Background and Aim: The use of food dyes can cause certain diseases, such as anemia and indigestion, along with other disorders, tumors, and even cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the chemical nature and toxicity of some commercial dyes locally used in processed foods compared with standard food dyes. Materials and Methods: Three types of standard and commercial food color additives (Sunset Yellow, Tartrazine, and Carmoisine) were extensively examined. The chemical structures and functional groups of the dyes were evaluated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The melting temperatures of the dyes were also determined by chemical thermal analysis. The acute toxicity test to evaluate the standard and commercial food color safety was estimated by a range-finding study using 150 Wistar albino rats. Sub-groups were administered one of the three colors under study at doses of 2, 3, 4, and 5 g/kg body weight (BW) orally for 7 days. When no mortality was observed, an additional 15 g/kg BW was administered. Concerning the median lethal dose 50 (LD50), 38 rats were exploited using the up-and-down method. Results: Commercial dyes had lower melting points than standard colors. Regarding the range-finding study, rats receiving different doses of the dyes exhibited no signs of toxicity, no deaths, and no clinical or gross pathological signs throughout the 7 days of the experiment. However, the animals that were dosed with 15 g/kg BW of each dye showed signs of loss of appetite, tachycardia, drowsiness, and eventual death. The LD50 values of the commercial food dyes, particularly Sunset Yellow and Carmoisine, were lower than those of the standard dyes. Conclusion: Commercial food colors were more toxic to rats than standard food colors. Differences were observed between the purity of the standard and commercial dyes, and the latter ones contained different percentages of salt, indicating the occurrence of fraud in commercial markets. Keywords: acute toxicity, food colors, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, lethal dose 50, range-finding study.
60 patients diagnosed as having urticaria were included in the study ; 30 patients were effected with acute urticaria and 30 patients were affected with chronic urticaria. In addition, 30 healthy adult volunteers were selected as control group .The patients and control groups sera were examined with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA) to detect total level IgE and radial immunodiffusion (RID) to detect levels of IgG , IgA and IgM . The total level of IgE in acute urticaria ( 1.45±0.13) IU/mL and chronic urticaria (2.12 ± 0.10) IU/mL patients were significantly higher than the control groups ( 0.85 ± 0.10)IU/mL (p<0.05). The level of IgG in acute urticaria ( 12.5± 0.42) g/L and chronic (13.16±0.40) g/L patients , IgA in acute (2.
... Show MoreMedicinal plants are used to treat various diseases although little is known about their toxicity. Coriandrum sativum is one of the most commonly plants that is used to treat several physiological disorders. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of C. sativum on the structure and function of liver in male albino mice. Thirty male mice were randomly divided into three groups: Group 1 untreated (control), Group 2 and 3 were administrated orally with the aqueous extract of the plant at dose 125 and 250 mg/kg. b. w. For 30 days. The effect of the extract on liver weights, biochemical parameters as well as histological study were assessed. There were no significant difference (P>0.05) observed in relative organ
... Show MoreThis study included synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in a green method using AgNO3 solution with glucose exposed to microwave radiation. The prepared NPs were also characterized using ultraviolet and visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The UV/vis spectroscopy confirmed the production of AgNPs, while SEM analysis showed that the typical spherical AgNPs were 30 nm and 50 nm in size for the NPs prepared using black tea (B) and green tea (G) as reducing agent, respectively. The changes in some of the biochemical parameters related to the liver and kidneys have been analyzed to evaluate the probable toxic effects of AgNPs. 40 adult male mice were included in this study. To assess the probable he
... Show MoreMany purposes require communicating audio files between the users using different applications of social media. The security level of these applications is limited; at the same time many audio files are secured and must be accessed by authorized persons only, while, most present works attempt to hide single audio file in certain cover media. In this paper, a new approach of hiding three audio signals with unequal sizes in single color digital image has been proposed using the frequencies transform of this image. In the proposed approach, the Fast Fourier Transform was adopted where each audio signal is embedded in specific region with high frequencies in the frequency spectrum of the cover image to sa
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to isolate and identify Saccharomyces boulardii from Mangosteen fruits (Garcinia mangostana L.) by traditional and molecular identification methods To get safe and healthy foods probiotics for use, The isolates and two commercial strains were subjected to cultural, morphological and biochemical tests, The colonies of the isolates were spherical, smooth, mucoidal, dull and white to cream colour on SD agar media .The shape of cells was globose to ovoid and sometimes with budding, in a single form or clustered like a beehive. The isolates and two commercial strains were unable to metabolized galactose and lactose , Results shows that all isolates were unable to utilize potassium nitrate and not grow in the presence of (
... Show MoreNatural honey is well known for its therapeutic value and has been used in traditional medicine of different cultures throughout the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of Malaysian Gelam honey in inflammation-induced rats. Paw edema was induced by a subplantar injection of 1% carrageenan into the rat right hind paw. Rats were treated with the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) Indomethacin (10 mg/kg, p.o.) or Gelam honey at different doses (1 or 2 g/kg, p.o.). The increase in footpad thickness was considered to be edema, which was measured using a dial caliper. Plasma and paw tissue were collected to analyze the production of inflammatory mediators, such as NO, PGE2
... Show MoreBackground: Abdominal symptoms are possibly the most frequent of all symptoms encountered in surgical practice. Pain is the most common of all abdominal symptoms. Causes of acute abdominal pain include both medical and surgical. Most symptoms arise from intra-abdominal organs or systems while some may originate extra abdominally and are then referred to the abdomen. Medical causes of abdominal pain are encountered more frequently.
Objective: To study the causes of acute abdominal pain in patients attending emergency department in Al- Imamain Al- Kadhimain Medical City.
Type of the study: A prospective cross sectional study
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