Nanomedicine-Based Delivery Strategies for Breast Cancer Treatment and Management.

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among women globally. It is caused by mutations in the estrogen/progesterone receptors and conventional treatment methods are commonly utilized. About 70-80 percent of individuals with the early-stage non-metastatic disease may be cured. Conventional treatment is far less than the optimal ratio, as demonstrated through the high mortality rate of women with this cancer. However, conventional treatment methods like surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are not as effective as expected and lead to concerns about low bioavailability, low cellular uptake, emerging resistance, and adverse toxicities. A nanomedicine-based approach is a promising alternative for breast cancer treatment. The present era is witnessing rapid advancements in nanomedicine as a platform for investigating novel therapeutic applications and modern intelligent healthcare management strategies. This paper focuses on nanomedicine-based therapeutic interventions that are becoming more widely accepted for improving treatment effectiveness and reducing undesired side effects in breast cancer patients. By evaluating the state-of-the-art tools and taking the challenges involved into consideration, various aspects of the proposed nano-enabled therapeutic approaches have been discussed in this review.

Assessment of Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Potential of Ethanolic Extract of Woodfordia fruticosa Flowers: GC-MS Analysis.

Currently, the potential utilization of natural plant-derived extracts for medicinal and therapeutic purposes has increased remarkably. The current study, therefore, aimed to assess the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of modified solvent evaporation-assisted ethanolic extract of Woodfordia fruticosa flowers. For viable use of the extract, qualitative analysis of phytochemicals and their identification was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Analysis revealed that phenolic (65.62 ± 0.05 mg/g), flavonoid (62.82 ± 0.07 mg/g), and ascorbic acid (52.46 ± 0.1 mg/g) components were present in high amounts, while ß-carotene (62.92 ± 0.02 µg/mg) and lycopene (60.42 ± 0.8 µg/mg) were present in lower amounts. The antimicrobial proficiency of modified solvent-assisted extract was evaluated against four pathogenic bacterial and one fungal strain, namely Staphylococcusaureus (MTCC 3160), Klebsiellapneumoniae (MTCC 3384), Pseudomonasaeruginosa (MTCC 2295), and Salmonellatyphimurium (MTCC 1254), and Candidaalbicans (MTCC 183), respectively. The zone of inhibition was comparable to antibiotics streptomycin and amphotericin were used as a positive control for pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. The extract showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) anti-inflammatory activity during the albumin denaturation assay (43.56-86.59%) and HRBC membrane stabilization assay (43.62-87.69%). The extract showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging assay and the obtained results are comparable with BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) with percentage inhibitions of 82.46%, 83.34%, and 84.23%, respectively. Therefore, the obtained results concluded that ethanolic extract of Woodfordia fruticosa flowers could be utilized as a magnificent source of phenols used for the manufacturing of value-added food products.

Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni, a Source of High-Potency Natural Sweetener-Biochemical and Genetic Characterization.

Stevia rebaudiana is a natural sweetener herb that is increasingly used in herbal medicines in the food and cosmetics industries. Molecular methods can be combined with morphological techniques to identify stevia genotypes as a starting material to produce more reliable bioproducts. This study evaluated the level of the genetic and biochemical diversity in various stevia genotypes using HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) analysis and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Stevia genotypes collected from different locations of the world showed clear variations at the biochemical and genetic level in Polish climate conditions. The influence of the genotypes on the content of steviol glycosides, antioxidants, phenols, flavonoids, and tannins was analyzed using phytochemical assays. Genotypes from Morocco, Poland, Egypt, and Nigeria can be defined as samples of higher quality compared to other genotypes analyzed in terms of the amount of steviol glycosides. Considering the rebaudioside A/stevioside ratio as a selection criterion, genotypes from Australia, China, India, and Pakistan should be considered to be valuable in terms of suitability for obtaining new varieties. The present results of RAPD marker analysis indicated differential banding pattern and considerable polymorphism among all ten stevia genotypes. Genotypes from Morocco, Egypt, Poland, Nigeria, China, and India, as genetically different, can be selected for further stevia breeding programs.