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In the present study, the effect of UV radiation on the inactivation of a range of microorganisms was studied. Each organism was seeded into sterile tap water and exposed to UV in batch experiments with changing turbidities. In addition, the effect of UV on microbial communities in river Nile water was examined. It was found that 1min contact time (0.5L/min flow rate) was effective against vegetative cells levels almost reaching zero (except with Staphylococcus aureus). On the other hand, spore-forming bacteria, Candida albicans and coliphage were more resistant to UV. This contact time caused coenobia cells in single form with Scenedesmus obliquus while for Microcystis aeruginosa colonies broke into smaller groups. Exposure of Nile water microbial communities to UV showed that yeasts and Aeromonas survived better than the other organisms while in the phytoplankton partial fragmentation occurred in some algal groups. The protective effect of turbidity differed between organisms, with increased contact time under conditions of stable turbidity having no effect on the organisms. At 20 NTU the UV radiation had no effect on the morphological characters of algal cells. In reactivation experiments, it is clear that photoreactivation, and not dark repair, takes place with bacterial cells. Only coliphage had no photoreactivation and dark repair responses although with coliphage and host, both reactivation processes worked well. Moreover, the irradiated algae regained their normal shape after 3 days in suitable media and enough light.

The leaves of Azadirachta indica L. and Melia azedarach L., belonging to Meliaceae family, have been shown to have medicinal benefits and are extensively employed in traditional folk medicine. Herein, HPLC analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction of the total methanolic extract emphasized the enrichment of both A. indica L., and M. azedarach L. leaves extracts with phenolic and flavonoids composites, respectively. Besides, 4 limonoids and 2 flavonoids were isolated using column chromatography. By assessing the in vitro antiviral activities of both total leaves extracts against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it was found that A. indica L. and M. azedarach L. have robust anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities at low half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 8.451 and 6.922 μg/mL, respectively. Due to the high safety of A. indica L. and M. azedarach L. extracts with half-maximal cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) of 446.2 and 351.4 μg/ml, respectively, both displayed extraordinary selectivity indices (SI>50). A. indica L. and M. azedarach L. leaves extracts could induce antibacterial activities against both Gram-negative and positive bacterial strains. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of A. indica L. and M. azedarach L. leaves extracts varied from 25 to 100 mg/mL within 30 min contact time towards the tested bacteria. Our findings confirm the broad-spectrum medicinal value of A. indica L. and M. azedarach L. leaves extracts. Finally, additional in vivo investigations are highly recommended to confirm the anti-COVID-19 and antimicrobial activities of both plant extracts.

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