Objective: The concentration-dependent nephroprotective effects of orally-administered aqueous green tea extract (AGTE) were studied. Materials and Methods: Forty rats of both sexes (weighing ٢٠٠-٢٥٠g) with various concentrations {٠.٦٢٥%, ١.٢٥% and ٢.٥% of aqueous green tea extract (AGTE)} as their main source of drinking fluid ٧ days before and ٥ days after administration of methotrexate (MTX). The parameters of oxidative stress, malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were daily measured in kidney homogenate in addition to histopathological examinations after killing. Results: Analysis of data revealed significant amelioration of oxidative stress in groups of animals treated with different concentrations of AGTE compared to MTX-treated group as evidenced by lowering MDA contents and elevation of GSH levels in kidney tissue homogenate but the levels still significantly different compared to controls. Furthermore, increasing concentrations of AGTE produce no concentration-dependent improvement of the damage induced by MTX in kidney tissue, as observed in kidney rats sections in concentrations ٠.٦٢٥% and ٢.٥% AGTE, while improvement in renal morphological changes was observed in group of animals treated with ١.٢٥% AGTE + MTX. Conclusion: The concentration-dependent protective effects of AGTE against MTXinduce kidney damage were not evidenced, where higher concentration of AGTE (٢.٥%) used in this study resulted in deterioration in the renal functions and morphology, which may be due to its pro-oxidant effect; while renal protective effects was evidenced in a concentration of ١.٢٥% AGTE, an effect that could be related to its antioxidant properties at this concentration.
Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders.They are a large family of compounds synthesized by plants; they belong to a group of natural substances with variable phenolic structures. In this study we aim to scan the types of flavonoids in a newly studied, wild Iraqi plant named Echinops tenuisectus of Compositae family. The medicinal importance of flavonoids on one hand, and the absence of any phytochemical investigation on tenuisectus species of Echinops genus on the other hand, acquired this study itÛ¥s importance. Three flavonoids were identified in the seed,s extract of this plant (Silymarin, Rutin, Quercetin ) by two chromatographic methods, first Thin laye
... Show MoreBackground: Adenosine mediates homodynamic
changes and resulted in the production of acute renal
failure (ARF) in female Albino-Wister rats, therefore,
adenosine level increases highly in ARF.
Objective: This experiment was designed to
investigate the effect of the adenosine antagonist
aminophylline and the adenosine agonist indomethacin on glycerol-induced ARF.
Method: Glycerol induced ARF was produced by a
single dose (10ml/kg, 50%v/v with distilled water i.m)
in rats, which were restricted to drinking water.
Aminophylline was used in our study in a dose of
25mg/kg, i.p) while the dose of indomethacin was
10mg/kg, i.p), assessment of renal function was done
by measuring blood urea
nitrogen (BUN
The aqueous extract of Citrullius colocynthis dried seeds (160 ?g/ml) was in vitro evaluated for its effect on phagocytic index (PI) and lymphocyte transformation index (LTI) of blood cells obtained from 30 apparently healthy blood donors (15 males and 15 females). The PI was further in vivo evaluated in cells of peritone, spleen and liver of mice treated with the extract at a dose of 0.64 mg/kg. The results revealed that in in vitro study, phagocytic cells treated with the extract showed a significant increased percentage as compared with untreated cells (60.0 vs. 44.1%). Phagocytes obtained from peritone (44.1 vs. 30.0%) and spleen (45.6 vs. 39.6 %) of treated and untreated mice behaved in a similar manner, while liver phagocytes showed n
... Show MoreMercuric chloride (HgCl2) pollution and poisoning has been a worldwide health concern for decades, especially after the industrial revolutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of resveratrol in reversing the deleterious effects of HgCl2 exposure to resume the normal functions of hepatocyte. To achieve the study, mature Sprague Dawley rats were assigned to five groups. Negative control group (C) kept without any treatment; vehicle-treated group (D) received dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO); resveratrol-treated group (R), received 100 mg/kg of resveratrol; HgCl2-intoxicated group (HD), received i.p. injection of HgCl2 at a dose of 1 mg/kg for 30 consecutive days along to oral gavage of DMSO; and finally H
