The present research has been performed on black pepper of two cultivars to evaluate their nutritional quality and safety issue on the basis of proximate, chemical and pharmacological properties. The proximate results were compiled with the standard USDA limits. K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Al and Se were detected as major elements, whereas the toxic elements were found within the recommended limit. The GC‐MS analysis of the essential oils showed the presence of δ‐3‐carene (32.61%) as the major component in Kerala cultivar whereas β‐caryophyllene (18.39%) was the major components in Indigenous cultivar. The IC50 values of DPPH antioxidant activity of the essential oils were found to be 44.16 and 22.88 mg/mL in Indigenous and Kerala cultivars, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils showed good activity in both cultivars. The LC50 values of the brine shrimp cytotoxic activity were 1.03 and 1.21 μg/mL in Indigenous and Kerala cultivars, respectively. Practical applications Spice quality is an important issue in the food industries as well as export markets. Due to the toxicological effect of imported spices, much attention has been paid to the safety issue especially on cytotoxicity and toxic metal contaminations. The present study reveals that both cultivars possess rich amount of nutritional components, essential minerals, phyto and flavouring components in their essential oils and recommended level of toxic elements as well as decent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This study promises to scaffold a new window for exportation of quality spice and confer potential for use in food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.

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Lung cancer remains a major public health concern among all cancer diseases due to the toxicity and side-effects of the available commercially synthesized drugs. Natural product-derived synthesized anticancer drugs are now of promising interest to fight against cancer death. Carvacrol is a major component of most essential oil-bearing plants with potential pharmacological activity, especially against various cancer cell lines. Among the other organometallic compounds, copper complexes have been reported to be effective anticancer agents against various cancer cell lines, especially lung and leukemia cancers, due to the nontoxic nature of copper in normal cells since it is an endogenic metal. In this study, we synthesized three carvacrol derivatives, i.e., carvacrol aldehyde, Schiff base, and copper–Schiff base complex, through an established synthesis protocol and characterized the synthesized product using various spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized derivatives were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic activity against different cancer cell lines, including human lung cancer (A549) and human fibroblast (BALB-3T3). Our findings showed that the copper–Schiff base complex derived from carvacrol inhibited the proliferation and migration of the A549 cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. This activity might be due to the inhibition of cell proliferation and migration at the G2/M cell-cycle phase, as well as apoptosis, possibly through the activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the activity of the copper–Schiff base complex of carvacrol against A549 cell lines. Our result highlights that a new synthesized copper complex from carvacrol could be a novel potential drug in the treatment of lung cancer.

Pimpinella anisum L. seeds of the two cultivars were assessed for their nutritional quality and safety assessment through proximate, chemical and pharmacological studies. The proximate composition along with rich mineral elements as well as minor level of toxic elements indicated the good quality of seeds. The GC-MS analyses of hydro distilled volatile oils of two cultivars contained 16 constituents. The main constituents in BSRC (Bangladesh Spice Research Centre) seeds were trans-anethole (83.67%), fenchone (5.29%) and 1,2-diisopropenylcyclobutane (6.31%) whereas, trans-anethole (69.94%), fenchone (11.184%) and d-limonene (13.007%) were the main constituents in local market seeds. The IC 50 values of DPPH antioxidant activity showed at 48.71 and 52.48 mg/mL, in BSRC and local market seeds cultivars essential oils respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils showed moderate activity in both cultivars against Gram-positive, Gramnegative bacteria and fungi. Both oils had some similarity in physiochemical properties and antimicrobial activity. The brine shrimp cytotoxic activity of the essential oils exhibited weaker activity than the standard drug at 3.06 and 2.86 μg/mL (IC 50 ) in BSRC and local market seed cultivars respectively. The present investigation demonstrated good nutritional quality with rich bioactive phytoconstituents as well as low level of toxic elements of anise seeds. The research findings can open up a new possibility for exportation of indigenously cultivated spices as well as recommendations for food and pharmaceutical industries.

Background: Adenanthera pavonina L. is an important medicinal plant and its barks are used in traditional medicine for treating different diseases. Therefore, a phytochemical investigation was carried out to isolate and identify secondary metabolites from its barks. Results: Seven compounds namely ethyl 3,3-dimethyl-13-hydroxytridecanoate (1), stigmasta-5,22-dien-3β-ol (2), tert.butyl tridecanoate (3), 6-α-hydroxy stigmast-20(21)-en-3-one (4) of dichloromethane extract and 18-(2′, 3′dihydroxyphenyl)nonadec-17-en-2-ol (5), 1-(N-propyl amino)-2-henecosanone (6), and stigmast-5(6), 20(21)-diene-3one (7) were isolated from the barks of Adenanthera pavonina Linn. Of these compounds, 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 appear new. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques, mainly by NMR. Conclusions: Five new and two known compounds have been isolated and characterized from the bark of A. pavonina. The isolated compounds could be a potential template for the synthesis and development of new lead compounds with interesting pharmacological properties.

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The continuous spread and evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the rapid surge in infection cases in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) evoke a dire need for effective therapeutics. In this study, we explored the inhibitory potential of a library of 605 phytocompounds, selected from Indian medicinal plants with reported antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities, against the receptor-binding domain of spike proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and the variants of concern, including variants B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.617.2 (Delta), and B.1.1.529 (Omicron). Our approach was based on extensive molecular docking, assessment of drug-likeness, and robust molecular dynamics simulations. We also identified promising inhibitory candidates against the host (human) proteins associated with SARS-CoV-2