Cancer remains a leading global health challenge, with conventional therapies limited by systemic toxicity, side effects, and multidrug resistance. Considerable attention has therefore focused on the antitumor potential of bioactive secondary metabolites from endophytic fungal genera such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Colletotrichum, and Phomopsis/Diaporthe, which produce compound classes including polyketides, alkaloids, terpenoids, and quinones, studied predominantly against breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and leukaemia. This manuscript presents a bibliometric and network analysis of publication trends, collaborations, institutional and funding contributions, and knowledge gaps in endophytic fungi and cancer research. A total of 845 articles (2015-2025) were retrieved from SCOPUS using a Boolean search combining endophytic fungi/fungus and cancer terms, screened for relevance, and analysed using VOSviewer (v1.6.20) for co-authorship, country/institution, and funding networks. Publication output rose steadily, peaking at 109 articles in 2024. China (358 publications) and India (215 publications) were the leading contributors, with the National Natural Science Foundation of China funding the most projects (199). Key research clusters centred on prolific authors including Proksch, P. and She, Z.; major gaps remain in host-endophyte molecular interactions and modulation of oncogenic pathways such as angiogenesis and metastasis. This work also summarizes key endophytic genera, hosts, metabolites, and anticancer mechanisms against specific cancer types, offering an integrated perspective for future drug discovery.
Growing demand for natural food preservatives has renewed interest in antimicrobial metabolites produced during traditional fermentation. This study evaluated cell-free supernatants (CFS) obtained from two household milk-kefir samples collected in Oran and Tlemcen (Algeria) for activity against six foodborne pathogens and for preliminary preservation efficacy in three food matrices. Kefir grains were activated by ten successive 24-h subcultures and fermented in pasteurized cow’s milk for 24, 48, and 72 h. CFS were recovered by centrifugation and membrane filtration, and a portion was concentrated 2.5-fold by low-temperature evaporation. Antimicrobial activity was assessed by agar well diffusion and broth macrodilution MIC and MBC assays. Fermentation time and concentration generally increased inhibitory activity, although responses were strain- and sample-dependent. All selected concentrated CFS showed an MIC of 12.5
Chicken feathers are a major waste stream in poultry processing due to their recalcitrant keratin structure. Microbial degradation offers a promising strategy for feather valorization. In this study, untargeted metabolomics was employed to compare the intracellular metabolite profiles of the thermotolerant fungus Acrophialophora levis QHDZ1-2 grown on chicken feather meal or a defined control medium. The goal was to characterize intracellular metabolic responses associated with growth on chicken feather meal. Growth on chicken feather meal was associated with marked differences in intracellular metabolite profiles compared with the control condition. Among the 2090 differential metabolites, amino acids, peptides and analogues constituted the most abundant category. Notably, glutathione disulfide, a metabolite associated with cellular redox homeostasis, was significantly altered, suggesting that glutathione-related metabolism may be linked to intracellular redox adjustment during growth on feather meal. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed significant enrichment of purine metabolism, riboflavin metabolism, and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. These pathways are related to cofactor metabolism and redox balance, suggesting that growth on feather meal was accompanied by changes in intracellular redox-associated metabolism. Overall, this study characterizes intracellular metabolic responses associated with chicken feather meal utilization by A. levis QHDZ1-2 and identifies candidate metabolites and pathways for functional validation. These findings provide a basis for future studies of fungal responses to keratin-rich substrates and may inform feather-waste valorization strategies.
In coal mining activities, significant amounts of zinc (Zn) are released into nearby soil and water, causing environmental contamination and ecological risk. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterise Zn-tolerant bacteria from the coal mining-affected area of Chandrapur, India, and to evaluate their remediation potential. Soil and water samples were collected from a coal mining site to isolate Zn-tolerant bacteria. These bacteria were isolated from soil and water samples using zinc-enriched media. Bacterial growth was observed in the collected samples; however, as Zn concentration increased, the number of bacterial colonies decreased. For further investigation, two Zn-tolerant isolates, Zn/1/SBS and Zn/0.05/DCW, were selected. Using 16S rRNA sequencing for the molecular identification of the isolated bacterial species, Zn/1/SBS was identified as a close relative of Bacillus-like bacterium, and Zn/0.05/DCW as Bacillus licheniformis. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations for Zn/1/SBS and Zn/0.05/DCW were 34.66 µg/ml and 35.15 µg/ml, respectively. Growth curve analysis of both Zn-tolerant bacteria showed considerable growth under Zn stress, indicating their strong adaptation to coal mine environments. The presence of zinc on the bacterial surface was noted by analysis of the SEM image and EDAX spectra, as well as the Zn removal efficiency experiment, which supports possible involvement of biosorption as a major mechanism for metal removal. Thus, these preliminary findings suggest that the isolated native bacteria from coal mine environments may serve as potential candidates for exploitation in sustainable bioremediation approaches to mitigate environmental pollution.
Arsenic exposure is a worldwide public health problem with a significant inter-individual variation in clinical outcomes. The microbiota is susceptible to atmospheric toxins, particularly arsenic, yet pertinent investigations are underrepresented. There is a perpetual interaction between arsenic and the microbiota, where arsenic retards the essential function of the small intestine in nutrient absorption, such as glucose homeostasis and host metabolism regulation. Meanwhile, the gut microbiota strives to mitigate arsenic toxicity by altering physiological conditions and increasing intestinal permeability, thereby activating enzymes involved in metal metabolism. This review discusses the impact of arsenic in perturbation of the gut microbiota, pharmacomicrobiomics, the mechanism by which gut microbiota mitigates the arsenic, and diseases developed due to arsenic-induced dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, These outcomes, would benefit from the application of current approaches such as genome decoding technology, proteomics, ionomics and metabolomics, seem to indicate structural and functional assessments of gut microbiota as an early biomarker, and future epidemiologic and toxicologic analysis of human arsenic exposure.
