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.
Heat pipes and two‐phase thermosyphon systems are passive heat transfer systems that employ a two‐phase cycle of a working fluid within a completely sealed system. Consequently, heat exchangers based on heat pipes have low thermal resistance and high effective thermal conductivity, which can reach up to the order of (105 W/(m K)). In energy recovery systems where the two streams should be unmixed, such as airconditioning systems of biological laboratories and operating rooms in hospitals, heat pipe heat exchangers (HPHEs) are recommended. In this study, an experimental and theoretical study was carried out on the thermal performance of an air‐to‐air HPHE filled with two refrigerants as working fluids, R22 and R407c. The heat pipe he
... Show MoreBlades of gas turbine are usually suffered from high thermal cyclic load which leads to crack initiated and then crack growth and finally failure. The high thermal cyclic load is usually coming from high temperature, high pressure, start-up, shut-down and load change. An experimental and numerical analysis was carried out on the real blade and model of blade to simulate the real condition in gas turbine. The pressure, temperature distribution, stress intensity factor and the thermal stress in model of blade have been investigated numerically using ANSYS V.17 software. The experimental works were carried out using a particular designed and manufactured rig to simulate the real condition that blade suffers from. A new cont
... Show MoreIntroduction: We aimed to assess the impact of adhesive and wires types on the tensile bond strength of fixed lingual retainers. Methods: A total of 160 intact bovine teeth were collected, cleaned, stored in 25% sodium hypochlorite, and randomly assigned to two groups based on the adhesive type: a two-step adhesive and a one-step adhesive. Each group was further divided into four subgroups based on the type of lingual retainer wire, which included (A) 8-strand braided stainless steel wire, (B) three-strand titanium retainer wire, (C) stainless steel chain, and (D) fiber-reinforced retainer. A tensile bond strength test was conducted using a universal testing machine at a controlled speed of 10 mm/min. Result: The 8-strand braided stainles
... Show MoreA series of experiments were conducted for the first time in Iraq to evaluate the efficiency of five plant leaves extracts (Ibicella lutea, Nerium oleander, Clerodendron inerme, Allium cepa and Eucalyptus spp.) in treating the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) infected with monogenetic trematodes of genera Dactylogyrus. Five different concentrations of such extracts were used to bathe fishes for 5,10,15,20 and 25 minutes. A concentration of 15% A. cepa for 25 minutes of bath exposure was affective in trematode eradication. Extracts of both Eucalyptus and N. oleander at a concentration of 10% each were also affective for ten minutes exposure. Extracts of C. inerme had no any effect on such parasites. On the otherhand, extracts of 1. hitea caused
... Show MoreTen isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, seven isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and nine isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, were obtained from 100 urine samples collected from Baghdad hospitals. All isolates were identified biochemically and confirmed by using VITEK 2 and were then tested for their susceptibility towards 6 antibiotics and for phenolic extracts of Thymus vulgaris and Cinnamomum cassia. All bacteria were greatly affected by T. vulgaris, especially K. pneumoniae. Viable count was performed, it was noted that the number of bacterial cells reduced from 1×108 CFU to 1.2× 103, 2×105 and 1.8×106CFU of K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus respectively. While C. cassiahad a slight effect on them. K. pneumoniae isola
... Show MoreIrrigation has significant role in endodontic treatment, many types of antimicrobial irrigation solutions have been used, but due to the ineffectiveness, safety concerns and side effects of this irrigation, the herbal alternatives for endodontic irrigants might be beneficial. Objectives This study compared the in vitro effectiveness of tea tree oil and clove oil as possible irrigants in endodontics against Enterococcus faecalis in comparison with 3% Sodium hypochlorite. Materials and Methods E. faecalis was isolated from patients in need for endodontic treatment; VITEK was employed for E. faecalis isolate conformation. Muller Hinton agar was prepared with 100μl of freshly prepared suspension of E.faecalis. Wells of 6mm diameter and 4mm dep
... Show MoreAbstract: Recombinant Newcastle disease virus (rNDV) has shown an anticancer effect in preclinical studies, but has never been tested in a lung cancer models. In this study we explored the anticancer activity of genetically modified NDV expressing IL-2-P53 (rClone30–IL-2-P53) in lung cancer model. We have cloned IL-2 and P53 genes and inserted them in the viral genome of New Castle Disease Virus to create a genetically modified rNDV- IL-2-P53 virus and tested the anti-tumor activity of the new virus in vitro on different types of cancer cell lines by MTT assay. TheIL-2 and P53 gene were successfully cloned and inserted into the viral genome by using a Mlu I and Sfi I endonucleases, viral vector was constructed correctly and successf
... Show MoreIrrigation has significant role in endodontic treatment, many types of antimicrobial irrigation solutions have been used, but due to the ineffectiveness, safety concerns and side effects of this irrigation, the herbal alternatives for endodontic irrigants might be beneficial. Objectives This study compared the in vitro effectiveness of tea tree oil and clove oil as possible irrigants in endodontics against Enterococcus faecalis in comparison with 3% Sodium hypochlorite. Materials and Methods E. faecalis was isolated from patients in need for endodontic treatment; VITEK was employed for E. faecalis isolate conformation. Muller Hinton agar was prepared with 100μl of freshly prepared suspension of E.faecalis. Wells of 6mm diameter and 4mm dep
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