ABSTRACT The antibacterial and antbiofilm activities of water extract of Calendula officinalis flowers against some of enteropathogenic bacteria was studied, also phytochemical screening and determination of antioxidant activity of the extract has been investigated. The results showed that the water extract of C. officinalis exhibited a good antibacterial activity against all pathogenic bacterial isolates (Salmonella, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella flexneri, Shigella sonnei and E. coli) especially at concentration 100 µg/ml in contrast with the control cefotan antibiotic. S. sonnei was more sensitive to extract than other bacteria with highest inhibition zone (23 mm). The preliminary phytochemical tests results indicated the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, glycosides and phenols, while tannins and reducing sugars absence in the extracts. Water extract (at concentration 100 µg/ml) caused 74.6% lipid peroxidation inhibition of linoleic acid emulsion, this activity was greater than other concentrations (25 and 50 µg/ml) and standard α-tocopherol (63%). Also, it was found that aqueous extracts decreased the adherent growth of bacteria on glass tubes. The results indicated that all isolates have the ability to form biofilms with different thickness degrees, the absorbance values were ranged between (1.04 - 1.68), the Salmonella isolate was the best isolate formed biofilm with highest absorbance value (1.68). On the other hand C. officinalis extract inhibited bacterial adhesion on polystyrene surface and consequently caused biofilms detachment and this revealed decreased in absorbance values of biofilms. These reported activities for C.officinalis flowers extract allow their listing as potential antibiofilm, antibacterial and antioxidant natural agents. This might suggest their use as therapeutic agents for treatment enteric infections.
Cardiac toxicity can occur during the therapy with several cytotoxic drugs, including 5- Fluorouracil (5- FU). It is an antimetabolite that acts during the S phase of the cell cycle and is activated by thymidine phosphorylase into fluorodeoxyuridylate (5 fluoro 2'deoxyuridine 5'monophosphate, 5-FdUMP) that inhibits thymidylate synthase, thus preventing DNA synthesis that leads to imbalanced cell growth and ultimately cell death. It is still a widely used anticancer drug, since 1957. The present study aimed to evaluate the possible cardio-protective effects of ethanolic artichoke extract (Cynara scolymus L.) against 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) induced cardio-toxicity in rats by evaluating serum levels of Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate amin
... Show MoreExtract from cell culture of medicinal plant like Nigella sativa have been assessed for its cytotoxic properties. Thymol is likely responsible for the theraputic effects of Nigella sativa leaf callus extract. In this short study the inhibitory effect of Nigella sativa leaf callus extract (Thymol) has been studied on Human Lorgnx Epidrmoid Carcinoma (Hep-2) cell line during different exposure period of time (24, 48 and 72 hrs.) using different concentration of the extract (1000, 500, 400, 300, 200 and 100 µg/ml). The optical density of the Hep-2 cells has been readed on 492 nm wave length. Thymol –induced cytotoxicity was (500 µg/ml) which inhibit cell growing compared to the control and this
... Show MoreAsthma is a chronic respiratory disorder of airways characterized by inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, inflammatory cell infiltration, mucous secretion, and remodelling. Ammi majus is medicinal plant belong to family of Apiaceous which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. This study designed to investigate of anti-asthmatic activity of alcoholic extract of Ammi majus in improvement of asthma. Forty-eight healthy female mice divided to six groups Group I: the negative control group (distal water only), Group II: Positive control group (ovalbumin group), Group III: Ammi majus (64 mg/kg/day) with sensitization, Group IV:Ammi majus (128 mg/kg/day) w
... Show MoreThe Effect of Chicken Eggshell Extract on Microhardness of Artificially Induced Dental Erosion in Permanent Teeth (In Vitro Study), Shatha A Abbas*, Alhan A Qasim
In this study, the zinc oxide NPs have been synthesized from the fresh pomegranate peels extract using the precipitation method. The ZnO nanoparticles were produced from the reaction of fresh peels extract with zinc acetate salt which was used as zinc source in the presence of 2 M NaOH. The green synthesized nanoparticles were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD patterns confirm the formation of hexagonal wurtzite phase structure for ZnO synthesized using pomegranate peels extract with average crystalline size of 28 nm. FTIR spectra identify the presence of many active functional groups for the pom
... Show MoreAnchusa strigosa - prickly alkanet from Boraginaceae grows in roadsides, and fields of a broad range of habitats from mediterranean woodlands, to steppe vegetation, to true desert. It is commonly known as" him him" or "lisan al thawr". Anchusa can withstand hard weather conditions and hence is widely cultivated. The color of its flowers can range from pure white to deep cobalt blue. Various parts of A. strigosa are used in traditional medicine for treating several diseases or symptoms, such as abdominal pain, bronchitis, cough, and diarrhea. The goal of this study was to examine the cytotoxic effect of the crude extract of A. strigosa roots and leaves and their fractions against various tumor cell lines: adenoc
... Show MoreInvestigating the thermal and electrical gains and efficiencies influence the designed photovoltaic thermal hybrid collector (PVT) under different weather conditions. The designed system was manufactured by attaching a fabricated cooling system made of serpentine tubes to a single PV panel and connecting it to an automatic controlling system for measuring, monitoring, and simultaneously collecting the required data. A removable glass cover had been used to study the effects of glazed and unglazed PVT panel situations. The research was conducted in February (winter) and July (summer), and March for daily solar radiation effects on efficiencies. The results indicated that electrical and thermal gains increased by the incre
... Show MoreThis study aims to evaluate drinking water quality at the Al Wahda plant (WTP) in Baghdad city. A conventional water treatment plant with an average flow rate of 72.82 MLD. Water samples were taken from the influent and effluent of the treatment plant and analyzed for some physicochemical and biological parameters during the period from June to November 2020. The results of the evaluation indicate that treated water has almost the same characteristics as raw water; in other terms, the plant units do not remove pollutants as efficiently as intended. Based on this, the station appears to be nothing more than a series of water passage units. However, apart from Total dissolved solids, the mean values of all parameters in the study were
... Show MoreABSTRACT In dam construction stages when an earth embankment has retained a reservoir with constant water surface elevation for a long time, seepage conditions within the embankment will be reach a steady state. If it is necessary to drain the reservoir quickly, the pore-water pressures in the embankment may remain relatively high while the stabling effect of the reservoir's weight along the upstream (U/S) side for the embankment has removed. This process is referring to as "Rapid Drawdown" and may be cause instability in the upstream (U/S) face of the embankment. Kongele dam is one of the proposed earth dams to be implement within the current plan in Iraq. The authors study pore water pressure and the effect of rapid drawdown for the dam d
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