Melissa officinalis extract inhibits attachment of herpes simplex virus in vitro

Background: Extracts and essential oils of medicinal plants are increasingly of interest as novel drugs for antiherpetic agents, since the herpes simplex virus (HSV) might develop resistance to commonly used antiviral drugs. Methods: An aqueous extract of Melissa officinalis as well as phenolic extract compounds, i.e. caffeic acid, p-counnaric acid and rosmarinic acid were examined for their antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro. Results: When drugs were added to HSV-1-infected cells, no antiviral effect was observed as determined by plaque reduction assay and analysis of expression of viral protein ICP0. However, the Melissa extract demonstrated a high virucidal activity against HSV-1, even at very low concentrations of 1.5 mu g/ml, whereas similar results for phenolic compounds were only achieved at 100 times higher concentrations. Besides the virucidal activity, the Melissa extract and rosnnarinic acid inhibited HSV-1 attachment to host cells in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that rosmarinic acid was the main contributor to the antiviral activity of Melissa extract. However, the selectivity index of Melissa extract of 875 against HSV is superior to the selectivity indices of single constituents. Conclusion: Melissa extract exhibits low toxicity, is virucidal and affects HSV-1 attachment to host cells in vitro. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Screening for Antiviral Activities of Isolated Compounds from Essential Oils

Essential oil of star anise as well as phenylpropanoids and sesquiterpenes, for example, trans-anethole, eugenol, β-eudesmol, farnesol, β-caryophyllene and β-caryophyllene oxide, which are present in many essential oils, were examined for their antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro. Antiviral activity was analyzed by plaque reduction assays and mode of antiviral action was determined by addition of the drugs to uninfected cells, to the virus prior to infection or to herpesvirus-infected cells. Star anise oil reduced viral infectivity by >99%, phenylpropanoids inhibited HSV infectivity by about 60–80% and sesquiterpenes suppressed herpes virus infection by 40–98%. Both, star anise essential oil and all isolated compounds exhibited anti-HSV-1 activity by direct inactivation of free virus particles in viral suspension assays. All tested drugs interacted in a dose-dependent manner with herpesvirus particles, thereby inactivating viral infectivity. Star anise oil, rich in trans-anethole, revealed a high selectivity index of 160 against HSV, whereas among the isolated compounds only β-caryophyllene displayed a high selectivity index of 140. The presence of β-caryophyllene in many essential oils might contribute strongly to their antiviral ability. These results indicate that phenylpropanoids and sesquiterpenes present in essential oils contribute to their antiviral activity against HSV

Investigating the possibility of Microbial Production of Mannitol from Waste Bread

According to the significant role of sugar alcohols (Polyols) in food industries, in the present study the possibility of microbial production of mannitol from bread waste was studied. Microbial growth and amylase production were investigated by five Iranian native strains of Bacillus spp in starch agar and broth. The best strain was selected, and its growth curve was determined. Leuconostoc mesentroides PTCC 1059 was used as a control strain to convert fructose to mannitol. In order to determine the ability of selected strains in converting waste breads into mannitol sugar, a culture medium was prepared from waste of Lavash and Baguette breads. Afterward, the ability to convert starch into fructose by Chemical analysis glucose test was used, and then bio-conversion analysis of fructose to mannitol by HPLC analysis was investigated. HPLC results showed that the Bacillus subtilis and Leuconostoc mesentroides PTCC 1059 had the ability of producing mannitol at a rate of 4.8g/L from fructose 5%, 0.15 g/L from Lavash bread 5%, and 0.2g/L from Baguette bread

Evaluating cytotoxic effects of recombinant fragaceatoxin C pore forming toxin against AML cell lines

Objective(s): Current therapeutic strategies for cancer are associated with side effects and lack of specificity in treatments. Biological therapies including monoclonal antibodies and immune effectors have been the subject of multiple research projects. Pore-forming proteins may become the other biological strategy to overcome the problems associated with current treatments. But detailed mechanisms of their action on target membranes remained to be elucidated. We aimed to study the cytotoxic effects of recombinant form of fragaceatoxin C on AML cell lines HL-60 and KG-1. Materials and Methods: We cloned the FraC gene in pET-28a (+) bacterial expression vector and the expressed recombinant FraC protein was purified by affinity chromatography. Then, cytotoxic effects of the recombinant protein were examined on two AML cell lines, HL-60 and KG-1. Effects of serum and calcium ion were explored by hemolysis assay in more details. Results: Our results showed that the recombinant C-terminal polyhistidine-tagged FraC protein has potent cytotoxic effects on both AML cell lines, with IC50=5.6, and 4.6 µg.ml-1 for HL-60 and KG-1 cells, respectively. Serum showed dose-dependent and also time-dependent inhibitory effects on the hemolytic and cytotoxic activities of the FraC protein. Pre-incubation of the toxin with different concentrations of calcium ion also inhibited hemolytic activity of FraC toxin.Conclusion: Results of the present study showed that FraC has potential anti-tumor effects. By detailed investigation of the inhibition mechanism of serum and calcium effects in the future, it can be possible to design target sites for clinical applications of the toxin

