This study detects the presence of an important flavonoid "Casticin" in the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus L. grown in Iraq. The pharmaceutical importance of Casticin arise from its consideration as anti-tumor substance and have cytotoxic effects, and the absence of any study concerning Casticin content of this medicinal plant in Iraq, gave this study its importance. This study concerned with the extraction, identification, isolation and purification  of Casticin from the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus L. The extraction of this compound was carried out using  two methods. Identification of this compound was done by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) in which three different solvent system has been tried. This identif

Objective: Zerumbone (ZER) is a well-known natural compound that has been reported to have anti-cancer effect. Thus, this study investigated the ZER potential to inhibit Thymidine Phosphorylase (TP) and the ability to trigger Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cytotoxicity in non-small cell lung cancer, NCI-H460, cell line. Material and Method: The antiangiogenic activity for ZER was evaluated by using the thymidine phosphorylase inhibitory test. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was determined via DCFDA dye by using flow cytometry. Result and Discussion: ZER was found to be potent TP inhibitory with the IC50 value of 50.3± 0.31 μg/ml or 230±1.42 µM. NCI-H460 cells upon treatment with ZER produced sign

Yersinia enterocolitica has ranked a third among the pathogens that most frequently cause gastrointestinal disorders transmitted to humans through food materials, especially contaminated meats. The meat infected with Yersinia enterocolitica had no change in apparent texture or smell. The aim of this research is to survey the frequency of Y. enterocolitica in ovine meat, compare their ratio of infection between the season, To carry out this study (125) samples of local ovine meat were collected by random sampling from the middle region of Iraq. The samples were divided into two groups steak and mince, then many microbiological tests (culture, & staining, biochemical Tests Api 20E, Vitik 2 and species-specific PCR amplicon for 16S RNA gene) w

This study was designed for isolation and molecular identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) from fish during the period between October and December 2017 from Karbla province, Iraq. This study included 200 fresh fish samples from four different species including Spondyliosoma cantharus, Liza abu, Carassius carassius and Cyprinuscarpio. Three samples of each fish were taken including gills, muscles and all internal organs. The samples were processed by decontamination, concentration of 4% sodium hydroxide, and 0.1 ml of sediment was streaking on Löwenstein Johnson (LJ) media; then the bacterial cultures were incubated at 28-30 °C for 3days up to 4 weeks and suspected colonies were stained with acid fast stain to confir

Production and characterization of methionine γ- lyase from Pseudomonas putida and its effect on cancer cell lines

A total of sixty raw milk samples were collected from (street vendors and shops) from Baghdad city, Iraq. The samples were inoculated into peptone water and, then, subcultured onto MacConkey agar and Blood agar. Identification of isolates was confirmed by microscopic examination, cultural characteristic, biochemical tests, Vitek (VITEK®2 system), and Biolog GN substrate reactions followed by 16S rRNA and specific genes sequencing. Of 60 raw cow’s milk samples, Providencia spp. were identified only in 4 samples (6.67%) and P. rettgeri was the most common, 2/4 (50%), followed by P. stuartii and P. vermicola, 1/4 (25%). Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were conducted against ten antibiotics by the disc diffusion method. All Provid

Eimeriosis is a major problem affecting ruminants worldwide. The disease is primarily caused by Eimeria species, which are specialized for each host and grow in the small and large intestine of animals. The losses due to subclinical infections (especially weight loss) and clinical disease (diarrhea) make the species of this genus a very significant economic concern. Therefore, this study was conducted in some areas of Wasit Province. A total of 180 fecal samples from goats, of both sexes and covering different age groups and months, were collected. All fecal samples were examined microscopically, and 75 positive fecal samples were taken for molecular examination and further analyzed using conventional PCR, sequencing and phylogeneti

Many previous investigations have found quercetin to be a powerful antioxidant and antitumor flavonoid, but its poor bioavailability has limited its use. This current study investigated the effects of two newly synthesized Quercetin Schiff bases containing 2-amino thiadiazole-5-thiol (Q1), and its benzyl derivatives (Q2) on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Cell viability and apoptosis were assessed to determine the toxic effects of Q1 and Q2. Cytotoxicity valuation showed that both compounds inhibited MCF-7 cell growth, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity increased in a dose-dependent aspect compared to the control group. Comet assay results observed that Q1 and Q2 induce more serious DNA damage than the control (untreated cell

The study aimed to evaluating the inhibitory activity of apigenin extracted from Salvia officinalis leaves on the growth of L20B cancer cell in vitro, and through two incubation periods; 48 and 72 hours. Accordingly, eight concentrations (1.56, 3.13, 6.25, 12.5, 25.0, 50.0, 100.0 and 200.0 micromol) of apigenin and similar concentrations of vitamin C and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) were tested. The apigenin revealed its significant inhibitory potentials against the growth of L20B cell line, especially at the low concentrations (1.56, 3.13 and 6.25 micromol) and at 72 incubation period in comparison with vitamin C and CCl4.