Various Extracts of Some Medicinal Plants as Inhibitors for Beta-lactamase Activity

تمت دراسة التأثير المثبط لإنزيم بيتا لاكتاماز من  S. sciuriو Klebsiella pneumoniae بواسطة مستخلصات لعشرة نباتات طبية وقد تمت عملية الاستخلاص باستخدام الاسيتون والايثانول والماء في المختبر بطريقة طبق أجار اليود - النشا ، وأظهرت النتائج أن طريقة طبق أجار اليود - النشا يمكن استخدامها للكشف عن مثبطات البيتا لاكتاماز من المستخلصات النباتية المستخدمة قيد البحث. وقد أظهرت ثلاثــة مستخــلصات نبــاتية  وهي الونكا Catharanthus roseus, الكافور Eucalyptus camaldulensis  والفلفل العريض Schinus terebinthifolius) فعالية واضحة لتثبيط بيتا لاكتاماز من  Staphylococcus sciuri. وعلي الجانب الآخر  أظهرت مستخلصات نباتات الكافور Eucalyptus camaldulensis  والفلفل العريض Schinus terebinthifolius) نشاط مثبطا لبيتا لاكتاماز المعزول من  Klebsiella pneumoniae. وأوضحت النتائج أن مستخلصات الأسيتون كانت الأكثر تثبيطا للإنزيم من مستخلصات الإيثانول  والمستخلصات المائية. وأظهرت النتائج أن بيتا لاكتاماز المعزول من  S. sciuri كان الأكثر تأثــراً سلبا بواسطــة المستخلصات النباتية من بيتا لاكتــاماز المعزول من  .K. pneumoniaThe inhibitory effect of acetone, ethanol, and aqueous extracts of ten medicinal plants on β-lactamase from Staphylococcus sciuri and Klebsiella pneumoniae was investigated in vitro by starch-iodine agar plate method. The results revealed the success of starch-iodine method for the detection of the inhibition of β-lactamase activity by the various extracts of each individual plant. The acetone extracts of Catharanthus roseus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and Schinus terebinthifolius induced an inhibitory effect on β-lactamase from Staphylococcus sciuri. On the other hand, acetone extracts from only Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and Schinus terebinthifolius expressed strong inhibitory effect on β-lactamase from Klebsiella pneumoniae. The acetone extracts expressed the highest inhibition for β-lactamases activity compared to ethanolic and aqueous extracts which exhibited appreciable inhibitory effect. β-lactamase from S. sciuri was inhibited by extracts from C. roseus, E. camaldulensis and S. terebinthifolius whereas β-lactamase from K. pneumoniae was inhibited only by extracts from E. camaldulensis and S. terebinthifolius

Gamma radiation effects on vitamins, antioxidant, internal and molecular structure of Purslane seeds

Purslane contains the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and has better nutritional quality. Gamma irradiation is harmless and dependable method for refining the shelf life and nutritional quality of the stored seeds. The aim of this research is to study the influence of irradiation by gamma on structure, ascorbic acid and phenolic content of Purslane seeds. The results show that, ascorbic acid, phenolic content, carbohydrate and protein content in Purslane seeds decreased after exposed by gamma rays. Super oxidase dismutase, fat and fiber content in Purslane seeds increased after exposed by gamma radiation. The shape, size, interconnection and arrangement of molecules in/or around benzene ring in Purslane cells changed after exposure to gamma radiation

Crystal and Molecular Structure of 3-Amino-2-(4-methylphenylamino)quinazolin-4(3H)-one

The crystal structure of 3-Amino-2-(4-methylphenylamino)quinazolin-4(3H)-one (TNT2) is reported. TNT2 is monoclinic, space group C2/c with a = 23.127(5), b = 7.845(2), c = 14.625(3) A and beta=93.58 (3)°. The structure was refined by full matrix least square methods using SHELX93-97program to Rl = 0.051. Torsion angles calculation found that the three rings are-planar within the Experimental error. The phenyl ring connected to C2 is deviated slightly from the plane of quanozlin ring, this feature is different from that found in the molecules of 3-(Diacylamino)quinazolin-4(3H)-ones. Intermolecular hydrogen bond is found between N1...H18B with a value of 2.710 A

Crystal and Molecular Structure of 2-Hydrazino-3-methylquinoxaline

2-hydrazino-3-methylquinoxaline (TNT1) crystallizes in monoclinic system ,space group P2j/n. The cell dimensions were found to be:a =14.179(2), b = 11.799 (4), c = 4.949 (1) A & 0=93.42 A The data were collected with Nonious Fast area detector. The structure was solved using direct methods technique, and refined by full matrix least square methods and the reliability factor converged to Rl = 0.05. The two rings found to be planar. The hydrazino side chain is extended quasi trans. Intermolecular hydrogen bonds formation are between N9...HIOA ,N4...H10A and N10...H10B

Endocrinal disturbances and systemic inflammatiom in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

