Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected disease in tropical countries, including Iraq. Several studies have sought to examine chemotherapies for leishmaniasis treatment but most of them are of toxic and/or undesirable side effect, therefore, the need for investigating new fewer toxic therapies is essential. Aim of study: In this study, the cytotoxic effect of Artemisinin (ART), a novel herbal compound, was screened against the two forms, promastigotes and amastigotes, of the Iraqi isolate of Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of Baghdad boil. Material and methods: Different concentrations (1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6 and 7.8) µM of Artemisinin were screened to investigate the leishmanicidal activity of the herbal compound against the two forms of the parasite along three times of follow up (24, 48, 72) hour using MTT cytotoxicity assay. Results: The results showed that growth rate and cell viability were significantly decreased at all studied concentrations. The IC50 was measured after 72 hours of follow up and was 2.625 µM and 2.636 µM for promastigotes and amastigotes, respectively. Conclusion: These findings approved the leishmanicidal efficacy of Artemisinin against the of L. tropica and can be further studied to screen its effectiveness in vivo for exploring a safer herbal drug for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Evaluation of Dot. ELISA test for Diagnosis Visceral Leishmaniasis in Infected Children
For the first time in Iraq, this study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of Dot.ELISA, for detecting anti - Leishmania donovani antibodies in serum samples from suspected patient (children under 8 years ) with Visceral Leishmaniasis V.L.. Sera from 73 V.L. , 60 Healthy controls, and 57 patient with other parasitic diseases other than V.L. (Amoebiasis, Giardiasis , Toxoplasmosis, Schistosomiasis , Hydatidosis, Ascariasis , Lupus Erythromatosus , Viral Hepatitis, and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis) were examined. Anti Leishmania donovani antibodies detected in 71 out of 73 suspected Visceral Leishmaniasis . Data of this study showed that infection in male group was more than female group. Result o
... Show MoreThis study aimed to study the effect of Ziziphus spina christi Aqueous cold and Alcoholic leaves and fruits extracts on the growth and activities of the following types of bacteria :( Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes ). The results appeared outweigh the alcoholic extract of leaves and fruits of Sidr that prepared by saxholate extractor by addition of ethanol 95% significant superiority as compared with aqueous extract that prepared by using distilled water as was its influence inhibitor to the growth and effectiveness of bacteria , about the treatment of in-vivo to cause injury to these types of bacteria diagnosed laboratory mice and treated with alcoholic extract of the leaves o
... Show MoreMicrobial activity of Ellagic acid when mixed with some types of candy toward Streptococcus mutans microorganism was studied. The main purpose of carrying out this study is to produce a new type of candy that contains Ellagic acid in addition to xylitol instead of sucrose to prevent dental caries. The results show that the inhibitory action of Ellagic acid was more effective when mixed with this type of candy for the purpose of reducing Streptococcus mutans microorganisms, while sensory evaluation was applied in this study to 20 volunteers to that candy sample evaluated which contain (5 mg/ml) Ellagic acid with 100g xylitol to determine consumers acceptability of this sample of candy. The results were expressed as mean value, slandered d
... Show MoreThe present study was performed to evaluate the anti-fungal effect of alcoholic extract of Solanum nigrum (AESn) on the growth of Microsporum canis, the causes agent of ring worm. The results of this work referred to the inhibitory effect of the studied extract on the growth of tested fungi. The percentages of inhibition were (7.88 %, 19.88%, 23.41%, 57.65%), in comparison to the control, when (2%, 4%, 6%,8% ) of tested extract were used, respectively. The data illustrated that the higher concentrations of the extract are applied, the more inhibition of fungal growth is produced.
Background: Entamoeba histolytica is the causative agent of amoebic dysentery and hepatic abscesses. Despite the efficacy of metronidazole in alleviating infectious diseases, the global dissemination of drug-resistant parasites raises the possibility that Punica granatum could serve as an effective natural alternative treatment. Objective: To evaluate the effect of P. granatum methanolic and aqueous extracts of various parts against E. histolytica trophozoites in an in vitro setting. Methods: Various concentrations (0.14, 0.7, 1.4, and 2.8 mg/ml) of P. granatum extracts of the flowers, leafs, peels, and seeds were chosen for this purpose. A culture medium containing 0.05x106/ml E. histolytica trophozoites was treated with different
... Show More The main elements of traditional foci of visceral leishmaniasis in the endemic area were studied. The complex relationships between biotic and abiotic factor in the study foci. Also the presence of possible reservoirs of disease with density of sandflies were examined.
This study was conducted to determine the effect of different concentrations of ethanol extract of propolis against two fungi Botrytis cinerea, Altrnaria sp. The most important chemical constituents of propolis diagnosed by the Infra Red Spectroscopy, were the Flavonoids specificaly. Results showed a high antifungal activity of ethanol extract of propolis, evidently with a high concentration of extract (5) mg\ml, which completely inhibited the radial growth on both solid and liquid media (PDA &PD Broth ) of both fungi . We observed that , ethanol extract p
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