Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by Leishmania parasite, this disease considers a major health problem among worldwide. Treatments available are expensive or with cytotoxic side effect. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of an herbal new compound, called artemisinin, derived from a Chinese plant called Artemisia annua. Various concentrations were studied in vitro against L. tropica amastigotes by chamber counting to investigate its effect on the proliferation of promastigotes. Three incubation periods were adopted (24, 48, 72) hours. The results showed a significant decrease in surviving promastigotes, in parallel with the normal parasite count of untreated promastigotes, along the periods studied. This study revealed a major growth inhibition effect of artemisinin against L. tropica promastigotes, in vitro. It is recommended for future studies of artemisinin effects on amastigotes forms and in vivo study.
Abstract Inflammation of periodontal tissues is the consequence of interaction between periodontal pathogens and immune system. This is associated with increased expression of inflammatory cytokines, which may exert destructive effect to the periodontal tissues when released over long period. The aim of this study was to chronologically track the homeostasis of oral keratinocytes following removal of periodontal pathogens. This was done by investigating expression of selected inflammatory markers and integrity of epithelial monolayers in vitro. Rat oral keratinocytes were stimulated with heat-killed Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis over 7-days then bacteria were washed away and epithelial cells re-cultured for 3-
... Show MoreMedicinal plants contain bioactive substances that are highly bioavailable in extracts or pure molecules, making them promising for therapeutic applications and precursors for chemo-pharmaceutical semi-synthesis. Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil’s Claw) is widely recognized as one of the most potent therapeutic herbs. This study aimed to extract seeds from H. procumbens using two types of solvents and to assess both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the extracts. The two extracts were evaluated for antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities using agar well diffusion assays against four bacterial isolates and two yeast isolates. Qualitative analysis identified the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and terpen
... Show MoreObjective: Carbamazepine is typically used for the treatment of seizure disorders and neuropathic pain. One of the major problems with this drug is its low solubility in water; therefore the objective of this study was to enhance the solubility of carbamazepine by complexation with cyclodextrin to be formulated as effervescent and dispersible granules.Methods: Solvent evaporation method was used to prepare, binary (Carbamazepine/β-cyclodextrin) complex and ternary (Carbamazepine/β-cyclodextrin/hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC E5). The more soluble complex will be further formulated as unit dose effervescent and dispersible granules. The complexes were evaluated for their solubility, drug content, percentage practical yield and
... Show MoreBackground: Methotrexate (MTX) was one of the first drugs synthesized for a specific chemotherapeutic purpose used to inhibit folic acid (FA) for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children. Its history is closely related to the discovery and characterization of folic acid. It is used clinically in medicine to treat a range of cancerous and noncancerous conditions. MTX is currently used in gynecology to treat disorders arising from trophoblastic tissue, namely, ectopic pregnancy. MTX, the most frequently used diseasemodifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD), suppresses disease activity and reduces joint damage. The aim of study: It is designed to demonstrate the effect of MTX (7.5 mg/wk.) on the histogenesis of gonad (testis) of n
... Show MoreEfficacy of Varnishes with: Bioactive Glass, Recaldent Technology and Silver Diamine Fluoride in Comparison with Sodium Fluoride on Tooth Surface Micro-hardness (an In Vitro Study)
Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease on the rise in different regions of Iraq, especially in areas with poor hygiene and among refugee populations. The effectiveness of existing chemotherapy for leishmaniasis is constrained by its high toxicity, cost, and the development of drug resistance. The current research examined various concentrations (ranging from 125 to 1000 μM) of lupeol to evaluate its ability to boost the generation of nitric oxide, which has anti-leishmanial properties, in an ex-vivo macrophage model. Griess assay was used to detect the nitric oxide (NO) production in Leishmania donovani infected U937 cell-line macrophages along 24 and 48 hours post treated. The nitric oxide concentration was signifi
... Show MoreAnchusa strigosa L.: Hardy annual biennial or perennial herb, with hairs especially on the leaves., flowers generally regular. Commonly named (Lisan Althour) in Iraq, from Boraginaceae family. The plant contains phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, sterols, and terpenoids. The Whole plant part defatted with n-hexane for 24 hours. The defatted plant material extracted using absolute methanol by Soxhlet apparatus for 24 hours, the extract fractionated by solvents of different polarity: petroleum ether- chloroform - ethylacetate- and n-butanol respectively. The n-butanol fraction hydrolyzed with 10% HCl for 5 hours by reflex to break down the glycosidic linkage. Rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, genistein, and silybin were isolated
... Show MoreThe cyanobacterial neurotoxin