COPD is no longer considered to affect only the lungs and airways but also the rest of the body. The systemic manifestations of COPD include a number of endocrine disorders such as those involving the pituitary, thyroid, gonads, adrenals and pancreas. The aim of this work is to detect the endocrinal and inflammatory changes in COPD patients during stability of the disease and the effect of acute exacerbation on these changes. Subjects and methods: Twenty acute exacerbated COPD (AECOPD) male patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) were included in this study as a patient group and a control group which included 10 healthy age-matched males with normal pulmonary functions and without any of the exclusion criteria. For patients enrolled in this study, measurement of serum levels of sex hormones [total testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)], insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were done on admission and 1 month after hospital discharge. For healthy group, the previous measurements were done once only. Results: There were statistically significant decrease in serum testosterone and IGF-1 levels in patients after stabilization than those in the control group with more decrease of their levels during exacerbation and the difference between their levels in patients during exacerbation and after stabilization was statistically highly significant. As regards serum LH and FSH, there were statistically highly significant increase in their levels in COPD patients during exacerbation than those in the control group but there were non-significant differences in these hormones levels between the patients after stabilization and the control group. As regards serum CRP, there was highly significant increase in its serum level in patients in both exacerbation and after stabilization than that in the control group. The level of CRP in patients during exacerbation was higher than that after stabilization and the difference was statistically highly significant. As regards disease severity, there were statistically highly significant decrease in testosterone level in severe to very severe COPD patient group than that in mild to moderate one. There was also statistically significant decrease in serum IGF-1 level in severe to very severe COPD patient group than that in mild to moderate one. There was statistically highly significant increase in serum CRP level in severe to very severe COPD patient group than that in mild to moderate one. On the other hand, there was statistically non-significant increase in serum LH and FSH levels in severe to very severe CPOD patient group than those in mild to moderate one. There were statistically highly significant positive correlations between serum testosterone levels and both FEV1% predicted and PaO2. There were also statistically highly significant positive correlations between serum IGF-1 levels and both FEV1% predicted and PaO2 and also between serum CRP levels and PaCO2 in patients during exacerbation. Also during exacerbation, there was statistically highly significant negative correlation between serum CRP levels and FEV1% predicted. Conclusion: COPD leads to alterations in serum levels of sex hormones (testosterone, LH and FSH), IGF-1 and CRP. There was decrease in testosterone hormone levels of male stable COPD patients and this decrease was more evident, with compensatory increase in LH and FSH hormones levels, during exacerbation period when hypoxemia is more significant. CRP level is increased even in stable COPD and this rise is magnified with increased disease severity. IGF-1 decreased in stable COPD patients with more decrease in its level during acute exacerbation

Inflammatory Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Risk in Obese Egyptian Type 2 Diabetics

Inflammatory biomarkers provide a minimally invasive means for early detection and specific treatment of metabolic syndrome and related disorders. The objective of this work was to search for inflammatory biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk in obese type 2 diabetics. The study was performed on 165 persons attending the medical outpatient clinic of Ismailia General Hospital. Their mean age was (50.69 ± 10.15) years. They were divided into three groups. The control group was composed of 55 non-obese, non-diabetic healthy volunteers, 32 males and 23 females. Two study groups were included in this study: group 2 was composed of 55 obese, non-diabetic subjects, 25 males and 30 females matched for age and gender. All patients including the control were subjected to clinical history taking, a clinical examination for the measurement of body mass index (BMI). Investigations were carried out for fasting blood glucose, fasting serum insulin, insulin resistance (IR), the lipid profile, lipoprotein band lipoprotein phospholipase A2, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C). Urea, albumin and creatinine analysis and liver function tests were performed, and a complete blood count (CBC) was taken. Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were tested. There were statistically significant differences among the studied groups in terms of total cholesterol, non-HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 and apolipoprotein B. The inflammatory biomarkers hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly statistically increased in the study groups by (1.62 ± 0.99, 2.32 ± 1.11), (1.73 ± 1.14, 2.53 ± 1.34), and (1.87 ± 1.09, 2.17 ± 0.89) respectively, where p < 0.01. Significant positive correlation was found between Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA)-IR, hs-CRP and IL-6. There was a significant positive correlation between non-HDL and hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α and triglycerides and hs-CRP. In conclusion, in this study, CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly elevated in obese Egyptian type 2 diabetics and were positively correlated with insulin resistance, non-HDL and triglycerides. These inflammatory biomarkers could help in the premature identification of obese type 2 diabetic patients at high cardiometabolic risk. Additionally, these biomarkers are critical for providing prognostics and the validity of future potential anti-inflammatory therapeutic modalities

Outcome of endobronchial electrocautery versus external beam radiotherapy or both together in the palliative management of non-small cell lung cancer

