13 research outputs found

    Promising anti-microbial effect of apple vinegar as a natural decolonizing agent in healthcare workers

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    Introduction: Colonized Healthcare workers (HCWs) are an essential reservoir of nosocomial infections. This study aims to determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage rate among HCWs, to evaluate at Fayoum University Hospital the susceptibility of isolates to mupirocin and Chlorhexidine and to investigate the antimicrobial effect of different vinegars on MRSA as a natural decolonizing agent. Methods: Nasal and hand swabs were collected from 124 HCWs at Fayoum University Surgical Hospital. Isolates were identified using the standard microbiological methods. Susceptibilities to mupirocin and Chlorhexidine were determined by disk diffusion and broth micro-dilution. Screening antimicrobial effect of commercial vinegars was determined by agar well-diffusion method and microdilution method. Results: About one tenth 11.3% (14/124) of HCWs showed nasal carriage of MRSA. Workers were the predominant carriers (P = 0.013). The overall non-nasal carriage rate of MRSA was 6.5% (8/124). Among MRSA isolates Low-level Mupirocin resistance (LLMR) showed in (36.4%, 8/22). MICs ranged from 0.25 to 32 μg/ml. Also, (13.6 %, 3/22) showed Chlorhexidine resistance, MICs ranged from 0.039 to 5 μg/ml. Apple vinegar showed the highest susceptibility among vinegars (p < 0.0001) with MIC values varied from 0.058 to 1.87 μg/ml Discussion: The emergence of mupirocin (36.4%) and Chlorhexidine (13.6%) resistant Staphylococcus aureus among HCWs should be of excessive concern. Apple vinegar has a promising antimicrobial effect against MRSA isolates and could be used as a decolonizing agent

    Phytochemical Screening, Gas Chromatography-mass Spectrometry Analysis, and Antidiabetic Effects of Corchorus olitorius Leaves in Rats

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    BACKGROUND: Therapies for diabetes mellitus are still meeting failure in most cases, especially in the developed stages of the disease due to incredible associating complications. Hence, there is a need for continuous development of curative therapies for that stubborn disease. AIM: We aimed to investigate the antidiabetic effects of one of the most popular plants cultivated in Egypt, C. olitorius. METHODS: Phytochemical screening of total alcoholic extract of Corchorus olitorius leaves and its aqueous and chloroform fractions revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, carbohydrates, tannins, coumarins, and alkaloids. RESULTS: The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed the presence of 12 and nine chemical compounds in aqueous and chloroform extracts, respectively. C. olitorius decreased serum glucose level and α-amylase activity. This effect was more pronounced in the total alcoholic extract and its chloroform fraction than the aqueous one. The extracts also adjusted the lipid profile, reduced liver injury parameters, and caused remarkable improvement and increase number, size, and density of functioning β-cells. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest the antihyperglycemic and antioxidant effects of C. olitorius besides its beneficial effect on diabetic complications such as hyperlipidemia and liver injury. The presence of some phytochemicals such as theophylline, trans-2, 3-dimethoxycinnamic acid, 7-hydroxy-4-methyl coumarin, apigenin 7-glucoside, and glycitein may contribute to such pharmacological effects

    Sinteza i biološko djelovanje novih 1-benzil i 1-benzoil 3-heterocikličkih derivata indola

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    Starting from 1-benzyl- (2a) and 1-benzoyl-3-bromoacetyl indoles (2b) new heterocyclic, 2-thioxoimidazolidine (4a,b), imidazolidine-2,4-dione (5a,b), pyrano(2,3-d)imidazole (8a,b and 9a,b), 2-substituted quinoxaline (11a,b–17a,b) and triazolo(4,3-a)quinoxaline derivatives (18a,b and 19a,b) were synthesized and evaluated for their antimicrobial and anticancer activities. Antimicrobial activity screening performed with concentrations of 0.88, 0.44 and 0.22 g mm2 showed that 3-(1-substituted indol-3-yl)quinoxalin-2(1H)ones (11a,b) and 2-(4-methyl piperazin-1-yl)-3-(1-substituted indol-3-yl) quinoxalines (15a,b) were the most active of all the tested compounds towards P. aeruginosa, B. cereus and S. aureus compared to the reference drugs cefotaxime and piperacillin, while 2-chloro-3-(1-substituted indol-3-yl)quinoxalines (12a,b) were the most active against C. albicans compared to the reference drug nystatin. On the other hand, 2-chloro-3-(1-benzyl indol-3-yl) quinoxaline (12a) display potent efficacy against ovarian cancer xenografts in nude mice with tumor growth suppression of 100 0.3 %.U radu je opisana sinteza, antimikrobno i antitumorsko djelovanje heterocikličkih derivata indola. Polazeći iz 1-benzil- i 1-benzoil-3-bromacetil indola (2a i 2b) sintetizirani su novi heterociklički spojevi 2-tioksoimidazolidini (4a,b), imidazolidin-2,4-dioni (5a,b), pirano(2,3-d)imidazoli (8a,b i 9a,b), 2-supstituirani kinoksalini (11a,b–17a,b) i triazolo(4,3-a)kinoksalini (18a,b i 19a,b). Sintetizirani spojevi testirani su na antimikrobno i antitumorsko djelovanje. Ispitivanje antimikrobnog djelovanja provedeno je s koncentracijama otopina 0,88, 0,44 i 0,22 g mm2 i uspoređeno s referentnim lijekovima cefotaksimom i piperacilinom. Rezultati pokazuju da su 3-(1-supstituirani indol-3-il)kinoksalin-2(1H)oni (11a,b) i 2-(4-metil piperazin-1-il)-3-(1-supstituirani indol-3-il) kinoksalini (15a,b) najaktivniji spojevi na sojeve P. aeruginosa, B. cereus i S. aureus, dok su 2-klor-3-(1-supstituirani indol-3-il)kinoksalini (12a,b) najaktivniji na C. albicans (usporedba s nistatinom). Osim toga, 2-klor-3-(1-benzil indol-3-il) kinoksalin (12a) pokazuje veliku učinkovitost na tumore ovarija miševa (supresija rasta tumora 100 0,3 %)

