A Cross-Sectional Survey of Iraqi Herbalist Practicing in the Middle Euphrates Area with a Recognition of their Knowledge, Practice and Attitude(Conference Paper )#

High percentage of the Iraqi population profoundly rely on folk medicine to meet their health needs which makes their safety questionable. This study aims to evaluate Iraqi herbalists' knowledge and practice to ensure the public's safety. This study was conducted in a cross-sectional design between October 2021 and March 2022, using a pretested questionnaire administered to Iraqi herbalists practicing in Middle Euphrates Area. Through face-to-face meetings, participants completed a multicomponent questionnaire comprising 15 items in four sections. The data obtained were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences; Chi-square was used to correlate some variables, and P-values of <0.05 were considered significant.  A total of 54 male herbalists from five Iraqi provinces joined this survey, the majority practicing in Kabala. Most herbalists had 10- 20 years of experience, and more than 50% had a university degree. Data showed that 72.2% of herbalists identify their herbal items using their own experience, and 35.2% use this experience as their sole source of knowledge. Only 35.1% use herbal books in conjugation with their experiences, and a few (1.9%( use multiple sources of information. Herbalists with more years of experience (79.6%( evaluate patient conditions properly, follow up (40.7%(, and refer patients to their physicians when needed (42.6%(. Although fifty percent of herbalists educate their patients regarding the storage condition of remedies, most of them refrain from writing the complete ingredients on their final product regardless of their experience. Results also showed that most herbalists do not have a record tracking adverse reaction. Most Iraqi herbalists lack the proper system for prescribing and dispensing their remedies and adequately identifying the sold herbs. The study showed a variation in practice among herbalists using approaches based mainly on their experience

Effect of mint powder, Mentha longifolia, and vitamin D administration on growth indices of juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Numerous studies have shown that herbs can be used as growth stimulants in aquaculture. This study aimed to investigate the effect of combined consumption of mint powder and vitamin D on the growth and health of juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. For this purpose, a total of 200 juvenile rainbow trout were divided into four groups and treated for 60 days as follows: The 1st group (control) used a standard diet; the 2nd group had 1.5% mint powder in their diet; The 3rd group having an additional amount of 120 mg/kg of vitamin D in their diet; The 4th group fed a diet having mint and vitamin D supplements as 2ed and 3rd groups. All groups' growth and health indices viz. condition factor, hepatic steatosis index, visceral sensitivity index, spleen somatic index, weight gain percentage, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, satiety index, food conversion efficiency, and protein efficiency ratio were measured and compared on days 20, 40, and 60. The results revealed that the use of mint powder in the juvenile rainbow trout diet not only had no remarkable effect on the growth and health of fish but also improved their growth. In addition, all the analyzed indications of the mint powder group outperformed than the vitamin D group

The Nrf2 Activator (DMF) and Covid-19: Is there a Possible Role?

COVID-19 is a new viral illness that can affect the lungs and airways with lethal consequences leading to the death of the patients. The ACE2 receptors were widely disturbed among body tissues such as lung, kidney, small intestine, heart, and others in different percent and considered a target for the nCOVID-19 virus. S-protein of the virus was binding to ACE2 receptors caused downregulation of endogenous anti-viral mediators, upregulation of NF-κB pathway, ROS and pro-apoptotic protein. Nrf2 was a transcription factor that's play a role in generation of anti-oxidant enzymes. To describe and establish role of Nrf2 activators for treatment COVID-19 positive patients. We used method of analysis of the published papers with described studies about COVID-19 connected with pharmacological issues and aspects which are included in global fighting against COVID-19 infection, and how using DMF (Nrf2 activator) in clinical trial for nCOVID-19 produce positive effects in patients for reduce lung alveolar cells damage. we are found that Nrf2 activators an important medication that's have a role in reduce viral pathogenesis via inhibit virus entry through induce SPLI gene expression as well as inhibit TRMPSS2, upregulation of ACE2 that's make a competition with the virus on binding site, induce gene expression of anti-viral mediators such as RIG-1 and INFs, induce anti-oxidant enzymes, also they have a role in inhibit NF-κB pathway, inhibit both apoptosis proteins and gene expression of TLRs. We are concluded that use DMF (Nrf2 activator) in clinical trial for nCOVID-19 positive patients to reduce lung alveolar cells damage. [Abstract copyright: © 2020 Saif M Hassan, Mahmood J Jawad, Salam W. Ahjel, Ram B. Singh, Jaipaul Singh4, Samir Mohamed Awad, Najah R Hadi.

