Some Potential Therapeutic Importance of the Starfish (Acanthaster planci) Extract Collected from Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt (in vitro study) Tareef A. Salim, Samy Abdelatif Ahmed Saber, Ahmed M. Hellal, Waleed Bakry Suleiman, Mahy Mohammed Mona, Hussein A. El-Naggar Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 2025 Marine natural products are an valuable source for providing essential substances for the drug discovery process because of their variety of bioactivities, including anti-tumor, antibiotic, anti-proliferative, and anti-infective. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the antibacterial, anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties of Acanthaster planci extract. The process of extraction was carried out by soaking the sample in a combination of chloroform and methanol. A wide range of bioactive components were evaluated as antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activities. The present work clarified that Acanthaster planci extract has important antitumor activity with values of 108.2, 158.0 and 188.0μg/ ml as IC50 against breast cancer (Mcf-7), colon cancer (caco-2) and hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HEPG-2) on cell line, respectively. It showed potent antiviral activity (98.10%) against the HAV virus. While, it showed moderate activity as an anti-inflammatory (IC50 = 54.78μg/ ml) and antioxidant (IC50= 38.9μg/ ml). Whereas all pathogenic test microorganisms were resistant to Acanthaster planci extract. Furthermore, the results of GC-MS analysis of Acanthaster planci crude extract revealed the presence of 15 major compounds that had biological activities. In conclusion, Acanthaster planci extract represents a promising antitumor and antiviral with notable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, which supports the need for further investigation.
Preparation of nanocomposite based on zinc oxide nanoparticles and biopolymers: Characterization, antimicrobial and anticancer activities Nady Saber Mohamed Alnagar, Mohamed Hasanin, Waleed B. Suleiman, Shimaa A. Zaki, Amr H. Hashem Microbial Biosystems, 2025 In the current study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) were successfully mycosynthesized using Rhizopus arrhizus NWMA1 and formulated into carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and starch (ST) as nanocomposite (CMC/St@ZnONPs). The ZnONPs anf formulated CMC/ST@ZnONPs were characterized physiochemically and topographically as well. ZnONPs UV-visible spectrum presented a peak at 270 nm. Additionally, the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) of CMC/ST@ZnONPs emphasized the formulation. Moreover, X- ray diffraction (XRD) diffraction of ZnONPs and CMC/ST@ZnONPs were presented in the crystal plane of ZnONPs that decreased after formulation according to the effect of biopolymers. The topographical analysis including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electronic diffraction (SAED), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) affirmed the formulation of ZnONPs and incorporation of ZnONPs into CMC/ST@ZnONPs. The prepared compounds were assessed for antimicrobial activity toward multi-drug resistant bacterial and fungal isolates as well as for anticancer activity toward MCF7 cancerous cell line. Antimicrobial results revealed that CMC/St@ZnONPs nanocomposite showed activity higher than ZnONPs where inhibition zones were 40, 25, 43, 17, 25, 25, 25 and 45 mm against K. pneumonia 124, K. pneumonia 117, B. subtilis, K. pneumonia 115, Acenetobacter bumanii 110, Pseudomonas aerogenosa, E. coli 127, C. albicans. Furthermore, ZnONPs exhibited anticancer activity higher than CMC/St@ZnONPs nanocomposite toward MCF7 cells where IC50 was 61.22 ± 1.09, and 84.47 ± 2.48µg mL–1 respectively. In conclusion, this study succeeded in the mycosynthesis of ZnONPs and CMC/St@ZnONPs nanocomposite which had promising antimicrobial and anticancer activity.
