Antimicrobial and Other Biomedical Properties of Extracts from Plantago major, Plantaginaceae.

Since ancient times, many scientists and doctors have used various herbs to treat diseases. Conventional drugs often have side effects, and pathogens are becoming resistant to these types of drugs. In such circumstances, the study of traditional medicinal plants is an effective and logical strategy for finding new herbal medicines. One such herb is Plantago major, a perennial plant in the Plantaginaceae family that is found throughout the world. The Plantago major plant has been used as a medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Studies have shown that plant extracts of Plantago major exhibit antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects, and have wound-healing properties. This review collects and presents the results of various studies of Plantago major plant extracts with antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties, which demonstrate a wide range of therapeutic possibilities of Plantago major plant extracts and have a huge potential for use as a medicinal raw material.

Ecological assessment of soil contamination by heavy metals affected in the past by the lead-zinc mining and processing complex in Kentau, Kazakhstan.

Polymetallic ore processing plants are serious sources of heavy metal pollution. The present study examined the degree of pollution of surface soils with the metals zinc, cadmium, lead, and copper in the single-industry town of Kentau, Kazakhstan, where an enterprise for the processing of lead-zinc ore has been operating for a long time. This enterprise ceased operations in 1994, and this study may be of interest in terms of assessing the current ecological state of urban soils after a 27-year period of possible soil self-cleaning processes. The study showed that the surface soils of Kentau retain fairly high concentrations of metals. The maximum detected concentrations of zinc, cadmium, lead, and copper were 592 mg/kg, 1.651 mg/kg, 462 mg/kg, and 82.5 mg/kg, respectively. According to the classification of the geoaccumulation index, the soils of the town belong to pollution classes II, III, and IV with moderate and strong pollution. The calculated potential ecological risk factor indicates that cadmium poses a considerable potential ecological risk, while lead showed a moderate ecological risk. In general, according to the obtained values of potential ecological risk factors, metals can be arranged in the following order: Cd > Pb > Zn > Cu. In this study, a five-step sequential extraction procedure by the method of A. Tessier was used, and the mobility factors of metals were calculated. Based on the data obtained, it was found that cadmium and lead have the highest mobility and, consequently, availability for biota in modern conditions, which may pose a potential risk to public health in the town.