Quality of life among patients with beta-thalassemia major in Shahrekord city, Iran

Background and aims: Nowadays introduction of regular blood transfusion therapy has obviously improved the life expectancy of patients with thalassemia. However, these patients face with newer challenges which influence their quality of life (QoL). In this study, the aim of this study was to measure QoL among patients with β-thalassemia major (β-TM). Methods: A cross-sectional study was done at the thalassemia centre of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. All the forty patients with β-thalassemia which were more than 12 years old referred to blood transfusion and participated in this study. Then, they were asked to fill out the Short Form Health Status Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. The questionnaire evaluates 8 health areas including physical functioning (PF), rolephysical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role-emotional (RE) and mental health (MH). The scores of each participant were calculated and data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: There were 18 men and 22 women, and the mean age was 21.69±5.74 years (range 12-38). No significant difference was seen in QoL between men and women (68.72±19.79 versus 67.47±18.80, P=0.84). The mean±SD score of PF, RP, BP, GH, VT, SF, MH was 80.5±16, 83.75±29.17, 71.94±24.22, 57.48±23.93, 54.36±22.51, 68.94±23.37, 66.33±36.04 and 58.51±23.68, respectivly. No significant differences were detected in all mentioned scores between men and women (P>0.05). Conclusion: Although most of the participants had suitable physical functioning, thalassemia had a negative effect on emotional role, social functioning and mental health of patients. It shows the importance of psychosocial supports for these patients

Detection of antibacterial activity of essential oil components by TLC-bioautography using luminescent bacteria

The aim of the present study was the chemical characterization of some medically relevant essential oils (tea tree, clove, cinnamon bark, thyme and eucalyptus) and the investigation of antibacterial effect of the components of these oils by use of a direct bioautographic method. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was combined with biological detection in this process. The chemical composition of the oils was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eucalyptol (84.2%) was the main component of the essential oil of eucalyptus, eugenol (83.7%) of clove oil, and trans-cinnamic aldehyde (73.2%), thymol (49.9%) and terpinen-4-ol (45.8%) of cinnamon bark, thyme and tea tree oils, respectively. Antibacterial activity of the separated components of these oils, as well as their pure main components (eucalyptol, eugenol, trans-cinnamic aldehyde and thymol) was observed against the Gram-negative luminescence tagged plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Psmlux) and the Gram-negative, naturally luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. On the whole, the antibacterial activity of the essential oils could be related to their main components, but the minor constituents may be involved in this process. Trans-cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol were the most active compounds in TLC-bioautography. The sensitivity of TLC-bioautographic method can be improved with using luminescent test bacteria. This method is more cost-effective and provides more reliable results in comparison with conventional microbiological methods, e.g. disc-diffusion technique

Antibacterial and antioxidative characterisation of essential oils from Mentha piperita and Mentha spicata grown in Iran

The present work evaluated the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils of Mentha piperita and Mentha spicata . Survival and growth of Bacillus cereus, E. coli and S. aureus were studied. Twenty-six and fifteen compounds were identified in the essential oils of Mentha piperita and Mentha spicata , respectively. Mentha piperita contained major compounds of α-terpinene (19.7%), isomenthone (10.3%), trans carveol (14.5%), pipertitinone oxide (19.3%) and β-caryophyllene (7.6%). The major compounds of Mentha spicata were limonene (48%), menthol (4.7%), piperitone (20.27%) and caryophyllene (7.9%). The essential oils have good or excellent antimicrobial activities against all microorganisms tested. Complete death time on exposure to Mentha piperita L. and Mentha spicata L. oils were (90, 15 and 10 min) and (45, 30 and 15 min) for B. cereus, E. coli and S. aureus , respectively. Two-gram positive microorganisms, B. cereus and S. aureus , showed the same pattern of zone/oil concentration ratios, while E. coli responded differently. The essential oils notably reduced the concentration of DPPH free radical and bleached β-carotene. The performance of the M. piperita oil was better than that of Mentha spicata . Application of these oils in food industries is recommended