... Show Moretotal of 17 Escherichia coli isolates were collected from urine specimens of patients with urinary tract infection. Antibiotics sensitivity test indicated that amikacin followed by chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin are the most effective antibiotics. The isolates showed multidruge resistant, nine isolates were resistant to 11-15 antibiotics, 3 were resistant to 16-20 antibiotics and 5 were resistant to 21-25 antibiotic. Two isolates were selected, the first (ED1) was resistant to (22) antibiotics while the second isolate (ED2) was resistant to (14) antibiotics (out of 25). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the black and green tea water boiled extracts were determined towards (ED1,ED2).Results showed that MIC of black tea extr
... Show MoreLeishmaniosis is a tropical neglected parasitic disease that is endemic in many countries, including Middle East, with no existing effective vaccines. The bite of female sand-fly transmits the causative agent, Leishmania spp., to humans. High toxicity, resistance and treatment failure of the available chemotherapy against visceral leishmaniosis demands the investigation of new anti-leishmanial compounds. Lupeol is a form of triterpene isolated from several medicinal plants and possesses an antimicrobial property. In this study, cytotoxic effect of lupeol was screened against the mammalian amastigotes form and insect promastigote form of Leishmania donovani, following three cycles of incubation at different concentrations by MTT assay. Resul
... Show MoreThe antiphytopathogenic effects of the crude methanol extract of Cladophora glomerata (Lin.) Kützing (Cladophoraceae) which isolated from Al Rashidiya region at north of Baghdad was investigated against two type of plant fungi (Pythium altimum and Rhizoctonia solani) which causes damping off disease where isolated from covered cucumber field in Al-Alyosifia region. Hot methanol extract showed antifungal activity against the two species of fungi in different concentrations(10,25,50 mg/ml) of extract to Cladophora glomerata as percentage inhibition (51.63 ,72.8 ,83.71) and (56.18 ,77.41 ,100)comparing with Pythium altimum and Rhizoctonia solani respectively .primary detection of active compounds showed that macroalgae (Cladoph
... Show MoreAnastatica hierochuntica is believed to be very useful in Arab countries for treating various health disorders. The aqueous extract of Anastatica hierochuntica was investigated for its effects on hormones in mice females. the aqueous extract of plant at a dose level of 100mg/1mL showed significant increase (p<0.05) on levels of hormones LH, FSH, PRL level and PRO level. Clomid treated group showd significant increase in LH, FSH, and PRL while there was non-significant increase in PRO. From the above results, it is concluded for the first time that aqueous Anastatica hierchuntica extract offers significant effect of LH, FSH, PRL, and PRO in this mice females scompared with control.
In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles (α-Fe₂O₃ NPs) were prepared using a readily available chili pepper plant extract from local markets. This study aims to evaluate the magnetic properties of α-Fe₂O₃ prepared in green chemistry from Capsicum plant extract. After several simple preparatory steps, such as washing and cutting, they were treated with an inorganic complex (potassium hexacyanoferrate) (K3[Fe(CN)₆]). In the first analytical step, the in vitro detection of the plant extract solution after reaction with the potassium hexacyanoferrate (III) complex revealed characteristic adsorption bands of the cyanide group, which disappeared upon complexation. The iron oxide NPs were characterized using various methods, including X
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was extraction of jojoba oil using different solvents. A mixture of waterhexane and water-ethanol are used as solvents to extract jojoba oil in a batch extraction process and compared with a pure solvent extraction process. The effects of particle size of crushed seeds, solvent-to-water ratio and time on jojoba oil extraction were investigated. The best recovery of oil was obtained at the boiling temperature of the solvent and four hour of extraction time. When seed particle size was 0.45 mm and a pure ethanol was used (45% yield of oil extraction), whereas, it was 40% yield of oil at 25% water-hexane mixture. It was revealed that the water-ethanol and water-hexane mixtures have an effect on the oil extraction yield. T
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