Comparison of Cytotoxic and Antibacterial Effects of Elettaria cardamomum Extract and Essential Oil

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the cytotoxic and antibacterial properties of essential oils and hydroalcoholic extracts from Elettaria cardamomum fruit (E. cardamomum). Methods Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) was used as the test subject for the agar diffusion test in this in-vitro investigation to determine the antibacterial effect of the extract and essential oil. The broth microdilution method was used to calculate their minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to assess their cytotoxicity against human gingival fibroblasts. Tukey's test (alpha=0.05) and ANOVA were used to evaluate the data. Results The E. cardamomum hydroalcoholic extracts and essential oil demonstrated strong antibacterial activity on A. actinomycetemcomitans. E. cardamomum essential oil (91.5±1.1 mm) and E. cardamomum extract (9.5±0.4 mm) had the highest and lowest growth inhibition zones, respectively. For E. cardamomum essential oil, the MIC and MBC were 1.45%, and for E. cardamomum extract, they were 11.5% (v/v). The essential oil exhibited appreciable cytotoxicity at low doses, while the extract did not. Conclusion Because of its antibacterial properties and low cytotoxicity at low concentrations, the hydroalcoholic extract of E. cardamomum, one of the compounds examined, may have applications as an organic mouthwash

Microbiological Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy as an Adjunct to Non-surgical Periodontal Treatment: A Clinical Trial

Introduction: The efficiency of routine scaling and root planning is negatively influenced by the tooth anatomy and residual bacteria all possibly affecting the treatment outcomes in future. The present study compared the microbiologic effectiveness of the photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an adjunctive treatment modality for nonsurgical treatment in chronic periodontitis.Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 18 chronic periodontitis patients were selected. Four quadrants were randomly treated by scaling and root planning (SRP), diode laser (810n m wavelength, 1.5 W and 320 μm fiber, contact and sweeping technique), SRP + PDT (with diode laser 808 nm, 0.5 W) and laser + SRP (with diode laser 808 nm, 1 W) in each patient. Presence of periodontal pathogen species in the treated areas were measured before the treatment, at 1 and 3 months afterwards. The identification and reproduction of the specific genes of pathogen bacteria were done by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Presence of oral pathogen bacteria in the treatment groups were analyzed by chi-square test. A semi quantitative analysis was used to measure the intensity of white light in each band. This was calculated by number of pixels in each band.Results: In the qualitative analysis, Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) and Treponema denticola (Td) species were killed after 1 month in all treatment modalities. PDT had more effects to decrease Prevotella intermedia (Pi) species than SRP while Tannerella forsythensis count (Tf) species increased in all treatments. Furthermore, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) species decreased in all treatments and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g) species increased in all treatments after 1 and 3 months.Conclusion: It can be concluded that PDT was more effective as an adjunctive treatment to SRP than SRP alone; however, no distinct differences were found between both treatment modalities regarding reduction of certain pathogen bacteria

Indomethacin-Enhanced Anticancer Effect of Arsenic Trioxide in A549 Cell Line: Involvement of Apoptosis and Phospho-ERK and p38 MAPK Pathways

Background. Focusing on novel drug combinations that target different pathways especially apoptosis and MAPK could be a rationaleforcombinationtherapyinsuccessfultreatmentoflungcancer.Concurrentuseofcyclooxygenase(COX)inhibitorswith arsenictrioxide(ATO)mightbeapossibletreatmentoption.Methods.CytotoxicityofATO,dexamethasone(Dex),celecoxib(Cel), andIndomethacin(Indo)individuallyorincombinationwasdeterminedat24,48,and72hrsinA549lungcancercells.TheCOX-2 gene and protein expression, MAPK pathway proteins, and caspase-3 activity were studied for the most cytotoxic combinations. Results. The IC 50s of ATO and Indo were 68.

Comparison of Er:YAG Laser and Hand Instrumentation on the Attachment of Cultured Human Gingival Fibroblasts to Periodontally Involved Root Surfaces

BackgroundThe present study compared the effects of Er:YAG laser and hand instrumentation on the attachment of human gingival fibroblast (HGF) cells to periodontally involved root surfaces.MethodsA total of 40 tooth specimens were collected and treated in four distinct groups: scaled and root planed with hand instruments, treated with Er:YAG laser, treated with combination of hand instruments and Er:YAG laser and non-treated control group. The attachment and proliferation rate of HGF were assessed using MTT assay and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Examination was used for cell morphological evaluation.ResultsThe MTT assay showed significantly decrease in HGF cell viability in both hand instruments only and combination treated teeth specimens compared to control specimens (p<0.05), 24 hours after cell seeding. However, at time 48, the cell viability of attached cells in these two treated groups was almost similar to control.  In contrast, at 24 and 48 hours after cell seeding, viability of attached cells was higher than control in Er:YAG laser treated only specimens (p<0.05). According to SEM study, the laser treated specimens showed more surface roughness.ConclusionsEr:YAG laser increased attachment and proliferation of HGF cells in comparison with hand instruments method

Synthesis And Characterization Of 3D-Printed Functionally Graded Porous Titanium Alloy

