Leishmania parasites are the causative agent of leishmaniasis. Many studies are inspecting chemical drugs, including the use of miltefosine and amphotericin B, but curative values may be limited for these drugs with side effects due to the chemical origin, therefore, investigating less toxic therapies is essential. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of artemisinin on Iraqi strain of Leishmania tropica, by experimental macrophage ex vivo infection of amastigotes into mouse macrophage cell-line RAW264.7. Different concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400, 500)μM of artemisinin (ART) were screened to examine the susceptibility of L. tropica amastigotes to invade macrophage cell line along three times of follow up (24, 48 and 72) hours. Results showed that artemisinin had a cytotoxic effect on the parasite in which a significance difference (P < 0.05) in cell viability was observed and IC50 was calculated as 182.6 μM after 48 hours treatment. In addition, percentage of infectivity of intracellular amastigotes was significantly decreased. These findings revealed the potential efficacy of artemisinin against the infectious amastigotes and can be further studied to screen its effectiveness in vivo for exploring a safer herbal compound to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis.
For the treatment of pathogenic bacterial infections, multidrug resistance (MDR) has become a major issue. The use of nanoparticles is a promising strategy for combating medication resistance in a variety of pathogens that cause deadly diseases. The goal of our research was to extract multidrug-resistant bacteria from wound infections and then use iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) as alternative therapeutic agents in vitro. Gram staining, morphological attributes evaluation, and biochemical testing were used to assess the microbes. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used to test MDR-bacterial strains against several antibiotics; the majority of these isolates were resistant to ceftazidime, amoxicillin
... Show MoreCombination of natural poly-phenolic compounds with chemotherapeutic agents is recently being a novel strategy in cancer therapy researches owing to their potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that modulate several intracellular signaling pathways.
Resveratrol and Baicalein are well known poly-phenolic compounds that belong to stilbene and flavone subclasses, respectively.
This study aims to investigate the possible enhancement effect of resveratrol and Baicalein when combined with doxorubicin using a different combination ratio and applied on two cancer cell lines: HCT116 (colorectal cancer cells) and HepG2 (hepatocellular cancer cells). It also investigates the possibility of such natural compounds to p
... Show MoreRecently, bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) was found to prevent petroleum – induced toxicities on the kidney whereas it potentiates the toxic effect of petroleum adulterated diet on the testes of animal model. This differential action has elicited further inquest into the role of bitter leaf extract in other organs in the midst of petroleum affronts. The hepatoprotective ability of Vernonia amygdalina methanol extract (VAME) is the objective of this investigation. Administration of VAME significantly (P <0.05) reduced serum liver function indices relative to the control. In addition, the activities of liver oxidative enzymes, energy metabolizing enzymes and oxidative stress indices altered by crude oil
... Show MoreIn this study, new derivatives of Schiff bases of 2-thio-5-aryl1,3,4-oxadiazole have been synthesized. The structures of these derivatives were characterized from their melting points, infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The Schiff bases derivatives were tested for inhibition of E-coli and were all found to be active.
This study was aimed to produce bacteriocin from Bacillus. licheniformis isolated from local soil of corn and sunflower fields and using as antimicrobial agent . Fourteen of local isolates of Bacillus sp. were obtained and ability of these isolates for growth on Brain heart infusion agar (BHI) at 550C were tested. Isolate C4 was revealed high growth density in comparison with other isolates. Isolate C4 was identified as Bacillus licheniformis according to morphological, cultural and biochemical tests, Moreover genetic analysis for 16S rRNA gene and given accession number MT192715.1 in GenBank of NCBI . Production of bacteriocin from this isolate was carried out in Luria Broth (LB) and partially purified by precipitation with 30-70 % saturat
... Show MoreThis work includes synthesis of some new derivatives of Schiff bases as intermediate compounds. Through the reaction 1,4- phen ylene diamine with different aromatic aldehydes substituted by many different groups in acidic medium and absolute ethanol as a solvent to obtain the Schiff bases (1a-5a). These compounds are reacted with substituted aromatic carboxylic acids and anhydride to give three types of heterocyclic compounds. The first line includes direct reaction with maleic anhydride under certain conditions to give new derivatives of oxazpine(6b-10b). The second line includes reaction of compounds (1a-5a) with 2-mercapto benzoic acid in the presence of triethyl amine as a catalyst and dry benzene as a solvent to give new derivatives
... Show MoreBackground: Acne is a cutaneous pleomorphic disorder skin disease most frequently occurring during the adolescent in ages of 12-24, with estimated percentage ( 85%) . There are different ways to treat acne such as using of antibiotics , herpes , and mixing treatments .
Methods : Antibacterial activity of four concentrations (100,50,25,12.5)mg /ml of alcoholic and cold aqueous crude extracts of Cinnamon(Cinnamomum verum ), Henna (Lawsonia inermis ) , Lupine (Lupinus luteus) were studied against aerobic and&nbs
... Show MoreBackground: Arylesterase activity of Paraoxonase-1 (ARE-PON-1) exhibits an antioxidant role which protects lipoprotein from oxidation. It is known that ARE-PON-1 antioxidant activity associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) reduces the oxidative damage mediated by low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The present study was aimed to examine the level of serum ARE-PON1 in Iraqi patients with β-thalassemia minor and its relationship with lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL-C), and LDL-C) and hematologic changes as a part of antioxidant system action. Methods: In the present study, the ARE-PON-1 activity was investigated in serum of patients with β-thalassemia minor. Resu
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