Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Jana.
Ethyl ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts of Cotula cinerea were administered to mice at a dose of 100 mg/kg in order to study their analgesic effects. Only the ethyl ether extract showed a significant effect.
Zygophyllum gaetulum leaves are one of several traditional remedies used for diabetes treatment in Morocco. Its ability to lower the blood glucose was studied in 13 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The reaction time of the Z. gaetulum aqueous extract at a single oral dose (440 mg/kg) producing a significant hypoglycaemic effect is 6 h after administration. The same dose ingested twice daily resulted in a significant reduction of blood glucose during the first week, and maintained the patient in normoglycaemia throughout the 2 week course of treatment, with no change in body weight.
Several fractions of the methanolic extract of the rhizome or the leaves of Aristolochia paucinervis Pomel were screened for antibacterial activity using the agar dilution method against fourteen reference bacterial strains. Only three fractions (defatted chloroformic rhizome fraction: APRC, rhizome ethyl acetate fraction: APRE and leaf chloroform fraction: APLC) showed an activity against at least one of the microorganisms tested. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination showed that APRC was the most active against Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficile, Enterococcus faecalis, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus subtilis. The high bacteriostatic activity of APRC was confirmed by its MIC determination against clinical strains of C. perfringens (n = 32), C. difficile (n = 31), and E. faecalis (n = 22). Results of this study suggest the potential interest of this highly active fraction and support the use of A. paucinervis Pomel in Moroccan traditional medicine to treat skin and soft-tissue infections, especially gas gangrene and intestinal diseases.
The degradation of glycerol by Desulfovibrio carbinolicus and Desulfovibrio fructosovorans was tested in pure culture with sulfate and in coculture with Methanospirillum hungatei. Desulfovibrio carbinolicus degraded glycerol into 3-hydroxypropionate with the formation of sulfide in pure culture and methane in the coculture. The maximum growth rates were 0.063 h-1 in pure culture and 0.014 h-1 in coculture (corresponding growth yields: 8.9 and 6.0 g dry weight/mol glycerol). With D. fructosovorans, the pathway of glycerol degradation depended upon the terminal electron acceptor. Acetate and sulfide were produced in the presence of sulfate, while 3-hydroxypropionate and methane were formed by the syntrophic association with M. hungatei. The maximum growth rates were 0.057 h-1 in pure culture and 0.020 h-1 in coculture (corresponding growth yields: 8.9 and 6.0 g dry weight/mol glycerol). In a medium containing both glycerol and 1,2-propanediol but no sulfate, D. carbinolicus and D. fructosovorans degraded both substrates. A drop in the concentration of 1,3-propanediol was observed, and propionate and n-propanol production was recorded. Putative biochemical pathways of 1,2-propanediol degradation by D. carbinolicus and D. fructosovorans indicated that the enzymes involved in this metabolism are present only when the strains are grown on a mixture of 1,2-propanediol and glycerol without sulfate.
An extracellular, thermostable salt tolerant amylase has been obtained from Bacillus sp. MD 124 which was previously isolated from municipal garbage. Among the carbon sources used for amylase production, rhamnose, starch, glucose, lactose, galactose, maltose and sucrose favoured enzyme production whereas sorbose suppressed the enzyme production. Maximum amount of enzyme (15 unit/ml culture broth) was produced after 24 h of incubation at 45 degrees C in the medium containing 0.5% starch, at pH 6.5. The effect of temperature, pH as well as effect of metal ions on enzyme activity was also studied.
In this work, we have studied the molluscicidal activity of different extracts obtained from Cotula cinerea and Quercus lusitania var. infectoria galls. The hydroalcoholic extract of Cotula cinerea, acetonic extract and gallotanin of Quercus infectoria galls have presented high activity against Bulinus truncatus. The hydroalcoholic extract of Cotula cinerea was fractionated by chromatography on silica gel column. We have isolated two very active fractions at concentrations respectively of 52.5 and 27.5 ppm.
Several selective media were evaluated for their suitability for the isolation and quantification of mesophilic Aeromonas species from naturally polluted samples. Satisfactory recoveries were obtained with most of them but only when densities of background microflora were low. When analysed samples were from highly polluted waters, results were inconsistent because they did not give quantitative recovery of mesophilic aeromonads or they did not permit ready differentiation of Aeromonas species from the competitive bacteria. A new medium was developed on the basis of the combination of some positive aspects of several published media, pril-ampicillin-dextrin-ethanol (PADE) agar. The medium employs dextrin (Merck 3006) as a fermentable carbohydrate and pril, ampicillin and ethanol as inhibitory substances. Recovery on PADE agar from suspensions of 15 tested strains of Aeromonas prepared from pure cultures was excellent. The confirmation rate of typical colonies designated Aeromonas spp. isolated from polluted samples exceeded 90%. Recoveries of stressed aeromonad strains on both PADE agar and a non-selective medium (TSA) did not show any significant difference (P > 0.05). PADE agar was more reliable for quantitative recovery of mesophilic aeromonads than the other selective media because of its characteristics: (i) inhibition of the swarming of Proteus, (ii) good reduction of the background, (iii) inhibition of the over growth of Klebsiella spp., (iv) absence of NaCl makes it unfavourable for the growth of halophilic vibrios, (v) combination of two pH indicators permitted a very easy differentiation between Aeromonas colonies and the competitive microflora. The medium can also be used for isolation of aeromonads from various sources by membrane filtration.
