The n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Ficus mucoso leaves were screened for the presence of metabolites, using column and thin-layer chromatographic techniques. Dodec-6-enoic acid (1), methyl hexadecanoate (2), hexadec-9-enoic acid (3), and ethyl tetradecanoate (4) were obtained from the extracts of F. mucoso leaves. These compounds were confirmed via 1H and 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) and available published literature.

This study investigates the qualitative and quantitative phytochemical composition, GC-MS profile, and antibacterial activity of aqueous extracts from the leaf and flower of Blumea aurita, a plant widely recognized in traditional medicine. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of key bioactive compounds, including alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, and terpenes—all known for their therapeutic significance. Quantitative analysis showed relatively balanced concentrations of these metabolites in the leaf extract, with alkaloids (0.88 mg/100 g) being the most abundant, followed closely by terpenes (0.798 mg/100 g), flavonoids (0.789 mg/100 g), and saponins (0.78 mg/100 g). GC-MS analysis identified 23 bioactive compounds, with squalene (25.25%), octacosane (9.07%), and 2,6-dimethyl-6nitro-2-hepten-4-one (8.37%) as dominant constituents, many of which have documented antimicrobial properties. Antibacterial assays demonstrated that the extract exhibited considerable inhibitory effects against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as revealed by their zones of inhibition, suggesting the presence of synergistic phytochemical interactions that enhance antibacterial efficacy. These findings validate the traditional use of B. aurita leaves and flowers in managing infections and highlight their potential as a source of natural antibacterial agents. The integration of phytochemical profiling in this work provides a scientific foundation for future pharmacological development and supports the role of Blumea aurita as a promising candidate in the search for plant-based therapeutics amidst growing concerns over antibiotic resistance.

The high demand of healthy foods caused by high population density and health risks associated with contaminated foods has necessitated the search for economical, accessible and safe food preservatives mostly from plants. This study is aimed at unveiling the bioactive compounds responsible for the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of plants which have been reported to exhibit food preservative properties. From the literature explored, polyphenols, thiols and essential oils were linked to food preservative properties of plants. Despite the promising features of plant as food preservatives, the use of plant-based preservatives is not well accepted due to standardization and consumers acceptance. Hence, safety profile and shelf-life of plant-based preservatives should be extensively studied.

The review on A "Short Communication on the Wound Healing Abilities of Medicinal Plants in Africa" delves into the fascinating realm of natural remedies, exploring the diverse array of bioactive compounds found in plants that exhibit promising wound healing properties. This interdisciplinary examination amalgamates traditional knowledge with contemporary scientific research, shedding light on the rich cultural history and empirical evidence that underpin the use of plants in promoting the intricate process of wound repair. The review covers a wide range of topics related to plant-based wound care, including the isolation of bioactive chemicals, traditional therapeutic methods, and botanical variety. From a scientific standpoint, the discovery of these substances provides a route to creative therapeutic approaches for the treatment of wounds, opening doors for the creation of new medications. The abstract further advocates for the exploration of molecular mechanisms underpinning the wound healing effects of plant-derived compounds, aiming to deepen our understanding and identify specific targets for therapeutic intervention. Plant-derived chemical research is poised to revolutionize wound care practices for the good of world health by bridging the gap between tradition and innovation.

The solution of the radial Schrödinger equation for the modified shifted Morse potential model is obtained using an approximate supersymmetric approach. The two different formulae for the computation of the centrifugal distortion constant are clearly examined to deduce the formula that gives the result that perfectly aligns with the experimental data. Numerical values for different molecules are computed for the two different values of the centrifugal distortion constant (dissociation energy) obtained from two different equations. The ground state energy spectra for different molecules are obtained using Herzberg's energy level equation as a standard for some molecules. The results of the modified shifted Morse potential are compared with the results from Herzberg's energy level equation and the experimental data. Our study reveals that the results for one of the two centrifugal distortion constants are closer to the standard results and the experimental data in all the molecules studied.

