Scientific African最新文献

{"title":"Smart monitoring of photovoltaic energy systems: An IoT-based prototype approach","authors":"N. Rouibah ,&nbsp;A. El Hammoumi ,&nbsp;A. Bouttout ,&nbsp;S. Haddad ,&nbsp;S. Oukaci ,&nbsp;A. Limam ,&nbsp;M. Benghanem","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02973","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02973","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Integrating Internet of Things (IoT) technology into photovoltaic (PV) systems is crucial for monitoring and assessing performance. Conventional monitoring solutions, however, remain costly and difficult to deploy, particularly in rural or resource-limited areas. Addressing these challenges is essential for ensuring wider adoption of solar energy. This paper presents a smart prototype designed for remote monitoring of PV systems using IoT technology, experimentally validated. The monitored parameters include temperature, solar irradiance, PV voltage and current, load voltage and current, and power at maximum power point. The PV monitoring system features several key components: an Arduino-based embedded system for data acquisition and processing, temperature and irradiance sensors, voltage and current sensors for electrical parameters, and an LCD display for immediate visual feedback. A Wi-Fi module enables wireless communication, transmitting real-time data to a server. A DC-DC converter regulates PV output voltage to meet load requirements, controlled by the Incremental Conductance MPPT algorithm implemented on Arduino. To facilitate user interaction, a web interface has been developed for real-time monitoring of all system parameters. This interface allows remote access and continuous supervision of PV system performance, ensuring efficient management. The results show the system's successful operation, which requires minimal human labor, while being inexpensive and easy to construct. These findings demonstrate the potential of IoT-enabled monitoring to improve energy efficiency, support predictive maintenance, and enable greater integration of renewable energy into smart grids. This prototype is adaptable for domestic PV applications, particularly in remote locations, enabling users to check for anomalies based on variations in maximum power output. However, it is currently limited in scale, has not been extensively tested under partial shading conditions, and requires further enhancements to address cybersecurity concerns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02973"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In silico analysis of Moroccan medicinal plant compounds as potential inhibitors of influenza A (H3N2)","authors":"Nouh Mounadi ,&nbsp;Hassan Nour ,&nbsp;Amal Bouribab ,&nbsp;Meriem Khedraoui ,&nbsp;Mhammed El Kouali ,&nbsp;Abdelouahid Samadi ,&nbsp;Samir Chtita","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02969","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02969","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The treatment of influenza A, particularly the H3N2 subtype, remains a major challenge due to the seasonal mutations of this virus. These mutations complicate the development of effective treatments. Influenza A, specifically the H3N2 strain, is responsible for severe respiratory infections, which impact public health and contribute to global epidemics.</div><div>This study aims to explore the antiviral inhibitory potential of compounds derived from Moroccan medicinal plants, sourced from different regions, targeting the biologically active sites of the H3N2 virus. Two types of viral proteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and nucleoprotein (NP) of the H3N2 influenza virus, representing distinct functional mechanisms (PDB ID: 4we8 for HA and PDB ID: 7nt8 for (NP), were selected for this investigation. In silico studies, such as molecular docking, ADMET(Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity) properties evaluation, and molecular dynamics simulation, were employed to predict the interactions and energy scores of candidate molecules with the two proteins, evaluate the bioavailability and behavior of these molecules within the human body, and assess the stability of the selected candidates with the two proteins. The ultimate goal is to identify potential inhibitors that could be developed into drugs. Several molecules were selected through molecular docking and ADMET evaluation, and their further study through molecular dynamics simulation aims to propose promising anti-H3N2 inhibitors. Indeed, compound no. 329, which multitargets both HA and NP structures, was chosen as it met all the criteria for eventual in vitro and in vivo validation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02969"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transient stability assessment and enhancement of hydropower plant using artificial neural network","authors":"Yosef Birara Wubet ,&nbsp;Hawaz Mekuriaw Getahun ,&nbsp;Yechale Amogne Alemu ,&nbsp;Temesgen Teshager