Methyl 2-(8a-hy­droxy-4a-methyl-8-methyl­enedeca­hydro­naphthalen-2-yl)acrylate

The title compound, C16H24O3, was synthesized from ilicic acid which was isolated from the aerial part of Inula Viscosa­ (L) Aiton [or Dittrichia Viscosa­ (L) Greuter]. The mol­ecule contains two fused six-membered rings both in chair conformations. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into chains running parallel to the a axis by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

10α-Hy­droxy-4,9-dimethyl-13-(morph­o­lin-4-ylmeth­yl)-3,8,15-trioxatetra­cyclo­[10.3.0.02,4.07,9]penta­decan-14-one

The title compound, C19H29NO6, was synthesized from 9α-hy­droxy­parthenolide (9α-hy­droxy-4,8-dimethyl-12-methyl­ene-3,14-dioxatricyclo­[9.3.0.02,4]tetra­dec-7-en-13-one), which was isolated from the chloro­form extract of the aerial parts of Anvillea radiata. The mol­ecule contains a fused five- and ten-membered ring system. The ten-membered ring adopts an approximate chair–chair conformation, while the five-membered ring is in an envelope conformation, with the C atom closest to the hy­droxy group forming the flap. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds connect the mol­ecules into layers parallel to (001). An intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bond is also present

Phytochemicalanalysis,cytotoxic,antioxidant,andantibacterial activities of lichens

© 2020 Noura Aoussar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Lichens present a complex symbiotic relationship between a filamentous fungus, photoautotrophic partner (algae or cyanobacteria), and bacterial community. The Objective of the Study. This study aimed at investigating the chemical composition and cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of acetone extracts of Moroccan Evernia prunastri (E. prunastri), Ramalina farinacea (R. farinacea), and Pseudevernia furfuracea (P. furfuracea). Materials and Methods. The phytochemical analysis was carried out by HPLC-UV. The cytotoxic effect was assessed on human prostate cancer (22RV1), human colon carcinoma (HT-29), human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep-G2), and Hamster ovarian cancer (CHO) cells lines by WST1 assay. The antioxidant power was assessed by DPPH and FRAP assays. The antibacterial effect was obtained using the broth microdilution method. Results. The findings of phytochemical analysis showed that the lichens studied possess interesting bioactive molecules such as physodalic acid, evernic acid, and usnic acid, as well as protocetraric acid. According to the American National Cancer Institute guidelines, the WST-1 test showed that all crude extracts did not show significant cytotoxic effects against all concerous cell lines, and IC50 values ranged from 42.30 to 140.24 µg/mL. Regarding the antioxidant activity, P. furfuracea extract showed the highest free-radical-scavenging ability (IC50 = 498.40 µg/mL). The most potent antibacterial extract was recorded for P. furfuracea extract with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 0.039 to 0.31 mg/mL. Conclusion. In this research work, we report that the studied lichen extracts exhibit an important biological effect, supporting that lichens represent a hopeful source of original natural products for the research of new bioactive molecules having a pharmaceutical interest

Chemical composition and antifungal activity of Bubonium imbricatum volatile oil

The chemical composition of the essential oil extracted from the aerial parts of Bubonium imbricatum, an endemic plant of southern Morocco, was analysed. GC-MS showed 51 compounds, representing 60.2% of the total oil. Thymol isobutyrate (18.3%) and 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (16.2%) were the major constituents of the oil. The oil was tested for antifungal activity in mycelial growth inhibition tests in vitro against three agricultural pathogenic fungi: Penicillium digitatum, P. expansum and Botrytis cinerea. The oil at 1000 ppm was highly effective against mycelial growth of P. digitatum with 99% inhibition. For P. expansum and B. cinerea the percentage of mycelial growth inhibition at 1000 ppm was respectively 87.2% and 87.8%. At 2000 ppm the oil was 100% effective in controlling mycelial growth of all three fungi. B. imbricatum essential oil was also tested at different concentrations on citrus fruits (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Nules) inoculated with P. digitatum (105 conidia ml-1). The oil had a fungistatic or fungicidal effect on C. reticulata

Contamination of the Surfaces of a Health Care Environment by Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Bacteria

Nosocomial infections (NIs) are known worldwide and remain a major problem despite scientific and technical advances in the field of health. The severity of the infection depends on the characteristics of the microorganisms involved and the high frequency of resistant pathogens in the hospital environment. The aim of this study is to determine the distribution of pathogenic bacteria (and their resistance to antibiotics) that spread on hospital surfaces, more specifically, on those of various departments in the Provincial Hospital Center (PHC) of Mohammedia, Morocco. A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2017 to April 2018. Samples were collected by swabbing the hospital surfaces, and the isolated bacteria were checked for their susceptibility to antibiotics by the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method following the standards of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Among 200 swab samples, 176 (88%) showed bacterial growth. Gram-negative isolates were predominant at 51.5% (101/196), while the Gram-positives were at 48.5% (95/196). The main isolates are Enterobacteria weighted at 31.6% (62/196), Staphylococcus aureus reaching 24% (47/196), Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 9.2% (18/196), and Acinetobacter spp. with 3.3% (6/196). Moreover, the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the isolates showed that about 31.7% (32/101) of the Gram-negative isolates were found to be MDR. This resistance is also high among isolates of S. aureus of which 44.7% (20/47) were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Contamination of hospital surfaces by MDR bacteria is a real danger to public health. The concept of environmental bacterial reservoir is a reality that requires strict compliance with current guidelines and recommendations for hand hygiene, cleaning, and disinfection of surfaces in hospitals