A study of the anti-bacterial activities of Nerium oleander’s hydroalcoholic extract

Background : Nerium oleander is used to cure several diseases in China and the Arabs, ancient medicine. This study tried to investigate the anti-bacterial activities of the hydroalcoholic extract of Nerium oleander which is native of Ilam province. Materials and Methods: Nerium oleander was collected from the Zagros mountains, Ilam province, Iran. After naming and identification, the plant extract was provided by the maceration method. The Pothogenic bacteria were effected by different concentrations of the extract using the disc diffusion method. Diagnostic antibiotics were used as positive control. MIC and MBC were also determined. Results: The maximum effect of Nerium oleander’s hydroalcoholic extract was found in the concentration of 76 mg/ml. The maximum zone of inhibition in 76 mg/ml concentration was related to E. faecalis 2321 bacterum, and the minimum zone of inhibition was related to P. aeruginosa in the same concentration. In determining MIC and MBC, it was found that S. aureus1885 had the lowest MIC in 5 mg/ml concentration, and E. coli and P. aeruginosa showed the highest MIC in 76 mg/ml concentration. Conclusion: The results showed that positive gram bacteria were more sensitive to Nerium oleander extract than negative gram bacteria. According to the bacteria’s zones of inhibition, it can be concluded that hydroalchohalic extract of Nerium oleander has a considerable anti-bacterial effect on the bacteria under the investigation

Association between abcc8 ala1369ser polymorphism (Rs757110 t/g) and type 2 diabetes risk in an Iranian population: A case-control study

Objective: Glucose metabolism increases ATP/ADP ratio within the β-cells and causes ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel closure and consequently insulin secretion. The enhanced activity of the channel may be a mechanism contributing to the reduced first-phase of insulin secretion observed in T2DM. There is no study to date in the Kurdish ethnic group regarding the relationship between SNP Ala1369Ser (rs757110 T/G) of SUR1 gene and T2DM, and additionally, the results of this association in other populations are inconsistent. Therefore, our aim in this study was to explore the possible association between SNP Ala1369Ser and type 2 diabetes in an Iranian Kurdish ethnic group. Methods: In this study, we checked out the frequency of alleles and genotypes of SNP Ala1369Ser in T2DM individuals (207 patients; men/women: 106/101) and non-T2DM subjects (201 controls; men/women: 97/104), and their effects on anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical parameters. Genomic DNA was extracted from the leukocytes of blood specimens using a standard method. We amplified the ABCC8 rs757110 polymorphic site (T/G) using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and a designed primer pair. To perform the PCR-RFLP method, the amplicons were subjected to restriction enzymes and the resulting fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. Results: The frequency of the G-allele of Ala1369Ser polymorphism was significantly (0.01) higher in the case group than the control group (19% vs. 9%, respectively). In the dominant model (TT vs. TG+GG), there was a significant relationship between this SNP and an increased risk of T2DM (P = 0.00). T2DM patients with TG+GG genotypes had significantly higher fasting plasma insulin and HOMA-IR than those who had the TT genotype (P = 0.02 and 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Our study is the first study to investigate the association between Ala1369Ser ABCC8 genetic variation and T2DM in the Kurdish population of western Iran. The obtained results clearly show that Ala1369Ser polymorphism of ABCC8 is associated with an increased risk of T2DM in this population

The effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of Thymbra spicata on some gram positive and gram negative pathogenic bacteria

