In diseases such as cancer, induction of apoptosis has been a new target for mechanism-based drug discovery. The central component of the process of apoptosis is a proteolytic system involving a family of proteases called caspases. Apoptosis involves characteristic morphological and biochemical events ultimately leading to cell demise. Apoptotic induction is evidently central to the mechanism of action of plant-derived anticancer drugs. Extract of the medicinal plant, Bacopa monnieri, inhibits tumor cell proliferation and accumulation of malignant ascites fluid. The crude sample when subjected to Soxhlet extraction yielded different solvent extracts of which the aqueous extract showed biological activity of apoptosis in Ehrlich ascites tumor cell lines (EAT). Bacopa monnieri water extract (BMWE) treatment of EAT cells produced apoptotic morphological characteristics and in-vivo DNA fragmentation, which is due to the activity of an endogenous endonuclease. The endonuclease responsible for DNA fragmentation acts downstream of caspase-3 activity and is also referred to as caspase-activated DNase (CAD). The CAD constitutively expressed in the cell cytoplasm is translocated into the nucleus upon BMWE treatment, as verified by Western blotting, leading to DNA fragmentation and to programmed cell death. The expression of the pro-apoptotic gene Bax was increased and the expression of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 was decreased by BMWE treatment. Considering the above results, BMWE was able induce apoptosis in EAT cells via Bax-related caspase-3 activation. This may provide experimental data for the further clinical use of BMWE in cancer.

Microbial resistance and deprivation of the effective drugs have become the foremost problem that propels to seek out for advanced approach. This concept initiated a need to search for more effective antimicrobial compounds from reliable sources. The Streptomyces is grouped under phylum Actinobacteria and are considered prolific producers of antibiotics, around 70% of presently available antibiotics are contributed by Streptomyces alone. In this study, Mangroves of the Mangalore Coast offered a unique source for screening Actinomyces group of microorganisms. We investigated on the four soil samples collected from Mangrove swamps of Mangalore, Karnataka, India. Based on their culture traits, the 18 distinct Actinomyces isolates were analyzed through a series of morphological and biochemical tests on starch casein nitrate (SCN) media.Culture biomasses were subjected for intracellular protein extraction through acetone precipitation method; the extracted proteins from each Actinomyces isolate were examined for antimicrobial activity against test organisms. The isolate ANTB-YKMU4 showed potential antimicrobial activity against significant number of test organisms; Bacillus cereus, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The isolate ANTB-YKMU4 through 16 s rRNA gene sequence analysis was identified as Streptomyces tauricus strain with GenBank accession no. MW785875.1. The S. tauricus further cultivated for efficient biomass growth on SCN media for subsequent protein extraction and purification by a series of Electrophoretic and chromatographic techniques. Thus, by intracellular extractions from S. tauricus resulted in the identification of peptide with a molecular weight of 266 Da that was characterized by LC-MS.

The Glutamicibacter group of microbes is known for antibiotic and enzyme production. Antibiotics and enzymes produced by them are important in the control, protection, and treatment of chronic human diseases. In this study, the Glutamicibacter mysorens (G. mysorens) strain MW647910.1 was isolated from mangrove soil in the Mangalore region of India. After optimization of growth conditions for G. mysorens on starch casein agar media, the micromorphology of G. mysorens was found to be spirally coiled spore chain, each spore visualized as an elongated cylindrical hairy appearance with curved edges visualized through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis. The culture phenotype with filamentous mycelia, brown pigmentation, and ash–colored spore production was observed. The intracellular extract of G. mysorens characterized through GCMS analysis detected bioactive compounds reported for pharmacological applications. The majority of bioactive compounds identified in intracellular extract when compared to the NIST library revealed molecular weight ranging below 1kgmole−1. The Sephadex G-10 could result in 10.66 fold purification and eluted peak protein fraction showed significant anticancer activity on the prostate cancer cell line. Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis revealed Kinetin-9-ribose and Embinin with a molecular weight below 1 kDa. This study showed small molecular weight bioactive compounds produced from microbial origin possess dual roles, acting as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and anticancer peptides (ACPs). Hence, the bioactive compounds produced from microbial origin are a promising source of future therapeutics.

Among actinobacteria, the genus Streptomyces are found in abundance in specific soil environments. Streptomyces are cultivable using Streptomyces-specific media, including starch casein, yeast extract, or ISP 2 media. Streptomyces isolates can be identified based on their macroscopic culture morphology and microscopic observations, and can be taxonomically placed within the Streptomyces genus. In the present study, mangrove soil samples collected from the coast of Mangalore harboring a multitude of microorganisms were enriched with calcium carbonate and pre-heated to isolate Streptomyces organisms. Cultures were quantified in colony forming units and their diversity was evaluated based on phenotypic features, enzyme hydrolysis, biochemical testing, and antibiotic sensitivity tests. The cross streaking method was used to select Streptomyces isolates, which were then further subjected to intracellular buffer extraction and evaluated against test organisms to determine their antibacterial efficacy. This study highlights the occurrence of prominent Streptomyces species with effective antibacterial activity in a unique environmental habitat of mangrove soil on the Mangalore coast.