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: 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 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: 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: 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 More57 isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis were identified; they were isolated from different clinical sources which included sputum, bronchial wash, abscess, pleural fluid, gastric fluid, eye fluid, and CSF, also urine and ear swab. This investigation was carried out on 198 patient attended National Reference Laboratory for T.B during September 2009. Also the study declared that the ratio of separation of this bacterium from male was (67.6%) and it’s higher than the ratio of separation this bacterium from females which was (32.3%). The susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to melatonin was evaluated. Many concentrati
... Show MoreIn order to evaluate the effect of seed size, plant growth regulators and some chemical materials on seed vigour and seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.) an experiment was conducted in 2015 at Laboratories of Agriculture and Marshes College, University of Thi-Qar. Factorial experiment in CRD was used with four replications in two factors. The first factor included three seed sizes (4.6-5.1, 5.2-5.7 and 5.8-6.3 mm). The second factor was seeds soaking treatments (KNO3 6 gl-1, CaCl2 20 gl-1, salicylic acid 20 mg l-1, cytokinin 40 mg l-1, gibberllic acid 400 mg l-1, ascorbic acid 40 mg l-1 and seeds soaked in distilled water). The results showed that the largest seed size influenced significantly and gave the higher averages of germinatio
... 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 MoreIn the present work, a study is carried out to remove chromium (III) from aqueous solution by: activated charcoal, attapulgite and date palm leaflet powder (pinnae). The effect of various parameters such as contact time, and temperature has been studied. The isotherm equilibrium data were well fitted by Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The adsorption capacity of chromium (III) that was observed by activated charcoal, attapulgite and date palm leaflet powder (pinnae) increased with the rise of temperature when the concentrations of Cr (III) were 600, 700 and 100mg/L respectively. The greatest adsorption capacity ofactivated charcoal, attapulgite and date palm leaflet powder (pinnae) at 10°C was 7.51, 5.39 and 0.77mg.gˉ¹ respective
... Show MoreAn aqueous chemical reaction has been used to prepare antifungal ZnS: Mn nanostructures, from manganese chloride, zinc acetate and thioacetamide in aqueous solution. The nanoparticle size has been controlled using thioglycolic acid as a capping factor. The major feature of the ZnS:Mn nanoparticles of average diameter ~ 2.73 nm is that possible preparing the sample from sources non-toxic precursors. The manufactured ZnS:Mn nanoparticles were identified and characterized to investigate the structure, morphology, composition of components of the nanoparticles and optical properties using (XRD, SEM, EDS and UV-Vis spectroscopy) techniques respectively. The agar dilution mechanism used to evaluate of the antifungal activity using ZnS:Mn nanopart
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