A mini survey was employed in the search of herbs and spices which people believe could prevent them from contracting COVID-19. Phytochemicals which have been earlier implicated for the bioactivity of the afore-mentioned herbs and spices were identified through literature search. The phytochemicals were then subjected to pharmacore modelling, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation in order to identify phytochemicals that could serve as inhibitors of 3-Chymotryprin-like protease and RNA dependent-RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2. The drug-likeness and toxicity profile of the phytochemicals were afterwards predicted via ADMET studies. The mini survey showed ginger, garlic, bitter cola, as the lead-herbs which could find application in anti- COVID-19 therapy. Literature search revealed 27 phytochemicals were implicated for bioactivity of these herbs. Of these 27 phytoconstituents that were docked with 3-chymotrypsin-like protease and RNA dependent-RNA polymerase, the constituents of bitter cola had lower docking scores than other phytochemicals. MD simulation results showed that Garcinia biflavonoid I displayed less comformational changes and the better binding free energy. Also, the garcinia biflavonoids had relatively safe ADMET predictions. Hence, Garcinia biflavonoids and some other constituents of bitter cola could be further modified so as to obtain safe pharmaceutical intervention for the COVID-19 challenge.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

The development of an effective and affordable malaria treatment drug is required to reduce the number of deaths caused by this disease around the world. The in-vivo anti-malarial activities of Cannabis were investigated, as well as the in-silico antimalarial prediction of cannabis GC–MS compounds. Thirty albino mice were divided into six groups of five animals each at random: A, B, C, D, E and F. The animals in all the groups except the normal control group were infected with Plasmodium berghei NK-65 before the commencement of treatment. Each group was treated differently: A is a positive control; B, mice were administered 0.2 ml 2% DMSO with no infection; C, 10 mg/kg BW of chloroquine was administered; Animals in D, E, and F were given 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg BW of ethanolic cannabis leaf extract, respectively. Blood was drawn from the mice's tail, fixed on a slide, and examined under a microscope to determine the parasitaemia level of the infected mice at various intervals during treatment. The animals were sacrificed and blood collected for hematological studies. There was a significant decrease in percentage parasitemia and an increase in percentage inhibition in the treated group compared to infected group. The red blood cell (RBC), platelet, haematocrit (HCT) and percentage weight gain showed a significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) in the treatment groups compared to the infected mice. Tetrahydrocannabivarin showed high binding energy to α/β tubulin protein of Plasmodium falciparum compared to vinblastine. The decrease in parasitaemia percentage could be attributed to tetrahydrocannabivarin's inhibitory action on microtubules, which eventually leads to the cessation of parasite proliferation in RBC.

A shifted Morse potential model is modified to fit the study of the vibrational energies of some molecules. Using a traditional technique/methodology, the vibrational energy and the un-normalized radial wave functions were calculated for the modified shifted Morse potential model. The condition that fits the modified potential for molecular description were deduced together with the expression for the screening parameter. The vibrational energies of SiC, NbO, CP, PH, SiF, NH and Cs2 molecules were computed by inserting their respective spectroscopic constants into the calculated energy equation. It was shown that the calculated results for all the molecules agreement perfectly with the experimental RKR values. The present potential performs better than Improved Morse and Morse potentials for cesium dimer. Finally, the real Morse potential model was obtained as a special case of the modified shifted potential.

Novel 1,1-diaryl vinyl-sulfones analogues of combretastatin CA-4 were synthesized via Suzuki–Miyaura coupling method and screened for in-vitro antiproliferative activity against four human cancer cell lines: MDA-MB 231(breast cancer), HeLa (cervical cancer), A549 (lung cancer), and IMR-32 (neuroblast cancer), along with a normal cell line HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney cell) by employing 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The compounds synthesised had better cytotoxicity against the A549 and IMR-32 cell lines compared to HeLa and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. The synthesized compounds also showed significant activity on MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line with IC 50 of 9.85–23.94 µM, and on HeLa cancer cell line with IC 50 of 8.39–11.70 µM relative to doxorubicin having IC 50 values 0.89 and 1.68 µM respectively for MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cell lines. All the synthesized compounds were not toxic to the growth of normal cells, HEK-293. They appear to have a higher binding affinity for the target protein, tubulin, PDB ID = 5LYJ (beta chain), relative to the reference compounds, CA4 (− 7.1 kcal/mol) and doxorubicin (− 7.2 kcal/mol) except for 4E, 4M, 4N and 4O. The high binding affinity for beta-tubulin did not translate into enhanced cytotoxicity but the compounds (4G, 4I, 4J, 4M, 4N, and 4R, all having halogen substituents) that have a higher cell permeability (as predicted in-silico) demonstrated an optimum cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines in an almost uniform manner for all tested cell lines. The in-silico study provided insight into the role that cell permeability plays in enhancing the cytotoxicity of this class of compounds and as potential antiproliferative agents.

