The major excerpt of the study also inspects the direct contribution of different computational tools during drug designing strategies against M. tuberculosis in order to grasp the interplay between anti-tubercular peptides and targeted bacterial protein. The potentiality of some of these anti-tubercular peptides as therapeutic agents unlocks a new portal for achieving the goal of end TB strategy.Tuberculosis (TB) is a devastating threat to human health whose treatment without the emergence of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) is the million-dollar question at present. The pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis has been extensively studied which represents unique defence strategies by infecting macrophages. Several anti-tubercular drugs with varied mode of action and administration from diversified sources have been used for the treatment of TB that later contributed to the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). However, few of potent anti-tubercular drugs are scheduled for clinical trials status in 2017–2018

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis: An overview on infection beyond Lungs

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) involves 10-15% of all tuberculosis (TB) cases. Recent statistical report showed that EPTB accounts for more than 50% of all cases of TB in HIV-positive patients. In spite of existing anti-tubercular drugs based treatment of EPTB, the ideal regimen and duration of treatment have not yet been established. In general, EPTB is a kind of TB infecting diversified tissues and organs of body other than lungs. In fact, people suffering from TB and co-infected with HIV are prone to develop EPTB much more frequently. The present chapter discusses on the general overviews of EPTB infecting distinct body sites other than lungs. Currently, the treatment of EPTB completely relies on existing anti-tubercular drugs. In addition, significant efforts, particularly close clinical monitoring would be an imperative step towards its therapeutic strategy

Role of garlic (Allium sativum) as feed supplements in poultry industries: An overview

Garlic (Allium sativum) is considered as wonder drug of the medicinal world due to its multifunctional beneficial aspect. Garlic constitutes at least 33 sulphur containing compounds, several enzymes, amino acids, and minerals. Over the past few years, garlic has been utilized as potential feed supplement in order to improve the growth performances and other biochemical properties of broiler chicken. The supplementation of garlic in basal diet has significantly increased the body weight gain and feed conversion ratio of broilers. Previous studies have suggested the pivotal role of garlic as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter in poultry industries. This review overviews the studies investigated in the recent years for improving the growth performances and other important parameters of poultry

Lignocellulosic biomass as potent feedstock resource for bioethanol production: Recent updates

Non-renewable fossil fuels are unable to fulfil today`s requirements of the societies in terms of energy requirements. The increasing demands for energy have emphasized the researchers to search for alternative sources of energy. Among distinct alternative energy resources, bioethanol has attracted an immense attention worldwide. Currently, lignocellulosic biomasses are considered as the largest renewable resources for the production of bioethanol due to its maximum abundance on the earth. Pre-treated lignocellulosic biomasses are converted into bioethanol by both direct microbial conversion and hydrolysis process along with fermentation. Immobilization and nanotechnology have shown effective roles in the improvement of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomasses. This review focuses on recent developments in bioethanol production from varied lignocellulosic biomasses as cheep feedstock

Isolation of bacteria from soil sample of Tamil Nadu and their in vitro interaction

The present study was investigated to determine the competitive interaction between Gram positive (B. subtilis) and Gram negative (P. aeruginosa and E. coli) bacteria in vitro. Bacteria of interest were isolated from soil sample and were identified through morphological and biochemical tests. Bacterial cultures were grown alone and as co- culture in test tubes containing sterile broth. Bacterial growth and their growth inhibition in co- culture tubes were analyzed till 96 h through spectrophotometric assay and colony forming unit (CFU) assay. Spectrophotometric analysis and CFU/mL assay showed that the effect of B. subtilis on P. aeruginosa and E. coli in co- culture tubes was growth inhibitory. This is accompanied by the reduction in absorbance value and CFU/mL of the co-culture tubes. The bactericidal activity of B. subtilis was measured on P. aeruginosa and E. coli using agar well diffusion method. B. subtilis showed zone of inhibition of 8 mm and 6 mm against P. aeruginosa and E. coli, respectively. The antagonistic activity test of B. subtilis favoured the spectrophotometric and colony forming assay results. These results suggest that B. subtilis develop adaptational pathways by extracellular signaling molecules and antibacterial factors in order to compete with bacterial neighbors

Optimization of Thermo-Alkali Stable Amylase Production and Biomass Yield from Bacillus sp. Under Submerged Cultivation

The present context was investigated to optimize amylase production and cell biomass of poultry-associated Bacillus sp. using a conventional as well as statistical approach. Box-Behnken design (BBD) matrix at N = 29 was employed to optimize four independent variables, selected from one factor at a time (OFAT) technique, for maximum amylase production and biomass yield. The relative activity of crude amylase obtained from the isolate showed stability at high temperature (60 °C) and alkaline condition (pH 9) up to 4 h of incubation, thereby indicating its alkali-tolerant and thermo-stable property. The BBD resulted in enhanced amylase activity of 145.32 U/mL when the basal medium was slightly acidic (pH 6) and kept at a temperature of 35 °C with the shaking speed of 130 rpm, in addition to being incubated for 24 h. The selected factors, when employed with this statistical optimization approach, showed 1.5-fold and 2-fold enhancements in the amylase production and biomass yield respectively compared to the OFAT method. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed high coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.96 to 0.99 for both the responses at significant level (p < 0.05). Three-dimensional response and 2D contour plot of the quadratic model showed interdependent interaction between the effective variables. Long-term thermo-alkali stability of amylase obtained from Bacillus sp. suggested not only its wide applications in pharmaceutical, food and biotechnological industries, but also suggested a potent replacement of existing amylases on the market