Production and purification of polyclonal antibody against melatonin hormone

Nowadays immunochemical techniques have played a very important and valuable role in quantitative and qualitative assays of liquid compounds of the body. Producing antibody against immunogenes is the first step to make immunochemical kits. In this study production and purification of polyclonal antibody against melatonin has been considered. This hormone which has several important functions in physiological conditions such as migraine, cirrhosis, mammary gland cancer and other diseases, is the most important pineal gland secretion. This gland is a circumventricular organ of brain and according to histological and anatomical studies, it is a high secretory organ, that secretes active biological substances like melatonin, oxytocin, serotonin and ect. In this study, melatonin has been considered as hapten and has become an immunogen by being linked to the bovine serum Albumin. Then, by the immunization of three white New Zeland rabbits that had the booster injections in regular intervals, the antibody titer was detected to be 1/2000, by using checkboard curves, and with the use of melatonin linked to penicillinase as a labeled antigen, the titer was detected 1/200. Finally an antibody with high purification rate has been obtained, which can be used in immunochemical assays like RIA, ELISA, and EIA

Plasma ascorbic acid levels in senile cataract patients and in normal individuals: a comparative study

"n Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Background: Dietary antioxidant vitamins, in particular vitamin C, can play a role in preventing the onset or progression of age-related visual impairment. The aim of this study was to determine the plasma ascorbic acid levels in normal individuals and in senile cataract patients."n"nMethods: The test group included fifty cataract patients, while the control group members were selected among medical staff and patients' companions after age matching with test group. The use questionnaire contained age, sex and location of residency (Urban or Rural). Five milliliter of drawn blood centrifuged and plasma ascorbic acid level was measured by spectrophotometry. Statistical analysis of plasma ascorbic acid concentrations were done using paired t-test. "n"nResults: The mean plasma ascorbic acid level intest group and incotral group was 0.96±0.08 and 1.12±0.15mg/dl respectively. Plasma ascorbic acid level in test group was significantly lower than control group (p<0.0001). Aging was associated with a reduction in plasma ascorbic acid level in male while it showed no significant alteration in females. Rural and the female gender showed higher plasma ascorbic acid level."n"nConclusions: This study revealed plasma ascorbic acid level in patients with senile cataract was lower than normal individuals. Antioxidant vitamins, in particular vitamin C, found in Mediterranean fruits and vegetables could be probably used in the prevention of cataracts, which is a major health service burden in many countries

Evaluation And Comparison Of Serum Melatonin Determination In Normal Individuals And Migraine Patients

Background: Migraine is a chronic hereditary and relapsing headache. With regard to the prevalence of this ancient disease and its economic complications in country, in this study , nocturnal serum melatonin of migraine patients and control subjects have been evaluated and compared by ELISA kit. Materials and Methods: Fifty migraine patients (mostly women) were compared to a control group (mostly men) matched according to age. Results: Statistical analysis revealed a decrease in nocturnal serum melatonin levels for migraine patients (32.9 28.4) compared to the control one (75.6 56.8). With using of t-test by ELISA kit showed significant difference (p=0.0064). Conclusion: With regard to this, the pineal gland has the main role in the synchronization of the organism with the environmental conditions and migrainous headaches

The Hypoglycemic Effects of an Ethanol Extract of Peganum harmala in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats: Hypoglycemic effects of Peganum harmala

Peganum harmala is a plant that is traditionally used as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-helmintic, and antimutagenic agent. Moreover, it is used to treat a variety of human ailments, including depression. This study was conducted to investigate the antidiabetic activity of hydro alcoholic extract of this herb. A hydro alcoholic extract from seeds of this herb was prepared and administered at three doses of 30, 60, and 120 mg/kg to three groups of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Two additional groups were used as negative (normal saline plus solvent) and positive control (metformin). Blood glucose levels in animals from all groups were measured at 2, 4, and 6 hours after intraperitoneal injection of the extract to rats. Blood glucose levels decreased in the diabetic rats in comparison with normal rats (P < 0.05). Our finding showed that P. harmala seed extract has good antidiabetic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Further studies are needed to isolate active compounds and to investigate their activit

Incorporating β-Cyclodextrin with ZnO Nanorods: A Potentiometric Strategy for Selectivity and Detection of Dopamine

We describe a chemical sensor based on a simple synthesis of zinc oxide nanorods (ZNRs) for the detection of dopamine molecules by a potentiometric approach. The polar nature of dopamine leads to a change of surface charges on the ZNR surface via metal ligand bond formation which results in a measurable electrical signal. ZNRs were grown on a gold-coated glass substrate by a low temperature aqueous chemical growth (ACG) method. Polymeric membranes incorporating β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate was immobilized on the ZNR surface. The fabricated electrodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The grown ZNRs were well aligned and exhibited good crystal quality. The present sensor system displays a stable potential response for the detection of dopamine in 10−2 mol·L−1 acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer solution at pH 5.45 within a wide concentration range of 1 × 10−6 M–1 × 10−1 M, with sensitivity of 49 mV/decade. The electrode shows a good response time (less than 10 s) and excellent repeatability. This finding can contribute to routine analysis in laboratories studying the neuropharmacology of catecholamines. Moreover, the metal-ligand bonds can be further exploited to detect DA receptors, and for bio-imaging applications