This study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of water, ethanol and acetone Myristica fragrans seed extract tested against four bacteria species; two Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus) and two Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The susceptibility of these different bacterial species toward the extracts of this plants seed was compared with each other and between crust and bulb and with selected antibiotic (cipropholexin) used as positive control. Results showed that ethanol and acetone extracts exhibited antibacterial activity against gram positive bacterial species only, the diameter of inhibition zone reached 25mm against Staph. aureus by crust extract. Crust extract showed antibacterial activity more than the pulp extract. It is concluded that this plant can be indispensible source for secondary metabolites.

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The goal of the current work was to create an antibacterial agent by using polycaprolactone/chitosan (PCL/CH) nanofibers loaded with Cordia myxa fruit extract (CMFE) as an antimicrobial agent for wound dressing. Several characteristics, including morphological, physicomechanical, and mechanical characteristics, surface wettability, antibacterial activity, cell viability, and in vitro drug release, were investigated. The inclusion of CMFE in PCL/CH led to increased swelling capability and maximum weight loss. The SEM images of the PCL/CH/CMFE mat showed a uniform topology free of beads and an average fiber diameter of 195.378 nm. Excellent antimicrobial activity was shown towards Escherichia coli (31.34 ± 0.42 mm), Salmonella enterica (30.27 ± 0.57 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (21.31 ± 0.17 mm), Bacillus subtilis (27.53 ± 1.53 mm), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (22.17 ± 0.12 mm) based on the inhibition zone assay. The sample containing 5 wt% CMFE had a lower water contact angle (47 ± 3.7°), high porosity, and high swelling compared to the neat mat. The release of the 5% CMFE-loaded mat was proven to be based on anomalous non-Fickian diffusion using the Korsmeyer–Peppas model. Compared to the pure PCL membrane, the PCL-CH/CMFE membrane exhibited suitable cytocompatibility on L929 cells. In conclusion, the fabricated antimicrobial nanofibrous films demonstrated high bioavailability, with suitable properties that can be used in wound dressings.

The yield of phenolic acids; rosmarinic acid (RA), caffeic acid (CAF) and phenolic diterpenes; carnosic acid (CA), carnosol (CAR), rosmanol (ROL) from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) was investigated. Aqueous extraction was conducted for leaf and callus tissues, the chemical analysis for extracts was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Data showed that RA and CAF production was 4.5, 2.7 µg/ml respectively. CA and CAR production reached 3.3, 2.8 µg/ml when the fungal elicitor; Fusarium oxysporum was added at the concentration 2.0 mg/l (2×10 4 CFU/ml), except ROL which was found at high levels (4.3, 4.2 and 4.6 µg/ml) only from leaf extracts, untreated callus and when callus treated with 0.4 mg/l of CaCl 2 respectively.

Background and Objectives: Medicinal plants have recently received much interest because of the low production costs and fewer side effects associated with remedies made from them compared with chemical therapies. The current study inves- tigated the antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxicity properties of an ethanol extract of Cordiamyxa fruit (CMF) extract. Materials and Methods: The antioxidant activity of CMF was determined by measuring electron-donating ability with a 1,1-diphenyl-2picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The phenolic content was calculated as Gallic acid equivalents using the Folin– Ciocalteu assay. To evaluate the efficiency of CMF, five multidrug-resistant bacterial strains (Salmonella enterica, Escherich- ia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were tested using the agar diffusion method. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activity of CMF was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dipheltetrazolium (MTT) assay against a healthy fibroblast (L929) cell line. Results: The CMF ethanol extract was revealed to have substantial phenol and flavonoid content (113.71± 0.04 mg gallic acid/g dried extract and 68.9 ± 0.002 mg quercetin/g dried extract, respectively) that showed the highest percentage of DPPH inhibition (86.45%), which was achieved by ethanol extract at the concentration of 60 μg/ml,with excellent antibacterial activity against S. aureus, E. coli, S. enterica, B. subtilis, and P. aeruginosa (17.5 ± 1.0, 14.9 ± 1.0, 13.3 ± 1.5, 15.7 ± 1.0, and 13.8 ± 1.5 mm IZ, respectively). In addition, no expressive antiproliferative effect was recorded in the assessment of cytotoxicity on L929 cells. Conclusion: According to the current findings, CMF exhibits low cytotoxicity, antibacterial activity, and antioxidant prop- erties in vitro and can be developed for pharmaceutical and medical uses in the future.

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Iraq is the birthplace of the date palm, and historically it was the domestication center of this crop. Moreover, for some years, Iraq was the largest producer of dates in the world. Many factors negatively have affected both the production and natural genetic diversity of the crop. However, efforts are being made by the Iraqi authorities and researchers alike to compensate for the serious damage the date palm sector has experienced over the past 30 years. New approaches have been introduced including biotechnology, grove management, pest control, and industrial practices. Production limitations have been diagnosed and constraints are on their way to be resolved. Date palm plantations are under stress from many biotic and abiotic factors including key insect pests like dubas bug, lesser date moth, trunk and stalk borers, and Old World date mite. Date palm diseases cause serious damages to date palm trees especially where stress factors are present such as palm weakness, soil salinity, high water table, borers, and tree aging. The use of plant tissue culture to support propagation by offshoots is necessary and started in the early 1980s. Both direct organogenesis and callus induction with subsequent asexual embryo formation protocols were achieved. Approximately, 600 date palm cultivars were grown in Iraq before 1980; however, currently their number is reduced to 500. Morphological

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