Anti-Infective Agents - Volume 21, Issue 5, 2023

Bryophyllum pinnatum, commonly known as the "patharchatta," belongs to the family of "Crassulaceae." Bryophyllum pinnatum is often used to treat gallbladder stones and heal wounds. It possesses a lot of pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-cancerous, antimicrobial, antiviral, etc. It is an aromatic plant having a sweet and sour smell and is used as a herb. In different plant species, essential oils present in the leaves and other parts give them their unique smell and fragrance. Many phytochemicals have been isolated from this plant, like alkaloids, triterpenes, cardenolides, flavonoids, and bufadienolides, as well as lipids, steroids, and glycosides from various extracts. Among them, only some compounds have medicinal properties. In this review, we have analyzed the ADME properties of the phytochemicals present in the plant to identify which chemical can act as a drug candidate using the SwissADME server.

Antibiotic resistance was described soon after the discovery of penicillin by Fleming. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in developing alternatives to solve this problem. Propolis «Bee glue» has been used by humans in folk medicine since ancient times, it is a natural resinous mixture produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera) from collected parts of plants. Many studies reported that the phytochemical composition of Bee glue is complex and highly variable and depends on plant species, thus, determining their biological and pharmacological properties. Propolis is considered a potential anti-microbial agent that overcomes the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, its combination with standard antibiotics could be a very useful strategy in the medical field, to treat infectious diseases.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), an immunosuppressive, life-threatening condition that frequently results in other potentially fatal opportunistic infections in affected patients. Despite advancements in anti-retroviral therapy, AIDS remains the main reason for worldwide mortality. Although various anti-HIV drugs have profoundly enhanced the quality of life for AIDS patients, some patients develop resistance to the drugs, and the long-term anti-HIV treatments, and their adverse effects, prevail as major therapeutic failure causes. Therefore, concerted efforts by the scientific community are crucial to identifying new candidates for anti-HIV therapies. In this respect, the thiazolidinone moiety has acquired prominence in drug discovery and development due to its antifungal, antiviral, antidepressant, anticancer, and antibacterial properties. This moiety also demonstrated significant anti- HIV activity as a core heterocycle or derivative of substituted heterocycles. To expedite the synthesis of more novel anti-HIV drugs containing a thiazolidinone nucleus, we compiled a list of thiazolidinone-containing previously documented anti-HIV compounds. We hope that this could serve as a guide for future researchers in their design of effective thiazolidine-containing compounds showing anti-HIV activity.

Antibiotic-resistant illnesses are on the rise worldwide, and the pipeline for developing new antibiotics is drying up. As a result, researchers need to create novel compounds with antimicrobial action. Recent decades have seen a dearth of novel antibiotics because of the reliance on conventional empirical screening procedures using both natural and synthetic chemicals to find them. There is hope that the massive amount of bacterial genome sequence data that has become accessible since the sequencing of the first bacterial genome more than 20 years ago might help lead to the development of new antibiotic drugs. Genes with significant levels of conservation both within and between bacterial species can be found using comparative genomic techniques; these genes may be involved in essential bacterial functions. Bioactive chemicals found in natural products have been successfully used in treating everything from infectious diseases to cancer, but over the past 20-30 years, the effectiveness of screening methods based on fermentation has decreased. Researchers urgently need answers to the unmet demand for bacterial infection resistance. Now more than ever, with the advent of cheap, highthroughput genomic sequencing technology, natural product discovery can be revitalized. Using bioinformatics, investigators may foretell whether or not a certain microbial strain would generate compounds with novel chemical structures, which may have novel modes of action in inhibiting bacterial growth. This manuscript describes how this potential might be utilised, with a particular emphasis on manipulating the expression of dormant biosynthetic gene clusters that are hypothesised to encode new antibiotics. Additionally, it consolidates the work of the past and the present to utilise bacterial genomic data in the identification and development of new antibiotics.

Background: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the world has been racing to develop effective drugs for treating this deadly disease. Although there are now some vaccines that have somewhat alleviated global panic, the lack of approved drugs remains a persistent challenge. Consequently, there is a pressing need to discover new therapeutic molecules.Methods: In this study, we explore the application of a quantitative structure136;'activity relationship (QSAR) model to predict the efficacy of 28 cyclic sulfonamide derivatives against SARS-CoV-2. The model was developed using multiple linear regression, and six molecular descriptors were identified as the most significant factors in determining the inhibitory activity. This proposed QSAR model holds the potential for aiding the virtual screening and drug design process in the development of new and more effective SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. The model was also applied to seven natural products primary sulfonamides and sulfamates, demonstrating promising activity.Results: The study results indicated that the atom count, as represented by the descriptor nCl, had the most significant impact on the inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2. The proposed model was validated using various statistical parameters, confirming its validity, robustness, and predictiveness, with a high correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.77 for the training group and 0.95 for the test group. Furthermore, we predicted the activity of seven natural compounds, and among them, Dealanylascamycin exhibited the highest predicted activity. Subsequently, Dealanylascamycin was docked to SARS-CoV- 2 and the results of the docking study further strengthened its potential as a promising candidate against COVID-19, suggesting that it should be considered for further optimization and validation.Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate promising predicted inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 for seven natural products, primary sulfonamides, and primary sulfamates.

