Ladefogedgoode1895

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Medicinal plants are fast becoming essential pharmaceuticals for disease and infection management. The vast antimicrobial properties of these plants reside in the inhibitory properties of their endogenous secondary metabolites. Therefore, this study aimed to assess if the volatile oil of Syzygium samarangense inhibits enteric bacteria growth and its effect against the caseinolytic activity of the extracellular protease of Salmonella typhimurium. MATERIALS AND METHODS The volatile oil was extracted by hydrodistillation, while the antimicrobial assay was assessed with the microdilution method. The extracellular protease was partially purified by salting out, followed by size-exclusion chromatography. The mode of inhibition of this enzyme was deduced from the enzyme-substrate kinetics using a line-weaver burke plot. RESULTS The antimicrobial properties of the oil were reported against ten enteric bacteria. Proteus vulgaris has the highest IC50 value of 0.75±0.004% v/v, while S. typhimurium, the most sensitive bacterium, showed the lowest IC50 value of 0.17±0.005% v/v. The extracellular protease of S. typhimurium was partially purified to achieve 3.73 purification fold and 314.2 μmol min-1 mg-1 protein. The optimal caseinolytic activity of this enzyme was found at pH 7.5 and 40 °C. The protease showed significantly higher activity in the presence of Zn2+ (9.3±0.33 U min-1) as compared to the control (7.0±0.58 U min-1) (p less then 0.05), however, K+, Ca2+, Co2+, Ba2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+ considerably reduced the enzyme activity. The activity of this enzyme was competitively inhibited by the volatile oil as an inhibitor. CONCLUSION The volatile oil of S. samarangense inhibited a wide range of enteric bacteria and, therefore proposed as a potential antimicrobial agent. Inhibiting the extracellular protease of S. typhimurium may be one of its modes of action against these pathogens.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Pomegranate is grown for its rich flavour in numerous tropical and subtropical areas, like Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Assessing the genetic background of the pomegranate is the key to its expansion through the Middle East, where tissue culture reproduction strategies could be used to solve environmental and economic problems. This study aimed at studying the genetic stability of 2 pomegranate genotypes in vitro micro-propagated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by using the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) tools. MATERIALS AND METHODS The two above mentioned molecular tools were used to evaluate the DNA fingerprints of Taify and Yemeni pomegranate genotypes 12 weeks post in vitro propagation in Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia compared to the mother plant. Shoot tip explants of 4-5 cm long were grown on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented by 1.0 mg L-1 NAA, 2.00 mg L-1 IBA and 2 g L-1 activated carbon for 4 weeks for rooting. On 12 weeks DNA extracts were prepared from the acquired plantlets obtained and used as templates for each of RAPD-PCR and ISSR tools. RESULTS The RAPD-PCR and ISSR assays generated a total of 79-94 and 57-72 DNA fragments, respectively. In case of RAPD-PCR 80 and 90% of the primers used and developed monomorphic fragments of the Yemeni and Taify genotypes, respectively, particularly OPG08 primer for Taify genotype and OPA04 and OPD07 primers for the Yemeni genotype. Regarding ISSR, no DNA polymorphic for the micropropagated clones were recorded compared to the mother plant. CONCLUSION The ISSR assay's findings indicated the genetic homogeneity between the in vitro micropropagated clones of both pomegranate genotypes and the mother plants.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-containing family, pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) plays a pivotal role in initiation of inflammation. genetic variation in NLRP3 gene have been proposed to predispose several inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of NLRP3 (exon 3) gene polymorphisms and its relation with serum NLRP3 among myocardial infarction. MATERIALS AND METHODS Case-control study involved 69 patients with Myocardial Infarction and 53 controls, from each subject 3 mL were collected and used for DNA extraction then the amplified exon 3 genes were sequenced by Sanger method. Serum NLRP3 was quantified using sandwich ELISA. RESULTS According to the results Q705K found to possess a 16.21 times risk for MI incidence compared with controls. In addition, 44 novel single nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified at the position 14347, 14261, 14240 and 14229 and their allelic variants as a risk factor for MI incidence as 3.92, 8.6, 2.04 and 4.57 when compared with their relevant allele in controls respectively. Statistically high level of serum NLRP3 (1.7 ng mL-1) among MI patients compared to controls (0.71 ng mL-1). The 0.75 ng mL-1 considered as a good predictor for MI with ECG findings. Only Q705K and 14229 genetic variant alleles were significantly associated with high NLRP3 protein serum level among MI patients. CONCLUSION Four novel SNPs in exon 3 of NLRP3 gene in addition to previously reported Q705K conferring risk for development of MI among Iraqis. Only variants allele of Q705K and gene position 14229 was associated with elevated serum NLRP3 protein among MI patients.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Obesity and osteoporosis are worldwide health problems that interact with each other. There are also affected by the menopause and dietary pattern. So, this study aimed to find the relation between osteoporosis, body weight and intake of protein, calcium and vitamin D in obese pre and post-menopausal women. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and sixteen shared as volunteers in a cross-section study lasted for 2 years. They were divided into 2 groups, pre and post-menopausal women. All women were subjected to, clinical examination, anthropometric measurements and 24 dietary recalls. They were evaluated for bone mass density, biochemical analysis for serum lipids, calcium and vitamin D. RESULTS Osteopenia and osteoporosis were higher among normal-weight and overweight (non-obese) women compared to obese as well weakly associated with their serum lipids. The mean daily protein consumption was high as compared to recommended daily allowances (RDAs), especially among osteoporotic women. selleck inhibitor The mean daily intake of vitamin D and calcium was low as the lower level was noticed among the osteoporotic premenopausal patients.