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.
For criminal investigations, fingerprints remain the most reliable form of personal identification despite developments in other fields like DNA profiling. The objective of this work is to compare the performance of both commercial charcoal and activated carbon powder derived from the Alhagi plant to reveal latent fingerprints from different non-porous surfaces (cardboard, plain glass, aluminum foil sheet, China Dish, Plastic, and Switch). The effect of three variables on activated carbon production was investigated. These variables were the impregnation ratio (the weight ratio of KOH: dried raw material), the activation temperature, and the activation time. The effect factors were investigated using Central Composite Design
... Show MoreChoosing antimicrobials is a common dilemma when the expected rate of bacterial resistance is high. The observed resistance values in unequal groups of isolates tested for different antimicrobials can be misleading. This can affect the decision to recommend one antibiotic over the other. We analyzed recalled data with the statistical consideration of unequal sample groups. Data was collected concerning children suspected to have typhoid fever at Al Alwyia Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. The study period extended from September 2021 to September 2022. A novel algorithm was developed to compare the drug sensitivity among unequal numbers of Salmonella typhi (S. Typhi) isolates tested with different antibacterials.
... Show MoreBackground: Celiac disease is an autoimmune chronic disease that affects the human’s intestine and subsequently reflects its effect on the entire body health by retardation the absorption and immune mediated complications cause the involvement of oral health. The present study intended to evaluate the impact of the histopathological disease activity upon dental enamel defects and dental caries.
Subjects and methods: Forty celiac-diseased patients aged 7-11 years were collected from 3 different teaching hospitals in Baghdad classified by means of the histopathological activity of the intestinal disease according to modified Marsh-Ros
... Show MoreThe preliminary test of the compounds N [2– (3,4–dimethoxy nitrobenzene oxazepine– 2,3–dihydro–4,7–dione]–5–mercupto–2–amino–1,3,4–thiadiazol [A] and N [ 2–anthralidene– 5– ( 2–nitrophenyl ) –1,3–oxazepine–4,7–dione–2–d](5–mercapto–1,3,4–thiadiazole–2–amin) [B] , showed that they possess high activity against some positive and negative bacteria , like pseudomonas aeruginosa (pseudo.), Escherichia coli (E-coli), staphylococcus aureus (sta.) and Bacillus subtilis (Ba.) and finally there is a study of the effect of some antibiotics like streptomycin (S), gentamycin (GN), chloramphenicol (C) and Nalitixic acid (NA) in order to compare the differences in effects. In the present study, results
... Show MoreAim: The study designed to evaluate the Geno-protective effect of green tea extract against genotoxicity induced by metronidazole and tinidazole. Methods: Thirty-six mice were used, For each experiment, The animals divided into 6 groups: Group I- Negative control administered distilled water; Group II-Healthy mice treated with metronidazole alone, Group III- Healthy mice treated with tinidazole alone; Group IV- Healthy mice administered green tea extract alone Group V- Healthy mice treated with metronidazole, followed by green tea extract administration, Group VI- Healthy mice treated with tinidazole, followed by administration of green tea extract. Results: treatment with Tinidazole significantly increase total chromosomal aberration (0.18
... Show MoreIn this research, Zinc oxide (ZnO)/epoxy nanocomposite was synthesized by simple casting method with 2wt. % ZnO concentration. The aim of this work was to study the effect of pH and composite dosage on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO/ epoxy nanocomposite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique images proof the homogeneous distribution of ZnO nanoparticles in epoxy. A synthesized nanocomposite samples were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (FTIR) measurements. Two spectra for epoxy and 2wt.% ZnO/epoxy nanocomposites were similar and there are no new bonds formed from the incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles. Using HCl and NaOH were added to Methylene blue (MB) dye (5ppm) to gat pH values 3 and 8. The degradat
... Show MoreThis study examines the dynamic relationship between stock market and economic activity in the United States to verify the possibility of using financial indicators to monitor the turning points in the expected path of future economic activity. Has been used methodology (Johansen - Juselius) for the Co-integration and causal (Granger) to test the relationship between the (S & P 500 , DJ) index and gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States for the period
(1960-2009). The results of the analysis revealed the existence of a causal relationship duplex (two-way) between the variables mentioned. which means the possibility of the use stock market indicators to pre