Mohsina Patwekar’s research while affiliated with Luqman College of Pharmacy and other places

After almost two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination drives are finally being implemented in countries. However, there is still no complete cure for the disease. There has been a growing demand for the screening of natural compounds for the development of a drug against this deadly virus. With the ongoing research on endophytic fungi and their applications in the pharmaceutical industry due to the presence of various bioactive compounds, they can be used as a potential source against the Papain-like protease (PLpro) enzyme of SARS-CoV-2. Compounds were selected based on previous in vitro studies on antiviral activity and thus repurposed for SARS-CoV-2. Then, ligands were evaluated for their adsorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties and docked against the protein using molecular docking software (AutoDock Vina) to check their inhibitory action. Out of thirty-three compounds evaluated, the top five compounds were found to be Neosartoryadin A, Talaromyolide D, Acetylstachyflin, Chermisinone B and podophyllotoxin with good docking scores and stable interatomic interactions with active residues. Neosartoryadin A exhibits the best stable interaction as a ligand and therefore should be considered for further in vitro analysis against the SARS-CoV-2 PLpro enzyme.

For the treatment of various infections, a variety of antimicrobial drugs are formulated. Nevertheless, many bacterial infections now exhibit antibiotic resistance due to the widespread utilization antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant among the most dangerous multidrug-resistant bacteria is Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Vancomycin became a viable therapy option due to MRSA resistance to methicillin medicines. One of the well-informed antibacterial compounds with wideband antibacterial activity is silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). AgNPs are thus suitable candidates for usage in conjunction alongside vancomycin to increase its antibacterial effect. The goal of the present research work is to boost the antibacterial potency of the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin towards Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) but also Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. The chemical reduction approach is used to create a colloidal solution of silver nanoparticles utilizing silver nitrate as a precursor in the environment of the ionic surfactant trisodium citrate that serves as covering including reducing reagent. Vancomycin was used to functionalize the synthesized nanoparticles and create the nanodrug complex (Van@AgNPs). The synergistic antibacterial potential of silver nanoparticles coated with vancomycin on both test pathogens was investigated using the agar well diffusion technique. The antibacterial potency for both classes of bacteria has significantly increased, according to the well diffusion test. It has been noted that this improvement is synergistic instead of additive.

Lactobacillus (LAB) genera are considered important functional food but are found to have a short shelf life. In this study, two LAB, Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus (Lr), were isolated from sheep's milk, and whole-genome sequencing was carried out by using 16s rRNA Illumina Nextseq, the Netherlands. e LAB were encapsulated by the lyo-philisation technique using di erent lyoprotective pharmaceutical excipients. is process was carried out using a freeze dryer (U-TECH, Star Scienti c Instruments, India). Shelf-life determination was carried out by a 12-month study using the viability survival factor (Vsf). e in vitro cell adhesion technique was carried out by using the red snapper sh along with autoaggregation and cell surface hydrophobicity as vital probiotic properties. It was observed that Lp has a signi cantly higher (P < 0.001) Vsf of 7.2, while Lr has a Vsf of 7 (P < 0.05) when both are encapsulated with 10% maltodextrin + 5% sucrose kept at 4°C for 12 months. e result demonstrated that Lp had signi cantly high (P < 0.05) cell adhesion, 96% ± 1.2 autoaggregation, and 6% cell surface hydro-phobicity as compared to Lr. Moreover, this study demonstrated that lyophilised LAB with lyoprotective excipients enhances shelf life without any changes in probiotic properties when kept at 4°C exhibiting all its probiotic properties.

The current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has negatively impacted the global health and economy. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) shares many similarities with SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus. It has been identified that the 3C-like protease (3CLpro) enzyme in coronaviruses can be a major therapeutic target for combating these serious infections. Therefore, flavonoids are believed to hold high potential in eliminating the viruses and infections. Flavonoids are polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants and have been demonstrated for their notable benefits for health. The antiviral activity of flavonoids has been reported in recent studies. Flavonoids, such as apigenin, quercetin, luteolin, amentoflavone, epigallocatechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, and kaempferol, are known to be able to fight against coronaviruses by reducing the 3CLpro activity, according to the docking studies. Besides, we also found that several flavonoids have the potential to suppress the inflammatory cytokines, which are generally expressed in the lungs of coronavirus-infected individuals. However, the studies utilizing 3CLpro using various scaffolds of flavonoids need to be performed for better understanding on the antiviral potential of flavonoid derivatives against 3CLpro.