Background: The interest in herbal extracts as antimicrobial agents has increased over the past few years in endodontic therapy. Nasturtium officinale (watercress) is a promising plant with great medicinal values. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity of watercress oil in combination with calcium hydroxide against Candida albicans as intracanal medicament. Materials and Methods: Candida albicans was isolated from patients with necrotic root canal or failed root canal treatment. The sensitivity of Candida albicans to different concentrations of watercress oil extract was determined by using the agar well diffusion method in comparison with calcium hydroxide paste. The agar plate method was used to determine the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the tested oil against the fungus. The combination of the oil extract of Nasturtium officinale with calcium hydroxide was evaluated and compared to calcium hydroxide paste with iodoform by using the agar well diffusion method. Results: The oil extract exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans, this activity was found to be increased as the concentration of extract increased. The tested combination of watercress oil extract with calcium hydroxide revealed larger inhibition zones than the ones formed by each tested agent individually. Conclusion: The oil extract of Nasturtium officinale is active against Candida albicans suggesting its potential to be used as an intracanal medicament alone or in combination with calcium hydroxide.
Zerumbone is a well-known compound having anti-cancer, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycemic effects. During its use for the disease treatment, the membrane of erythrocyte can be affected by consumption of this bioactive compound. The current study was the first report of investigation of the hemolytic activities on human erythrocytes and cytotoxic profile of zerumbone. The toxicity of zerumbone on human erythrocytes was determined by in vitro hemolytic assay. Brine shrimp lethality assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of zerumbone at concentrations 10, 100 and 1000 μg/mL. The human erythrocyte test showed no significant toxicity at low concentrations, whereas hemolytic effect was amplified up to 17.5 % at
... Show MoreCrabs belong to the crustacean family (Decapods crustacean), and their shells contain natural ingredients from which the bioactive compounds are derived. It has been used as folklore medicine in cancer treatment. We investigate the possible anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects for crab shells and whole crabs. Thirty-six rats (150–200 gm) from both sexes were used, divided into six groups, the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity measured using cotton pellet induce granuloma model. Detection of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α), Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), superoxide (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels using ELISA Kits. The data analysis by one-way ANOVA followed by the Tukey test. Values are significant at (p < 0.05).
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal diseases are inflammatory disorders caused by the accumulation of oral biofilm and the host response to this accumulation which characterized by exaggerated leukocytes and neutrophils attraction to the sites of inflammation by chemoattractants which are a very important part of the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. This study aimed to determine and compare the clinical periodontal parameters and the leukocyte cell types in the peripheral blood between patients with gingivitis and periodontitis with different severities compared to healthy controls. Materials and methods: This study included 150 male subjects aged between 35-50 years. They were divided into three groups: gingivitis group (n=30), periodontitis p
... Show MoreThis study aimed to study the inhibition activity of purified bacteriocin produced from the local isolation Lactococcuslactis ssp. lactis against pathogenic bacteria species isolated from clinical samples in some hospitals Baghdad city. Screening of L. lactis ssp. Lactis and isolated from the intestines fish and raw milk was performed in well diffusion method. The results showed that L. lactis ssp. lactis (Lc4) was the most efficient isolate in producing the bacteriocin as well observed inhibitory activity the increased that companied with the concentration, the concentration of the twice filtrate was better in obtaining higher inhibition diameters compared to the one-fold concentration. The concentrate
... Show MoreTwo experiments were carried out, the first at the College of Agriculture - University of Baghdad during spring season 2017 Everest cv. class (Elite) was used to study the effect of foliar application of calcium and magnesium and addition of humic acid to the soil on potato growth and yield, The layout of the experiment was factorial within RCBD design using three replicates. Calcium and Magnesium sprayed with concentrations (0, 500, 1000 mg.L-1), while the humic acid was added to the soil with (0, 0.75 gm.m2), The second experiment included storage of tubers produced from the spring season, with to study the effect of field treatments on improving the storability of the tubers. The results showed that the treatment of calci
... Show MoreBackground: This in vitro study evaluated the effect of canal dryness and flaring on the accuracy of two electronic apex locators for working length (WL) determination. Materials and methods: Sixty extracted teeth were used, after access opening was done, the occlusal surface was flattened to create stable reference point. The teeth were randomly divided into two equal main groups of flared and unflared group each one of 30 teeth. The flaring was done with Gates Glidden drills. The two main groups were further subdivided into two subgroups: dry canal and wet canal using 5.25% sodium hypochlorite groups, Electronic WL of each sample was determined using both Root ZX and i-Root apex locator. Consequently, histologic WL was determined by shav
... Show MoreThe objective of this investigation was to study the effects of amixture of three arbuscular mycorrhizal species : Glomus etunicatum , G. leptotichum and Rhizophagus intraradices on the induced resistance of Lycopersicon esculentum roots infected with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.lycopersici which is causal agent of wilt in the presence of organic matter peatmose (O). The work was achieved in aplastic house ( Shed) using pot culture planted for 10 weeks. Results indicated significant increase of all mycorrhizal colonization parameters ( F% , M% , m% , a% , A% ) . Highest percentage of mycorrhization was detected in roots infected with the pathogen 4 weeks after mycorrhizal colonization . On the other hand least colonization was shown in the dual
... Show MoreThis research was carried out to study the effect of plants on the wetted area for two soil types in Iraq and predict an equation to determine the wetted radius and depth for two different soil types cultivated with different types of plants, the wetting patterns for the soils were predicted at every thirty minute for a total irrigation time equal to 3 hr. Five defferent discharges of emitter and five initial volumetric soil moisture contents were used ranged between field capacity and wilting point were utilized to simulate the wetting patterns. The simulation of the water flow from a single point emitter was completed by utilized HYDRUS-2D/3D software, version 2.05. Two methods were used in developing equations to predict the domains o
... Show MoreThe loss of dental hard tissue as a result of odontoclastic activity is known as root resorption. It is unwanted and pathological in permanent teeth. Root resorption may happen within the root canal called internal root resorption or on the outer surface of the root called external root resorption. Regardless of where it occurs, root resorption is irreparable, can cause pain for the patient, necessitates treatment, and in some circumstances, resulting in the early loss of the affected tooth. It might be challenging to precisely diagnose and treat root resorption. There is limited information within literatures on root resorption therefore this review aims to understand the radiological and clinical characteristics of r
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