    Recent molecularly imprinted polymers applications in bioanalysis.

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    Molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) as extraordinary compounds with unique features have presented a wide range of applications and benefits to researchers. In particular when used as a sorbent in sample preparation methods for the analysis of biological samples and complex matrices. Its application in the extraction of medicinal species has attracted much attention and a growing interest. This review focus on articles and research that deals with the application of MIPs in the analysis of components such as biomarkers, drugs, hormones, blockers and inhibitors, especially in biological matrices. The studies based on MIP applications in bioanalysis and the deployment of MIPs in high-throughput settings and optimization of extraction methods are presented. A review of more than 200 articles and research works clearly shows that the superiority of MIP techniques lies in high accuracy, reproducibility, sensitivity, speed and cost effectiveness which make them suitable for clinical usage. Furthermore, this review present MIP-based extraction techniques and MIP-biosensors which are categorized on their classes based on common properties of target components. Extraction methods, studied sample matrices, target analytes, analytical techniques and their results for each study are described. Investigations indicate satisfactory results using MIP-based bioanalysis. According to the increasing number of studies on method development over the last decade, the use of MIPs in bioanalysis is growing and will further expand the scope of MIP applications for less studied samples and analytes

    Pattern of anaesthetic equipment contamination and infection prevention in anaesthesia practice at university hospitals

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    Background and Aims: Infection control is essential in anaesthetic practice for both personnel and equipment used. This study aims to evaluate knowledge of anaesthesiologists about infection control practices and to detect the pattern of anaesthetic devices contamination. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study at two university hospitals was done. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 80 anaesthesiologists and 90 nursing staff. Forty-four samples were taken from rigid laryngoscopes (22 pairs from handle and blade) for detection of bacterial or fungal contamination. Same laryngoscopes were tested for occult blood. Results: The response rate among the physicians was 72% while for nurses 94.4%. The responses were variable reflecting lack of adequate knowledge and unsatisfactory compliance to infection control practices. Tested samples showed no fungal growth. Fourteen (31.8%) samples were negative for bacteriological contamination and 5/44 (11.4%) showed gram-positive bacilli; gram-positive cocci were isolated from 12 samples (27.3%) where Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively, shared 18.2% and 9.1% of the total samples. Gram-negative bacilli were isolated from 13 samples (29.5%), of which Klebsiella spp. were most frequent (11.4%). Both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii were isolated from 6.8% each. Citerobacter spp. was isolated from 4.5%. Occult blood was found in 45.5% of samples. Conclusion: The current study showed contamination of ready-to-use laryngoscopes in operative theatres and ICUs

    Nanotechnology, Green Synthesis and Biological Activity Application of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Incorporated Argemone Mxicana Leaf Extract

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    Nanomaterial is a rapidly growing area that is used to create a variety of new materials and nanotechnology applications from medical, pharmaceuticals, chemical, mechanical, electronics and several environmental industries including physical, chemical and biological nanoparticles are very important in our daily life. Nanoparticles with leaf extract from the healthy plant are important in the area of research using biosynthesis methods. Because of it’s used as an environmentally ecofriendly, other than traditional physical and chemical strategies. In particular, biologically synthesized nanoparticles have become a key branch of nanotechnology. The present work presents a synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using an extract from the Argemone leaf Mexicana. Biosynthetic nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy analysis, a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis (FTIR) and a scanning electron microcopy (SEM), X-ray analysis with dispersive energy (EDAX). XRD is used to examine the crystalline size of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The FTIR test consists in providing evidence of the presence of targeted teams. UV is used for optical properties and calculates the energy of the bandwidth slot. The scanning microscope emission reveals the morphology of the surface and the energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirms the basic composition of zinc oxide nanoparticles. It is found that zinc nanoparticles are capable of achieving high anti-fungal efficacy and therefore have a high potential antimicrobial activity of ZnO NPs, like antibacterial and high antioxidant. Zinc Oxide nanoparticles from the Argemone Mexicana leaf extract have several antimicrobial applications, such as medical specialty, cosmetics, food, biotechnology, nano medicine and drug delivery system. ZnO nanoparticles are important because they provide many practical applications in industry. The most important use of nanoparticles of ZnO would be strong antibacterial and antioxidant activity with a simple and efficient biosynthesis method may be used for future work applications
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