Yersiniosis, caused by Yersinia enterocolitica, is the third most rampant zoonotic disease in Europe; the pathogen shows high antibiotic resistance. Herbs have multiple anti–microbial components that reduce microorganism resistance. Therefore, an extract of Picrorhiza kurroa (P. kurroa) was evaluated for potential antimicrobial activity. We report that the ethanolic extract of P. kurroa showed effective antimicrobial activity (zone of inhibition: 29.8 mm, Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): 2.45 mg/mL, minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC): 2.4 mg/mL) against Yersinia enterocolitica. Potential bioactive compounds from P. kurroa were identified using LC–MS, namely, cerberidol, annonidine A, benzyl formate, picroside–1, and furcatoside A. P. kurroa showed effective antimicrobial potential in skim milk at different pH, acidity, and water activity levels. P. kurroa affected the physiology of Yersinia enterocolitica and reduced the number of live cells. Yersinia enterocolitica, when incubated with P. kurroa extract, showed lower toxin production. Picroside–1 was isolated and showed higher antimicrobial potential in comparison to the standard antibiotic. Picroside–1 lysed the Yersinia enterocolitica cells, as observed under scanning electron microscopy. Docking revealed that picroside–1 (ligand) showed both hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions with the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) protein of Yersinia enterocolitica and that DHFR is a possible drug target. The high activity and natural origin of Picroside–1 justify its potential as a possible drug candidate for Yersinia enterocolitica.

Objectives: The main focus of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy (against oral pathogenic bacteria), free radical scavenging activity, and total phenolic and flavonoids content (TPC and TFC) of methanolic extract (ME) of J. regia obtained from Kashmir region. Methods: The plant part was collected and its ME was prepared. ME was subjected to antibacterial activity against oral bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The free radical scavenging activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazylhydrate (DPPH) assay. TPC and TFC were also determined using a standard curve equation of gallic acid and quercetin. A standard curve using different concentrations of gallic acid and quercetin was drawn from which the concentration of phenols in the test sample was calculated and expressed in mg/g. Results: The ME of J. regia was found effective against all the strains of microorganisms responsible for oral infection understudy. It was also observed that scavenging of DPPH increased with the increase in concentration for both standard ascorbic and methanolic bark extract of J. regia showing its antioxidant potential. The TPC and TFC of ME was found to be 43.35±0.079 and 17.28±0.125. Conclusions: The results obtained from the study clearly indicate that the walnut bark from Kashmir region can be a good candidate for employment as an antibacterial against oral pathogens. J. regia bark was found to be a good source of healthy compounds such as phenolic and flavonoids, suggesting that its bark could be useful to prevent diseases in which free radicals are present.

Hypertension is one of a major reason of mortality and morbidity and it is associated with heart and renal disease. The aim of this study is to find out the antihypertensive role of bioactive compounds from selected medicinal plants targeting ACE molecule which so far is not known. The plants taken in this study were Moringa oleifera, Azadirachta indica, and Hibiscus sabdariffa. The nitric oxide and superoxide scavenging property vary from 39.50% to 68% and 37.67 % to 75.50 %. respectively. The inhibition of ACE activity was found maximally in methanolic extract of A. indica (74 %), followed by H. sabdariffa (73.4%), and least in M. oleifera (71.8 %). The bioactive chloroform fraction was characterized for the presence of compound using standard techniques such as LCMS and NMR (13C-NMR 1H-NMR). The results revealed the presence of beta-sitosterol in M. oleifera, azadiradionolide in A. indica and hibiscitrin in H. sabdariffa. The compounds have shown significant low binding energy for hibiscitrin (-12.3kcal/mol), beta-sitosterol (-11.2kcal/mol) and azadiradionolide (-11.3kcal/mol) indicating the high efficacy of binding on the enzyme. While, binding energy of drug captopril was -5.6kcal/mol & enalpril -8.1kcal/mol in the same pocket of the ACE molecule. Upon subjecting molecular dynamic simulation results indicated that beta sitosterol complex provided more compactness than the hibiscitrin and azadiradionolide compounds. The current study delivers a new perspective for the drug development against systolic blood pressure regulation and also opens new horizons for considering alternate highly potent drug target for hypertension.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart attack, produce atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), congestive heart failure, stroke, kidney infection, blindness, end-stage renal infection, and cardiovascular diseases. Many mechanisms are involved in causing hypertension, i.e., via calcium channels, alpha and beta receptors, and the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). RAS has an important role in blood pressure control and is also involved in the metabolism of glucose, homeostasis, and balance of electrolytes in the body. The components of RAS that are involved in the regulation of blood pressure are angiotensinogen, Ang I (angiotensin I), Ang II (angiotensin II), ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme), and ACE 2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2). These components provide for relevant therapeutic targets for the treatment of hypertension, and various drugs are commercially available that target individual components of RAS. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and ACE inhibitors are the most popular among these drugs. ACE is chosen in this review as it makes an important target for blood pressure control because it converts Ang I into Ang II and also acts on the vasodilator, bradykinin, to degrade it into inactive peptides. This review highlights various aspects of blood pressure regulation in the body with a focus on ACE, drugs targeting the components involved in regulation, their associated side effects, and a need to shift to alternative therapy for putative hypertension treatment in the form of bioactive peptides from food.

Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by Echinococcus granulosus, is a major zoonotic disease that causes significant human morbidity and mortality. This cosmopolitan disease is difficult to diagnose, treat, and control. So far, crude extracts of hydatid cyst fluid containing antigen B or antigen 5 have been used as the primary antigenic source for its immunodiagnosis. The main issue is that it reacts with sera from people infected with other helminths. There is currently no standard, specific, or sensitive test for disease diagnosis, and no human vaccine has been reported. Aims and Objectives: Considering the need for efficient immunization and/or immunodiagnosis, six E. granulosus antigens, antigen 5, antigen B, heat shock proteins such as Hsp-8 and Hsp-90, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and tetraspanin-1, were chosen. Materials and Methods: Using various in silico tools, T cell and B cell epitopes (promiscuous peptides) were predicted by targeting antigen 5, antigen B, heat shock proteins such as Hsp-8 and Hsp-90, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and tetraspanin-1. Results: There are twelve promiscuous peptides with overlapping human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class-I, class-II, and conformational B cell epitopes. Such immunodominant peptides could be useful as subunit vaccines. Furthermore, six peptides specific for E. granulosus were also discovered, which may prove to be important markers in the diagnosis of CE, potentially preventing misdiagnosis and mismanagement. Conclusion: These epitopes may be the most important vaccine targets in E. granulosus because they have the most promiscuous peptides and B cell epitopes, as well as the highest affinity for different alleles, as determined by docking scores. However, additional research using in vitro and in vivo models is undertaken.