The planet earth is faced with critical challenges that have threatened its continuous existence. Part of these challenges is pollution of the environment and depletion of fossil fuels. The severity of these challenges has led to the inclusion of climate action and clean and affordable energy as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Central to the achievement of these are the development of sustainable and renewable technologies for energy production and environmental remediation. Recent research efforts have been directed to the development of alternative strategies to combat the aforementioned challenges. The world is blessed with an abundant and inexhaustible supply of solar energy which can be utilized as alternate source of energy. Taking a cue from nature's photosynthesis led to the evolution of photocatalytic processes for energy applications. Crucial to this is the development of highly efficient materials for chemical transformations utilized for conversion and storage of solar energy. Prominent among recently investigated materials are metal organic frameworks (MOFs) whose catalytic applications have been explored for oxidation, epoxidation, and photocatalysis. Some of their unique properties which have strengthened their consideration as ideal photocatalysts are their extraordinary porosity, large surface areas, exceptional chemical functions and structural diversity, tailorable properties, and structures. All these are responsible for their adjustable ability to harvest light over a broad range, improvement in separation of electron-hole, uniform distribution of catalytic active sites, easy accessibility for catalysis to mention a few. This chapter systematically explores MOF-based photocatalysts used for reduction of CO2. The reduction strategies of MOF-based photocatalysts focusing on reduction of CO2will be addressed. The various products obtained for each of the reduction process will be considered alongside their energy applications. This review also provides future perspective addressing the applications of MOF as photocatalysts.

The ever-increasing demand for energy and the depletion of fossil fuel have made the use of renewable energy imperative. The use of hydrogen gas for energy generation is foreseen as an ideal source of energy for the future. It is beneficial due to its high combustion efficiency, serves as a clean source of energy generating water as the only by-product. Water splitting produces hydrogen gas as a sustainable source of energy generation. However, as a result of the slow kinetics of this reaction, catalysts are required. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous materials composed of metal atoms or clusters, connected by organic ligands. They have received quite a lot of attention in photocatalytic water splitting recently due to their desirable topology, controllable synthesis, high surface area, suitable HOMO-LUMO distance leading to desirable band gaps. These properties give MOFs an edge over previously used photo catalysts. This section explains the fundamentals of MOFs-based photocatalytic water splitting, strategies for better performance of MOFs for photocatalytic water splitting such as modification of metal ion and organic linker, dye-sensitization of the MOF material, cocatalyst encapsulation, heterojunction formation of MOF-semiconductor composites, and multiple approaches toward achieving more efficient photocatalytic water splitting. Some challenges and future prospects are also stated.

Background Data available support that ninety percent of male infertility cases are due to low sperm counts. There is a scarcity of data on the medicinal effects of cannabis on fertility. This study evaluated testicular function and sperm quality modulation with cannabis in rats. Methodology Twenty-five male Wistar rats were randomly grouped into five: A, B, C, and D, each group have 5 rats. A (control): 0.2 ml 2% DMSO, B (vitamin C): 90 mg/kg body weight, C, D, and E were administered: 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg body weight of ethanolic leaf extract of cannabis (ELEC) respectively. The rats were sacrificed 24 h after the last day of the 60 day oral administrations. Flavonoids were the predominant phytochemical present in the extract while quercetin, kemferol, silyman and gallic acid were identified. Results The results showed a significant improvement ( p < 0.05) in sperm quality and a significant increase in the concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, triglycerides, cholesterol, and total protein determination compared to the normal control. Similarly, there was a significant increase ( p < 0.05) in the activities of acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and superoxide dismutase compared to the normal control. RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1)-silymarin complexes (-8.30 kcal/mol) and androgen receptor (AR)-quercetin complexes (9.20 kcal/mol) had the highest affinity. Conclusion The antioxidant effects of the flavonoids in the ethanolic extract of cannabis may have protected testicular and sperm cells from oxidative damage. Biochemical processes and histopathological morphology were preserved by cannabis. The docking prediction suggests that the bioactive principle of cannabis may activate the androgenic receptors. The androgenic receptor modulation may be attributed to silymarin and quercetin.

The solutions for Morse potential energy function under the influence of Schr¨odinger equation are examined using supersymmetric approach. The energy equation obtained was used to generate eigenvalues forX1 +state of scandium monoiodide (ScI) and X3 state of nitrogen monoiodide (NI) respectively were obtained by imputing their respective spectroscopic parameters. The calculated results for the two molecules aligned excellently with the predicted/observed values.

