ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: Amino acids have different effects on the growth of some dermatophytes. Some may increase whereas others maydecrease their growth. The concentration of some amino acids is also an important factor for their effects
Materials and Methods: To investigate the effects of L-amino acids on the growth of six species of dermatophytes including Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum gypseum, Microsporum canison, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton schoienlinii and Trichophyton verrucosum, two concentrations [1 and 0.1 mg/ml] of the 23 L-amino acids and some of their derivatives were added to sabouraud glucose agar media of these dermatophytes. The experiment was carried out three times. After 3 weeks for Trichophyton verrucosum and Trichophyton schoenleinii, and 2 weeks for the rest of dermatophytes, the mean diameter of each colony was measured and compared with the control whose media was not treated with amino acids
Results: The results showed the higher inhibitory effects of L-Cysteine hydrochloride, L-Cysteine, L-Aspartic acid, L-Glutamic acid, DL-Tryptophan and L-Tyrosine on the studied dermatophytes. The other amino acids had less inhibitory or even stimulatory effects on the growth of the dermatophytes
Conclusions: By using the properties of these effective amino acids, antifungal drugs may be synthesized more effective with lower cost and less side effects against different dermatophytes
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to determine the effect of fish oil [FO] supplements on high density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], apolipoprotein-Al [Apo-Al], malondialdehyde [MDA], arylesterase [Aryl], and paraoxonase-1 [PON1] activity in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis [RA]. A total of 90 RA patients were randomly allocated into two groups that were treated with one FO pearl [1 gr] daily or placebo for three months in addition to conventional treatment. HDL-C, Apo-Al, and MDA levels as well as POW and Aryl activities were measured before and after treatment. Independent t-test was used to match basal parameters of case and control groups. Paired t-test was used to assess significance of the differences. Correlation was evaluated by Pearson's test and the statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. No significant differences were noted between FO and placebo patients with regards to age, disease duration, post-menopausal status, conventional therapy, body mass index [BMI], and numbers of swollen and tender joints at the beginning of the study. There were 83 patients who completed the three-month follow up. Serum levels of HDL-C [P = 0.018], Apo-Al [P = 0.165], Aryl [P = 0.026], and POW [P = 0.049] activity increased, whereas MDA levels decreased significantly with FO supplementation [P= 0.077]. Significant correlations between increased POW activity and both HDL-C [P = 0.007, r = 0.419] and Apo-Al [P < 0.001, r = 0.742] concentrations as well as between HDL-C and Apo Al levels [P= 0.01, r = 0.403] were found. According to the results of this study, EQ could increase serum HDL-C and PQN1 levels and Aryl activity in female patients with RA