Exploring the multifaceted bioactivities of silver nanoparticles synthesized from red algae Hypnea pannosa: Antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and insecticidal potentials Mansour A.E. Bashar, Enas M.H. Attia, Alsayed E. Mekky, Tharwat A. Selim, Walaa M. Shaban, Mohamed A.M. El-Tabakh, Ammar.M. Mahmoud, Mostafa A. Abdel-Maksoud, Ali A. Ali, Mohamed A. El-Tayeb, Waleed B. Suleiman, Mohamed E. El Beeh, Sabiha Fatima, Bushra Hafeez Kiani, Nehal M. Khairy, Ebrahim Saied Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 2025 Background: The emergence of microbial resistance to conventional antibiotics and the environmental impact of chemical pesticides necessitates the search for alternative and sustainable solutions. This study explores the utilization of the dried biomass of the red algae Hypnea pannosa to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using a green and eco-friendly method. Results: The synthesized AgNPs displayed sizes ranging from 15 to 60 nm with polydispersed shapes and a face-centered cubic crystalline structure, confirmed through characterization techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Stability assessments via zeta potential measurements and docking studies of oleic acid and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid against Gyrase B and GST proteins were also conducted. The nanoparticles demonstrated potent antibacterial and antibiofilm activities, particularly against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Both the algal extract and the AgNPs exhibited significant larvicidal and adulticidal effects against Culex pipiens, with the nanoparticles showing superior efficacy, indicated by lower LC50 and LC90 values. The highest larvicidal effectiveness achieved was 93.33% for algal extract at 600 mg/L and 100% for AgNPs at 100 mg/L. Conclusions: This study provides a sustainable method for producing AgNPs with diverse applications in medical and mosquito control fields, highlighting their potential as effective and safe alternatives to conventional antibacterial and insecticidal agents.How to cite: Bashar MA, Attia EM, Mekky AE, et al. Exploring the multifaceted bioactivities of silver nanoparticles synthesized from red algae Hypnea pannosa: Antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and insecticidal potentials. Electron J Biotechnol 2025;74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2024.12.001.
Antineoplastic with DNA fragmentation assay and anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory with gene expression activity of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from local Egyptian milk products Mohamed A. Elhalik, Alsayed E. Mekky, Mohamed Khedr, Waleed B. Suleiman BMC Microbiology, 2024 Many lactic acid bacteria (LAB), known for their human health benefits, are derived from milk and utilized in biotherapeutic applications or for producing valuable nutraceuticals. However, the specific role of milk-associated LAB in biotherapeutics remains underexplored. To address this, eight milk product samples were randomly selected from the Egyptian market, diluted, and then cultured anaerobically on MRS agar. Subsequently, 16 suspected LAB isolates were recovered and underwent rapid preliminary identification. Among these isolates, the Lactobacillus plantarum strain with accession number (OQ547261.1) was identified due to its strong antioxidant activity depending on the DPPH assay, L. plantarum displayed notable antioxidant activities of 71.8% and 93.8% at concentrations of 125–1000 µg/mL, respectively. While ascorbic acid showed lower concentrations of 7.81, 3.9, and 1.95 µg/mL which showed activities of 45.1%, 34.2%, and 27.2%, respectively. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of L. plantarum was evaluated based on its capability to prevent hemolysis induced by hypotonic conditions. At a concentration of 1000 µg/mL, L. plantarum could reduce hemolysis by 97.7%, nearly matching the 99.5% inhibition rate achieved by the standard drug, indomethacin, at an identical concentration. Moreover, L. plantarum exhibited high hemolytic activity at 100 µg/mL (14.3%), which decreased to 1.4% at 1000 µg/mL. The abundance of phenolic acids and flavonoids was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in L. plantarum. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) demonstrated that L. plantarum increased gene expression of the inflammatory marker TLR2 by 133%, and cellular oxidation markers SOD1 and SOD2 by 65% and 74.2%, respectively, while suppressing CRP expression by 33.3%. These results underscore L. plantarum’s exceptional anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Furthermore, L. plantarum induces cancer cell death through necrotic nuclear DNA fragmentation. These findings suggest that L. plantarum is not only suitable for nutraceutical production but also holds potential as a probiotic strain. Future research should focus on enhancing the capacity of this strain across various industries and fostering innovation in multiple fields.
