The current trend worldwide is searching plant extracts towards prevention of neurodegenerative disorders. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of Alpinia galanga leaves (ALE), Alpinia galanga rhizomes (ARE), Vitis vinifera seeds (VSE), Moringa oleifera leaves (MLE), Panax ginseng leaves (PLE) and Panax ginseng rhizomes (PRE) ethanolic extracts on human neuroblastoma (SHSY5Y) cells. The 1‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging of VSE and MLE were 81% and 58%, respectively. Ferric‐reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of ALE and MLE (33.57 ± 0.20 and 26.76 ± 0.30 μmol Fe(ΙΙ)/g dry wt., respectively) were higher than for the other extracts. Liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐QTOF/MS) revealed MLE active compounds. Intracellular study by nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) test showed that MLE and VSE had high O2− scavenging (0.83 ± 0.09 vs. 0.98 ± 0.08 mg/mL, respectively). MLE had the highest ROS scavenging followed by PRE (0.71 ± 0.08 vs. 0.83 ± 0.08 mg/mL, respectively), by 2,7‐dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFHDA) assay. The 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity and neuroprotection tests on SHSY5Y showed that PRE had a better neuroprotective effect but higher cytotoxicity compared to MLE (viable cells 51% vs. 44%, IC50 1.92 ± 0.04 vs. 2.7 ± 0.2 mg/mL, respectively). In conclusion, among the studied plants, MLE has potential for developing as a neuroprotective agent.
Chemical pesticides have an impact on other living organisms in addition to their intended target organisms. Any chemical pesticide is therefore made safe for use by examining its biological characteristics and side effects. The present study was aimed at determining the resistance efficiency of six bacterial isolates obtained from malathion-contaminated soils. Bacteria were isolated from soil samples collected in Adhamiya, Baghdad, Iraq. Biochemical tests and VITEK 2 compact equipment were used to identify the bacterial isolates. Primary and secondary screening tests were conducted on the bacterial isolates for resistance against malathion pesticides. The optimal bacterial growth conditions were determined in malathion-contaminated media.
... Show MoreAcinetobacter baumannii is highly adapted to hospital environments, causing persistent chronic infections due to its ability to form biofilms. In this work, the antibiofilm activity of AuNPs with a subMIC concentration of 9.34 μg/ml was investigated by the microtiter plate method against 80 clinical isolates of A. baumannii. The results revealed that the biofilm was significantly (P< 0.05) reduced by 48.2 – 82.1%.
Eleven yoghurt samples were collected from local markets in Baghdad to isolate Lactobacillus buchneri. Only 3 isolates of L. buchneri were found and the isolate No. 3 was the most producer of bacteriocin. Bacteriocin was adsorbed 100% onto silicic acid at pH 6.0-7.0. Below or above these pH values, adsorption was decreased, ranging between 35 and 90%. Therefore, pH 6.0 was used for the purification procedure. The purification procedure including silicic acid adsorption/desorption and cation-exchange chromatography (CEC) resulted in a 11.11 fold increase in the final specific activity of pure bacteriocin (1176.47 Au/mg) compared to the culture supernatant which was 32.64 Au/mg. The molecular weight was determined to be about 3.4 kDa. The bac
... Show MoreDox, is still widely used in modern cancer treatments for different type of malignancy despite the advent of targeted therapy. However, its beneficial effect was limited by its toxicity on various organs. The objective of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of menaquinone-7 against hepatotoxicity induced by doxorubicin in rats. Sixty adult rats of both sexes were used in this study; the animals were randomly enrolled into six groups of 10 animals each. Group I: negative control; Group II: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 16µg/kg; Group III: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 48µg/kg; Group IV: positive control (Doxorubicin 15mg/kg); Group V: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 16µg/kg administered prior to a single dose of Doxorubicin
... Show MoreIntroduction and Aim: Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides that have bactericidal and/or bacteriostatic activity against other bacteria. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial efficiency of Klebocin a K. pneumoniae bacteriocin, against biofilm formation by clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA. Materials and Methods: S. aureus isolated from clinical samples was identified according to vitek 2 system Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed according to disc diffusion method. Vitek 2 compact system was also used to detect MRSA strains. Agar well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of klebocin from K. pneumoniae towards 11 strains of S. aureus by
... Show MoreThis study aims to evaluate the performance of the sewage treatment plant in Al-Diwaniya, one of cities in the southern part in Iraq. This evaluation could be used to facilitate effluent quality assessment or optimal process control of the plant. The influent reaching the plant is considered a medium to strong in strength with BOD5/COD ratio in the range 0.23 and 0.69 which can be considered an easily degradable sewage by the biological processes performed by the activated sludge unit. The quality of the effluent was found to be higher than the Iraqi standards for disposal to water bodies. The BOD5/COD ratios of the treated sewage varied over a wide range as low of 0.13 to 1.48 indicating operational problems in the plant. Regression ana
... Show MoreThis study aims to evaluate the performance of the sewage treatment plant in Al- Diwaniya, one of cities in the southern part in Iraq. This evaluation could be used to facilitate effluent quality assessment or optimal process control of the plant. The influent reaching the plant is considered a medium to strong in strength with BOD5/COD ratio in the range 0.23 and 0.69 which can be considered an easily degradable sewage by the biological processes performed by the activated sludge unit. The quality of the effluent was found to be higher than the Iraqi standards for disposal to water bodies. The BOD5/COD ratios of the treated sewage varied over a wide range as low of 0.13 to 1.48 indicating operational problems in the plant. Regressio
... Show MoreA major disadvantage of dose reconstruction by means of thermoluminescence (TL) is the fact that during readout of any TL material exposed to ionizing radiation (i.e., during measuring the glow curve), the radiation-induced signal gets lost. Application of the photo-transferred thermoluminescence phenomenon (PTTL) may offer a solution to this problem. In PTTL, the residual signal that is not destroyed by conventional TL readout (because it comes from deeper electron traps) can be readout through simultaneous stimulation by UV light and heating, allowing to obtain information about the absorbed dose in a second run. The present paper describes the application of PTTL for emergency dose assessment. For