Leishmania parasites are the causative agent of leishmaniasis. Many studies are inspecting chemical drugs, including the use of miltefosine and amphotericin B, but curative values may be limited for these drugs with side effects due to the chemical origin, therefore, investigating less toxic therapies is essential. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of artemisinin on Iraqi strain of Leishmania tropica, by experimental macrophage ex vivo infection of amastigotes into mouse macrophage cell-line RAW264.7. Different concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400, 500)μM of artemisinin (ART) were screened to examine the susceptibility of L. tropica amastigotes to invade macrophage cell line along three times of follow up (24, 48 and

Metal and metal oxide NPs have shown to be perfectly synthesized by using plant extracts with high efficiency, low cost and low toxicity. Our goal was to synthesize ZnO NPs by using an extract of pomegranate seeds and investigate the anticorrosion, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the synthesized ZnO NPs. The results have shown that the use of pomegranate in the green synthesis of ZnO NPs gave a good yield, with a low cost and non-toxic approach. The electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was used to coat stainless steel (S.S) by synthesized ZnO NPs in an alcoholic solution at room temperature producing a good coating against corrosion. The corrosion properties were investigated in a saline solution and a temperature range of (293–32

In this study, the zinc oxide NPs have been synthesized from the fresh pomegranate peels extract using the precipitation method. The ZnO nanoparticles were produced from the reaction of fresh peels extract with zinc acetate salt which was used as zinc source in the presence of 2 M NaOH. The green synthesized nanoparticles were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD patterns confirm the formation of hexagonal wurtzite phase structure for ZnO synthesized using pomegranate peels extract with average crystalline size of 28 nm. FTIR spectra identify the presence of many active functional groups for the pom

Klebsiella pneumoniae have an ability to form biofilm as one of strategies to persist and overcome host defenses. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of rosemary essential oil alone and in combination with some antibiotics against biofilm of K. pneumoniae isolated from urine. The antibiotics resistance pattern by disc diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin, trimethoprim/ sulfame- thoxazole, cefotoxime and rosemary essential oil were determined. The ability to form biofilm as well as inhibition of biofilm formation of K. pneumoniae was performed. MICs 128, 0.25, 768, 64, 384 and 10 µg/ml were used. The effect of MIC and 1/2 MIC of antibiotics and rosemary essential oil

Arum maculatum is traditionally used for the control of many diseases and illnesses such as kidney pain, liver injury, hemorrhoids. However, the detailed biomedical knowledge about this species is still lacking. This study reports on the bioactive components and the possible mechanisms underlying the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity of A. maculatum leaf extract. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for phytochemical analysis. Assay of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide ) (MTT) was used to determine the cytotoxicity in the murine cell line L20B upon exposure to different extract concentrations for 24 h. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect pro-in

Clausena excavata (Lour.), locally known as “Kemantu hitam,” is a common plant in Malaysian folklore medicine. This study evaluated the antioxidant properties of the solvent extracts of C. excavata leaves and determined the acute toxicity of methanolic extract C. excavata (MECE) leaves in Sprague‐Dawley rats. Harvested leaves were dried and subjected to solvent extraction using petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol in succession. The antioxidant activity of each extract was determined using the ferric‐reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picryl dihydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. The total pheno

Portland Cement is manufactured by adding 3% gypsum to clinker which is produced by grinding, pulverizing, mixing, and then burning a raw mix of silica, and calcium carbonate. Limestone is the main source of carbonates, while clay collected from arable land is the main source of silica. The marl in the Euphrates Formation was studied as an alternative to arable lands. Nine boreholes drilled and penetrated the marl layer in selected locations at the Kufa cement quarry. Forty-one samples of marl from boreholes and four samples of limestone from the closed area were collected. The chemical content of the major oxides and the hardness of the marl layer was very encouraging as a raw material for Portland Cement as they are SiO2 (17.60),