Background: Treatment of bacterial diseases by synthetic antibiotics leads to problems such as side effects in human and antibiotic resistance in microorganisms. Recently, plants have been given more attention in curing bacterial diseases. Since the use of Thymbra spicata is common in Iranian ancient medicine, this study tried to investigate the antibacterial effects of the extract of Thymbra speculate on some gram positive and gram negative pathogenic bacteria. Materials and Methods: The mentioned plant was collected from Zagros mountains, Ilam province, Iran. After naming and identification, the plant extract was provided by the maceration method. The bacteria were affected by different concentrations of the extract using the disc diffusion method. Diagnostic antibiotics were used as positive control and DMSO as negative control. MIC and MBC were also determined. Results: The highest effect of the extract was found in gram positive bacteria. The maximum zones of inhibition were observed in 76 mg/ml concentration of the extract, and S. aureus and S. epidermidis were more sensitive than other bacteria (P˂0.05). The lowest MIC was pertaining to S. aureus (1885) with 2.5 mg/ml and S. epidermidis (2405) with 5mg/ml of extract. E. coli and K. penemonia with 15 mm zone of inhibition were the most sensitive gram negative bacteria to the extract. Conclusion: The hydroalcoholic extract of T. spicata had a considerable antibacterial effect. Statistic assessment of the inhibition zones showed that the extract was more effective on gram positive bacteri

Circulating FABP-4 Levels in Patients with Atherosclerosis or Coronary Artery Disease: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. Cardiovascular diseases (CDs), notably coronary artery disease (CAD) due to atherosclerosis, impose substantial global health and economic burdens. Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs), including FABP-4, have been recently linked to CDs. This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine FABP-4 levels in CAD and atherosclerosis patients, exploring their potential links to these conditions. Methods. A systematic review and meta-analysis were done based on the PRISMA guideline. The international databases including Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and UpToDate were searched to find all related studies on the effect of FABP-4 on patients with CAD or atherosclerosis which were published till June 2022 without language restriction. The Cochran’s Q-test and I2 statistic were applied to assess heterogeneity, a random effect model was used to estimate the pooled standardized mean difference (SMD), a metaregression method was utilized to investigate the factors affecting heterogeneity between studies, and Egger’s test was used to assess the publication bias. Results. Of 1051 studies, 9 studies with a sample size of 2327 were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The level of circulating FABP-4 in the patient groups was significantly higher than in the control groups (SMD=0.60 (95% CI: 0.30 to 0.91, I2: 91.47%)). The SMD in female and male patients were 0.26 (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.52, I2: 0%) and 0.22 (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.35, I2: 44.7%), respectively. There was considerable heterogeneity between the studies. The countries had a positive relationship with heterogeneity (coefficient=0.29, p<0.001); but BMI, lipid indices, gender, study design, and type of kit had no effect on the heterogeneity. No publication bias was observed (p: 0.137). Conclusion. In summary, this meta-analysis revealed elevated circulating FABP-4 levels in CDs, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for these conditions. Further research is warranted to explore its clinical relevance

Evaluation of Trigonella foenum-graecum extract in combination with swimming exercise compared to glibenclamide consumption on type 2 Diabetic rodents

Background/objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of fenugreek seed extract in combination with swimming exercise compared to glibenclamide consumption on type 2 diabetic rats. Design: The acute toxicity test was carried out to choose the safe doses and identify the toxicity effects of the fenugreek seed extract. To investigate the hypoglycemic effect of the extract and its effect in combination with swimming training, 80 Wistar Kyoto male streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were divided randomly into eight groups: diabetic control (C); fenugreek seed extract 0.8 g/kg (F1); fenugreek extract 1.6 g/kg (F2); swimming training (S); swimming training plus fenugreek extract 0.8 g/kg (SF1); swimming training plus fenugreek extract 1.6 g/kg (SF2); glibenclamide (G) and swimming training plus glibenclamide (SG). The rats were orally administrated with the treatments once a day with the respective treatment, and the training groups were subjected to swimming training every day for 60 min. Fasting blood samples were collected to measure fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, adiponectin, leptin, and insulin concentrations. Results: The results obtained from acute toxicity study showed no toxicity effect of fenugreek seed extract on the tested dose. Biochemical analysis showed significant improvements in all of the groups compared to the control group (p<0.05). Plasma insulin concentration and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was significantly reduced in treated groups compared with the diabetic control group. Plasma leptin were significantly decreased in treated groups compared with the control group; while adiponectin had markedly increased (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings suggest that fenugreek seed consuming, alongside swimming exercise, has a strong therapeutic effect on the improvement of diabetic parameters