Cardiac toxicity can occur during the therapy with several cytotoxic drugs, including 5- Fluorouracil (5- FU). It is an antimetabolite that acts during the S phase of the cell cycle and is activated by thymidine phosphorylase into fluorodeoxyuridylate (5 fluoro 2'deoxyuridine 5'monophosphate, 5-FdUMP) that inhibits thymidylate synthase, thus preventing DNA synthesis that leads to imbalanced cell growth and ultimately cell death. It is still a widely used anticancer drug, since 1957. The present study aimed to evaluate the possible cardio-protective effects of ethanolic artichoke extract (Cynara scolymus L.) against 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) induced cardio-toxicity in rats by evaluating serum levels of Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase enzymes. Methods: Twenty -four female albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups each group with 6 rats. Group I: (negative control) received oral daily dose of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (2 ml/kg /day) for 10 successive days. Group II: (positive control) received oral daily dose of DMSO (2 ml/kg /day) for 10 successive days and subsequently administered single dose of 5-FU (150 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection on 8th day in association with DMSO. Groups III: received oral daily dose of ethanolic artichoke extract (200 mg/kg/day) for 10 successive days. Groups IV: received oral daily dose of ethanolic artichoke extract (200 mg/kg/day) for 10 successive days with subsequently administered single intraperitoneal dose of 5-FU (150 mg/kg) on 8th day in association with ethanolic extract. Results: Treatment of ethanolic artichoke extract prior 5-FU intoxication significantly attenuate the increase of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) enzymes activities caused by 5-FU-induced cardio-toxicity in rats. Conclusions: Results of the present finding suggest that the ethanolic artichoke extract may be an effective modulator in mitigating 5-FU induced cardiac toxicity in rats.
Keywords: Ethanolic artichoke extract, 5-Fluorouracil, Cardio-protection, AST, ALT and CK.
Background and objectives: This study aimed at testing the effect of plastic sleeve or barrier, used to cover the guide of the light cure unit to prevent cross-infection, on the shear bond strength and site of bond failure of stainless steel and ceramic orthodontic brackets. Materials and methods: Forty orthodontic brackets; twenty stainless steel and twenty ceramic brackets bonded to forty extracted human maxillary first premolars using light cure adhesive cured with and without the use of a protective plastic barrier on the guide. Comparing the effect of this barrier on the shear bond strength and adhesive remnant index was performed using an independent t-test and Chi-square test. Results: The protective barrier had decreased the shear b
... Show MoreThe present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of the crude extracts mixture of three plants (Tribulus terrestris, Phoenix dactylifera and Nasturtium officinale) on semen quality,sex hormones and reproductive performance of mature male mice. A group of 25 male mice given 150mg/kg/day of the powder of the plants mixture with the food for four weeks and another three groups of 25 animals each given intraperitoneal injection from each of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts with a doses 75, 150, and 300mg/kg/day for two weeks. A remarkable increase in sperm concentration and motility with a decreased abnormal morphology was obtained in the experimental groups. A significant increase in hormones level were recognized in most grou
... Show MoreThe applications of herbal medicine have recently acquired growing interest in range of the prophylaxis and treatment of diseases. Olibanum has been used since ancient eras and several reports studied the pharmacological characteristics of boswellic acid, particularly their effect on the inflammatory response, analgesic properties, and anti-arthritic activity mostly in cell lines, but new approaches include animal models to assess these natural derivatives effects taking into consideration of being safer than synthetic preparations. The impact of olibanum oil on several parameters was studied in rats during this study. These included white blood cell (WBC) count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and C reactive protein (CRP), as well a
... Show MoreBackground: Non-host-adapted Salmonella serovar Typhimurium is a facultative intracellular bacterium, which invades and multiplies within mononuclear phagocytes in liver, spleen, lymph nodes and Peyer’s plaques. Salmonella infection is a crucial medical and veterinary problem globally. S. Typhimurium causes various clinical symptoms, from asymptomatic infection to typhoid-like syndromes in infants or highly susceptible animals, for instance mice. Objective: The present study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of anthrax protective antigen (PA)as a potent adjuvant mixed with killed Salmonella Typhimurium (S.T.) to enhance the immunization capacity of the last. Materials and Methods: Two groups of mice were immunized with either th
... Show MoreThe beet armyworm (BAW), Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive pest of vegetables and field crops. Management of beet armyworm primarily relies on synthetic pesticides, which is threatening the beneficial community and environment. Most importantly, the BAW developed resistance to synthetic pesticides with making it difficult to manage. Therefore, alternative and environment-friendly pest management tactics are urgently required. The use of pesticidal plant extracts provides an effective way for a sustainable pest management program. To evaluate the use of pesticidal plant extracts against BAW, we selected six plant species (Lantana camara, Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, Cymbopogon citratus, Nicotiana tabacum ,
... Show MoreThe cervical cancer considered as the fourth female prevalent disease worldwide, it was once the most extensively recognized female cancer two in many low-income countries. Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) exhibits broader tropism and can cause infection in most of the human body organs. Although, human cytomegalovirus HCMV is not yet considered an oncogenic virus, there is increased evidences of HCMV infection implication in malignant diseases of different cancer types. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of CMV infection on the development of HPV16 positive cervical cancinoma. The current retrospective study enrolled a number of paraffinized cervical cancer tissues .included 30 cervical carcinomatous tissues and 10 biopsies from an
... Show MoreThe antidiabetic thiozolidinediones (TZDs) a class of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) ligands has recently been the focus of much interest for their possible role in regulation of inflammatory response. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of pioglitazone in experimental models of inflammation in rats. The present study was conducted to evaluate the anti inflammatory effect of TZDs (pioglitazone 3mg/Kg) on acute, sub acute and chronic model of inflammation by using egg-albumin and formalin–induced paw edema in 72 rats, relative to reference drugs Dexamethasone 5mg/Kg and Piroxicam 5mg/Kg. In each inflammation model, 24 rats wer
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Objectives: The study is carried out to assess functional performance for heart's valve replacement patients and find out relationship with sociodemographic data and clinical data
Methodology: Descriptive design is carried out at cardiac surgery centers in Baghdad ; Ibn -Al Betar Specialized for cardiac surgery center and Al-Iraqi center for cardiac disease. its initiation from December28the 2013 to September 1st 2014,A non- probability (purposive) sample of 50 adults patients are attended cardiac surgery centers at Baghdad city and who have heart valves replacement. The data collection through development of questionnaire which is composed from three parts(socio demographic data, clinical information, functional performa
Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic parasite in immune-compromised persons. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in psoriasis patients is investigated. In addition, the treatment effect on psoriasis patients infected with toxoplasmosis through evaluating Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) cytokine levels is studied. Blood samples were collected from 130 individuals who involved 60 control samples and 70 samples with psoriasis. They attended Medical City Hospital in Baghdad province from October 2017 - February 2018. Then, the anti- T. gondii antibodies (IgM and IgG) and TNF- α in the sera were determined via the enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay. The highe
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