Gela","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02970","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02970","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Power system stability is essential for a reliable electricity supply, as disturbances such as faults, load changes, and line outages can cause blackouts and generator instability. As Ethiopia’s base-load hydropower plant, the Tana Beles Hydropower Plant (TBHPP) requires rigorous transient stability analysis and enhancement to maintain system reliability after major disturbances. This study tackles these challenges by employing an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for transient stability assessment (TSA) and an ANN-controlled Interline Power Flow Controller (IPFC) for transient stability enhancement (TSE) in TBHPP. The ANN was trained on 80 % of a 9828-sample dataset from different fault and load scenarios, with 20 % used for testing. For TSE, the ANN-controlled IPFC was evaluated under three-phase-to-ground faults, transmission line outages, and sudden load changes. For instance, in transient stability analysis under a three-phase-to-ground fault, the ANN-based IPFC achieves better performance than both the uncontrolled system and the PI-based IPFC, with significantly lower settling times and reduced overshoots. Specifically, the ANN-based IPFC reduces the settling time of rotor angle, rotor speed, output active power, and electromagnetic torque by 65.251 %, 65.190 %, 59.542 %, and 61.377 %, respectively, compared to an uncontrolled system, and by 59.358 %, 57.729 %, 51.382 %, and 54.771 %, respectively, compared to a PI-based IPFC system. Additionally, it decreases overshoot in rotor angle, rotor speed, output active power, and electromagnetic torque by 17.264 %, 41.667 %, 50.090 %, and 85.099 %, respectively, over an uncontrolled system, and by 7.914 %, 64.646 %, 42.798 %, and 36.885 %, respectively, over a PI-based IPFC system. This paper develops an ANN model for transient stability TSA and TSE. The TSA model applies linear and softmax activation functions, while TSE uses sigmoid. The ANN network has an input, 12-neuron hidden, and output layers. Results demonstrate ANN's effective stability assessment and show that ANN-based IPFC surpasses both PI-based IPFC and uncontrolled systems. The study was conducted using MATLAB/Simulink for simulation and script development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02970"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Type II Half-Logistic Rayleigh Weibull distribution with statistical inference and applications","authors":"Sule Omeiza Bashiru ,&nbsp;Gaber Sallam Salem Abdalla ,&nbsp;Ibrahim E. Ragab ,&nbsp;Ibrahim Elbatal ,&nbsp;Ahmed M. Gemeay ,&nbsp;Mohammed Elgarhy","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02927","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02927","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the contemporary data-driven landscape, accurate modeling of real-world phenomena is paramount across diverse fields such as insurance, finance, engineering, environmental science, and radiation science. Traditional statistical distributions often fall short of capturing the intricate complexities of modern datasets, necessitating more flexible approaches. This study introduces the Type II Half-Logistic Rayleigh Weibull (TIIHLRW) distribution, a novel extension of the Rayleigh Weibull model using the type II half-logistic generator. The proposed model is right-skewed with a unimodal density and accommodates both increasing and decreasing hazard rate shapes, making it suitable for a wide range of lifetime data. Several mathematical properties are derived, including the quantile function, various moments, and the mean residual life function. The parameters of the proposed distribution are estimated using eight different techniques, and a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation is conducted to assess estimator performance. The maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and maximum product of spacings estimator (MPSE) performed best across criteria such as bias, mean squared error (MSE), and average squared absolute error (ASAE), with improved accuracy as sample size increased. The practical utility of the model is demonstrated using two real-life datasets: a radiation dataset and an occupational exposure dataset. Competing models include the Marshall–Olkin generalized exponential, Gompertz-Makeham, extended Weibull, transmuted exponentiated exponential, transmuted exponentiated gamma, Rayleigh-Weibull, and Gumbel distributions. Goodness-of-fit metrics such as the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Anderson–Darling, Cramér–von Mises, and Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) tests were used for evaluation. The TIIHLRW model achieved the best performance across all criteria, attaining the lowest AIC (221.028) and BIC (222.750) values, and the highest KS <span><math><mi>p</mi></math></span>-value (0.949) for the first dataset. Similarly, for the occupational exposure dataset, it achieved the lowest AIC (231.657) and BIC (234.938) values and the highest KS <span><math><mi>p</mi></math></span>-value (0.936). These results confirm the TIIHLRW model’s accuracy and broad applicability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02927"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145061264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing renewable DG allocation with the secretary bird algorithm for enhanced power system stability and efficiency","authors":"O.G. Badreldin,&nbsp;Mohammed Hamouda Ali,&nbsp;M.K. Ahmed,&nbsp;Ibrahim A. Nassar","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02967","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02967","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The integration of Distributed Generation (DG) into electrical power networks has emerged as a critical strategy for addressing the growing challenges of energy efficiency, system reliability, and sustainability. Proper allocation and optimal sizing of DG units are essential to maximize their benefits, particularly in enhancing voltage stability, reducing real power losses, and improving overall system performance. Among the various types of DG, renewable distributed generation (RDG) units, such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine (WT) systems, have attracted significant attention due to their clean energy potential and ability to strengthen power system resilience. However, the intermittent and uncertain nature of RDGs necessitates advanced optimization approaches that can accurately determine their optimal location and capacity within the network to achieve operational excellence. In this study, a novel application of the Secretary Bird Optimization Algorithm (SBOA) is proposed to address the complex problem of RDG siting and sizing in power distribution systems. Inspired by the intelligent hunting behavior of secretary birds, SBOA introduces unique exploration and exploitation mechanisms that enable it to balance global search efficiency with local refinement. The proposed model aims to minimize active power losses and improve voltage profiles while accommodating different levels of RDG penetration. Unlike conventional methods, SBOA offers greater adaptability in handling nonlinear, multi-modal, and constrained optimization problems, making it particularly suitable for power system applications. To evaluate the performance of the proposed SBOA-based framework, extensive simulations are carried out on two widely accepted benchmark systems: the IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 57-bus networks. Different deployment scenarios are examined by varying the number of RDG units from one to three, allowing a comprehensive assessment of the algorithm’s scalability and robustness. Comparative analysis with several state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms highlights the superiority of SBOA in achieving lower power losses, improved voltage stability indices, and more efficient distribution of generation resources. The key findings reveal that SBOA not only ensures consistent improvements in network efficiency and voltage profile regulation but also demonstrates faster convergence and stronger global optimization capability compared to its counterparts. These results confirm SBOA as a powerful and innovative optimization tool for addressing the DG allocation and sizing problem, offering significant potential for real-world power system planning and operation in the era of renewable energy integration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02967"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing heat-related health risk in Ghana using bioclimatic indices","authors":"Mary J. Adjei ,&nbsp;Edmund I. Yamba ,&nbsp;Cascade Tuholske ,&nbsp;Cosmos S. Wemegah ,&nbsp;Leonard K. Amekudzi","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02926","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02926","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change is driving rising temperatures worldwide, intensifying the risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat stress, heat stroke, and exhaustion. In Ghana, however, the health risks associated with extreme heat are often underestimated, as most existing assessments rely on subjective perceptions rather than scientifically validated indices. This study addresses this gap by assessing heat-related health risks across Ghana using the Universal Thermal Climate Index and Humidex. Hourly temperature and relative humidity data were extracted from the ERA5 reanalysis dataset to compute bioclimatic indices across all agroclimatic zones. The results show widespread warming across the country, with minimum temperatures increasing more rapidly than maximum temperatures. The Sudan and Guinea Savannah zones experience the highest levels of thermal stress, while declining humidity in the Forest zone further exacerbates discomfort. Seasonally, the greatest risks occur between November and May, peaking in March and April, and diurnally, exposures are most severe between 11:00 