A bacterial strain, Bacillus megaterium VUMB-109, has been isolated and identified which produces salt-tolerant, thermostable amylase (16 U/ml culture filtrate). Cultural conditions such as carbon and nitrogen sources, metal ions, temperature and pH have been optimized for enzyme production. The partially purified enzyme was active over a wide range of pH (4.5-10) and exhibited maximum activity at 95 degrees C, retaining 90% original activity at 100 degrees C. Partially purified enzyme was stable at 70 degrees C for 60 min. The enzyme was stable in NaCl up to 5m over 24 h without losing its original activity.
Different extracts of aerial parts of Sium nodiflorum were examined for their antifungal activity against two groups of fungi: the growth of both yeast and mold was significantly inhibited. Analgesic activity study of these extracts was also carried out but showed no significant effect in mice on the writhing induced by acetic acid.
Seventy-nine serum specimens from pregnant women and 29 from immunocompromised patients (12 from graft recipients and 17 from patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) were classified into three groups according to their serologic status to Toxoplasma gondii as determined by immunofluorescence and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA): no antibodies (group 1), acute acquired infection (group 2), and reactivation (group 3). These samples were tested for the presence of circulating antigens (CAg) of T. gondii by capture ELISA and immunoblotting. The presence of CAg was detected by at least one of the two techniques in six of 31 subjects in group 1, 51 of 68 subjects in group 2, and seven of nine subjects in group 3. Of a total of 108 serum specimens, 28 were found to be T. gondii-positive by capture ELISA, 57 by immunoblotting, and 21 by both techniques. Among the nine polypeptides detected by immunoblotting, 38 recognized p14, 17 recognized p8, and 16 recognized p8, and 16 recognized p30. These results demonstrate that the detection of CAg can aid in the diagnosis of infection by T. gondii in humans, especially in immunocompromised patients whose serologic response can be impaired.
Toxoplasma gondii trophozoites (RH strain) were cultured in embryonic fibroblasts in order to study the kinetics of production of excretory/secretory antigens, and the results were compared to the production of circulating antigens in an in vivo mouse model. By capture-ELISA, excretory/secretory antigens were first detected on the fourth day of culture whereas circulating antigens were first detected 1 day after infection. Similar concentrations of antigens were detected in both models as evidenced by comparable absorbance values. By immunoblotting, the excretory/secretory antigens were also detected later compared to circulating antigens (day 4 vs day 1). Seven major polypeptides were detected in both antigen preparations, six of them having the same molecular mass (110, 75, 48, 30, 24 and 22 kDa).
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An acute toxicity study of twelve medicinal plants on Swiss albino mice has been carried out. The extracts were administered orally at a dose of 1 g/kg body weight. Animals were observed for 7 days and changes in weight and behaviour were noted. On the eighth day, the animals were sacrificed and an anatomo-histopathologic survey was undertaken. The results showed a change in behaviour and some histologic modifications following the administration of certain plant extracts.
Investigations were carried out to evaluate the hypoglycaemic activity of the infusions of Globularia alypum and Zygophyllum gaetulum. Oral and intraperitoneal administration of the plants (0.7 g/kg) produced a significant hypoglycaemic effect in normal as well as in hyperglycaemic rats. The infusions increased significantly plasma insulin levels in normal rats. It is suggested that the hypoglycaemic activity of these plants may be mediated through enhancement of peripheral metabolism of glucose and an increase in insulin release.
In this study, the antimicrobial activity of leaf extracts obtained from two species of genus Cistus L. was examined in vitro against five strains of bacteria and five strains of fungi. The species studied are Cistus villosus L. = incanus and Cistus monspeliensis L. All extracts showed inhibitory activity against microorganisms. These results encourage us towards further biological investigation.
Ethyl ether, ethyl acetate and n.butanol extracts of Cotula cinerea L. were tested for their antiprotozoal activity against two species of Trichomonas: Trichomonas intestinalis and Trichomonas vaginalis. It has been found that the growth of both Trichomonas was significantly inhibited.
The extracts of six plants selected on the basis of folk-medicine reports were examined for their antibacterial effects against eight pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that n-butanol extract of Calotropis procera proved to be the most effective against the bacteria tested using the paper disc diffusion method. The antiprotozoal activity was also examined and showed that ethyl ether extract of Sium nodiflorum exhibits a parasiticidal effect against Trichomonas intestinalis and vaginalis.
We evaluated the effect of niclosamide treatment and the additional cleaning of basins and pools on the density and infection rate of Bulinus truncatus within the irrigation network of Oudaya. The period prior to molluscicide treatment (January-May) revealed a mean density of 151 snails/m2 in 1995-96 and 127 snails/m2 in 1997-98. After cleaning had started, the mean density prior to molluscicide treatment fell to 84 snails/m2 in 1999-2000. After molluscicide treatment, densities dropped to very low levels only rising again from October. In November 1999-96 mean density reached 150 snails/m2 but after cleaning started in 1997-98 this only reached 80 snails/m2; in 1999-2000, when cleaning was undertaken 3 months before and after molluscicide treatment, it reached only 18 snails/m2. From 1995 to 1996, the infection rate rose slightly (4.54% to 5.44%), but, from 1997, there was a significant drop (3.13% to 2.16%).