Nepal has always relied on traditional medicinal plants, herbs, and mushrooms that are locally available to treat numerous diseases. This study thus aimed to explore the antimicrobial properties of the plants and fungi that are commonly used as traditional medicines. Antimicrobial properties of 5 plants (Curcuma caesia. Acorus calamus, Moringa oleifera, Terminalia chebula, and Tinospora cordifolia) and 1 fungus (Ganoderma lucidum) were screened against 4 ATCC bacterial culture (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae). The extracts were prepared using Soxhlet’s apparatus in two solvents, i.e. ethanol and distilled water. Out of which, distilled water of Acorus calamus had the highest percentage yield. All extracts showed antimicrobial properties against S. aureus. The highest potential was observed in the ethanolic extract of Curcuma caesia against S. aureus with the zone of inhibition of 22mm The ethanolic extract of Tinospora cordiofolia showed promising antimicrobial against gram-negative bacteria: E.coli, P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae with the zone of inhibition 15mm, 15mm and 14mm respectively. The distilled water extract of Acorus calamus showed the highest antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa with a zone of inhibition of 18mm. In the case of phytochemical screening, both the extracts of Tinospora cordiofolia showed the highest phytochemicals (Terpenoids, Saponins, Coumarin, Flavonoids, Alkaloids, and Tannins). The experiment confirmed the efficacy of selected plants and fungus extract as a natural antimicrobial against all the test organisms used, suggesting the possibility of employing them in novel drug development against the treatment of infectious diseases caused by the test organisms.

The hematopoietic cells are multipotent primitive cells, which differentiate into either common myeloid and lymphoid progenitor. However, if there an abnormality in this process of differentiation, condition of leukemia arises, which is the 11th leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide in the year 2018. These abnormalities are brought about by array of mutations occurring at cellular level. According to the two-hit model hypothesis, key oncogenic events are classified into two classes: class I mutations and class II mutations. Class I  mutations are those that causes activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), FLT3, c-kit (KIT), and Ras signaling pathways thereby increasing proliferation rate of progenitor cells. Class II mutations include recurrent chromosomal abnormalities such as t(8; 21), inv(16), and t(15; 17), which result in fusion transcripts of RUNX1/ETO, CBF/MYH11, and PML/RAR, respectively that eventually impair hematopoietic differentiation. The factors associated with leukemia can be biological, chemical or socio-economical. The advancement in the researches on the topic have aided to the development of various technologies such as detection of DNMT3A and xenografts assays, in order to detect these mutations in pre-leukemic cells. This review aims to provide an introduction to the condition, its types and provide brief summary on genes and mutations responsible for the condition. The factors associated with leukemia and technologies involved in the detection of leukemia are also reviewed.