Comparative Antimicrobial Efficacy of Eucalyptus Galbie and Myrtus Communis L. Extracts, Chlorhexidine and Sodium Hypochlorite against Enterococcus Faecalis

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of Eucalyptus galbie and Myrtus communis L. methanolic extracts, chlorhexidine (CHX) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) on Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) as the predominant species isolated from infected root canals. Methods and Materials: One hundred twenty mandibular premolars were randomly divided into 8 groups: Eucalyptus galbie (E. galbie) 12.5 mg/mL, Myrtus communis L. (M. communis L.) 6.25 mg/mL, 0.2% CHX, %2 CHX, 2.5% NaOCl, 5.25% NaOCl, positive and negative control group. Sampling was performed using paper points (from the root canal space lumen) and Gates-Glidden drills (from the dentinal tubules); then colony forming units (CFU) were counted and analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Mann Whitney U test. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: All irrigants reduced more than 99% of bacteria in root canal. In the presence of M. communis L. and E. galbie, the bacterial count in dentin were significantly more than CHX and NaOCl groups (P<0.05) except 0.2% CHX in 200 µm and 400 µm depths (P>0.05). Conclusion: Although 5.25% NaOCl was the most effective irrigant, all agents exerted acceptable antimicrobial activity against E. faecalis.Keywords: Antibacterial Agent; Eucalyptus; Myrtus; Root Canal Therap

Antileishmanial and cytotoxic effects of essential oil and methanolic extract of Myrtus communis L.

Abstract: Plants used for traditional medicine contain a wide range of substances that can be used to treat various diseases such as infectious diseases. The present study was designed to evaluate the antileishmanial effects of the essential oil and methanolic extract of Myrtus communis against Leishmania tropica on an in vitro model. Antileishmanial effects of essential oil and methanolic extract of M. communis on promastigote forms and their cytotoxic activities against J774 cells were evaluated using MTT assay for 72 hr. In addition, their leishmanicidal activity against amastigote forms was determined in a macrophage model, for 72 hr. Findings showed that the main components of essential oil were α-pinene (24.7%), 1,8-cineole (19.6%), and linalool (12.6%). Findings demonstrated that M. communis, particularly its essential oil, significantly (P<0.05) inhibited the growth rate of promastigote and amastigote forms of L. tropica based on a dose-dependent response. The IC50 values for essential oil and methanolic extract was 8.4 and 28.9 µg/ml against promastigotes, respectively. These values were 11.6 and 40.8 µg/ml against amastigote forms, respectively. Glucantime as control drug also revealed IC50 values of 88.3 and 44.6 µg/ml for promastigotes and amastigotes of L. tropica, respectively. The in vitro assay demonstrated no significant cytotoxicity in J774 cells. However, essential oil indicated a more cytotoxic effect as compared with the methanolic extract of M. communis. The findings of the present study demonstrated that M. communis might be a natural source for production of a new leishmanicidal agent

In vitro lethal effects of various extracts of Nigella sativa seed on hydatid cyst protoscoleces

Objective(s): There are several scolicidal agents for inactivation of hydatid cyst protoscolices during surgery, but most of them are associated with adverse side effects such as sclerosing cholangitis and liver necrosis. The present study was aimed to evaluate scolicidal effects of various extracts of Nigella sativa seeds against protoscoleces of hydatid cyst in an in vitro model. Materials and Methods: Protoscoleces were aseptically aspirated from naturally infected livers of sheep and goats. Various concentrations of the different extracts of N. sativa (5 to 50 mg/ml) were used for 5 to 60 min. Viability of protoscoleces was confirmed by 0.1% eosin staining. Results: The findings exhibited that methanolic extract at the concentration of 50 mg/ml after 10 min of incubation, and aqueous extract at the concentration of 50 mg/ml after 30 min of incubation can kill 100% of protoscoleces. In addition, all of experiments revealed dose-dependent and also time-dependent scolicidal effect of various extracts of N. sativa on the protoscoleces of hydatid cyst. Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated that N. sativa may be a natural source for the production of new scolicidal agent for use in hydatid cyst surgery. However, further studies will be required to evaluate scolicidal effects of N. sativa in the in vivo model

