Medicinal plants contain bioactive substances that are highly bioavailable in extracts or pure molecules, making them promising for therapeutic applications and precursors for chemo-pharmaceutical semi-synthesis. Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil’s Claw) is widely recognized as one of the most potent therapeutic herbs. This study aimed to extract seeds from H. procumbens using two types of solvents and to assess both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the extracts. The two extracts were evaluated for antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities using agar well diffusion assays against four bacterial isolates and two yeast isolates. Qualitative analysis identified the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and terpenoids. The active components detected were: alkaloids (12.69%), flavonoids (3.25%), total phenolic compounds (24.58%), total terpenoids (8.55%), and total steroids (1.25% for methanolic and 4.55% for petroleum ether). Both methanolic and petroleum ether extracts exhibited antioxidant activities of approximately 85.33% and 74.19%, respectively, compared to ascorbic acid, which had an antioxidant effect of 67.99% at a concentration of 200 µg/ml. The extracts demonstrated a broad spectrum of activity against all tested bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes) and fungi (Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis). At a concentration of 1000 µg/ml, the seed extracts showed the highest bactericidal activity, with inhibition zones ranging from 10 to 22 mm. Moreover, both extracts exhibited greater anti-biofilm activity at 1000 µg/ml compared to lower concentrations. Our study found that seed extracts of H. procumbens possess significant antibacterial and antioxidant activities, particularly at a concentration of 1000 µg/ml.
Colibactin is a genotoxin produced by Enterobacteriaceae via a polyketide synthase (pks) island cluster. There is less knowledge regarding the distribution of colibactin genes in E. coli isolates in Iraq and its correlation with biofilm and antibiotic susceptibility. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the frequency of some colibactin genes (CIbA and CIbQ) in uropathogenic E. coli in Iraq and evaluate the correlation with biofilm and antimicrobial resistance. Between October 2023 and January 2024, 70 E. coli isolates were isolated from 120 females diagnosed with UTIs. Isolates were identified first by biochemical methods and confirmed molecularly by amplification of 16S rRNA gene with specific primers. PCR was employed to detect the
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the existence of some heavy metals (lead, cadmium, chromium) in colored plastic table dishes and study the migration of these metals to the food meals and the affecting factors in migration , such as storage period and food temperature. Six kinds of colored plastic table dishes were collected from Baghdad markets. The heavy metals in table dishes and in the prepared food meals put in them were estimated using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Shimadzu A5000). The results indicated the existence of lead in all samples (1.61_1.00 mg/ kg) and chromium in three samples (0.85_0.97 mg/ kg) while other samples are free of chromium, and cadmium. Investigating the migration of these metals to food at dif
... Show MoreToday we are witnessing huge scientific and technical progress so we need more skills and methods of thinking that needs to be acquired by the teacher, as the importance of computers in education there are many teachers suffering of the difficulty in teaching for pupils . researchers tried to find a good suitable way with the technological interests for now which represent by computer design software and the introduction of enrichment activities in the curriculum because it is one of a contemporary trends for the development of the Arabic language with various levels of education and knowing if this program has negative or positive impact.
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... Show MoreObjective: Synthesized a series of new thiourea (TU) derivatives, tested their antioxidant activity, and investigated their expected biological activity by theoretical study (computational methods). Methods: The derivatives were made using a one-pot reaction with two steps. Initially, succinyl chloride was mixed with KSCN to make succinyl isothiocyanate. Then, primary and secondary amines were used to make TU derivatives. The theoretical studies were done by Swiss ADME and molecular docking via Genetic Optimization of Linkage Docking (GOLD). Then evaluate antioxidant activity using the DPPH scavenging method. Results: FT-IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy show the verification of all the prepared derivatives. Compounds (II), (VIII),
... Show MoreThis study was conducted in the Tissue Culture laboratory of the Horticultural Department of the Faculty of Agriculture at Karbala University to investigate the effects of a light source (Florescent, LED) and adenine sulfate (Ads) a 0, 40, 80, and 120 mg l-1 on the multiplication and rooting of
Free radicals and oxidative damage caused by them have being suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of migraine. These may result from distorted equilibrium of pro-oxidant/anti-oxidant system that continuously generates and detoxifies oxidants during normal aerobic metabolism. Escape of such system from equilibrium leads to damage of cellular elements with the depletion of cellular stores of anti-oxidants material such as glutathione and vitamin E. Therefore, free radical scavengers (vitamin E or melatonin) seems to be of potential benefit as prophylactic anti-migraine therapy by neutralizing free radicals overproduction and possibly preventing formation of highly toxic intermediates (such as nitric oxide). In addition of being pow
... Show MoreActivated carbon (AC) is a highly important adsorbent material, as it is a solid form of pure carbon that boasts a porous structure and a large surface area, making it effective for capturing pollutants. Thanks to its exceptional features, AC is widely used for purifying water that is contaminated with odors and removing dyes in a cost-effective manner. A variety of carbonic materials have been employed to prepare AC, and this study aimed to evaluate the suitability of utilizing waste mango and avocado seeds for this purpose, followed by testing their efficacy in removing dye from aqueous solutions. The results indicate that using waste mango and avocado as AC is technically feasible, achieving dye removal percentages of 98% and 93%,
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to determine the influence of feeding diets containing different levels of sesame seeds and oil on the egg quality of laying quail. A total of 120, 10 weeks old, were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary groups and fed for 12 weeks diets containing 0% sesame seeds + 0% sesame oil (control group; C) or 0.5% sesame oil (T1), 1% sesame oil (T2), 1% sesame seeds (T3), and 2% sesame seeds (T4).The study was terminated when the birds were 22 weeks of age. Egg quality characteristics involved in the present study were egg weight, yolk diameter, yolk height, yolk weight, albumen height, albumen weight,Haugh unit, shell weight, shell thickness, shell percentage, yolk percentage, and albumen percentage. The addition of sesame
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