and 17:00 h. These findings demonstrate that extreme heat is an escalating public health threat in Ghana, particularly in the Sudan and Guinea Savannah zones. The study highlights the urgent need for adaptation measures such as public awareness campaigns, heat early-warning systems, and climate-resilient cooling infrastructure. By providing robust, index-based evidence, this work contributes valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and public health authorities to design effective strategies that protect vulnerable populations from the growing health impacts of climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02926"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An experimental residual envelope analysis-based method for incipient fault detection in induction machines","authors":"Hamza SABIR ,&nbsp;Mohammed OUASSAID ,&nbsp;Nabil NGOTE ,&nbsp;Mohamed BENBOUZID","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02965","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02965","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Induction motor (IM) is a vital element of any industrial manufacturing process due to its robust construction and simple maintainability. However, an incipient fault—even on a single rotor bar—can quickly become problematic and spread to adjacent bars, exacerbated by endogenous vibrations caused by rotor imbalance. Early diagnosis is therefore crucial to prevent damage and reduce the maintenance costs required to carry out repairs. Among existing techniques, spectral analysis using Hilbert transform (HT) has long been the standard for diagnosing incipient defects, but it is less effective at detecting low-amplitude failures. In this paper, a new method, RESE (Residual Electrical Signal Extraction), is proposed to optimally assist HT in detecting incipient broken bars (BRB). Through simulations and experiments, RESE has demonstrated its ability to detect defects as small as 10 mm deep, over a load range from 0 to 100% of the rated load. The results therefore confirm that RESE is a tool of choice for the early monitoring of asynchronous motors, even when they are lightly loaded.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02965"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modelling campylobacteriosis dynamics: Impacts of contaminated animal products and environmental decontamination interventions","authors":"Herman Trazias ,&nbsp;Eva Lusekelo ,&nbsp;Kasim Sakran Abass","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02945","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02945","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Campylobacteriosis is responsible for approximately 500 million cases of illness globally each year. Globally, human campylobacteriosis infections and contaminated animal products cause an estimated loss of 8.6 and 12.6 billion US dollars annually, respectively. The disease is transmitted through consumption of contaminated foods and water, licking unsanitary hands and contact with infected hosts. As global demand for animal products like meat and milk continues to grow, the transmission of campylobacteriosis through these products has become a critical concern. This study aims at utilising mathematical modelling and analysis techniques to quantify the effects of contaminated animal products and environmental decontamination interventions on campylobacteriosis dynamics in host populations. A mathematical model as a system of ordinary differential equations is proposed with human and cattle populations and contaminated animal products. The next-generation matrix method is applied to compute the effective reproduction number <span><math><mi>R</mi></math></span> that describes disease persistence and extinction. The global stability of equilibria states is examined using the Lyapunov stability theory. The uncertainty and sensitivity of model parameters are examined using the Latin Hypercube Sampling and Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient methods. Model fitting and parameter estimations are performed using the least squares method alongside the human cases from January to August for the years 2017 to 2020 in the EU. The analysis indicates that the disease-free and endemic equilibria are globally asymptotically stable whenever <span><math><mrow><mi>R</mi><mo>&lt;</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math></span> and <span><math><mrow><mi>R</mi><mo>&gt;</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math></span>, respectively. The numerical results show that the ingestion rates of contaminated animal products, shedding rates and the natural replication rates of <em>Campylobacter</em> jejuni bacteria are directly proportional to <span><math><mi>R</mi></math></span>, while the environmental cleanliness and the decay rate of <em>Campylobacter</em> jejuni bacteria are inversely proportional to <span><math><mi>R</mi></math></span>. In order to reduce the impact of contaminated animal products, the study recommends a couple of strategies for reducing shedding rates, killing