[In vitro anti-toxoplasma effects of ethanolic extracts of Artemisia absinthium L., Carum copticum L. and Gossypium Hirsutum]

Background: Production of anti-Toxoplasma drug with high efficacy and low side effect is one of the main priorities in toxoplasmosis researches. Herbal extracts has considered as a candidate for this purpose

Objective: This study was performed in order to determine lethal effect of Artemisia absinthium L., Carum copticum L. and Gossypium hirsutum extracts on Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites in vitro free cell line

Methods: Tachyzoites of T. gondii RH strain were treated with concentrations of 10, 50, 100, and 200 mg/ml of Artemisia absinthium L., Carum copticum L., and Gossypium hirsutum extracts within 10, 30, and 45 min. Afterward, the tachyzoites were stained with alkaline methylene blue. Mortality rates of tachyzoites treated with extracts were determined. The results were analyzed with one way ANOVA and Post Hoc Test by SPSS software. P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant

Results: The overall, 100% of tachyzoites were killed at concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg/ml of Artemisia absinthium L. and 200 mg/ml of Carum copticum L. after 10, 30, and 45 min treatment. The lowest mortality rates at concentration of 10 mg/ml were 19.6 +/- 8.4, 4.30 +/- 2.26, and 4.63 +/- 2.1 for Artemisia absinthium L., Carum copticum L., and Gossypium hirsutum, respectively. The highest and lowest mortality rate of tachyzoites by Gossypium hirsutumin extract was 13.3 +/- 7.1. The mortality of tachyzoites were confirmed by bioassay in mice

Conclusion: Anti-Toxoplasma activities of Artemisia absinthium L. and Carum copticum L. were significantly higher than Gossypium hirsutum. Further studies in order to clarify effectors are recommended

[Searching for Penicillium marneffei in the soil of Qazvin city]

Penicillium marneffei is a dimorphic fungus that produces disseminated infections in immune-deficient people and AIDS patients. This fungus is endemic to Southeastern Asia with its reservoir in Southeast Asian bamboo rats. Also, it has been isolated from rats of a region in India. This study was conducted to search for Penicillium marneffei fungus in the soil of Qazvin city from the spring of 2007 to spring of 2008. Samples were taken from different locations of the city and cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar after preliminary processing in laboratory. A suspension from colonies suspected of penicillium marneffei species was prepared and injected into peritoneum of rats. Penicillium marneffei fungus was not found in soil of the city however, other fungi including Cladosporium spp., Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Rhizopus spp., Alternaria spp., Mucor spp., Chrysosporium spp., Acremonium spp., Fusarium spp., Ulocladium spp., Drechselera spp., Scopulariopsis spp., and yeasts were cultured from the soil specimens. No Penicillium marneffei positive cultures were obtained from lung cultures of rats inhabiting the city. Although Penicillium marneffei fungus was not isolated from the city soil yet further researches on other locations of Iran are required to determine the presence or absence of this fungus

[ role of antioxidant vitamins on controlling hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular diseases]

In observational studies, prolonged reduction in blood total cholesterol level is associated with lower risk of coronary heart disease however the results of clinical trials are controversial. During recent decades the role of antioxidants in preventing the initiation and progression of oxidative stress has been the focus of discussion. To systematically review and find the exact role of antioxidants in preventing atherosclerosis and secondary cardiovascular diseases [CVD]. The Medline database through 1991-2007 was carefully retrieved and 37 relevant papers selected. Findings: There are conflicting results in clinical trials regarding the efficacy of antioxidant vitamin supplements in reducing the progression of atherosclerosis and CVD events. Owing to several different factors of patients such as age, sex, health conditions, study duration, and also the type of studies, it was concluded that the judgment on benefit of antioxidants is accompanied with poor clarity. Thus, further future studies are needed to address the efficiency of such medications in reducing the effect of these two risk factors on human

[Home drug store in Minodar region of Qazvin [2006]]