Optimization of condition for Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles dispersion as radioprotective agent in deionized water

Introdution: Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CONPs or nanoceria) are used as radiation protection agent, a catalyst and an insulating layer on silicon substrates. The aim of this study was optimization of condition for cerium oxide nanoparticles dispersion with anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in deionized water. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive. The dimensions, image and chemical composition of nanoceria were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). UV/VIS absorption spectrum of nanoceria suspension in the presence of SDS and Tween 20 surfactants were recorded and maximum absorption wavelength was determined.  Results: According to the SEM images taken in this study, the shape of a nanoceria was spherical, consisting of cerium with 97.9 wt% and oxide with 2.1 wt%. The dimensions of nanoparticles were determined 29.3 nm. UV/VIS maximum absorption was recorded at 318 nm. The mean sustained concentration of nanoceria suspension with 0.45 wt% of SDS had a significant increase than the presence of 0.05 wt%, 0.15 wt%, and 0.25 wt% of SDS (P-value = 0.001). An increase of 5 hours of sonication time resulted in a significant increase in the mean sustained concentration of nanoceria suspension (P-value = 0/000). Conclusion: An anionic surfactant SDS with an optimum weight percentage of 0.45 can be used to increase the stability of the nanoceria distribution. Furthermore, increasing the sonication time for 5 hours can be a better alternative than increasing the weight percentage of anionic surfactant SDS to achieve a stable distribution

Association between rs1049174 NKG2D gene polymorphism and idiopathic recurrent spontaneous abortion in Iranian women: a case-control study

Natural killer group 2, member D (NKG2D) is one of the best known activating receptors of NK cells, which recognises its ligand on altered or stressed cells and activates NK cells to kill them. In this study, the single nucleotide polymorphism of the NKG2D gene for rs1049174 mutation was compared in 140 women with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and 175 control women with at least one successful pregnancy and without any known pregnancy loss. The findings just revealed that GG genotype and G allele were significantly higher in the case group compared with the control group (p < .001). Our results regarding decreased risk of RSA in C allele (OR = 0.438; 95%CI = 0.310–0.619; p < .001), and GC genotype (OR = 0.492; 95%CI = 0.214–0.574; p < .001) compared with G allele and GG genotype respectively. This study demonstrated a significant association between NKG2D gene polymorphism (rs1049174 G/C) and the risk of RSA in Iranian women.Impact statement What is already known on this subject? According to previous investigations, maternal immune responses may affect the foetus, causing recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). The main cause of RSA has not yet been detected in nearly 50% of the cases. What do the results of this study add? The results showed that the frequency of G allele and C allele were significantly different in the case group and control group. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The results suggest a protective function of C allele because it significantly decreased the risk of RSA compared to G allele. It improves inhibition of NK cells and probably participates in maintaining pregnancy in fertile controls; whereas, G allele is related to a slight inhibition of NK cells, probably leading to increase effectiveness of NK activation and undesirable inflammation, which consequently causes foetal rejection

Evaluation of hematological parameters alterations in different waves of COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

BackgroundThe occurrence of variations in routine hematological parameters is closely associated with disease progression, the development of severe illness, and the mortality rate among COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to investigate hematological parameters in COVID-19 hospitalized patients from the 1st to the 5th waves of the current pandemic.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included a total of 1501 hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 based on WHO criteria, who were admitted to Shahid Sadoughi Hospital (SSH) in Yazd, Iran, from February 2020 to September 2021. Throughout, we encountered five COVID-19 surge waves. In each wave, we randomly selected approximately 300 patients and categorized them based on infection severity during their hospitalization, including partial recovery, full recovery, and death. Finally, hematological parameters were compared based on age, gender, pandemic waves, and outcomes using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests.ResultsThe mean age of patients (n = 1501) was 61.1±21.88, with 816 (54.3%) of them being men. The highest mortality in this study was related to the third wave of COVID-19 with 21.3%. There was a significant difference in all of the hematological parameters, except PDW, PLT, and RDW-CV, among pandemic waves of COVID-19 in our population. The highest rise in the levels of MCV and RDW-CV occurred in the 1st wave, in the 2nd wave for lymphocyte count, MCHC, PLT count, and RDW-SD, in the 3rd wave for WBC, RBC, neutrophil count, MCH, and PDW, and in the 4th wave for Hb, Hct, and ESR (p ConclusionThe findings of our study unveiled notable variations in hematological parameters across different pandemic waves, gender, and clinical outcomes. These findings indicate that the behavior of different strains of the COVID-19 may differ across various stages of the pandemic