Objectives In this review, we highlight and summarise the most promising extracts, fractions and pure compounds as potential anti-herpes simplex virus (HSV) agents derived from microorganisms, marine organisms, fungi, animals and plants. The role of natural products in the development of anti-HSV drugs will be discussed. Key findings Herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and -2) are common human pathogens that remain a serious threat to human health. In recent years, a great interest has been devoted to the search for integrated management of HSV infections. Acyclovir and related nucleoside analogues have been licensed for the therapy that target viral DNA polymerase. Although these drugs are currently effective against HSV infections, the intensive use of these drugs has led to the problem of drugresistant strains. Therefore, the search for new sources to develop new antiherpetic agents has gained major priority to overcome the problem. Summary Natural products as potential, new anti-HSV drugs provide several advantages such as reduced side effects, less resistance, low toxicity and various mechanisms of action. This paper aims to provide an overview of natural products that possess antiviral activity against HSV.

Context The increasing problem of drug-resistant strains has led to the failure of current treatment regimens of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection. Recently, a new treatment strategy has been developed to overcome the problem by using natural products in combination with antibiotics to enhance the treatment efficacy. Objective The antimicrobial combinatory effect of the aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (Malvaceae) (AEHS) with antibiotics (clarithromycin, CLA; amoxicillin, AMX; metronidazole, MTZ) has been evaluated in vitro against HP strains. Materials and methods Hibiscus calyces (35 g) were brewed in 250 mL of boiled water for 30 min, and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by agar dilution method. The checkerboard assay was used to evaluate the antimicrobial combinatory effect according to the sum of fractional inhibitory concentration ( P FIC) indices. Results In this study, AEHS exerted remarkable bacteriostatic effect against all HP strains tested with MICs values ranging from 9.18 to 16.68 mg/mL. Synergy effect of AEHS with CLA or MTZ was obtained against four of seven HP strains tested with P FIC ranging from 0.21 to 0.39. The additive effect of AEHS with AMX was obtained against five of seven HP strains tested with P FIC ranging from 0.61 to 0.91. Conclusion This study presents AEHS as a potent therapeutic candidate alone, or in combination with antibiotics for the treatment of HP infection. ARTICLE HISTORY

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This paper describes the trilateral transboundary project Prameny spojují/Quellen verbinden launched in 2016 under the coordination of the Technical University of Liberec. The aim of the project is a complex hydrochemical, hydrobiological, hydrological, geological and human geographical assessment of a set of about 40 springs in the region Liberec -Zittau through educational and research networking of the partner universities. This region has considerably humid climatic environment reflected in a high number of springs, whose mutual multidisciplinary assessment has been largely missing. Preliminary example results at the Ploučnice spring reveal a calcium-bicarbonate water originating from the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, with slightly elevated spring values of Cd and autumn values of Pb in the sediment. The spring ecosystem is characterized by seminature montane mixed forest, with presence of freshwater shrimp in the spring water. The Ploučnice spring is one of the most abundant springs in Central Europe with a good water quality, which has promoted the use of this water for drinking purposes around 1900, and until the 1960's for water energy in the nearby mills.