Evaluation of antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity of the extracts of Berberis vulgaris and Nigella sativa against Leishmania tropica

Background & objectives: Leishmaniasis is a major public health problem, and the alarming spread of parasite resistance underlines the importance of discovering new therapeutic products. The present study aims to investigate the in vitro antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity of the ethanolic extract of Berberis vulgaris fruits and chloroform extract of Nigella sativa seeds against Leishmania tropica. Methods: In this study, antileishmanial activity of B. vulgaris and N. sativa extracts on promastigote and amastigote stages of L. tropica in comparison to meglumine antimoniate (MA) was evaluated, using MTT assay and macrophage model, respectively. MTT test was also used to assess the cytotoxicity of extracts on murine macrophages. The significance of differences was determined by analysis of variances (ANOVA) and student’s t-test using SPSS software. Results: The results showed that ethanolic extract of B. vulgaris (IC50 4.83 μg/ml) and chloroform extract of N. sativa (IC50 7.83 μg/ml) significantly reduced the viability of promastigotes of L. tropica in comparison to MA (IC50 11.26 μg/ml). Furthermore, extracts of B. vulgaris (IC50 24.03 μg/ml) and N. sativa (IC50 30.21 μg/ml) significantly decreased the growth rate of amastigotes in each macrophage as compared with positive control (p <0.05). Our findings also revealed that extracts of B. vulgaris and N. sativa had no significant cytotoxicity against murine macrophages. Conclusion: The B. vulgaris and N. sativa extracts exhibited an effective leishmanicidal activity against L. tropica on in vitro model. Further, works are required to evaluate the exact effect of these extracts on Leishmania species using a clinical setting

Bioassay Screening of the Essential Oil and Various Extracts of Fruits of Heracleum persicum Desf. and Rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Rosc. using Brine Shrimp Cytotoxicity Assay

In the present work, the bioassay screening of the essential oil and various extracts of two plants including fruits of Heracleum persicum Desf. and rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Rosc. have been studied with brine shrimp test. There is only one report about cytotoxicity of H. sphondylium in literature and so H. persicum has been used as second selection. At first essentials oil and various extracts of two plants including petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol, ether and aqueous were provided. Then, different concentrations of them were prepared. These fractions were evaluated for toxicity using Brine Shrimp Lethality assay (BSL). Each of fractions was assessed by two methods of disk and solution. Survivors were counted after 24 h. These data were processed in Probit-analysis program to estimate LC50 values (the concentration at which 50% lethality was observed) with 95% confidence intervals for statistically significant comparisons of potencies. In disc method, methanol extract of Z. officinale (LC50=28.3134 μg/ml) showed the most activity in comparison with positive standard of potassium dichromate (LC50=23.2893 μg/ml); but in solution method, essential oil of H. persicum ( LC50=0.0071 μl/ml) was the most active fraction in comparison with potassium dichromate (LC50=27.7528 μg/ml). Totally, among tested fractions, essential oil of the H. persicum has been exhibited the most cytotoxicity. The essential oil of H. persicum was analyzed by GC-MS. The major constituents were hexyl butyrate and octyl acetate

Medicinal plants as surface activity modifiers

Surface active agents have been used in pharmaceutical formulations for different purposes, so the study of the effect of these agent on biological membranes is necessary. The aim of this study is the evaluation of aqueous extract of Tribulus terrestris L., Trigonella foenum-graecum L. and Echium amoenum Fisch, that contain saponins on red blood cells (RBC) as a model of biological membranes. Also some physicochemical properties of the extracts including emulsification index (E24) and foam producing activity (Fh) were investigated. The aqueous extracts were prepared by maceration and then lyophilized. The different concentration of extracts in McIvan’s buffer solution were incubated with RBC in different temperatures (25 and 37°C) for different time periods (15 and 30 min). The absorbance of the samples by UV spectrophotometer determmine the degree of hemolysis. In comparison of three studied extracts, T. terrestris L, have shown the highest hemolytic effect (12.45% in 37°C and 30 min). The values of E24 and Fh showed the extract of T. terrestris L. has the highest emulsification index (24.89%) and the highest foam producing activity (14.42 mm). The extract of H. persicum, with lower hemolytic effect may be preferred in pharmaceutical preparation but if the hemolytic effect was excluded, A. dracunculus is preferred