Self-medication, consumption of expired drugs and storage of medicines in unsuitable conditions causes both loss of scarce resources and health hazards. To determine the amount of home drug storage and the reasons for such attitude. This was a descriptive study conducted on 85 families in Minodar region of Qazvin [Iran] in 2006. Drugs were clustered based on OTCs, clinical application, expiration date, and storage conditions. Drug storage with no usage was seen in 82.4% out of 85 families. The frequency for distribution of the prescribed drugs was 73.1% [tablets], 98% [capsules], 75.5% [ointments], 83.1% [drops], 54% [syrups], 25% [suppositories], and 100% [ampoules]. The majority of expired drugs in every single family were related to gastrointestinal drugs. Storage conditions were found to be different from one family to another, irrespective of the manufacturer' s instruction. Regarding the volume of home drug storage and the quality by which the drugs are stored, increasing the public's general knowledge on drug application and storage conditions to prevent therapeutic failure and also lowering the adverse effect is necessary

Anticonvulsant effects of Pasipay [prepared from passion flower] by PTZ model in the mice

Passion flower has shown antianxeity and sedative effects in human. In this study, anticonvulsant effects of hydroalcoholic extract of passiflora were studied. Anticonvulsant effects of Pasipay were examined by using pentylenetetrazole model [PTZ] on mice. In this research pasipay, diazepam, and normal saline were injected i.p. at doses [0.05-0.4 mg/kg], [0.5-1 mg/kg], [10 ml/kg] respectively and after 30 minutes, PTZ [90 mg/kg, i.p] was injected to these mice. For investigating the mechanism of pasipay, flumazenil [2 mg/kg, i.p] and naloxone [5 mg/kg, i.p] were also injected 5 minutes before pasipay. An ED[50] value of pasipay was 0.2 mg/kg [%95 CL: 0.119, 0.408]. In this model, pasipay at the dose of 0.4 mg/kg prolonged the onset time of seizure and decreased the duration of seizures compared to control [p<0.001]. In this dose the seizure and mortality protection was 100%. Flumazenil and naloxone could suppress anticonvulsant effects of pasipay. It seems that pasipay may be useful for treatment of absence seizure and these effects may be related to the effect of it on GABAergic and opioid systems

effects of carbenoxolone, a gap junction channel blocker, on spatial learning inMorris water maze task in rats

High frequency oscillations [ripples] are proposed to involve in memory consolidation. Ripple oscillations persist in the absence of chemical synaptic transmission and inhibitors of gap junctions were shown to block high frequency oscillations in hippocampal slices. In this study, we investigated the effects of carbenoxolone, as a gap junction blocker, on spatial learning in the rat. Cognitive performance was assessed using Morris water maze [MWM]. Adult male rats were bilaterally cannulated into the CA1 region of their hippocampus. Carbenoxolone [1.23, 2.46, 4.92 microg/side], scopolamine [microg/side] and saline were injected through the cannulas before training for 4 consecutive trials and one probe trial that was conducted 24 h after the training trials with the platform removed. The results showed that carbenoxolone could significantly reduced percent of time spent, distance traveled and quadrant entry in Q2 compared to control group and failed to use a selective search strategy during probe trial in which the platform was removed.The results of the present study suggest that carbenoxolone as a gap junction channels blocker can decelerate learning performances of rats in a spatial memory task such as the MWM that requires the integrity of hippocampus

Study on the anticonvusant activity of thymoquinone, the major constituent of Nigella Sativa L.seeds, through intracerebroventricular injection

Thymoquinone, the major constituent of Nigella sativa seeds, is a biologically active compound, which possesses several pharmacological effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anticonvulsant effect of thymoquinone through intracerebroventricular [i.c.v.] injection. The anticonvulsant effects of thymoquinone, the major constituent of Nigella sativa seeds, were investigated using pentylenetetrazole [PTZ]-induced seizure model. In PTZ-induced epileptic seizures, the i.c.v. injection of thymoquinone [200 and 400 mol] prolonged the onset and reduced the duration of tonic-clonic seizures. The protective effect of thymoquinone against lethality was 45% and 50% in the mentioned doses, respectively. In this study, flumazenil [1 nmol, i.c.v.] reversed the anticonvulsant activity of thymoquinone. Also, pretreatment with naloxone [10 mol, i.c.v.] antagonized the prolongation of tonic-clonic seizure latency, as well as reduction in seizure duration both induced by thymoquinone [200 mol, i.c.v.]. These results indicate that thymoquinone may possess anticonvulsant activity probably through an opioid receptor-mediated increase in GABAergic tone