Foley catheters are inevitable in health care unit. Pathogens colonise and form biofilm on catheter causing catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Therefore, the authors aimed to functionalise catheter to resist biofilm formation. The authors impregnated urinary catheters with a synergistic combination of antibiotics and silver nanoparticles (SNPs) to evaluate antibiofilm efficacy and. SNPs were synthesised using . Synergy between the SNPs and antibiotics was determined by the checker-board method. efficacy of the functionalised catheters was assessed in mice. Liver and kidney function tests of mice were performed. The anti-adherence activity of the functionalised catheters was evaluated after 2 years. Nanoparticle sizes were 42-75 nm. Synergistic activity was observed among SNPs (2 µg/ml), amikacin (6.25 µg/ml), and nitrofurantoin (31.25 µg/ml). In mice, catheters functionalised with combinations of antibiotics and SNPs exhibited no colonisation until Day 14. Blood, liver, and kidney tests were normal. After 2 years, catheters functionalised with antibiotics exhibited 25% inhibition of bacterial adhesion, and catheters functionalised with the nanoparticle-antibiotic combination exhibited 90% inhibition. Impregnation of urinary catheters with a synergistic combination of antibiotics and SNPs is an efficient and promising method for preventing biofilm formation.

Biosynthesized nanoparticles have many applications in the field of biopharmaceutics due to its high surface to volume ratio, less toxicity and synergistic effects with conjugated biomolecules. This study reports the selective cytotoxicity effect of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA MB-231. AgNPs were synthesized using an aqueous extract of Mollugo cerviana species of plant and characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy, zeta potential analyser, SEM, FT-IR, XRD, and EDX. An UV-visible spectrum of the extract shows the surface plasmon resonance peak of AgNPs at 420 nm. SEM analysis results confirm the sphericity of the AgNPs whose size isin the range of 50 – 100 nm. The zeta potential value of -27 mV indicates the stability of the biosynthesized AgNPs. Dose-Dependent cytotoxicity was observed against human breast cancer cells lines MCF-7 and MDA MB-231. The inhibitory concentrations (IC50) are 21.53 μg/mL and 25.52 μg/mL respectively. There was no significant toxicity against Vero cells below 100 μg/mL concentration of AgNPs. The data obtained in the study reveal the potential therapeutic value of biogenic silver nanoparticles in cancer treatment and further studies are required to elucidate the mechanism of selective activity of biosynthesized AgNPs on cancer cells.

Breastfeeding helps the newborn or infant to get optimal nutrients for growth and immunity. Human breast milk contains oligosaccharides, proteins, milk exosomes, growth factors, fatty acids, and microorganisms where the concentrations greatly vary based on maternal diet. But poor production of breast milk (hypogalactias) is the primary reason to give up lactation in most women. Galactagogues are synthetic or plant-derived substances that induce milk production in humans. Even though the action mechanism of herbal galactagogues is not very clear, due to the side effects of pharmaceutical galactagogues, the use of the herbal galactagogues increased in the last decade in most the countries. This article is to summarize the studies and their outcomes of the herbal galactagogues (cumin, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, and garlic) mainly used in southern regions of India specifically in Tamilnadu.