Antibiotic resistance is the major growing threat facing the pharmacological treatment of bacterial infections. Therefore, bioprospecting the medicinal plants could provide potential sources for antimicrobial agents. Mimusops, the biggest and widely distributed plant genus of family Sapotaceae, is used in traditional medicines due to its promising pharmacological activities. This study was conducted to elucidate the antimicrobial effect of three unexplored Mimusops spp. (M. kummel, M. laurifolia and M. zeyheri). Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying such antibacterial activity were studied. The Mimusops leaf extracts revealed significant antibacterial activities against the five tested bacterial strains with a maximum inhibition zone diameter of 22.0 mm against B. subtilis compared with standard antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentration values against tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains ranged from 3.15-12.5 µg/ml. However, weak antifungal effect was recorded against Candida albicans with MIC value ˃25 µg/ml. The 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay showed that M. caffra was the best antioxidant (IC50=14.75±0.028 µg/ml), while M. laurifolia was the least one (IC50=34.22±0.014 µg/ml). The phenolics in plant leaves extracts were identified and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which revealed the presence of seven phenolic acids and four flavonoids. The abundant phenolic compounds were rutin (5.216±0.067 mg/g dried wt.) and gallic acid (0.296±0.068 mg/g) followed by myricetin (0.317±0.091 mg/g) then kaempferol (0.113±0.049 mg/g) as flavonoids. The antibacterial mechanism of M. laurifolia extract, as a representative species, induces ultrastructural changes in the model bacterium Staphylococcus aureus with cell wall and plasma membrane lysis as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Overall, Mimusops species (M. laurifolia, M. kummel and M. zeyheri) are promising natural alternative sources for antimicrobial agents.
Pregnancy is a stressful condition in which many physiological and metabolic functions are altered to a considerable extent . Pregnancy is a physiological state accompanied by a high-energy demand and an increased oxygen requirement. The present study aim to study selenium ,zinc cupper in the first trimester of pregnancy. The study group comprised of Fourty five pregnant women and twenty six non pregnant women as control . The samples were taken from pregnant women who come to several heath center in Baghdad city to cheak up. Laboratory investigations including Cupper, Ceruloplasmin, Total Antioxidant (TAA), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), Zinc, Uric acid, and Selenium had been measured in pregnant women and control . Th
... Show MoreThe inelastic C2 form factors and the charge density distribution (CDD) for 58,60,62Ni and 64,66,68Zn nuclei has been investigated by employing the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock method with (Sk35-Skzs*) parametrization. The inelastic C2 form factor is calculated by using the shape of Tassie and Bohr-Mottelson models with appropriate proton and neutron effective charges to account for the core-polarization effects contribution. The comparison of the predicted theoretical values was conducted with the available measured data for C2 and CDD form factors and showed very good agreement.
Quorum sensing (QS) is a perfectly orchestrated molecular communication system. It is a boon for Klebsiella pneumoniae, and bane for the host. This system is believed to make K. pneumoniae a leading cause of multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial infections. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial and anti-biofilm potential of medicinal plant extracts through interfering with QS of K. pneumoniae. The effect of different concentrations of ethanolic extracts of cinnamon and clove on K. pneumoniae was determined by analyzing the growth curve, survival assay (MTT), Qualitative and quantitative biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, along with studying gene expression of the genes encoding the above traits, using quantitative real tim
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The research aims to monitor the image of the man in the group (The Cart and the Rain) by the storyteller (Badiaa Amin); With the aim of highlighting an aspect of feminist writing, especially with regard to the relationship of women to men, and determining the form adopted by the storyteller in drawing the features of men.
The research used the descriptive-analytical method in the space of its textual formation, which aims to stand on the text and deconstruct its narrative significance. To provide a comprehensive picture of it.
Three images of the man appeared in the group's stories, represented by (the authoritarian, the negative, and the positive), and the image of the authoritarian ma
... Show MoreThe research aimed at studying the inhibitive effect of the hot watery dry and ethanolic ginger(85%) and fragrant oil which are added in concentrates of o.o25, o.o5o and 0.1g / 100g respectively in the growth of bacteria and molds. The results of the initial chemical diagnosis showed containment of ginger roots extract on. Alkaloids, Glycosides, Flavonoids and Suponins. The highest inhibitive effect of the bacteria reached the concentrate . 0.1% of the oil extract then the concentrate 0.050% of the ethanolic hot extract follows it. While 0.1% was the least inhibitive concentrate for the hot watery extract. But the inhibitive effect of the hot oily and alcoholic extracts in the numbers of molds colonies was 0.025%, when the concentrate 0.1%
... Show MoreMetalloendo peptidase is a neutral endopeptidase that cleaves peptides at the amino side of hydrophobic residues and inactivates several peptide hormones, including atrial natriuretic factor, giucagon, enkephalin, substance p, neurotensin, oxytocin, and bradykinin. It is also a major enzyme for the degradation of beta-amyloid. This study aimed to measure enzyme activity and compare it with other biochemical changes in sera patients with diabetic nephropathy. The study included 35 pathological samples of people with diabetic nephropathy, 24 samples from males and 11 samples from females, as well as the same number of healthy people as a comparison group of 15 males, 20 females, with the ages of both groups of patients with diabetic nephropat
... Show MoreFolic acid modulates several disorders in humans, pregnancy mostly because of the mitochondria-rich placenta, is a condition that favors oxidative stress.Transitional metals, especially iron, which are particularly abundant in the placenta, are important in the production of free radicals. Adenosine deaminase (ADA), an enzyme essential for the differentiation of lymphoid cells, has been used for monitoring diseases with altered immunity. In the present study we investigated the effect of regular and irregular administered folic acid in the first and second trimester of pregnancy to be compared with non-pregnant women ,and also the effect of regular and irregular using of folic acid supplement on oxidative stress parameters an
... 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
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