Various epidemiological researches have shown that consumption of vegetables and fruits are essential to maintain health and prevent diseases but the emergence of more and more drug resistance bacteria has led to high mortality. Thus the study of the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of a flavonoid (Catechin-3-o-rhamnoside) isolated for the first time from Lannea kerstingii. Catechin-3-o-rhamnoside was isolated using dry vacuum liquid chromatography. It was characterized using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and 2D NMR spectra. The antimicrobial activity was determined using agar diffusion and broth dilution method. Antioxidant activity was determined through reaction of the compound with DPPH radical. The compound was active against, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, S. typhi, S. dysentariae, C. albicans and C. tropicalis with zone of inhibition ranging from 22.0±0.1 to 35.0±0.2mm and inactive against vancomycin resistant enterococci, Proteus mirabilis and C. ulcerans. The MIC ranged from 6.25 to 12.5μg/ml while the MBC/MFC ranged from 12.5 to 50.0μg/ml. The compound showed a high radical scavenging activity with EC50 of 46.87µg/ml. These results show a potential lead drug for resistant bacteria and natural antioxidants.

The consequence of environmental pollution has raised the dire need for the discovery of efficient and potent methods for detection and removal of pollutants released into air and water bodies. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous coordination polymers having intriguing features such as large surface areas, tailorable pore size and highly dense active sites reported for various environmental applications. Recent developments have focused on the modification of MOF structures, development of MOF-based materials including functionalized MOFs, MOF composites/hybrids and MOF derivatives. These modifications confer new and desirable properties over pristine MOFs and consequently lead to enhanced efficiency for pollutant sensing and adsorption applications. This chapter focuses on the recent developments and challenges in the use of MOF-based materials for sensing and adsorption of pollutants from air and water in the past seven years. Some challenges and future prospects are also discussed. In spite of the challenges encountered with the use of MOF-based materials for detection and removal of gaseous and water pollutants, they remain valuable materials for environmental applications.

The increase in demand for agricultural produce necessitates the continuous search for affordable, ecofriendly, readily available crop protectors, and food preservatives. Historically, the use of various chemicals was employed in controlling plant diseases and to maintain food quality. In the past few decades, several natural product-based alternatives have been discovered and projected as better alternatives to synthetic pesticides and other synthetic agrochemicals. Recent studies focusing on the application of different botanicals in crop protection and food preservation were carefully selected and reviewed. The application of plant extract in the biogenic preparation of nanoparticles was also reviewed. This review confirms that several natural products can be used as a safe replacement for synthetic agrochemicals. Different plant extracts have also served as feed for the synthesis of nanoparticle, which is increasingly applicable in crop protection and food preservation.

The content and stability of phenols, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids in Ocimumgratissimum upon exposure to sunlight, red and ultra-violet (UV) radiation over aperiod of 168 h was investigated as well as the effect of irradiation on its antiradicaland antimicrobial activities. Total phenolic, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloid contentswere determined using standard methods while antiradical and antimicrobial analyseswere determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and agar diffusion methods,respectively. Exposure to sunlight significantly increased (p<0.05) the total phenolicand alkaloid contents. Ultra-violet and sun light significantly decreased the totalflavonoid and saponin content, while all the three forms of radiation significantlyincreased antiradical activity as well as antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcusaureus. Red and UV light significantly increased the activity against S. aureus whileUV light increased activity against Escherichia coli. These findings suggestphotochemical instability with increased antiradical and antimicrobial activities of themethanol extracts of O. gratissimum after irradiation.

The content and stability of phenols, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids in Ocimumgratissimum upon exposure to sunlight, red and ultra-violet (UV) radiation over aperiod of 168 h was investigated as well as the effect of irradiation on its antiradicaland antimicrobial activities. Total phenolic, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloid contentswere determined using standard methods while antiradical and antimicrobial analyseswere determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and agar diffusion methods,respectively. Exposure to sunlight significantly increased (p\u003c0.05) the total phenolicand alkaloid contents. Ultra-violet and sun light significantly decreased the totalflavonoid and saponin content, while all the three forms of radiation significantlyincreased antiradical activity as well as antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcusaureus. Red and UV light significantly increased the activity against S. aureus whileUV light increased activity against Escherichia coli. These findings suggestphotochemical instability with increased antiradical and antimicrobial activities of themethanol extracts of O. gratissimum after irradiation.

A series of 2-anilinopyridyl linked benzothiazole-hydrazone conjugates (5a-aa) were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer potential.