Background: Herpes simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a contagious human pathogen causing severe infection. In recent decades, the virus has become dormant and resistant to available treatment creating the need for the development of new therapeutic agents against it. Benzotriazole is a versatile molecule with a wide range of activities like antibacterial, antiprotozoal, antiulcer, anthelmintic, and antiproliferative activity.Methods: A series of 2-(1H- benzotriazole-1-yl) N- substituted acetohydrazide derivatives were synthesized using the method given in the literature. The derivatives were obtained in good yield and characterized by spectral methods of analysis. The antiviral activity against the glycoprotein B of Herpes Simplex Virus-I (HSV-I) was determined using molecular docking (2GUM).Result: All compounds had strong binding affinity over the standard Acyclovir. Compound 5h had the highest binding affinity and the highest inhibitory activity.Conclusion: The Benzotriazole-N- substituted acetohydrazide derivatives has the highest binding affinity and good inhibition of glycoprotein B of Herpes Simplex Virus-I (HSV-I), which makes it a good antiviral agent.

Background: Linalool is a known anti-fungal molecule. It could be a good candidate against oropharyngeal candidiasis if its retention in deeper skin layers, specifically at body temperature, can be extended for a long duration.Aim: We aimed to develop and evaluate a linalool liposome-based mucoadhesive gel.Objective: The objective of this study is to improvise localization in oral mucosa by achieving sustained release, ensuring less volatility of linalool and less permeability into the systemic circulation through the mucosa.Methods: The liposomes were prepared by film formation and hydration method and characterized for particle size, polydispersity index, encapsulation efficiency, and morphological characteristics. The lipid carriers were dispersed into the gel matrix of carbopol 934 and HPMC.Results: The gel was characterized and evaluated for in vitro drug release, ex vivo drug permeation through the goat mucosa and ex vivo dermal retention studies. The particle size and entrapment efficiency were 201 nm and 79.8%, respectively, with 0.300 PDI. Transmission Electron Microscopy revealed the spherical shape of the particles with a well-identified surface. The gel pH (6.8) was close to oral mucosal pH and had desired adhesiveness and rheological properties. The latter portrayed a slow linalool release (74.75% in 12 hours), low permeation (28.80% in 24 hours) through the mucosa and high retention (45%) compared to simple linalool gel, ensuring its improvised anti-microbial effectiveness against Candida.Conclusion: A mucoadhesive liposomal gel offers a suitable medium for ensuring modified release, improved mucosal retention, and the ability to achieve the desired therapeutic effectiveness locally in mucosa for other drugs of volatile nature.

The article entitled "Analytical Method Development and Validation for Determination of Assay of Antibacterial Drugs Besifloxacin Hydrochloride and Phenoxyethanol in Gel Formulation", by Pradeep Kundu, Neelam Pawar, Neha Minocha and Asha Poonia, published in Anti-Infective Agents 2023; 21(4): e310323215342. https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2211352521666230331111623.The corresponding author of this article submitted it simultaneously to the journal "Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry of Walsh Medical Media publishers and to the journal of "Anti-Infective Agents" of Bentham Science Publishers. Therefore, the article has been retracted due to the unethical practice of the author and during plagiarism checking with a previously published article titled: "Analytical Method Development and Validation for the Determination of Assay of Antibacterial Drugs Besifloxacin Hydrochloride and Phenoxyethanol in Gel Formulation. Biochem Anal Biochem. 11:426. doi: 10.35248/2161-1009.22.11.426The authors were informed of this submission and were suggested to give justification on the matter in their defense. Instead of sending justification, the corresponding author Dr. Neelam Pawar suggested Bentham Science Publishers to retract this article.Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused.The Editorial Policy of Bentham Science Publishers on Article Retraction can be found at the link https://benthamscience.com/editorial-policies-main.php.BENTHAM SCIENCE DISCLAIMER:It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to this journal have not been published and will not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere. Furthermore, any data, illustration, structure or table that has been published elsewhere must be reported, and copyright permission for reproduction must be obtained. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden, and by submitting the article for publication, the authors agree that the publishers have the legal right to take appropriate action against the authors if plagiarism or fabricated information is discovered. By submitting a manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright of their article is transferred to the publishers if and when the article is accepted for publication.