Leishmaniosis is a tropical neglected parasitic disease that is endemic in many countries, including Middle East, with no existing effective vaccines. The bite of female sand-fly transmits the causative agent, Leishmania spp., to humans. High toxicity, resistance and treatment failure of the available chemotherapy against visceral leishmaniosis demands the investigation of new anti-leishmanial compounds. Lupeol is a form of triterpene isolated from several medicinal plants and possesses an antimicrobial property. In this study, cytotoxic effect of lupeol was screened against the mammalian amastigotes form and insect promastigote form of Leishmania donovani, following three cycles of incubation at different concentrations by MTT assay. Resul

Background: The use of electronic apex locators for working length determination eliminates many of the problems associated with the radiographic measurements (interference of anatomical structures, errors in projection such as elongation or shortening, and lack of three-dimensional representation). Its most important advantage over radiography is that it measures the length of the root canal to the apical constriction, not to the radiographic apex. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of a new fifth generation apex locator (Joypex 5) in recording the apical constriction and comparing it with a third generation apex locator (Root ZX) in vitro. Materials and method: Twenty four single-rooted sound human premolars, extracted for t

Background: Pregnancy is a natural physiological state that involves several biochemical modifications. Saliva is consisted of many types of proteins such as salivary alpha amylase and salivary peroxidase that might be affected by pregnancy. The former enzyme is considered one of the most prevalent proteins that is released by highly differentiated epithelial acinar cells and has been shown to have enzymatic activities while the latter has been approved that it  has a significant role in oral health. The purpose of this study was to the evaluate the salivary levels of alpha-amylase and peroxidase in pregnant and non-pregnant women. Materials and Methods: Sixty pregnant women were grouped according to the pregnancy trimesters. The first

An inert matrix  that is used to control the release of  (PTX) was prepared using Eudragit RL100 and RSPM types as matrix forming agent . The matrices were prepared by either dry granulation(slugging) , or wet granulation method using chloroform as a solvent evaporation vehichle. The cumulative release was adjusted by using polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP) or ethylcellulose (EC) polymers .The results indicated that   both methods of preparation were valid for incorporation PTX as a sustained release granules .Moreover ,the results revealed that best polymer used  was Eudragit RSPM in 3:20 polymer drug ratio .Besides to that ,   the results indicated that the release profiles were affected by  pH- medium&

Piperine, a crystalline alkaloid compound isolated from Piper nigrum, piper longum, and other types of piper, has had many fabulous pharmacological advantages for preventing and treating some specific diseases, such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antimetastatic, antithyroid, immunomodulatory, antitumor, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's, and improving the bioavailability of other drugs. However, its potential for clinical use through oral usage is hindered by water solubility and poor bioavailability. The low level of oral bioavailability is caused by low solubility in water and is photosensitive, susceptible to isomerization by UV light, which causes piperine concentration to decrease. Many different

Hydroxide upon the chemical composition and dry matter(DM) and organic matter(OM) digestibility . Rice straw was treated with 4% sodium hydroxide using 30% of DM basis moisture, and incubated at 40 ºC for 40 days., DM digestibility (DMD) was significantly affected (P<0.01) by the treatment , where DMD increased The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of physical form (long ,chopped and ground ) and washing rice straw treated with sodium from 42.32 to 45.41% , OM digestibility (OMD) and total digestible nutrient (TDN) increased(P<0.05) from 47.38 and 49.33 to 49.67 and 52.83% ,respectively. While hemicellulose content increased (P<0.05 ) from 261.71 to 268.17 gm/kg DM ,and metabolizable energy (ME) from 7.11 to 7.48 MJ/

Background: Herbs are being widely explored to discover alternatives to synthetic antibacterial agents.Small Cardamom often referred to as queen of spices because of its very pleasant aroma and taste, have a history as old as human race. Most people use cardamom as a spice and are largely unaware of its numerous health benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of water and alcoholic cardamom extracts on sensitivities, growth, and adherence of Mutans streptococci in vitro. Materials and Methods: In this study, saliva was collected from ten volunteers (College students 18-22 years). Agar well technique was used to study the sensitivities of Mutans streptococci to different concentrations of s

Background: Multi- drug resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus infections have become a major public health concern in both hospital and community settings.Objective: to investigate the antibacterial activity of T. Foenum- groecum essential oil against skin infection with S. aureus and to study probable synergistic activity in combination with Clindamycin.Type of the study: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Antibacterial activity of T. Foenum- groecum essential oil extract (1.2gm/100 µl) was investigated in multi- drug resistance (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus specimen isolated from patients with skin infection in Baghdad. T. Foenum- groecum use externally for cellulites and skin inflammation due to the presence of diosgenin .fast liq

Background: Propolis has received great interest because of its wide range antimicrobial activity. Propolis also called (bee glue) due to its collection by (Apismellifera) honeybees from various plants resinous substance. The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial effect of propolis extracts (aqueous and alcoholic) on anaerobic periodontal pathogen namely Aggregatibacteractinomycetemcomitans. Materials and Methods: Strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans wasisolated from pockets of systemically healthy patients aged between 35-55 years old suffering from chronic periodontitis with pocket depths of 5-6 mm, the bacteria cultured on special blood Agar plates solid media. Propolis was extracted by using water and alcohol.