Background: Entamoeba histolytica is the causative agent of amoebic dysentery and hepatic abscesses. Despite the efficacy of metronidazole in alleviating infectious diseases, the global dissemination of drug-resistant parasites raises the possibility that Punica granatum could serve as an effective natural alternative treatment. Objective: To evaluate the effect of P. granatum methanolic and aqueous extracts of various parts against E. histolytica trophozoites in an in vitro setting. Methods: Various concentrations (0.14, 0.7, 1.4, and 2.8 mg/ml) of P. granatum extracts of the flowers, leafs, peels, and seeds were chosen for this purpose. A culture medium containing 0.05x106/ml E. histolytica trophozoites was treated with different concentrations of these extracts. The incubation period was 48 hours at 37°C. For every set, an untreated control was also performed. The standard medication metronidazole (17 μg/ml) was employed as a comparative control. Results: All parts of P. granatum showed high efficacy against E. histolytica trophozoites, but utilization of the methanolic extract proved to be quite effective compared to aqueous extract. Under a light microscope, several morphological changes were also seen. These include changes to the plasma membrane, reorganization of vacuoles that hold cell waste, and major changes to the cytoplasmic granules. Conclusions: The leaf, seed, flower, and peel extracts of P. granatum effectively inhibit the growth of E. histolytica trophozoites in vitro. The use of methanolic extract was more effective compared to the aqueous extract, and can be used as a natural alternative treatment for amoebic dysentery.
Background: Nanoparticles are clusters of atoms in a size range from (1-100) nm. Nano dentistry creates amazing useful structures from individual atoms or molecules (nanoparticles), which provides a new alternative and a possibly superior strategy in prevention and treatment of dental caries through management of dental plaque biofilms. The aim of the study was to test the sensitivity of Streptococcus mutans to different concentrations of hydroxyapatite and iron oxide nanoparticles suspension solutions, in comparison to chlorhexidine, and de-ionized water, in vitro. Materials and methods: Agar well technique was applied to test the sensitivity of Streptococcus mutans to different concentrations of hydroxyapatite and iron oxide nanoparticle
... Show MoreBackground: Cross contamination of dental appliances in the dental clinics and laboratories may potentially be a health hazard to the dental team and the patient. This study aimed to evaluate bacterial contamination of acrylic complete denture as received from dental laboratory before delivery to the patient, and then to evaluate the effectiveness of disinfection with 2% chlorhexidine and Kin denture cleaner tablet. Materials and methods: 45 newly made upper complete dentures undergone biaacterial examination for contamination before delivered to the patient. Samples were examined in two stages, first after finishing and polishing; when collected from the laboratory and before inserting to the patient mouth, second; after the samples were
... Show MoreBackground: Coated aesthetic archwires are currently the existing solutions for the esthetic problem, but the color of these archwires tends to change overtime. This study was aimed to evaluate the color stability of different types of esthetic archwires from four different companies at different time periods after immersion of two different staining drinks which are tea and Pepsi cola. Materials and methods: 48 specimens were prepared, each specimen contains 10 aesthetic archwires; and were divided according to type of solution into two groups: A (tea) &B (Pepsi cola); each group contained 24 specimens (12 specimens were immersed in the staining solution as 4 specimens for each time intervals and 12 specimens were immersed in distilled wa
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this study was to measure the radiopacity (RO) of modified microhybrid composite resins by adding 2 types of nanofillers (Zinc Oxide and Calcium Carbonate) in two concentrations 3% and 5% and comparing them to unmodified microhybrid composite resins and to nanofilled composite resin. Materials and Methods: Two types of composite resin were used (Microhybrid composite MH Quadrent anterior shine and Nanofilled composite resin Filtek Z350 XT), for each tested group five disk-shaped specimens (1-mm-thick and 15 mm diameter) were fabricated. The material samples were radiographed together with the aluminum step wedge. The density of the specimens was determined with a transmission densitometer and was expressed in term of