Effects of water shortage on food legume crops

The clamor for agricultural resources is being pushed up by global climatic change and population growth. Such consequences are huge challenges to food security, wreaking havoc on the agroecosystem and causing biotic and abiotic stresses in plants, which in turn cause metabolic and physiological problems. Food legume crops contribute to food security in underdeveloped countries by playing an essential role in conservation farming methods. Drought has, nevertheless, exhibited a negative impact on productivity in many parts of the world. While water shortage is a significant abiotic barrier to legume crop output, drought impacts differ depending on drought timing, agro-climatic area, soil texture, and legume species. To resolve these concerns, we gathered data from the recent publications that revealed drought-induced changes in the production of monoculture legumes in field circumstances and examined it using meta-analysis approaches. Research findings revealed that the water cut’s quantity was strongly associated with a decrease in yield. However, the magnitude of the effect differed depending on the phenological stage of the drought and legume species. The legumes such as groundnut and lentil exhibited the lowest yield reductions (31.2% and 19.6% for groundnut and lentil, accordingly), however, the biggest yield drop (39.8%) facing the maximum water reduction was for faba bean

Practice of intercropping and its impact on legume productivity in Egypt

In Egypt, conserving irrigation water and raising crop output are significant concerns. Egypt's climate ranges from semi-arid and arid to desert. The number of summer legumes cultivated on a per-capita basis is declining. Excessively applied nitrogen (N) mineral fertilization and irrigation water are widespread agricultural techniques that harm the quality of the soil and the surrounding environment. It should be possible to increase overall agricultural yield while working with scarce agricultural resources through intercropping. In developing countries, intercropping is the most common farming system for increasing and maintaining agricultural production. As a widely spaced crop, maize provides ample opportunity for the practice of intercropping. Legumes are well-known for their effectiveness as intercropping companions. In light of this information, an investigation into the possibility of intercropping maize with legumes, specifically groundnut and green gram, was carried out. Seeds for groundnuts and green grams were sown between rows of paired row maize. The results demonstrated that the intercropping system had no considerable impact on maize grain and straw yields. However, there was a substantial disparity in total biomass production between the experiments; maize and groundnut (2:3) recorded the highest yield, followed by groundnut (2:2) and green gram (2:3). The land equivalent ratio (LER) unequivocally demonstrated the benefits of intercropping, and the highest LER was achieved by growing maize and groundnut (2:1)

Potential Trends for COVID-19 Fighting: An Immuno-informatics Overview

Public health care capacity is currently overwhelmed by pandemic outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019. This respiratory disease is a real threat especially for those elderly people with comorbidities. The disease can progress into acute respiratory distress syndrome which can be fatal. No vaccine or drug had been developed against any human coronaviruses due to cessation of previous epidemics and withdrawal of assigned funds. Currently, humanity is in a real challenge to accelerate the development of effective drug and vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Till now, computational approaches have played a substantial role for analysis of viral structure and also development of both drug and vaccine candidates in an accelerated pace. Some of these therapeutic designs have found their way into clinical trials. Here, we will overview different immuno-informatics attempts, targets and ideas as possible trends to counteract coronavirus disease 2019

LIGAND-BASED VIRTUAL SCREENING OF FDA APPROVED DRUGS TO IDENTIFY NEW INHIBITORS AGAINST LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE ENZYME OF MALARIA PARASITES

Objective: The aim of this study is to computationally repurpose FDA approved drugs as potential inhibitors of the Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH) by competing with the cofactor NADH. Methods: In this in-silico study, we have virtually screened a library of FDA approved drugs for structural similarity to the dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Then, the top hits were further assessed for clinical safety and by application of molecular docking and dynamics simulation. Results: Ligand-based virtual screening reports that the antibiotic Novobiocin has a good similarity to the cofactor NADH with a score of 0.7. Also, molecular docking study indicates that Novobiocin may has the ability to interact with PfLDH enzyme with a docking energy of -8.8 Kcal/ mol. However, during molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, the mean ligand proximity root mean square deviation (RMSD) and binding energy for Novobiocin were 4.3 Angstrom and -37.45 Kcal/ mol respectively. These MD simulation parameters are inferior to those recorded for NADH molecule during 50 nanoseconds interval. Conclusion: The antibiotic Novobiocin may serve as a potential lead candidate toward the design of novel antimalarial agents. However, further evaluation of Novobiocin may be recommended to affirm its capacity against PfLDH enzyme

VIRTUAL SCREENING OF FDA APPROVED DRUGS BY MOLECULAR DOCKING AND DYNAMICS SIMULATION TO RECOGNIZE POTENTIAL INHIBITORS AGAINST MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS ENOYL-ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN REDUCTASE ENZYME

Objective: This in-silico study is aimed at identification of new possible inhibitors against Mycobacterium tuberculosis InhA enzyme by screening a library of FDA approved drugs. Methods: In this in-silico study, a library of FDA approved drugs was screened by molecular docking against the monomer of enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase to recognize potential inhibitors. Then, those best drugs with minimum docking energy were subjected to molecular dynamics simulation. Results: Out of the top ten docking hits, only revefenacin was able to maintain the closet proximity to InhA enzyme binding pocket during the two rounds of dynamics simulation. Analysis of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation data indicated that the antimuscarinic drug revefenacin has a ligand movement Root-Mean-Square Deviation (RMSD) that didn’t exceed 4 Angstrom. Also, in this MD study, revefenacin has a superior binding energy of -35.59 Kcal/ mol as compared to -13.88 Kcal/mol for the other hit ergotamine. These favorable MD simulation records for revefenacin can be explained by its ability to continuously interact with enzyme binding pocket by two hydrogen bonds. Conclusion: We report that the antimuscarinic drug revefenacin may have the potential to inhibit the enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, these preliminary results must be further evaluated by in vitro and in vivo studies