This study aims to 3D print titanium alloy constructs incorporating gradient of porosities, from the fully dense core to the porous outer surface. Gradient porous specimens were prepared using selective laser melting (SLM). Fully dense specimens fabricated by SLM were used as the control group. Characterization of samples was done using X-ray tomography, uniaxial compression testing, and optical and scanning electron microscopes. The biocompatibility of fabricated samples was investigated using human periodontal ligament stem cells via assessment of cell attachment, viability, and proliferation by direct and indirect assays. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test. Characterization of constructs reveals interconnected gradient porosities and higher contact angle in porous samples. The introduction of porosity leads to a significant decrease in compression strength. However, Young’s modulus of the samples with gradient porosity was more similar to the natural bone modulus. The surface microstructure consists of loosely bonded spherical particles. Biocompatibility of the dense and porous samples is appropriate. Although the porosity size led to a reduced cell proliferation rate in the gradient sample, the extract of the gradient sample results in more cell proliferation than the dense sample’s extract. The study demonstrates that a biocompatible functionally graded porous titanium structure can be well fabricated by SLM, and this structure leads to a good match of Young’s modulus to that of the bone

Losartan enhances the suppressive effect of pirfenidone on the bleomycin-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and oxidative stress in A549 cell line

Objective(s): Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal lung disease. Despite the promising anti-fibrotic effect, the toleration of pirfenidone (PFD) by the patients in full dose is low. Combination therapy is a method for enhancing the therapeutic efficiency of PFD and decreasing its dose. Therefore, the present study evaluated the effect of a combination of losartan (LOS) and PFD on oxidative stress parameters and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process induced by bleomycin (BLM) in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. Materials and Methods: The non-toxic concentrations of BLM, LOS, and PFD were assessed by the MTT assay. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and anti-oxidant enzyme activity including catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were assessed after co-treatment. Migration and western blot assays were used to evaluate EMT in BLM-exposed A549 after single or combined treatments. Results: The combination treatment exhibited a remarkable decrease in cellular migration compared with both single and BLM-exposed groups. Furthermore, the combination treatment significantly improved cellular anti-oxidant markers compared with the BLM-treated group. Moreover, combined therapy markedly increased epithelial markers while decreasing mesenchymal markers. Conclusion: This in vitro study revealed that the combination of PFD with LOS might be more protective in pulmonary fibrosis (PF) than single therapy because of its greater efficacy in regulating the EMT process and oxidative stress. The current results might offer a promising therapeutic strategy for the future clinical therapy of lung fibrosis

Acceleration of Bone-Implant Graft by Optimizing the Dimention and Crystalline Structure of Titanium, Oxide Nanotubes as the Titanium-Based Implant Coating

Titanium implants are one of the most durable and conventional orthopedic and dental implants. The goal of this research is to improve the bio-compatibility of these implants by implementing nano coating of titanium oxide nanotubes (TNT) to enhance bone graft on the implant surface, and reduction of wound healing duration and risk of implant surgery at the same time. For this purpose, the effects of dimension and atomic structure of titanium oxide nanotubes are examined on the surface properties and biological performance and tried to introduce an optimum status of this nano-tubular structure. TNTs were synthesized by anodizing method on the surface of titanium sheets. Dimensions of TNT can be controlled by anodizing process parameters. Heat treatment affects the atomic structure of TNTs. Contact angle measurement as one of the important surface properties was investigated on different dimensions and structures of TNTs, to study human blood's physical interaction with the implant surface. In addition, the quality and quantity of bone material sediment on the surface were examined by SBF test and SEM analysis. Finally, cell culture provided informative data on bone cells' response to these nanotubular coatings by analyzing MTT results and SEM photography of cells. As a result, the optimum dimension and atomic structure of TNTs were defined and the required process parameters were introduced to obtain this state. This setup can be used as an optimum state of TNT as a nano coating on titanium implant with orthopedic functions to enhance the cell adhesion and acquire the highest proliferation rate which means faster bone graft and shorter convalescence

In Vitro Evaluation of Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Cytotoxic Effects of Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.)/Rose Water Mouthwash: In vitro evaluation of Sumac/Rosewater mouthwash

Objectives Mouthwashes are one of the most effective non-mechanical methods for removing bacteria from the mouth. This study aimed to assess the cytocompatibility, antimicrobial effects (compared to chlorhexidine mouthwash), and antioxidant activity of an experimental herbal mouthwash made from sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) and rose water. Methods The sensitivity of Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguinis, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans to the experimental mouthwash was estimated by measuring the diameter of the inhibition zones. Additionally, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using the redox dye resazurin, as well as the minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentrations (MBCs/MFCs) using the standard spot inoculation method. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, while antioxidant activity was assessed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Results The MIC and MBC of the sumac mouthwash for the bacteria under study (except S. mutans) ranged from 0.13 to 16.65 mg/mL. For the yeast C. albicans, the MIC and MFC of the sumac mouthwash were determined to be 0.52 mg/mL. Furthermore, the sumac mouthwash showed no cytotoxicity and demonstrated significant antioxidant effects at various concentrations. Conclusion Sumac/rose water mouthwash, which is a safe, natural, biocompatible, and antioxidant product, may serve as a viable alternative to chemical antibacterial mouthwashes like chlorhexidine. This is particularly true when it is used in conjunction with regular oral hygiene practices over extended time periods