... Show MoreThis study aims to suggest an alternative to the use of quality agricultural soil in the brick industry (Iraq). The Late Miocene claystone bed in the Injana Formation in central Iraq was targeted through the study of 18 exposed sections that were sampled by using the trench sampling method. The claystones are characterized by quartz (36.4%) followed by calcite (32.8%), quartz (36.4%) feldspar (2.6%), gypsum (1.3%) and dolomite (0.7%), kaolinite (10.5%), illite (7.7%), chlorite (6.7%), palygorskite (6.0%) and montmorillonite (0.7%). New thermal mineral phases were formed at 950°C, including diopside (62.9%), quartz (18.4%), wollastonite (8.28%), akermanite (7.6%), Anorthite (6.25%), Nosean (4.9%), gehlenite (3.75%) and Lazurite (3.1
... Show MoreVitamin E, having the well known antioxidant activity through scavenging free radicals و it occurs in several isomeric forms , these isomers have relatively different functions . One of these actions is related to its ability to inhibit platelets aggregation and hence thrombosis. The present study included a total number of apparently healthy 62 males . 11of them served as standard group , treated with 100 mg aspirin /day for more than one month . Another 31 subjects were randomly grouped into 5 groups that received different daily doses of α – tocopherol : 400 IU , 800 IU and 1200 IU for 2-6 months.The remainder ( 20 ) subjects served
... Show MoreOriganum majorana (Majorana hortensis), an evergreen herbaceous plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, has been well known for being used for gastrointestinal, cardiac, respiratory, rheumatologic and many other illnesses, but in wounds management hasn’t been qualified scientifically yet. The goal of the study was to evaluate the wound healing properties of sterols in n-hexane and phenols in ethyl acetate extract fractions of the Iraqi Origanum majorana L aerial parts by contrasting their wound healing abilities with those of commercially available MEBO ointment in a rat excised wound repair model. At various periods, the size of the wounds was measured and skin tissue samples were taken for histopathology. When compared to positive and
... Show Morenew, simple and fast solid-phase extraction method for separation and preconcentration of trace theophylline in aqueous solutions was developed using magnetite nanoparticles (MIONPs) coated with aluminium oxide (AMIONPs) and modified with palmitate (P) as an extractor (P@AMIONPs). It has shown that the developed method has a fast absorbent rate of the theophylline at room temperature. The parameters that affect the absorbent of theophylline in the aqueous solutions have been investigated such as the amount of magnetite nanoparticle, pH, standing time and the volume, concentration of desorption solution. The linear range, limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) for the determination of theophylline were 0.05-2.450 μg mL-
... Show MorePsoriasis is a long-lasting autoimmune disease that is characterized by swollen skin patches. Normally, these skin patches are dark, swollen, itchy and scaly. The single application of the innate TLR7/8 ligand Imiquimod (IMQ) in mice easily induces a dermatitis that closely resembles human psoriasis, critically dependent on the axis of IL-23/IL-17. Artemisia dracunculus prepared as an ointment and has been used topically to mice before imiquimod application. The results of the current study showed that A. dracunculus ointment can significantly reduce psoriasis area and severity index in (A. dracunculus ointment + imiquimod group as compared with both control group and (vehicle ointment + imiquimod) group.
ABSTRACT. 4-Sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) was used as a ligand to prepare new triphenyltin and dimethyl-tin complexes by condensation with the corresponding organotin chloride salts. The complexes were identified by different techniques, such as infrared spectra (tin and proton), magnetic resonance, and elemental analyses. The 119Sn-NMR was studied to determine the prepared complexes' geometrical shape. Two methods examined the antioxidant activity of (SSA) and prepared complexes; Free radical scavenging activity (DPPH) and CUPRRAC methods. Tri and di-tin complexes gave high percentage inhibition than ligands with both methods due to tin moiety; the triphenyltin carboxylate complex was the best compared with the others. Also, antibacter
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