Tooth mortality in smokers and nonsmokers in a selected population in Sana'a, Yemen

Background and Objective: Tobacco smoking has been shown to be a major risk factor for tooth loss. The present study was designed to examine tooth mortality and the patterns of tooth loss in smokers and nonsmokers over a wide age range in a selected population from Sana'a, Yemen. Material and Methods: A total of 2506 persons between the ages of 15 and 64 years were examined, and every permanent tooth was assessed. Missing teeth included both extracted and missing teeth. Individuals currently smoking one or more boxes of cigarettes (20 cigarettes) a day for 5 years were considered as smokers, whereas individuals with no smoking history were considered as nonsmokers. Results: Smokers had a higher mean tooth loss than nonsmokers. The difference was statistically significant at p < 0.001. Mean tooth loss was significantly higher in smokers across all age groups, except for those in the 45-54 years age group. Smokers had a significantly higher mean upper tooth loss than nonsmokers. Tooth loss decreased from the incisors to the canines and then increased, with peak loss in the first molars. Conclusion: Tooth loss among smokers is significantly higher than among nonsmokers. The central incisors, lateral incisors and first molars were the most commonly missing teeth in smokers, compared with nonsmokers

Effect of mouth wash extracted from Salvadora persica (Miswak) on dental plaque formation: A clinical trail

Chewing sticks or Miswak are used for teeth cleaning in many parts of the world, these Miswaks are believed to contain chemical substances which inhibit plaque formation and gingivitis. In the present study, Salvadora persica (Miswak) was extracted with 60% ethanol and was examined for its toxic effect, assessed its antibacterial activity and evaluated clinically for its effect on dental plaque formation. A 4 day plaque regrowth, double - blind, crossover design was used in which 10 dental students volunteers were rendered plaque free (0.3), ceased tooth cleaning, then, asked to rinse twice daily for 1.5 min each time with 10 ml of chlorhexidine 0.2% mouth rinse and three times daily for 1.5 min each time with 10 ml of S. persica 10% solution and placebo mouth rinse. On day five, plaque was scored by the plaque index system (PLI). A wash out period of 2 days was allowed in which the volunteers returned to self- performed plaque control, then a new test period was initiated. Statistical analysis showed that the mean PLI score were 1.48 for S. persica mouth rinse, 0.48 for chlorhexidine and 2.07 for placebo mouth rinse. Acute toxicity test revealed no mortality among the experimental animals which is an indication that S. persica crude extract solution is well tolerated, disk diffusion test showed a marked antibacterial effect in vitro and this effect is concentration dependent, had an effect in in vivo, but this effect cannot be considered absolute

Effects of Malaysian medicinal plants on macrophage functions in vitro study

The effects of aqueous leaf extract of eight local medicinal plant species on the phagocytic and antibacterial potential of mouse peritoneal macrophages against Staphylococcus aureus were investigated. The mouse macrophages cultures were incubated with various concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 mg/ml) of plant extracts in different sets of test tubes at 37 C for one hour. After incubation, their phagocytic and antibacterial effects on S. aureus were determined. Results have shown that the extracts of Orthosiphon stramineus, and Andrographis paniculata inhibited the phagocytic activity and intracellular killing of S. aureus compared with controls. Activated cells had more phagocytic activity and intracellular killing than normal macrophages. There were no differences in the viability of macrophage cells treated with extracts and those without extracts (control)

Anti-ulcer activity of Centella asiatica leaf extract against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats

The present study was performed to evaluate the anti-ulcerogenic activity of ethanol extract of Centella asiatica against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats. Five groups of adult Sprague Dawley rats were orally pre-treated respectively with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solution (ulcer control group), Omeprazole 20 mg/kg (reference group), and 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg C. asiatica leaf extract in CMC solution (experimental groups), one hour before oral administration of absolute ethanol to generate gastric mucosal injury. Rats were sacrificed and the ulcer areas of the gastric walls were determined. Grossly, the ulcer control group exhibited severe mucosal injury, whereas pre-treatment with C. asiatica leaf extract exhibited significant protection of gastric mucosal injury. Histological studies revealed that ulcer control group exhibited severe damage of gastric mucosa, along with edema and leucocytes infiltration of submucosal layer compared to rats pre-treated with C. asiatica leaf extract which showed gastric mucosal protection, reduction or absence of edema and leucocytes infiltration of submucosal layer. Acute toxicity study did not manifest any toxicological signs in rats. The present finding suggests that C. asiatica leaf extract promotes ulcer protection as ascertained grossly and histologically compared to the ulcer control group

Effect of andrographis paniculata leaf extract on wound healing in rats

This work was carried out to study the effect of topical application of Andrographis paniculata on the rate of wound enclosure and its histological features. A wound was created in four groups of rat in posterior neck region. Blank placebo was applied topically to the wounds of Group 1. Groups 2 and 3 were dressed with placebo containing 5% and 10% extracts of A. paniculata, respectively. Intrasite gel was applied topically to the wounds of Group 4. Macroscopical examination revealed that the rate of wound healing was significantly accelerated in the wound dressed with A. paniculata extract compared to the blank placebo. The wounds dressed with 10% extract or Intrasite gel healed earlier compared to the wounds dressed with placebo containing 5% A. paniculata extract. Histologically, wounds dressed with A. paniculata extracts showed markedly less scar width and contained large amounts of fibroblast proliferation. More collagen and less angiogenesis with absence of inflammatory cells were seen for wounds dressed with 10% A. paniculata compared to the blank placebo. Conclusion, A. paniculata extracts significantly enhanced rate of wound healing in rats. © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Shotgun cloning, characterization and detection of virulence gene of staphylococcus aureus strain 125

Staphylococcus aureus is a flexible bacterium. About 20% of healthy persons are persistent carriers of Staphylococcus aureus and 60% are intermittent carriers. It expresses a wide variety of virulence factors and causes infections and diseases that range from benign skin infections to potentially fatal systemic disorders. Molecular biology has lead to unraveling of the pathogenesis of Staphylococcal diseases and identification of several virulence genes like agr, sar, nagD, and cvf genes. In this study, a shotgun cloning technique was carried out to contract the genomic library of Staphylococcus aureus strains 125(SA125), in order to screen the virulence gene in mice. SA125 is a non MRAS hospitalized strain isolated from UMMC patients. The shotgun cloning of SA125 was carried out by using Puc18 plasmid as vector and E.coli (JM109) as host. Female ICR mice (6-8 week old) were used as animal models form preliminary virulence gene screening. Beside that, recombinant plasmids screening were carried out to analyze the DNA insert. From shotgun cloning, a total of 86 recombinants clones were obtained and the inserted fragments of SA125 were in the range of 1.8-3.3kb. Seven randomly selected recombinant clones were screened for virulence gene in mice and it was revealed that SHV2 is the most virulence recombinant clone. Further studies are required to analyses and characterize the possible virulence gene of SHV2