Formulation of herbal conditioner shampoo by using extract of fenugreek seeds and evaluation of its physicochemical parameters

Nowadays, people are interested in hair preparations and conditioner materials, such as shampoos. Hair tonic and conditioner formulations containing herbal extracts, such as fenugreek, can prevent hair loss and retain hair conditioning. First of all, the proved seeds of fenugreek were extracted with 50% ethanol by maceration method, and then were freeze dried and stored in the fridge. After preparing the formulation, some physicochemical properties such as pH, foam formation, viscosity, conditioning and wettability were evaluated. The pH of the formulated shampoo was determined as 6.6. The results of its rheogram showed good thixotropy property. High foam production and stability were observed; this may be due to the existence of saponin in fenugreek seeds extract. On the basis of wettability and conditioning results, formulated shampoo can represent an attractive and suitable product. The pH of the formulated shampoo was in the standard range of 6 to 8. The formulated shampoo has also shown the better foaming productivity and thixotropic properties which shows its suitable viscosity. The wetting effect of shampoo was taken 5 min which indicates its proper quality in comparison to some other shampoos in the market. Based on the wettability and conditioning data, it can be concluded that the formulated shampoo has a good quality of introducing it to the market

Study of aqueous extract of three medicinal plants on cell membrane–permeabilizing and their surface properties

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of three medicinal plants, Artemisia dracunculus L, Cuminum cyminum L and Heracleum persicum Desf, which contain saponins on biological membrane. Also in this study, some of their physicochemical properties were studied. At the first step, the aqueous extract of the plants were prepared, using maceration and then the extracts were lyophilized. 0.2 ml of RBC was added to 0.2 ml of different concentrations of each extract in McIvan’s buffer, and then incubated in two different times and temperatures. The absorbance of the samples was determined by UV spectrophotometer. Among the three studied extracts, A. dracunculus L showed the highest hemolytic effect and the Heracleum persicum Desf showed the lowest one. The values of emulsification Index (E24) and foam formation activity (Fh) showed for each extract the properties of surface activity. Regarding the results of this study, when considering the health of consumer, the use of aqueous extract of H. persicum Desf, with low hemolytic effect is preferred in pharmaceutical preparation. But if the hemolytic effect were considered, the use of aqueous extract of A. dracunculus L, with great hemolythc effect in comparison to the two other extract, is preferred

Evaluation of antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity of the extracts of Berberis vulgaris and Nigella sativa against Leishmania tropica

Background & objectives: Leishmaniasis is a major public health problem, and the alarming spread of parasite resistance underlines the importance of discovering new therapeutic products. The present study aims to investigate the in vitro antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity of the ethanolic extract of Berberis vulgaris fruits and chloroform extract of Nigella sativa seeds against Leishmania tropica. Methods: In this study, antileishmanial activity of B. vulgaris and N. sativa extracts on promastigote and amastigote stages of L. tropica in comparison to meglumine antimoniate (MA) was evaluated, using MTT assay and macrophage model, respectively. MTT test was also used to assess the cytotoxicity of extracts on murine macrophages. The significance of differences was determined by analysis of variances (ANOVA) and student’s t-test using SPSS software. Results: The results showed that ethanolic extract of B. vulgaris (IC50 4.83 μg/ml) and chloroform extract of N. sativa (IC50 7.83 μg/ml) significantly reduced the viability of promastigotes of L. tropica in comparison to MA (IC50 11.26 μg/ml). Furthermore, extracts of B. vulgaris (IC50 24.03 μg/ml) and N. sativa (IC50 30.21 μg/ml) significantly decreased the growth rate of amastigotes in each macrophage as compared with positive control (p <0.05). Our findings also revealed that extracts of B. vulgaris and N. sativa had no significant cytotoxicity against murine macrophages. Conclusion: The B. vulgaris and N. sativa extracts exhibited an effective leishmanicidal activity against L. tropica on in vitro model. Further, works are required to evaluate the exact effect of these extracts on Leishmania species using a clinical setting