Eco-friendly Biosynthesis of Ag-NPs by Streptomyces griseus with Anti-Candida albicans and Antitumor Activity Inas M. Abou El-Enain, Nermine N. Abed, Eman E. Helal, Eman S. Abdelkhalek, Waleed Suleiman, Nesreen A. Safwat, Mohammed Yosri Recent Advances in Anti Infective Drug Discovery, 2024 Background: The most significant sexually transmissible fungal disease, semen candidiasis, is caused by Candida albicans and impacts male reproductive potential. Actinomycetes are a group of microorganisms that could be isolated from various habitats and used for the biosynthesis of various nanoparticles with biomedical applications. Objective: Testing antifungal activity of biosynthesized Ag nanoparticles versus isolated C. albicans from semen as well as its anticancer activity versus the Caco-2 cell line. Methods: Screening 17 isolated actinomycetes for the biosynthesis of Ag nanoparticle biosynthesis. Characterization of biosynthesized nanoparticles, testing its anti-Candida albicans, and antitumor activity. Results: Streptomyces griseus was the isolate that identified silver nanoparticles using UV, FTIR, XRD and TEM. Biosynthesized nanoparticles have promising anti-Candida albicans with MIC (125 ± 0.8) μg/ml and accelerate apoptotic rate versus Caco-2 cells (IC50 = 7.30 ± 0.54 μg/ml) with minimal toxicity (CC50 = 142.74 ± 4.71 μg/ml) versus Vero cells. Conclusion: Certain actinomycetes could be used for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles with successive antifungal and anticancer activity to be verified by in vivo studies.
A multi-aspect analysis of two analogous aspergillus spp. belonging to section Flavi: aspergillus flavus and aspergillus oryzae Waleed Bakry Suleiman BMC Microbiology, 2023 Microfungal isolates were routinely identified depending on both macro and micro morphological characteristics, sometimes, some fungal isolates appeared to be similar and such cases caused severe confusion for mycologists during the preliminary identification. During our previous studies dealing with isolation of fungi for some biotechnological applications; two mystifying species Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus oryzae showed similar cultural and macroscopic features. Therefore, the current study aimed to easily distinguish between these two species depending on simple approaches which are routinely followed by a large segment of researchers. Investigation of the macroscopic features was performed to check the fungal growth on four different media (PDA, MEA, YES, and CYA) followed by microscopic examination using an ordinary light microscope, and scanning electron microscope SEM. Also, screening of secondary metabolites for both strains was preliminarily identified to find out the difference between their metabolic profiles. Finally, ITS rDNA was involved to clarify the molecular differences along their partial sequence. Conclusively, the BLAST strategy confirmed the similarity of ITS rDNA segments of both fungal strains that supported our hypothesis. The color of the fungal growth is a very critical factor whereas it is extensively influenced by the type of cultivation media. Accordingly, the YES medium was an inspiring tool assisting in prompt differentiation during the culture investigation step whereas A. oryzae and A. flavus appeared significant mustard yellow and olive green respectively. During the microscopic examination, the CYA medium also had a robust effect on the formation of the conidial chain whereas the knit long chain was observed in A. oryzae while the conidia appeared scattered and not in a chain in the case of A. flavus. Likewise, both two strains possessed different metabolic profiles where A. oryzae is not an Afla toxin producer, unlike A. flavus.
Purification, Characterization and anticancer activity of L-methionine γ-lyase from thermo-tolerant Aspergillus fumigatus Mahmoud H. Hendy, Amr H. Hashem, Waleed B. Suleiman, Mahmoud H. Sultan, Mohamed Abdelraof Microbial Cell Factories, 2023 Purification of L-methionine γ-lyase (MGL) from A. fumigatus was sequentially conducted using heat treatment and gel filtration, resulting in 3.04 of purification fold and 73.9% of enzymatic recovery. The molecular mass of the purified MGL was approximately apparent at 46 KDa based on SDS-PAGE analysis. The enzymatic biochemical properties showed a maximum activity at pH 7 and exhibited plausible stability within pH range 5.0–7.5; meanwhile the highest catalytic activity of MGL was observed at 30–40 °C and the enzymatic stability was noted up to 40 °C. The enzyme molecule was significantly inhibited in the presence of Cu2+, Cd2+, Li2+, Mn2+, Hg2+, sodium azide, iodoacetate, and mercaptoethanol. Moreover, MGL displayed a maximum activity toward the following substrates, L-methionine < DL-methionine < Ethionine < Cysteine. Kinetic studies of MGL for L-methioninase showed catalytic activity at 20.608 mM and 12.34568 µM.min−1. Furthermore, MGL exhibited anticancer activity against cancerous cell lines, where IC50 were 243 ± 4.87 µg/ml (0.486 U/ml), and 726 ± 29.31 µg/ml (1.452 U/ml) against Hep-G2, and HCT116 respectively. In conclusion, A. fumigatus MGL had good catalytic properties along with significantly anticancer activity at low concentration which makes it a probably candidate to apply in the enzymotherapy field.
