No abstract

The appearance of novel microbial resistance, diverse cancer ailment and several other morbidities such as appetite loss, hair loss, anemia, cell damage, etc., are among most critical situation that keeps the phytochemical quest on. Thus, this study characterized the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer potentials of a rarely accessed Acer cappadocicum gled (AC) population thriving in a remote Palas Valley in northern Pakistan. Leaf extracts of the plant were prepared in organic solvents with different polarities through maceration. Extracts were subjected to antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities using agar well, DPPH and cell viability assays. A. cappadocicum methanolic extract (ACM) significantly inhibited bacterial growth, followed by n-butanolic extract (ACB) with the second-highest bacterial inhibition. Similar activity was observed against mycelial growth inhibition in plant-fungal pathogen by ACM and ACB. However, human pathogenic fungi did not affect much by extracts. In antioxidant assessment, the chloroform extract (ACC) showed strong scavenging activity and in cytotoxic evaluation, extracts restricted growth proliferation in cancer cells. The inhibitory evidence of extracts, potent scavenging ability, and low cell viability of human-derived cell lines supports the antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancerous potential of A. cappadocicum. It advances our quest for natural product research.

Medicinal plants are known for their diverse use in the traditional medicine of the Himalayan region of Pakistan. The present study is designed to investigate the anticancer and antimicrobial activities of Prunus cornuta and Quercus semicarpifolia. The anticancer activity was performed using cancerous human cell lines (HepG2, Caco-2, A549, MDA-MB-231, and NCI-H1437 carcinoma cells), while the antimicrobial activity was conducted with the agar-well diffusion method. Furthermore, toxicity studies were performed on alveolar and renal primary epithelial cells. Initially, different extracts were prepared by maceration techniques using n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and methanol. The preliminary phytochemical screening showed the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, and quinones. The chloroform extract of P. cornuta (PCC) exhibited significant inhibitory activity against Acinetobacter baumannii (16 mm) and Salmonella enterica (14.5 mm). The A. baumannii and S. enterica strains appeared highly susceptible to n-hexane extract of P. cornuta (PCN) with an antibacterial effect of 15 mm and 15.5 mm, respectively. The results also showed that the methanolic extracts of Quercus semecarpifolia (QSM) exhibited considerable antibacterial inhibitory activity in A. baumannii (18 mm), Escherichia coli (15 mm). The QSN and QSE extracts also showed good inhibition in A. baumannii with a 16 mm zone of inhibition. The Rhizopus oryzae strain has shown remarkable mycelial inhibition by PCM and QSN with 16 mm and 21 mm inhibition, respectively. Furthermore, the extracts of P. cornuta and Q. semicarpifolia exhibited prominent growth inhibition of breast (MDA-MB-231) and lung (A549) carcinoma cells with 19–30% and 22–39% cell viabilities, respectively. The gut cell line survival was also significantly inhibited by Q. semicarpifolia (24–34%). The findings of this study provide valuable information for the future development of new antibacterial and anticancer medicinal agents from P. cornuta and Q. semicarpifolia extracts.

Background We aimed to evaluate and improve the accuracy of the ultrasound scan in estimating gestational age in late pregnancy (ie, after 24 weeks' gestation) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where access to ultrasound in the first half of pregnancy is rare and where intrauterine growth restriction is prevalent. Methods This prospective, population-based, cohort study was done in three LMICs (Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Tanzania) participating in the WHO Alliance for Maternal and Newborn Health Improvement study. Women carrying a live singleton fetus dated by crown-rump length (CRL) measurements between 8 + ⁰-14 + ⁰ weeks of gestation, who were willing to return for two additional ultrasound scans, and who planned on delivering in the study area were enrolled in the study. Participants underwent ultrasonography at 24 + ⁰-29 + ⁶ weeks and at 30 + ⁰-36 + ⁶ weeks' gestation. Birthweights were measured within 72 h of birth, and the proportions of infants who had a small-for-gestational-age birthweight (ie, a birthweight <10% of the standard birthweight for the infant's gestational age and sex according to the INTERGROWTH-21st project newborn baby reference standards) and appropriate-for-gestational-age birthweights were ascertained. Estimation of gestational age by standard fetal biometry measurements in addition to transcerebellar diameter (TCD) measurements was compared with gold-standard CRL measurements by use of Bland-Altman plots to calculate the mean difference and 95% limits of agreement. Statistical modelling was done to develop new gestational age prediction formulas for third trimester ultrasonography in LMICs.

There was a gradual increase in SFCT at 1 month after cataract removal in the study eyes. The effect was more pronounced in younger individuals and nondiabetic individuals.