[Anti-microbial activity of Rosmarinus officinalis and Zingiber officinale extracts on the species of the genus Candida and on Streptococcus pneumonia]

Rosemary: Unrevealing an old aromatic crop as a new source of promising functional food additive-A review

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is one of the most famous spice plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family as a remarkably beautiful horticultural plant and economically agricultural crop. The essential oil of rosemary has been enthusiastically welcome in the whole world for hundreds of years. Now, it is wildly prevailing as a promising functional food additive for human health. More importantly, due to its significant aroma, food, and nutritional value, rosemary also plays an essential role in the food/feed additive and food packaging industries. Modern industrial development and fundamental scientific research have extensively revealed its unique phytochemical constituents with biologically meaningful activities, which closely related to diverse human health functions. In this review, we provide a comprehensively systematic perspective on rosemary by summarizing the structures of various pharmacological and nutritional components, biologically functional activities and their molecular regulatory networks required in food developments, and the recent advances in their applications in the food industry. Finally, the temporary limitations and future research trends regarding the development of rosemary components are also discussed and prospected. Hence, the review covering the fundamental research advances and developing prospects of rosemary is a desirable demand to facilitate their better understanding, and it will also serve as a reference to provide many insights for the future promotion of the research and development of functional foods related to rosemary.

Xanthan and alginate-matrix used as transdermal delivery carrier for piroxicam and ketoconazole

This study presents new drug delivery systems based on xanthan, unmodified or modified by esterification with oleic acid, and alginate for controlled release of bioactive substances with anti-inflammatory (piroxicam) and antifungal properties (ketoconazole). The mechanical properties of the developed drug carriers showed that their compressive strength was affected by the encapsulation of the bioactive principles. When ketoconazole was added into the xanthan/alginate matrix, an increment in the mechanical strength was recorded (66.68% compression). The release of the active principles from the materials was best described by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, with non-Fickian or Fickian diffusion (the values of the exponent of release are between 0.29 and 0.75), depending on the composition of the polymeric matrix. The release rate constant presents smaller values for the materials based on chemically modified xanthan (between 0.89 and 20.11) as compared with materials based on the unmodified form (between 4.27 and 25.00). All materials were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The designed systems prove to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity. The findings make prone these biomaterials for the manufacture of transdermal drug delivery systems.

Antimicrobial Effect of Phytochemicals from Edible Plants

Current strategies of combating bacterial infections are limited and involve the use of antibiotics and preservatives. Each of these agents has generally inadequate efficacy and a number of serious adverse effects. Thus, there is an urgent need for new antimicrobial drugs and food preservatives with higher efficacy and lower toxicity. Edible plants have been used in medicine since ancient times and are well known for their successful antimicrobial activity. Often photosensitizers are present in many edible plants; they could be a promising source for a new generation of drugs and food preservatives. The use of photodynamic therapy allows enhancement of antimicrobial properties in plant photosensitizers. The purpose of this review is to present the verified data on the antimicrobial activities of photodynamic phytochemicals in edible species of the world’s flora, including the various mechanisms of their actions.