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.
Various Hall Effects have been successfully observed in samples of n-type indium antimonide with values for conductivity, energy gap, Hall mobility and Hall coefficient all agreeing with theory. A particular interest in developing a method for obtaining accurate values of carrier concentrations in semiconductor samples has been fulfilled with an experimental result of (1.6×1016 cm-3 ±10.7%) giving a percentage difference of (6.7%) to a quoted value of (1.5×1016cm-3) at (77K) using an (80mW C.W. CO2) laser beam at (10.6μm) to illuminate a similar sample of n-type indium antimonide, an "Optical" Hall effect has been observed. Although some doubt has been raised as to the validity of effect i.e. "thermal" rather than "Optical", values o
... Show MoreIn this study multi objective optimization is utilized to optimize a turning operation to reveal the appropriate level of process features. The goal of this work is to evaluate the optimal combination of cutting parameters like feed, spindle speed, inclination angle and workpiece material to have a best surface quality Taguchi technique L9 mixed orthogonal array, has been adopted to optimize the roughness of surface. Three rods of length around (200 mm) for the three metals are used for this work. Each rod is divided into three parts with 50 mm length. For brass the optimum parametric mix for minimum Ra is A1, B1 and C3, i.e., at tool inclination angle (5), feedrate of 0.01, spindle speed of 120
... Show MoreThis field experiment, was conducted to investigate a comparison of two methods for harvesting potatoes: mechanical and handy when using moldboard and chisel plow for primary tillage and three different distances for planting tubers in the rows 15, 25, and 35 cm in silt clay loam soil south of Baghdad. The factorial experiment followed a randomized complete block design with three replications using L.S.D. 5 % and 1 %. Mechanical harvest recorded the best valid potato tubers at 88.78 %, marketable yield of 31.74 ton. ha-1, efficiency lifted 95.68 %, tubers damage index 28.41, speeding up the harvesting process and reducing time and effort. Handy harvest gave the least damage to potato tubers, 6.02 %, and unlifted potato tubers, 4.32 %. Howe
... Show MoreIn this work, (ZnO)1-x(MnO2)x compounds were synthesized with composition (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) of manganese oxide content using solid state reaction. Thin films were prepared from these compounds on glass substrates at room temperature using pulsed laser deposition method. The structure of the prepared compounds and thin films were analyzed using x-ray diffraction while the optical properties was measured using UV-visible spectrophotometry. It was found that the synthesized composites declared many peaks in the diffraction pattern which indicate polycrystalline structure with hexagonal wurtzite hexagonal structure of ZnO, and MnO2 and Mn2O3 secondary phases. A narrowing in the optical energy gap was found as Mn content increas
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The experiment has been carried out in the Syrian National Commission of Biotechnology, during the growing season 2018/2019, to study the effect of abiotic stresses (salinity and osmotic stresses) on the activity of some antioxidant enzymes and biochemical traits in Catharanthus roseus. The experiment has been laid according to (CRD) with three replications. The seeds have been sterilized by NaOCl solution (0.5% v/v), then planted on MS medium. Plantlets have been moved to MS medium enriched with NAA (1 mg.L-1) and BA (2 mg.L-1). The callus has been initiated from leaves using MS medium containing NAA (1 mg L-1) and KIN (2 mg.L-1). After 60 days, callus
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to describe a protocol for the callus establishing culture of Lavandula angustifolia plant and estimating their content of volatile oil. The quantity of volatile oil callus tissues was compared with that of leaves production. Callus was induced from leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and Benzyl adenine (BA) in different concentrations. Maximum callus fresh weight was obtained in the combination of 10 mg/L BA and 3 mg/L NAA which reached 18 g after four weeks. The results of this work showed that the quantity of volatile oil from the highest fresh weight callus was 6 ml compared with quantity of 18g of leaves which gave 0.5 ml. Volatile o
... Show MoreIn present days, drug resistance is a major emerging problem in the healthcare sector. Novel antibiotics are in considerable need because present effective treatments have repeatedly failed. Antimicrobial peptides are the biologically active secondary metabolites produced by a variety of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and algae, which possess surface activity reduction activity along with this they are having antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant antibiofilm activity. Antimicrobial peptides include a wide variety of bioactive compounds such as Bacteriocins, glycolipids, lipopeptides, polysaccharide-protein complexes, phospholipids, fatty acids, and neutral lipids. Bioactive peptides derived from various natural sources like bacte
... Show MoreLignans are natural products widely distributed in the plant kingdom. They are composed of two β-β-linked phenylpropane (shikimate-derived biogenetic subunits). Although the backbone of lignans is composed of phenylpropane units, there is enormous diversity in the structure of lignans leading to different classes of lignans, such as γ-butyrolactone derivatives, eg. Hymatairesinol, bicyclooctadiene derivatives, e.g. pinoresinol, tetrahydrofuran derivatives e.g.lariciresinol, di-arylbutandiol derivatives, e.g. secoisolariciresinol. Introduction of a further carbon –carbon linkage leads to a class of lignans collectively known as cyclolignans such as tetrahydro-naphthalene derivatives, for example podophyllotoxin. Lignans ha
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