bacteria, and vaccinating infected hosts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02945"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145047613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of cultivation practice in chemical composition and biological activities of Thymus atlanticus (Ball) Roussine","authors":"Brahim Ouahzizi ,&nbsp;Hamza Elbouny ,&nbsp;Addi Nait Mbarek ,&nbsp;Driss Mrani ,&nbsp;Mohamed Bammou ,&nbsp;Khalid Sellam ,&nbsp;Abdelmonaim Homrani Bakali ,&nbsp;Ghizlane Diria ,&nbsp;Aouatif Benali ,&nbsp;Chakib Alem","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02966","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02966","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Thymus atlanticus</em> is endemic Moroccan thyme grows in the Atlas Mountains that possess numerous biological properties. However, its natural habitat is confined to a limited area and very threats from overgrazing and soil degradation. To ensure the conservation and sustainable use of this species, it was cultivated under protected conditions in the Imilchil region. This study aimed to conserve <em>T. atlanticus</em> and assess the stability of its chemical profile and biological activities following cultivation. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analyses, along with evaluations of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypolipidemic activities were conducted on both wild and cultivated populations. The results revealed that the chemical profile of wild and cultivated <em>T. atlanticus</em> were nearly similar with only minor quantitative differences. Total phenolic content and in-vitro antioxidant activity also showed slight variations. The anti-inflammatory of the two populations were comparable, with no significant differences observed. Moreover, both wild and cultivated <em>T. atlanticus</em> extracts demonstrated significant hypolipidemic activity, comparable to the standard pharmaceutical agent simvastatin. In conclusion, the cultivation of <em>T. atlanticus</em> in a controlled environment is a viable strategy for its conservation. Given its diverse biological and phytotherapeutic properties, cultivation not only helps preserve this threatened species but also ensures its sustainable use for medicinal and therapeutic purposes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02966"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thespesia populnea L.: Bioassay-guided approach and molecular docking analysis on pseudomonas aeruginosa protein targets","authors":"Hanaa H. Eid ,&nbsp;Ghada F. Metwally ,&nbsp;Haidy H. El-Zoheiry ,&nbsp;Kadriya S. El Deeb ,&nbsp;Menna B. Abdel Halim","doi":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant extracts have attracted scientists’ interest as natural source of safe anti-bacterials to offer alternatives for conventional antibiotics. Ethanolic extracts of bark, wood, leaves of <em>Thespesia populnea</em> L., and fractions of the most bioactive extract were screened for anti-bacterial activity. This was tested against Gram-positive(<em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> &amp; <em>Bacillus subtilis</em>) and Gram-negative(<em>Escherichia coli</em> &amp; <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em>) bacteria by agar well diffusion method using ciprofloxacin(standard drug). Furthermore, minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration(MBC) were determined using resazurin-based 96-well plate microdilution method. Ethanolic bark extract(EBE) exhibited the strongest activity against all tested bacteria with MIC range of 2.5–5mg/ml and MBC range of 5–10mg/ml. Methylene chloride fraction(Met-B) of EBE showed potent bacteriostatic and bactericidal actions on all tested bacteria, particularly against <em>P. aeruginosa</em> with high potency (MIC and MBC; 0.63 &amp; 2.5mg/ml, respectively). Consequently, further investigation was conducted to identify and isolate bioactive constituents from Met-B. This led to isolation of six compounds(cryptolepine, quinodolinone, quinodoline, cryptoheptine, scopoletin and aescultin) using flash chromatography. Moreover, five compounds(quercetin, kaempferol, daidzein, caffeic and tannic acids) were identified using TLC/MS technique. Furthermore, molecular docking study was implemented on proteins that play crucial roles in virulence and pathogenicity of <em>P. aeruginosa</em>(DNA gyrase, Fab A, QS-LasR and QS-PqsR). The results demonstrated that cryptolepine, quinodolinone, quinodoline, cryptoheptine showed the strongest binding affinity to all targets confirming their role in inhibiting <em>P. aeruginosa</em> pathogenesis. These findings highlight <em>T. populnea</em> L. as a potential anti-bacterial agent against <em>P. aeruginosa</em> in traditional medicine and as a source for developing therapeutics against drug-resistant bacterial infections.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21690,"journal":{"name":"Scientific African","volume":"30 ","pages":"Article e02964"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}