Biogenic Selenium Nanoparticles and Their Anticancer Effects Pertaining to Probiotic Bacteria-A Review.

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) can be produced by biogenic, physical, and chemical processes. The physical and chemical processes have hazardous effects. However, biogenic synthesis (by microorganisms) is an eco-friendly and economical technique that is non-toxic to human and animal health. The mechanism for biogenic SeNPs from microorganisms is still not well understood. Over the past two decades, extensive research has been conducted on the nutritional and therapeutic applications of biogenic SeNPs. The research revealed that biogenic SeNPs are considered novel competitors in the pharmaceutical and food industries, as they have been shown to be virtually non-toxic when used in medical practice and as dietary supplements and release only trace amounts of Se ions when ingested. Various pathogenic and probiotic/nonpathogenic bacteria are used for the biogenic synthesis of SeNPs. However, in the case of biosynthesis by pathogenic bacteria, extraction and purification techniques are required for further useful applications of these biogenic SeNPs. This review focuses on the applications of SeNPs (derived from probiotic/nonpathogenic organisms) as promising anticancer agents. This review describes that SeNPs derived from probiotic/nonpathogenic organisms are considered safe for human consumption. These biogenic SeNPs reduce oxidative stress in the human body and have also been shown to be effective against breast, prostate, lung, liver, and colon cancers. This review provides helpful information on the safe use of biogenic SeNPs and their economic importance for dietary and therapeutic purposes, especially as anticancer agents.

Nematicidal natural products from the aerial parts of Rubus niveus.

Studies on the aerial parts of Rubus niveus yielded six known compounds, 3,5-dihydroxy benzoic acid C(7)H(6)O(4), (1), gallic acid C(7)H(6)O(5) (2), ethyl galactoside (3), oleanolic acid (4), beta-sitosterol (5) and 3-O-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(12)-D-glucopyranoside (6). Besides this, a gallic acid derivative with methyl substitution was synthesised as tetramethyl gallate (3). Together with this derivative, compounds 1, 2, the alcohol soluble, chloroform soluble and petroleum ether soluble extracts of the aerial parts of R. niveus were screened for its nematicidal activity against freshly hatched second stage juveniles of Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematode), exhibiting 100, 94, 100, 52, 45 and 14% mortality, respectively of M. incognita after 48 h at 0.5% concentration. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 were found to be more potent than the nematicide Azadirachta indica at the same concentration. Negative results were obtained for nematicidal activity of the petroleum ether extract of R. niveus leaf extract. This is the first report on the isolation of chemical constituents as well as the nematicidal activity of compounds and any part of R. niveus.