PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Microbial and Botanical Innovations in Sustainable Cosmetics: A Review of Natural Approaches to Skin Health

Amina Tariq — 2026-03-30

Demand for natural and sustainable cosmetics is growing as a result of growing public consciousness of ethical consumption, environmental preservation, and health. This review explores the integration of components generated from microbes and plants to create environmentally friendly and productive organic beauty products. It accentuates how botanicals like aloe vera, green tea, turmeric, jojoba oil, and essential oils act in concert with probiotics, postbiotics, and fermented microbial metabolites improve skin health. Currently, knowledge from ethnobotany, microbiology, and dermatology is being utilized to develop natural products-based cosmetics. Microbial fermentation, bioactive extraction, and actual user trials are among the techniques used to assess the acceptability, efficacy, and safety of the products. Synthetic inhibitors and detergents are being substituted by biosurfactants and peptides with antibacterial properties derived from bacteria like Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus subtilis. High safety and quality criteria have been adopted for face washes, moisturizers, serums, and lip balms. The future of the beauty business is being shaped by the innovations in this area which will promotes personal wellbeing.

Honey proteins and seed dormancy

Rishan Singh — 2026-03-30

In a recent issue of the Pakistan Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Azim et al. [1] presented a compelling study on the role of honey in promoting seed germination. Despite containing only a small fraction of proteins (typically 1% or less), honey was shown to possess bioactive proteins that contribute to various biological functions, including plant development. The study highlights the potential of honey proteins in breaking seed dormancy and acting as a natural bio-stimulant for plant growth—an area that remains relatively underexplored compared to more commonly studied plant stimulants such as phytohormones, microbial inoculants, humic substances, seaweed extracts, and protein hydrolysates.

PERFORMANCE OF TRITICUM AESTIVUM L. (WHEAT) UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF FUNGAL INOCULATION TO SUSTAIN ARSENIC STRESS

Sana Khalid — 2026-03-30

Wheat is one of the most important staple foods worldwide, dominating other crops in terms of acreage and production. However, wheat is highly vulnerable to the toxic effects of heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, mercury, and arsenic. Arsenic (As), a trace toxic metalloid, poses significant environmental challenges, severely impacting water, soil, animals, and humans. In plants, arsenic causes both physiological and morphological damage by inducing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn harm nucleic acids, proteins, and membrane lipids. In this study, two wheat varieties—Dilkash and Fakhr-e-Bakkhar—were inoculated with the endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum to mitigate Arsenic stress. This fungus forms a mutualistic association with plant roots, expanding the rhizosphere surface area without harming plant tissues or cells. Arsenic concentrations in wheat tissues followed the order: roots > shoots > leaves > grains. Grain arsenic uptake showed a positive correlation with both available arsenic in soil (r = 0.678, p < .0001) and total soil arsenic content (r = 0.23, p < .0001). Application of Fusarium oxysporum at 5 g kg⁻¹ soil significantly (p < .004) reduced arsenic levels in grains across all treatments. Moreover, grain arsenic content was negatively correlated with total soil glomalin (r = –0.320, p < .004), fungal colonization (r = –0.115), and soil phosphorus content (r = –0.762, p < .0001). Overall, the findings demonstrate that inoculation with endophytic fungi can effectively lower arsenic accumulation in different parts of wheat plants grown in arsenic-contaminated soils.

Production and affinity purification of diverse recombinant Mtb antigens

Chandni Yaqoob — 2026-03-30

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health threat, and effective disease control depends on timely diagnosis alongside appropriate treatment, while a robust vaccine could further reduce disease incidence. For both serological diagnosis and vaccine development, highly purified Mtb (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) antigens with strong immunogenicity are essential. In this study, we aimed to clone, express, and purify three Mtb recombinant proteins — Hrp1 (15.5kDa), HspX (16kDa), and Cfp17 (22kDa) — in soluble form using Escherichia coli. The target genes were amplified by PCR and inserted into the pET28a(+) vector. Recombinant proteins, carrying an N-terminal 6×His tag, were expressed in E. coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIPL cells under IPTG induction. Purification was carried out by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Densitometric analysis indicated expression levels of approximately 32% for Hrp1, 25% for HspX, and 16% for Cfp17. Final purified products exceeded 90% purity, with recoveries of 38.3% (Hrp1), 73% (HspX), and 45% (Cfp17). The recombinant Hrp1, HspX, and Cfp17 proteins, obtained with high purity, are therefore well suited for further evaluation in TB serodiagnostic assays and subunit-vaccine development.