Background: Approximately 75% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) present with locally advanced or metastatic disease which renders them inoperable and virtually incurable. Whene the aim of treatment is palliation, radiotherapy and bronchotherapeutic procedures are often recommended. Aim of the work: To evaluate the outcome of endobronchial electrocautery and or external beam radiotherapy (XRT) in the palliative treatment of patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer. Patient and methods: 40 patients with unresectable stage IIIA and IIIB NSCLC, 33 males and 7 females, their mean age of 60.82 ± 6.23 years were recruited in the study. Eligible patients were randomly classified into 3 groups: Group I: included 11 patients who received combined external irradiation (XRT) with end bronchial electro cautery, Group II: included 11 patients who received end bronchial electrocautery without external irradiation XRT, Group III: including 18 patients who received external palliative irradiation alone. Evaluation of chest symptoms, chest CT, PFTs, ABGs and quality of life outcomes were done before the interventional bronchoscopy and XRT therapies then one week and one month after the end of treatment. Results: As regards improvement of endobronchial symptoms; one week after completion of treatment, Group III patients was significantly lesser than Groups I and II and one month after treatment, there was no significant difference between all patient groups except in cough which was in Group III of lesser improvement than Groups I and II. As regards patients who had atelectasis before starting treatment: Group I showed 100% disappearance of atelectasis either complete or partial one month after completion of treatment while Group II showed 77.77% disappearance of atelectasis either complete or partial and finally Group III showed 64.29% disappearance of atelectasis either complete or partial. As regards changes in both FEV1% and FVC%; all patient groups showed significant differences pretreatment and one month after completion of treatment and Group I patients was significantly different than patients of both Groups II & III. Conclusions: The replacement of external radiation with bronchoscopic therapy may not be a recommended option, but its addition to XRT may be a relatively simple method of augmenting the symptom palliative effect, providing higher response rates for re-expansion of collapsed lung and reducing endobronchial obstruction endoscopically

Alleviation of Lead Stress on Sage Plant by 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (ALA)

Oxidative stress is imparted by a varying range of environmental factors involving heavy metal stress. Thus, the mechanisms of antioxidant resistance may advance a policy to improve metal tolerance. Lead as a toxic heavy metal negatively affects the metabolic activities and growth of medicinal and aromatic plants. This investigation aimed to assess the function of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in the alleviation of Pb stress in sage plants (Salvia officinalis L.) grown either hydroponically or in pots. Various concentrations of Pb (0, 100, 200, and 400 µM) and different concentrations of ALA (0, 10, and 20 mg L−1) were tested. This investigation showed that Pb altered the physiological parameters. Pb stress differentially reduced germination percentage and protein content compared to control plants. However, lead stress promoted malondialdehyde (MDA) and H2O2 contents in the treated plants. Also, lead stress enhanced the anti-oxidative enzyme activities; ascorbate peroxidase superoxide, dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase in Salvia plants. ALA application enhanced the germination percentage and protein content compared to their corresponding controls. Whereas, under ALA application MDA and H2O2 contents, as well as the activities of SOD, APX, GPX, and GR, were lowered. These findings suggest that ALA at the 20 mgL−1 level protects the Salvia plant from Pb stress. Therefore, the results recommend ALA application to alleviate Pb stress

تركيب الأحماض الدهنية في سرجاسم دينتيكيولاتم وسرجاسم لاتيفوليم وتأثره بوقت جمع العينات والعضو النباتي

Fatty acid profile of two species of Sargassum namely, 5. denticulatium (Forsk). Borgesen and S. latifolium (Turn) Ag., from the Red Sea coast of Egypt was studied. Fatty acid data indicate that there is a strong seasonal variations in distribution patterns and in the relative percentages of fatty acid components. Our analyses show that the fatty acid composition of both species was also affected by the plant organ. In most cases, however, these variations in fatty acid composition were species-specific. The characteristic feature of both species was their high content of 16:0 and 13:0. The local Sargassum species were unusual in containing 17:0 with estimable amounts. Lipids extracted from these species were found to have considerably higher levels of saturated fatty acids indicating that these species are potentially a better source of these acids.هذا البحث هو محاولة لدراسة الأحماض الدهنية للسرجاسم وبيان مدى تأثر هذه الأحماض بوقت ومكان جمع العينات وأيضاً العضو النباتي المستخدم . ولتبيان ذلك تم اختيار نوعين من السرجاسم ينتشران بكثرة على ساحل البحر الأسمر لمصر . وهذين النوعين هما سرجاسم دينتكيولاتم وسرجاسم لاتيفوليم . دلت نتائج هذه الدراسة أن الأحماض الدهنية في هذين النوعين من السرجاسم قد تعرضت كماً ونوعاً لتغيرات موسمية كبيرة ، وأنها قد اختلفت بشكل واضح باختلاف العضو النباتي المستخدم . تميز هذان النوعان من السرجاسم باحتوائهما على كميات عالية من الحمضين الدهنين 0:16، 0:13 في نفس الوقت وجد أنهما قد احتويا بشكل غير عادى على كميات محسوسة من الحامض الدهني 0:17 وهذا الحامض نادر وجوده في الطحالب البنية . تبين من خلال هذه الدراسة أن الليبيدات المستخلصة من هذين النوعين قد احتوت على نسب عالية من الأحماض الدهنية المشبعة مما يوضح أن هذين النوعين يمكن اعتبارهما مصدرا مفضلا لهذه الأحماض