Background: The interest in herbal extracts as antimicrobial agents has increased over the past few years in endodontic therapy. Nasturtium officinale (watercress) is a promising plant with great medicinal values. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity of watercress oil in combination with calcium hydroxide against Candida albicans as intracanal medicament. Materials and Methods: Candida albicans was isolated from patients with necrotic root canal or failed root canal treatment. The sensitivity of Candida albicans to different concentrations of watercress oil extract was determined by using the agar well diffusion method in comparison with calcium hydroxide paste. The agar plate method was used to determine the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the tested oil against the fungus. The combination of the oil extract of Nasturtium officinale with calcium hydroxide was evaluated and compared to calcium hydroxide paste with iodoform by using the agar well diffusion method. Results: The oil extract exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans, this activity was found to be increased as the concentration of extract increased. The tested combination of watercress oil extract with calcium hydroxide revealed larger inhibition zones than the ones formed by each tested agent individually. Conclusion: The oil extract of Nasturtium officinale is active against Candida albicans suggesting its potential to be used as an intracanal medicament alone or in combination with calcium hydroxide.
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, one of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), is found in various foods, including dairy products, meat, and vegetables, and most of these bacteria offer beneficial effects to humans and animals as potential probiotics with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities. The aim of this study was evaluating the antibacterial efficacy of L. plantarum against some foodborne bacteria isolated from dairy products. This research involved 34 dairy products, including local and imported milk, cheese, and yogurt sold locally in Baghdad province, Iraq, during May 2022. For the isolation of L. plantarum, a special medium called MRS (de Man Rogosa and Sharpe) was applied. Colonie
... Show MoreA qualitative chemical test was performed on functional groups extracted from fenugreek plant and its extracts (aqueous, alcoholic and volatile oil). Results revealed that fenugreek seeds contain the main functional groups, while extracts are varied accorodihg to their content of functional groups qualitatively and quantitively. Moreover, inhibition activity was tested for extracts of fenugreek seeds (aqueous, alcoholic and volatile oil). against gram negative (Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) by the ager well diffusion method. Data have revealed that inhibition activity was different in accoradance with extract solvent and the tested microorgan. Oil extract (15)%
... Show MoreThis research was aimed to the purification and characterization of cytosine deaminase as a medically important enzyme from locally isolated Escherichia coli; then studying its cytotoxic anticancer effects against colon cancer cell line. Cytosine deaminase was subjected to three purification steps including precipitation with 90% ammonium sulfate saturation, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose column, and gel filtration chromatography throughout Sephadex G-200 column. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was increased up to 9 U/mg with 12.85 folds of purification and 30.85% enzyme recovery. Characterization study of purified enzyme revealed that the molecular weight of cytosine deaminase produced by E. coli was about 48 KDa,
... Show MoreBackground: Denture cleansing was an important step that could prevent the spread of infection and improve a patient's health, the durability of the dentures, and the overall quality of life; therefore, it was necessary to choose a suitable cleanser that, in addition to being effective, did not have an unfavorable effect on the qualities of the denture base resin itself when used for an extended period. For this purpose, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of tea tree oil (TTO) on Candida albicans adhesion and the surface roughness property of poly(methyl methacrylate) denture material after immersion in TTO. Methods: A total of 55 heat-cured acrylic resin specimens were used for C. albicans adherence and surface roughness tests. The
... Show MoreColorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common disease and cause of death globally. The aim of the study is investigation and detection of some bacterial interfering with CRC occurrence and progression. The study conducted between September 2022 till February 2023, a total of 50 specimens were collected from confirmed CRC patients. In addition, 50 stool specimens were collected from Healthy volunteers, considers as control group. Isolation and identification of bacteria in all collected specimens were done by using cultural and differential media (blood agar, macconkey agar and Pfizer agar), as well as the VITEK- 2 compact system. The bacterial species, in the specimens of control were ( Escherichia coli 50 (86.20%), Klebsiella Pneumoni
... Show MoreNon-thermal or cold plasma create many reactive species and charged particles when brought into contact with plant extracts. The major constituents involve reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species and plasma ultra-violets. These species can be used to synthesize biologically important nanoparticles. The current study addressed the effect of the green method-based preparation approach on the volumetric analysis of Zn nanoparticles. Under different operating conditions, the traditional thermal method and the microwave method as well as the plasma generation in dielectric barrier discharge reactor were adopted as a preparation approach in this study. The results generally show that the type of method used plays an important role in d
... Show MoreNon-thermal or cold plasma create many reactive species and charged particles when brought into contact with plant extracts. The major constituents involve reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species and plasma ultra-violets. These species can be used to synthesize biologically important nanoparticles. The current study addressed the effect of the green method-based preparation approach on the volumetric analysis of Zn nanoparticles. Under different operating conditions, the traditional thermal method and the microwave method as well as the plasma generation in dielectric barrier discharge reactor were adopted as a preparation approach in this study. The results generally show that the type of method used plays an important rol
... Show MoreThe antimicrobial potency of the crude ethanolic extracts from different Iraqi plants were evaluated . Further more, total sesquiterpene lactones and phenolic compounds were isolated and their antimicrobial activity attempted. The results indicated that crude extracts have no activity except that of Callistemon lanceolatus. Also, the sesquiterpene lactones and phenolic compounds isolated from Callistemon lanceolatus were the most significant antimicrobial active constituents of the studied plants.
The study in duded isolation and identification of microbial isolates from oral cavity to 10 volunteers, diagnosed within the three groups: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus spp. and Candida albicans . The sensitivity test of all isolates bacteria Streptococcus spp. , S. aureus and S. epidermidis showed high resistance to Ampicillin(100)%,followed Methicillin (88.88)% and Amoxicillin / clavulanic acid(77.77)%, while the resistance for each of Vancomycin and Amoxicillin were (66.66)%, and the resistance to Erythromycin and Pencillin (55.55)% to each of them. The results showed less resistance to Trimethoprim (22.22)% and Cefalotine (11.11)% of all bacteria isolate. Investigation of the pre
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