Antileishmanial activity of Ferula assa-foetida oleo gum resin against Leishmania major: An in vitro study

Background: In Ayurveda, asafetida is introduced as a valuable remedy for flatulence, hysteria, nervous disorders, whooping cough, pneumonia and bronchitis in children and also considered as an aphrodisiac agent. Presently, Leishmaniasis is common in most countries of the world and is a serious health problem in the world. Some plant medicines and natural products have a new candidate for treatment of leishmaniasis. Objective: This study was designed to evaluate Ferula assa-foetida oleo gum resin (asafetida) on mortality and morbidity Leishmania major in vitro. Materials and Methods: Mostigotes were isolated from mice spleens and then transformed to promastigotes in Novy-Nicolle-Mac Neal (NNN medium supplemented with penicillin (100 U/ml), streptomycin (100 μg/ml) and 20% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum (FCS) at 25°C. A fixed initial density of the parasites was transferred to screw-capped vials containing 5 ml of RPMI 1640 media to which different concentrations of 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 μg asafetida were added and each concentration was done in triplicates. Each run also included control. The mortality of parasitoids was measured by the slide and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. Results: After 72 h, asafetida inhibited growth of parasites in all doses in stationary and logarithmic phases. The ELISA measurement suggested that the viability of parasites significantly decreased after 48h (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results show that asafetida could prevent from growth and viability of parasites and this oleo gum resin can be useful for treatment of leishmaniasis

The ozonation effect on flocculation and polymer consumption reduction in the hybrid treatment of Iran Central iron ore companies' effluent: a cost–benefit study

Abstract Iran's most important iron ore mine is located in the central region, and because of the water shortage in this area, the need to reuse the effluent from this mine is essential. On the other hand, there are no suitable conditions for treating large effluent volumes in iron mine in central Iran. For this reason, produced effluent should be reduced and returned to the consumption cycle by using appropriate technology. This study aimed to investigate the ozonation/lime effect on polymer consumption reduction and evaluate the treatment and economic efficiency compared to the currently used treatment method (coagulation-flocculation without ozonation/lime). The use of ozonation along with the coagulation and flocculation process has been an effective factor in reducing all the studied indicators, which has been a much more significant reduction effect for turbidity (95%), decreasing from 374-350NTU in the non-ozonation process to 110-160NTU, and Chemical oxygen demand (37%). In addition to increasing the treatment efficiency, the hybrid ozonation/coagulation and flocculation process reduced operation costs. The ozonation process caused the high-level conversion of Fe2+ and Al2+ to Fe3+ and Al3+ (> 90%), thus it improved wastewater treatment and increased cost benefit. The hybrid process was affected in improving the effluent quality and reducing the produced sludge volume. The ozonation process caused sludge volume reduction or has photocatalytic effect on it. It effected the micro-sized bubbles production reduction in sludge volume unit. However, estimating the cost–benefit of using this method can be beneficial in making the final decision on whether to use it or not

Isolation and identification of Nocardia asteroids complex isolated from thigh abscess in a patient with Behçet\\\'s syndrome: the first report from Iran

Background: Nocardia species are Gram-positive, partially acid fast, non-motile, catalase positive, aerobic and saprophytic actinomycetes found all around the world. They invade the human body from the environment via trauma and respiratory tract and cause cutaneous, pulmonary and systemic diseases. They are able to grow in various media.The organisms opportunistically infect both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. Behcet's disease is an autoimmune disease and immunocompromised patient which may suitable host for Nocardia bacterium. The present study is the first case report of isolation of Nocardia from the thigh abscess in a patient with behcet’s disease from Iran.Case Presentation: A 39-year-old man with Behcet’s disease in August 2011 was admitted to Shariati hospital Tehran, with swelling and pain in the left flank and left thigh. Microscopic identification from direct microbiological slide of thigh abscess discharge demonstrated number of lymphocytes, neutrophils and macrophages foamy and white blood cells together with filamentous bacteria. Further microbiological characterization using phenotypic and antibiogram tests with disk diffusion method, demonstrated that the isolated bacterium is Nocardia asteroides complex. The bacteria were sensitive to ampicillin, vancomycin, ceftriaxone, amikacin and cotrimoxazole but it was resistant to clindamycin, erythromycin, penicillin G, cephalothin and gentamicin. The patient was treated with cotrimoxazole.Conclusion: Because of the high incidence and high mortality of Nocardia infection in immunocompromised cases, rapid detection and timely treatment for these patients is necessary