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.
This study aimed to measure the alterations in serum zinc (Zn) and acute phase
proteins ( C-reactive protein and Ceruloplasmin) concentrations in patients with
visceral leishmaniasis (VL). A total of 62 individuals were enrolled in this study :
52 individuals were infected with visceral leishmaniasis and 10 individuals as
healthy control. Serum zinc levels were significantly (p<0.05) decreased in patient
group(76.25 ± 4.59 μg/dl ) when compared with healthy control (103.75 ± 3.77
μg/dl ) . C-reactive protein , as a mediator of innate immunity, removed damaged
cells by activating the classical complement pathway revealed elevated levels in
patients (4.36± 0.23mg/l ) when compared with the healthy control (2
The antibacterial activity of Capparis spinosa L. extracts obtained from Baghdad was evaluated against six clinical bacteria isolates of Helicobacter pylori. The results presented in this work demonstrated that the leaves extract showed a significant effect against bacteria as compared to the root and fruit extracts at 100 mg/ml concentration, with inhibition zone ranging from 12.0 to 30.7 mm in each bacteria strain. The end results of GC-MS analysis indicated that the ethanol extracts of caper have a lot of active chemical compounds, including twenty-five, eighty-two and sixty-eight phytoconstituent compounds, that are distinguished in the extracts of roots, leaves and fruits with C. spinosa L. respectively. I
... Show MoreFourty three isolates ( 20.7%) characterized as Staphylococcus aureus , were isolated from 207 different clinical sources (blood , nose, , wound , urine , vaginal, ear and eye) in different percentages (30.23, 18.60, 16.28, 13.95, 15.15, 6.96 and 2.33 %), respectively. The staphyloxanthin (STX) production of S. aureus isolate was estimated 72.1% .The optimal conditions for pigment production by S. aureus AE36 , were detected and was noticed that the milk agar medium revealed the highest production of pigment which was estimated to be 165.21unit/cell, at pH 8 for 72 hr at 370C. The Staphyloxanthin pigment was extracted using methanol and was purified partially by organic solvents and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). The results revealed t
... Show MoreBackground: The aim in vitro study was to isolate and identify salivary mutans Streptococci and determine the ability of Green Tea Extracts and Nicotine to inhibit Growth, Biofilm Formation by salivary mutans streptococci. Materials and methods: This study included a convenient sample of 40 Iraqi volunteers aged 18–23 years old from College of Dentistry \University of Baghdad. Commercial green tea and nicotine were prepared in different concentration to use in agar diffusion method for detect the activity of extract, and ELISA reader in MTP was used to determine the ability of salivary mutans Streptococci to form biofilm in the presence / and absent of extracts.to measure the biofilm inhibition rate. Results: Mutans Streptococci were s
... Show MoreBackground: Enterococcus faecalis is emerging as an important endodontic pathogen, which can persist in the environment for extended periods after treatment and may cause endodontic failure. It is known to produce biofilms, a community of bacteria enclosed within a protective polymeric matrix. This study aimed to establish whether the biofilm formation by Enterococcus faecalis can be inhibited with steralium, co+steralium, and 5% sodium hypochlorite in the root surface environment. Materials and Methods: Extracted human teeth were biomechanically prepared, vertically sectioned, placed in the tissue culture wells exposing the root canal surface to E. faecalis to form a biofilm. At the end of the 3rd and 6th weeks, all groups were treated fo
... Show MoreBackground: Eucalyptus extracts and derivatives are natural substances with potent antimicrobial properties. This study investigated the in- vitro effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on the antifungal activity of alcoholic and aqueous Eucalyptus extracts against Candida albicans, a common oral pathogen. Materials and Method: Ten isolates of Candida albicans were isolated from dental students’ salivary samples. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts were prepared from fresh Eucalyptus leaves using maceration. The sensitivity of Candida albicans isolates to various concentrations of Eucalyptus extracts ranging from 50 to 250 (mg/mL) was evaluated via agar well diffusion method, while the agar streaking method was used to assess the minimum
... Show MoreA protocol has been developed for micropropagation of Arachis hypogea L. under in
vitro conditions. Nodal explants gave rise to multiple shoots when cultured on MS medium
supplemented with different concentrations of BA (benzyladenine) with Kin (Kinetin) or GA3
(gibberellic acid). The highest response of shoot multiplication was obtained in MS
containing 1.5 mg.l¯¹ BA and 0.5 mg.L¯¹ Kin. The regenerated shootlets were rooted on MS
(Murashige and Skoog) basal medium with different concentrations of IBA (indolbutyric
acid) and IAA (indol acetic acid). The highest response of rooting was achieved with IBA at
0.05 + IAA at 0.05 mg.L¯¹. The maximum frequency of rooting and highest number of roots
A total of 200 samples (180 fecal materials and 20 organ samples) were collected from (5 different poultry farms, 10 local poultry shops, 5 houses poultry, 5 Eggs stores shops and 5hand slaughters centers) in Ibb city, Yemen, 2014. According to morphological, cultural, as well as biochemical characterization and serological tests, 59(29.5%) isolates were identified as Salmonella spp. and all Salmonella isolates were categorized by serotype, which comprised of, 37(62.71%) Salmonella Typhimurium serovar, 21(35.59%). Salmonella Enteritidis serovar and 1(1.69%) Salmonella Heidlberg serovar. Antibiotic sensitivity test was done for bacterial isolates and the results showed there were clear differences in antibiotic resistant. Antimicrobial
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