The administration of probiotics that colonize the vaginal tract can be important in maintaining a normal urogenital health and also to prevent or treat infections.

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Essential oils are products obtained from a natural raw material of plant origin, by steam distillation, mechanical processes of citrus fruit epicarp, or dry distillation after separation of the aqueous phase by physical processes. They are usually composed by secondary metabolites of aromatic plants with oxygenated structures such as alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, and esters, presenting therapeutic properties such as antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities.Essential oils represent a small fraction of plant composition, but confer the characteristics for which aromatic plants are used in the pharmaceutical, food, and fragrance industries.The increasing use of plants by the pharmaceutical industry makes the study of essential oils crucial for the development of new bioactive delivery systems. This paper presents a literature review that summarizes the best advanced data regarding the use of essential oils and their volatile constituents for biomedical applications and focuses on innovative pharmaceutical formulations covering essential oils. Nonetheless it seems clear that more clinical evaluations are required until essential oils can be considered as possible applications in pharmacy or as adjuvants to current medications.

The Group B Streptococcus (GBS, Streptococcus agalactiae) is an important cause of neonatal and maternal infection. GBS is a commensal organism of the lower gastrointestinal and vaginal tract. A frequent mode of neonatal infection is vertical transmission from pregnant women to their foetus or neonate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival and biofilm production of 10 GBS strains in simulated vaginal fluid at pH 4.2, 5.5 and 6.5. GBS survived longer at higher pH than at normal vaginal pH. At pH 4.2, with the exception of two isolates that were recovered up to 48 and 72 h, viable GBS numbers declined below the limit of detection by 24 h. At higher pH, GBS survived between 3 and 15 days. All isolates investigated were biofilm producers but biofilm production was greater in tryptone soy broth compared to simulated vaginal fluid. The quantity of biofilm produced increased with the rise in the pH. This study suggests that high vaginal pH may influence both GBS survival and biofilm production and thus could be a risk factor for GBS infection.

Edible insects are a promising protein source for the future generation, due to their nutritional composition, sustainability and low environmental impact.