Antimicrobial activity of lozenge with garlic bulb powder

According to the tested antimicrobial activity of constituents and their chemical characteristics, a new formulation of oral antiseptic was made based on garlic bulb powder and its active principles with strong antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacteria and fungi. The antimicrobial activity of garlic bulb powder, allicin and the lozenge with 15% of garlic powder was tested using broth microdilution method. The tested garlic powder, as well the lozenge, have shown very high antimicrobial activity with MIC 1.25-5.00 mg/ml, and 1.87-7.50 mg/ml, respectively. The major compound, allicin, was highly active at a very low concentration. The minimal inhibitory concentration of allicin was from 6.25-12.50 μg/ml for antibacterial activity and 0.4 μg/ml for antifungal activity. Those concentrations are comparable with concentrations of commercially available antibiotics and fungicides. The formulation of an antiseptic with herbal constituents, high antibacterial and antifungal activity and pleasant taste could be an alternative to classical pharmaceutical oral antiseptics.Na osnovu ispitane antimikrobne aktivnosti komponenata i njihovih hemijskih karakteristika, napravljena je nova formulacija oralnog antiseptika koji kao aktivnu komponentu ima prašak belog luka čiji sastojci pokazuju veoma izraženu aktivnost protiv širokog spektra bakterija i gljive Candida albicans. Antimikrobna aktivnost praška belog luka, alicina i lozengi sa 15% praška belog luka je ispitivana bujon mikrodilucionom metodom. Testiran prašak belog luka, kao i lozenge imaju veoma jaku antimikrobnu aktivnost sa minimalnim inhibitornim koncentracijama (MIC) 1,25-5,00 mg/ml (prašak belog luka) i 1,87-7,50 mg/ml (lozenge). Glavna aktivna komponeta belog luka, alicin, pokazuje antimikrobnu aktivnost u veoma niskim koncentracijama. Minimalne inhibitorne koncentracije alicina se kreću od 6,25-12,5 μg/ml protiv bakterija i 0,4 μg/ml protiv gljivice Candida albicans. Ove koncentracije se mogu uporediti sa koncentracijama komercijalnih antibiotika i fungicida. Naši rezultati su u skladu sa prethodnim ispitivanjima alicina i različitih ekstrakta belog luka, i potvrđuju najvažniju ulogu alicina u antimikrobnoj aktivnosti. Veoma je važna visoka aktivnost ovako formulisanog oralnog preparata protiv gljivice C. albicans koja je čest uzročnik infekcija usne duplje. Formulisan proizvod sa antiseptičkim osobinama karakteriše stanje čvrstog rastvora gde su aktivne supstance molekularno-disperzno ugrađene u obliku dobro rastvornog polimernog matriksa (sorbitola) velike specifične površine. Dobra rastvorljivost polimernog matriksa i velika specifična površina omogućuju zadovoljavajuću brzinu otpuštanja aktivnih principa iz belog luka (alicin). Pored visoke antimikrobne aktivnosti, lozenge poseduju prijatan ukus i osvežavaju dah, pa se mogu koristiti kao prirodni antiseptik u prevenciji i terapiji infekcija sluzokože usta i ždrela. Formulacija antiseptika sa biljnim sastojcima i visokom antibakterijskom i antifungalnom aktivnošću može biti alternativa farmaceutskim oralnim antisepticima.Projekat ministarstva br. 173021, br. 34012 i br. 17303

Balkans' Asteraceae Species as a Source of Biologically Active Compounds for the Pharmaceutical and Food Industry

Herbal drugs are a useful source of different bioactive compounds. Asteraceae species, as the most widespread vascular plants, can be used both as food and as medicine due to the great diversity of recorded chemical components - different phenolic compounds, terpenes, carotenoids, vitamins, alkaloids, etc. The Balkan Peninsula is characterized by great diversity of plants from Asteraceae family, including presence of rare and endemic species. In this review, results of the survey of chemical composition and biological activity, mainly focusing on antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer effects of selected Balkans' Asteraceae species were provided. In addition, information on edible plants from Asteraceae family is presented, due to growing interest for the so-called 'healthy diet' and possible application of Balkans' Asteraceae species as food of high nutritional value or as a source of functional food ingredients.This is peer-reviewed version of the following article: Kostić, A.; Janacković, P.; Kolasinac, S. M.; Dajić-Stevanović, Z. Balkans’ Asteraceae Species as a Source of Biologically Active Compounds for the Pharmaceutical and Food Industry. Chemistry & Biodiversity 2020, 17 (6). [https://doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.202000097

St. George’s mushroom, Calocybe gambosa (Fr.) Donk: A promising source of nutrients and biologically active compounds

The composition of biologically active compounds of Calocybe gambosa (Lyophyllaceae) was analysed, and the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities were tested in vitro. C. gambosa was low in energy, fat, and car- bohydrates, but rich in proteins and fibres. The total polyphenol content in the extracts was low (23.08 ± 0.67 in aqueous and 24.99 ± 4.25 mg GA mg 1 of extract in methanolic extract). The methanolic extract showed anti-DPPH radical activity with an IC 50 of 626.10 ± 25.20 mg mL 1 . The sample of C. gambosa is rich in nucleotides and amino acids responsible for its pleasant taste. The nucleoside and 50-mono- phosphates contents were 0.97 mg g 1 and 2.32 mg g 1 of dry mushroom, respectively. The contents of essential and non-essential amino acids were 18.41 ± 0.06 and 41.75 ± 0.30 mg g 1 d.w., respectively. The percentages of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were 42.6% and 57.4%, respectively. The most abundant water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins were B1 and E, respectively. Cytotoxic effect of the extracts was examined against different cancer cell lines, and the best cytotoxicity was showed by the peptide extract against colon cancer cell line LS174

Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of the Sulphur Shelf Medicinal Mushroom, Laetiporus sulphureus (Agaricomycetes), from Serbia

Cyclohexane, dichloromethane, and methanol extracts of the medicinal mushroom Laetiporus sulphureus were tested for their antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and radical scavenging activities. Total polyphenol content was also determined. Regarding the amount of the phenolic compounds in the methanol extract, there were 14.1 +/- 0.6 mg gallic acid/g dry extract and a concentration of 0.66 +/- 0.15 mg/mL resulted in the removal of 50% of the DPPH radicals (half-maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50]) . The average minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against a select panel of microorganisms were between 125 and 250 mu g/mL, and the methanolic extract significantly inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (MIC, 31.25 mu g/mL). Also, cyclohexane and dichloromethane extracts inhibited the growth of Helicobacter pylori (MIC, 62.5 mu g/mL). Cyclohexane and dichloromethane extracts showed higher antiproliferative action compared with the methanol extract. The lowest IC50 was induced on HeLa cells by dichloromethane extract (IC50,67.20 +/- 5.49 mu g/mL), followed by cyclohexane extract (IC50 75.91 +/- 1.57 mu g/mL). The tested cyclohexane and dichloromethane extracts possessed moderate antibacterial and significant cytotoxic activity against both malignant (HeLa and N87) and healthy (MRC5) cell lines. Methanol extracts exhibited promising anti-Helicobacter activity without cytotoxicity against N87 and MRC5 cell lines