Management of Viral Hepatitis C: Therapeutic and Economic Study in Morocco

Viral hepatitis C is not only a major public health problem by its significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, but also a medical and economical burden. Over the last 5 years, numerous research laboratories have enabled the development of several direct acting anti-HCV molecules whose effectiveness is well established. Great progress has been made in particular in the field of therapy although the cost of these treatments is today the focus of discussions, dissemination of new antiviral treatments to direct action should be a priority for public powers to heal and reduce the complications of this disease, thus the line ministry has given permission to market a generic of sofosbuvir drugs at an affordable price, acceptable and 80 times cheaper than the princeps. The first part of this paper elucidates the news of new drugs available to treat HCV, in the second part economical study aspects of the different therapeutical strategies currently available in Morocco. Thus we will study impacts of economical consequences of the therapy used against chronic hepatitis C. Keywords: Sofosbuvir; hepatitis C; direct-acting antiviral; guideline and management of viral hepatitis C; therapeutic and economic study in morocco; sustained virological respons

Antifungal and Antioxidant Activity of Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus Essential Oil

The essential oil of air-dried Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus, plant of southern Morocco, obtained by hydrodistillation were analysed by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Twenty eight compound accounting 69.14% of the total oil was identified. The oxygenated sesquiterpenes 6-oxocyclonerolidol (30.72%) and epi-?-cadinol (14.50%) were the main constituents. The essential oil was tested for antifungal activity through mycelial growth inhibition tests in vitro against three agricultural pathogenic fungi: Penicillium digitatum, P. expansum and Botrytis cinerea. The essential oil at 125, 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm was highly effective against mycelial growth of P. digitatum with 100% inhibition from the first day of incubation. Complete inhibition was also observed at 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm concentrations of the essential oil from the first day of incubation for P. expansum. The doses 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm showed a percentage inhibition of 100% from day one for B. cinerea. Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus essential oil was also tested at different concentrations on Citrus fruits (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Nules) inoculated with P. digitatum (105 conidia ml-1, giving a fungistatic or fungicidal effect. In addition, the oil was subjected to screening for its possible antioxidant activity. For that, the in vitro assay based on the scavenging of the stable radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used. The Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus essential oil gave a value of CI50 0.2498 mg/ml. It inhibition percentage of free radical was slightly lower than that of BHT (the control compound) for all concentrations used. Our findings demonstrate that Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus essential oil possesses antioxidant and antifungal activities that might be a natural potential source of preservative and antifungal compounds used in food, in cosmetics and in pharmaceuticals products. Keywords: Medicinal plant, antifungal activity, antioxidant activity, citrus fruits, natural product

Epidemiological and Virological Study of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Hemodialysis (Case of Six Centers) in Morocco

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of viral RNA and HCV genotypic profile 6 hemodialysis centers in Casablanca. A total of 630 patients were included in this survey, 194 patients of them  have antibodies antiHCV + ; then the prevalence is 30.79% , indeed search for viral RNA by PCR  in this population  was detected in 105 patients , also, the  prevalence of viral RNA is 54.1%. The study of genotypic profile in this population showed the following distribution: the most prevalent genotype is genotype 1: subtype 1a was found in 19 patients (18.09%); subtype 1b was found in 49 patients either (46, 66%); genotype 2a / 2c in 27 patients (25.71%); genotype 2 in 5 patients (4.76%), 4h genotype was detected in one patient with a frequency of 0, 95%, genotype 4 was found in 4 patients with a frequency of 3, 80%. Indeed, extensive studies and large scale is needed to understand the epidemiology of HCV. Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, Prevalence, Genotype, Public health, Morocco genotypes in hemodialysis

Chemical Composition and Anticandidal Effect of Three Thymus Species Essential Oils from Southwest of Morocco against the Emerging Nosocomial Fluconazole-Resistant Strains

The purpose of this present work is to study the essential oils composition of three endemic Thymus species from southwest of Morocco: Thymus satureioides Coss., Thymus pallidus Batt. and Thymus leptobotrys Murb., as well as their antifungal activity towards nineteen strains of emerging nosocomial Fluconazole-resistant Candida species. The chemical composition of the essential oils was determined by capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry analysis. The results reveal qualitative and quantitative variation in composition of Thymus species. Seventy-three different compounds, 56 for T. satureioides accounting for 99.97% of the total essential oil, 52 for T. pallidus, accounting for 98.94% of the total essential oil, and 40 for T. leptobotrys accounting for 99.20%, were determined. The results obtained for the anticandidal disc-diffusion assay shows that the 19 strains of Candida species tested were inhibited by the Moroccan Thymus essential oils to a varying degree, with the diameters of the inhibition zone ranging from 49±1.00 to 85±1.15 mm. There were significant differences (p ? 0.05) in the antifungal activities of the essential oils on all species tested who showed larger inhibition zones than the positive control fluconazole and amphotericine B. Candida albicans showed a high sensitivity to essential oils of Thymus pallidus and Thymus leptobotrys compared with essential oil of Thymus satureioides and controls. While non- albicans Candida species showed less sensitivity to essential oils of Thymus pallidus and Thymus leptobotrys and are more sensitive to essential oils of Thymus satureioides than Candida albicans. Interestingly C. krusei, C. dubliniensis and C. glabrata were found to be resistant to conventional antifungal (fluconazole and amphotericine B), while our essential oils tested were able to inhibit the growth of Candida strains resistant to antifungal agents. The value of Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimal Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of the Thymus essential oils studied ranges from 0.33 mg/mL to 0.91 mg/mL. All the essential oils possessed higher antifungal potential than classical fungicide. Keywords: Thymus species, essential oils, anticandidal activity, Nosocomial fluconazole-resistant strains