Background: The coronavirus spike (S) glycoprotein and M protease are two key targets that have been identified for vaccines and drug development against COVID-19. Methods: Virtual screening of some compounds of plant origin that have shown antiviral activities were carried out on the two targets, the M protease (PDB ID 6LU7) and S glycoprotein (PDB ID 6VSB), by docking with PyRx software. The binding affinities were compared with other compounds and drugs already identified as potential ligands for the M protease and S glycoprotein, as well as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. The docked compounds with best binding affinities were also filtered for drug likeness using the SwissADME and PROTOX platforms on the basis of physicochemical properties and toxicity, respectively. Results: The docking results revealed that scopadulcic acid and dammarenolic acid had the best binding affinity for the S glycoprotein and Mpro protein targets, respectively. Silybinin, through molecular docking, also demonstrated good binding affinity for both protein targets making it a potential candidate for further evaluation as repurposed candidate for SARS-CoV-2, with likelihood of having multitarget activity as it showed activities for both targets. Conclusions: The study proposes that scopadulcic acid and dammarenolic acid be further evaluated in vivo for drug formulation against SARS-COV-2 and possible repurposing of Silybinin for the management of COVIV-19.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) calls for a reduction of child mortality by two third between 1990 and 2015, the reality is that although progress is been made, much more remains to be done. The prevalence rate of diarrhoea in Nigeria is 18.8% and is a menace in sub-Sahara Africa; and in this part of West African it accounts for an estimated 150,000 deaths yearly amongst children under five due to poor hygienic and sanitary practices. Diarrhoea's status as the second leading killer of children under five is an alarming reminder of the vulnerability of children in Nigeria, saving the lives of millions of children at risk of death from diarrhoea is possible with a comprehensive strategy that ensures all children in need receive critical prevention and treatment measures. This report is written with the intent to let our government re-focus her attention on the prevention and management of diarrhoeal diseases as central to improving child survival in the country and justify the need to embrace Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) set by WHO to achieve universal access to clean water and basic sanitation, which is the primary preventive measures to reduce the burden of diarrhea in the country.

COV spike (S) glycoprotein and Mpro are two key targets that have been identified for vaccines and drug development against the COVID-19 disease. Virtual screening of some compounds of plants origin that have shown antiviral activities were carried out on the two targets, 6lu7 and 6vsb by docking with the PyRx software. The binding affinities were compared with other compounds and drugs already identified as potential ligands for 6lu7 and 6vsb as well as Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. The docked compounds with best binding affinities were also filtered for drug likeness using the SwissADME and PROTOX platforms on the basis of Physicochemical properties and toxicity respectively. The docking results revealed that scopodulcic acid and dammarenolic acid had the best binding affinity on the s-glycoprotein and Mpro protein targets respectively. Silybinin also demonstrated a good binding affinity to both protein targets making it a potential candidate for further evaluation as repurposed candidate for SARS COV2 with likelihood of having a multitarget activity.

Presently, the global public health threat of international concern is the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a viral disease of worldwide prevalence caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), at present the disease has no known cure or vaccine. Plants worldwide including plants of African ethnopharmacological relevance are a natural source of abundant and diverse phytochemicals with bioactivity against microorganisms including viruses. We selected 13 plants used in African traditional medicine for the treatment of viral diseases to screen for phytochemicals capable of interfering with SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic targets using AutoDock Vina in silico tool. 25 phytochemicals from these plants that passed the Lipinski rule of drug-likeness were assessed for antiviral activity against three SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic targets, namely: spike glycoprotein, Papain-like protease and 3C-like proteinase. The crystal structure of the viral protein targets was obtained from the protein databank website (https://www.rcsb.org/). The active sites of the target proteins were predicted using SCFBio Server (http://www.scfbio-iitd.res.in/dock/ActiveSite.jsp) from the PDB file as input. The antiviral herbal phytochemical compounds were then docked with prepared targets: Papain-like protease, 3C-like proteinase and spike glycoprotein. The Autodocking hit results generated six lead phytochemicals out of a library of twenty-five (25) phytochemicals from the African traditional herbs with potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The lead molecules with their binding affinities against Papain-like protease and 3C-Like Proteinase are as follows: Ginsenosides (-9.9 kcal/mol), ursolic acid (-9.4 kcal/mol), oleanolic acid (-9.4 kcal/mol), cynarine (-8.9 kcal/mol), glabridin (-8.5 kcal/mol) and cinnamoyl-echinadiol (-8.2 kcal/mol). ADMET profile shows glabridin, cinnamoyl-echinadiol and neral obtained from Licorice, Echinacea purpurea and lemongrass respectively, exhibited best-fit values as drugs candidate. We advocate for further in vitro and in vivo studies to evaluate the activity of these lead compounds with a view to optimized drug intervention against COVID-19 pandemic.

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Escherichia coli O157:H7 commensally lives in the rumen of food animals, making it an important foodborne pathogen. It can be transmitted through direct and indirect contact with animals or manure of animals carrying E. coli O157:H7, mediating its transfer to water and food products, which could cause infections to human upon consumption. E. coli O157:H7 is currently an emerging food-borne pathogen of severe public health concern. To this effect, bacteriophages can provide alternative measures for its control. This study was aimed at isolation and characterization of lytic phages isolated from effluent water and soil against E. coli O157:H7 as potential biocontrol agents. Fifty environmental bacteria and four phages were isolated from six different locations; Student Village Hostel_1and 2, Old JUTH_1and 2 and Angwa Rukuba_1 and 2 and were examined for their physiological and morphological characteristics. The fifty environmental bacteria isolates were characterized and screened to determine the permissive host for the four phages as the antibiotics susceptibility profile of the environmental isolates were determined. Three isolates EIA_18 (Escherichia coli), EIA_19 (Bacillus spp) and EIA_26 (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were observed to be permissive host for the phages. The phages were screened against E. coli O157:H7 and other eleven selected pathogenic bacteria. The four phages displayed broad lytic activity against shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 and some of the selected pathogenic bacteria. These four lytic phages were designated as ECPA_1, ECPA_2, ECPA_3 and ECPA_4. Despite isolation from different locations, further characterization showed that they displayed a high degree of similarities. While all the phages were relatively stable over a wide range of salinity, temperatures, NaCl, Chloroform and pH values, their range of infectivity or lytic profile was rather wide against E. coli O157:H7 and some of the selected pathogenic bacteria, while few of the selected pathogenic bacteria showed no activity. This study showed that the isolated bacteriophages are the dominant E. coli O57:H7-infecting phages harboured in the selected areas within Jos metropolis and due to their favourable characteristics can be exploited in the formulation of phage cocktails for the bio-control of E. coli O157:H7.