The aim of the present study is to investigate and compare the efficacy of L-carnitine, multivitamins and their combination therapies on semen characteristics in idiopathic male infertility. Idiophathic infertile patients were randomly divided into three groups who had received three different treatment regimens for three months: group A (45 patients) has received 2 grams daily of L-carnitine alone; group B (55 patients) had received the combination of  L-carnitine (2 grams daily) plus one tablet daily of multivitamins (Stresstabs^®); and group C (29 patients) had received one tablet daily of multivitamins alone. The study was started on 1/11/2009 and completed on 31/3/2010 and performed at Rizgari Teaching Hospital in

Objective: Dental caries is a chronic infectious disease that is prevalent worldwide in all age groups. Numerous attempts have been made to develop conservative approaches to halt caries progression and restore enamel defects. This study aimed to investigate the effect of applying grape seed extract and chicken eggshell extract on the microhardness of demineralized enamel in permanent teeth. Methods: Forty-eight sound upper first premolars were used. Following demineralization with the demineralizing solution for 96 hours, they were distributed into four groups consistent with the treatment agent used: group A was treated with casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate (as a control group), group B was treated with grape se

Background: Spices and herbs have been used by many cultures to enhance the flavor and aroma of food and for their medicinal value. Black cardamom is one of these spices widely used in cooking because of its unique taste and powerful flavor. The aim of study was to test the effect of black cardamom on Mutans Streptococci in comparison to chlorhexidine gluconate (0.2%) and de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Dried fruits of black cardamom were extracted by using alcohol (70% ethanol). Saliva was collected from seven volunteers. Agar well technique with different concentrations of black cardamom extracts was used to test the sensitivities of Mutans Streptococci, as well black cardamom extracts effect on viable counts of Mutans Streptococ

Background: Herbs are being widely explored to discover alternatives to synthetic antibacterial agents.Small Cardamom often referred to as queen of spices because of its very pleasant aroma and taste, have a history as old as human race. Most people use cardamom as a spice and are largely unaware of its numerous health benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of water and alcoholic cardamom extracts on sensitivities, growth, and adherence of Mutans streptococci in vitro. Materials and Methods: In this study, saliva was collected from ten volunteers (College students 18-22 years). Agar well technique was used to study the sensitivities of Mutans streptococci to different concentrations of s

Background: Disinfection and shaping of the canal with a combination of chem¬ical agents and endodontic instruments play an important role in the success of endodontic therapy. Eliminating the microorganisms within the pulp space is a critical and important objective in treating a tooth with apical periodontitis. This study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial properties of herbal alternatives (Green tea and siwak extracts) as possible irrigants during endodontic treatment compared with the conventional irrigation solutions. Materials and methods: Salvadora Persica (siwak) and Green Tea solutions were prepared.An agar diffusion test was performed on Mueller-Hinton agar using the well diffusion method. The tested solutions (5.25% N

The present study was carried out to evaluate antibacterial activity of water , alcoholic extracts (cold and hot) and the crude alkaloid extract of leaves, seeds and roots of Zygophyllum fabago plant against the growth of some bacteria including gram negative bacteria(Escherichia coli ,Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram positive bacteria(Staphylococcus aureus  ,Bacillus subtilis).        Results showed variation in antibacterial activity of different extracts against the studied bacteria. Hot alcoholic extracts showed the highest antibacterial activity followed by hot water extract. Additionally, alcoholic extracts of seeds revealed a higher activity compared with other plant extract.Results of sensi

The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of the crude extracts mixture of three plants (Tribulus terrestris, Phoenix dactylifera and Nasturtium officinale) on semen quality,sex hormones and reproductive performance of mature male mice. A group of 25 male mice given 150mg/kg/day of the powder of the plants mixture with the food for four weeks and another three groups of 25 animals each given intraperitoneal injection from each of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts with a doses 75, 150, and 300mg/kg/day for two weeks. A remarkable increase in sperm concentration and motility with a decreased abnormal morphology was obtained in the experimental groups. A significant increase in hormones level were recognized in most grou

The photodynamic inactivation against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using two different lasers, 532 nm diode pumped solid state laser (DPSS) in combination with safranin O and 650 nm diode laser in combination with methylene blue was investigated in the present work. A hundred swab samples were collected from patients with burn and wound infections admitted to two hospitals in Baghdad (Specialized Burns Hospital in Medical City and Al Imamein Al Jwadein Medical City Hospital) from December 2015 to February 2016 Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by using Kirby- Bauer method. The irradiation experiments included four groups; a control group, a photosensitizer only group, a laser irradiation only group and a laser irr

Background: Small cardamom or green cardamom is the dried fruit of the tall perennial herbaceous plant, Elettaria cardamomum Maton belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. The major use of small cardamom on world wide is for domestic culinary purpose and in medicine. This study was conducted to test the effect of small cardamom extracts on Mutans streptococci and Candida Albicans in comparison to 0.2% chlorhexidine gluconate and de-ionized water in vivo. Materials and Methods: Mutans streptococci and Candid Albicans were isolated, purified and diagnosed according to morphological characteristic and biochemical test. In this experiments, the effect of control agents and small cardamom extracts as a mouth rinses was tested on the saliva

According to the extraction procedure , Eucalyptus incrassata leave sample yielded 5% and 2% w/w(Based on dry leaves ) of the aqueous extract and essential oils respectively. Disk diffusion method was used to determine the antimicrobial activity of aqueous extract and essential oils of E . incrassata leaves against eight isolates of multidrug- resistant of Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) . It was found that aqueous extract and essential oils have variable antimicrobial activity(the inhibition zone diameter ranged from 7 to 14 mm respectively ) , while essential oils showed more effect than aqueous extract .         It was noticed that values of Minimal Inhibitory Concentration ( MIC )  for