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.
This study aimed to isolate and identify Cryptococcus species from three distinct sources: sputum samples of pigeon fanciers, dried pigeon droppings, and eucalyptus tree leaves. A total of 150 specimens were collected over a two-month period, comprising 50 samples each from human sputum, pigeon droppings collected across various areas of Baghdad, and eucalyptus leaves obtained from the Baghdad College of Veterinary Medicine. All samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25°C for 2–3 days. From the initial cultures, 20 isolates presumptively identified as Cryptococcus spp. were obtained: 6 isolates (12%) from human sputum, 9 isolates (18%) from pigeon droppings, and 5 isol
... Show MorePseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen and a model bacterium for studying virulence and bacterial social traits. While it can be isolated in low numbers from a wide variety of environments including soil and water, it can readily be found in almost any human/animal-impacted environment. It is a major cause of illness and death in humans with immunosuppressive and chronic conditions, and infections in these patients are difficult to treat due to a number of antibiotic resistance mechanisms and the organism’s propensity to form multicellular biofilms. One hundred twenty clinical samples and forty hospital environmental samples (various sources) were collected from hospitals in Baghdad city during the period from Oc
... Show MoreThirty swabes of medical implants were collected from Al-Yarmouk's hospital which were cultured on manitole agar to isolate Staphelococcus aureus . Only four samples gave positive results with this media. It was used ten types of antibiotics to test the sensitivity of this bacterium against them. All isolates of S. aureus were recorded as multidrug resistant and were considered as MRSA. One pledge alternative therapy is the utilize of certain pure bacterocin MIC (32.5 to 62.5 μg/ml) and it was compared with vancomycin (200-400 μg/ml) with average of (8 – 15) mm diameter of inhibition zones recpectively. The first reduction of biofilm formation ability has been proved in catheters when treatedby pure bacterocin. The test shows the highes
... Show MoreThis study aimed to isolate and identify Cryptococcus species from three distinct sources: sputum samples of pigeon fanciers, dried pigeon droppings, and eucalyptus tree leaves. A total of 150 specimens were collected over a two-month period, comprising 50 samples each from human sputum, pigeon droppings collected across various areas of Baghdad, and eucalyptus leaves obtained from the Baghdad College of Veterinary Medicine. All samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25°C for 2–3 days. From the initial cultures, 20 isolates presumptively identified as Cryptococcus spp. were obtained: 6 isolates (12%) from human sputum, 9 isolates (18%) from pigeon droppings, and 5 isol
... Show MoreNanotechnology is a continually expanding field for its uses and applications in multiple areas i.e. medicine, science, and engineering. Biosynthesis is straightforward, less-toxicity, and cost-effective technology. TiO2 NPs biosynthesis has attained consideration in recent decades. In this study, probiotic bacteria were isolated from cow’s raw milk samples, and then were identified by using the Vitek2 system; as Leuconostoc spp. included Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (Leu.1), Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris (Leu.4), and Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides (Leu.14). All Leuconostoc spp. isolates showed an ability for TiO2 NPs bio-production, after being incubated at anaerobic conditions (30 o C/ 24 h) in DeM
... Show MoreThis study is aimed to Green-synthesize and characterize Al NPs from Clove (Syzygium aromaticum
L.) buds plant extract and to investigate their effect on isolated and characterized Salmonella enterica growth.
S. aromaticum buds aqueous extract was prepared from local market clove, then mixed with Aluminum nitrate
Al(NO3)3. 9 H2O, 99.9% in ¼ ratio for green-synthesizing of Al NPs. Color change was a primary confirmation
of Al NPs biosynthesis. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were identified and characterized by AFM, SEM,
EDX and UV–Visible spectrophotometer. AFM data recorded 122nm particles size and the surface roughness
RMs) of the pure S. aromaticum buds aqueous extract recorded 17.5nm particles s
The performance of a diesel engine was tested with diesel oil contaminated with glycol at the engineering workshop/Department of Agricultural Machines and Equipment / College of the Agricultural Engineering Sciences at the University of Baghdad. To investigate the impact of different concentrations of glycol on the performance of a diesel engine, an experimental water-cooled four-stroke motor was utilized, with oil containing 0, 100, and 200 parts per million (ppm). Specific fuel consumption, thermal efficiency, friction power, and exhaust gas temperature were examined as performance indicators. To compare the significance of the treatments, the study employed a full randomization design (CRD), with three replicates for each treatment at th
... Show MoreThe performance of a diesel engine was tested with diesel oil contaminated with glycol at the engineering workshop/Department of Agricultural Machines and Equipment / College of the Agricultural Engineering Sciences at the University of Baghdad. To investigate the impact of different concentrations of glycol on the performance of a diesel engine, an experimental water-cooled four-stroke motor was utilized, with oil containing 0, 100, and 200 parts per million (ppm). Specific fuel consumption, thermal efficiency, friction power, and exhaust gas temperature were examined as performance indicators. To compare the significance of the treatments, the study employed a full randomization des