Achillea fragrantissima, rich in flavonoids and tannins, potentiates the activity of diminazine aceturate against Trypanosoma evansi in rats

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate activity of methanol extract of Achillea fragrantissima (meth) (A. fragrantissima) alone or in combination with diminazine aceturate (DA) against Trypanosoma evansi (T. evansi) in experimentally infected rats.@*METHODS@#Sixty adult male Wister albino rats were divided equally into 6 groups (A-F). Rats in groups A-E were experimentally infected with T. evansi and those in group F were uninfected. The groups were treated respectively as follows: group A-with 3.5 mg/kg DA; group B- with 1000 mg/kg meth A. fragrantissima; group C-3.5 mg/kg DA plus 500 mg/kg meth A. fragrantissima; group D-3.5 mg/kg DA plus 1000 mg/kg meth A. fragrantissima. Group E was left untreated. Parasitemia, survivability, packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration, total leucocytes count, lymphocyte count, and serum malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were estimated. Phytochemical screening of meth A. fragrantissima was also performed.@*RESULTS@#The phytochemical analysis of the meth A. fragrantissima indicated a higher content from polyphenolic tannins and non tannins and flavonoids. The efficacy percentage against trypanosomiasis in groups A - E was respectively as follows 80, 40, 90, 100, 0. The administration of meth-A. fragrantissima (1000 mg/kg b.wt.) produced a moderate efficacy against trypanosomiasis. Untreated rats in group E died between 25 and 30 d post infection. The rats given DA and meth A. fragrantissima combinations (C and D) showed faster and higher recovery rates than the uninfected control and groups A and B. The initial reduction in packed cell volume, hemoglobin, total leucocytes count, increases in serum malondialdehyde and decreases in GSH levels were reversed by the treatments.@*CONCLUSION@#The administration of the methanol extracts of A. fragrantissima and DA combination therapy was more effective than each product alone in the treatment of rats infected with T. evansi and further studies are required to isolate more active ingredients.

Achillea fragrantissima, rich in flavonoids and tannins, potentiates the activity of diminazine aceturate against Trypanosoma evansi in rats

Objective: To evaluate activity of methanol extract of Achillea fragrantissima (meth) (A. fragrantissima) alone or in combination with diminazine aceturate (DA) against Trypanosoma evansi (T. evansi) in experimentally infected rats. Methods: Sixty adult male Wister albino rats were divided equally into 6 groups (A-F). Rats in groups A-E were experimentally infected with T. evansi and those in group F were uninfected. The groups were treated respectively as follows: group A-with 3.5 mg/kg DA; group B- with 1. 000 mg/kg meth A. fragrantissima; group C-3.5 mg/kg DA plus 500 mg/kg meth A. fragrantissima; group D-3.5 mg/kg DA plus 1. 000 mg/kg meth A. fragrantissima. Group E was left untreated. Parasitemia, survivability, packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration, total leucocytes count, lymphocyte count, and serum malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were estimated. Phytochemical screening of meth A. fragrantissima was also performed. Results: The phytochemical analysis of the meth A. fragrantissima indicated a higher content from polyphenolic tannins and non tannins and flavonoids. The efficacy percentage against trypanosomiasis in groups A - E was respectively as follows 80, 40, 90, 100, 0. The administration of meth-A. fragrantissima (1. 000 mg/kg b.wt.) produced a moderate efficacy against trypanosomiasis. Untreated rats in group E died between 25 and 30 d post infection. The rats given DA and meth A. fragrantissima combinations (C and D) showed faster and higher recovery rates than the uninfected control and groups A and B. The initial reduction in packed cell volume, hemoglobin, total leucocytes count, increases in serum malondialdehyde and decreases in GSH levels were reversed by the treatments. Conclusion: The administration of the methanol extracts of A. fragrantissima and DA combination therapy was more effective than each product alone in the treatment of rats infected with T. evansi and further studies are required to isolate more active ingredients.

Adverse effect of cefotaxime on male rats

The present work was a trial to study the effect of cefotaxime on the reproductive system in male Albino rats. Moreover, some biochemical parameters were also examined. Fourty-five mature male albino rats weighing from 150-160 g each of approximately 120 day old were used in this study. The animals were divided into 3 equal groups, each of 15 rats. The first group was injected I/M for 5 consecutive days with cefotaxime at the dose level of 80 mg/kg B.wt. while the second group was injected with 160 mg/kg B.wt.. The third group was kept as control and injected I/M with 0.2 ml saline/rat for 5 consecutive days. The obtained results showed that administration of cefotaxime induced a variety of side effects on male reproduction as reduction of testes, epididymis and accessory sex organ weight, changes in sperm characters [decrease of sperm count and motility]. Moreover, the liver and kidney functions were significantly affected. Therefore, caution is required when using large doses of cefotaxime due to its toxicity to sperm characters as well as its adverse effect on liver and kidneys

Adverse effects of marbofloxacin in male rats

The present work was a trial to study the effect of marbofloxacin on the reproductive system in male Albino rats. Moreover, some biochemical parameters were also examined. Fourty five mature male Albino rats weighing from 140- 180 gm each of 4-5 month old were used in this study. The animals were divided into 3 equal groups each of 15 rats. The first and second groups were injected I/M for 5 consecutive days with marbofloxacin at the dose level of 7.2 mg/ Kg B.Wt and 14.4 mg/ Kg B.Wt. respectively. The third group was kept as control and injected I/M with 0.3 mL saline /rat for 5 consecutive days. The obtained results showed that administration of marbofloxacin induced a variety of adverse effects. These are represented by certain fertility troubles as reduction of testes, epididymis and accessory sex organs weights, changes in sperm characters [decrease of sperm count and motility] and decrease of serum testosterone level. Moreover, the liver and kidney functions were significantly affected. Therefore, caution is required when using large doses of the drug of marbofloxacin due to its adverse effect on the sperm characters, liver and kidneys

Effects of ceftriaxone on reproductive and biochemical aspects of male rats

The present work was a trial to study the effect of ceftriaxone on the reproductive system in male Albino rats. Moreover, some biochemical parameters were also investigated. Fourty-five mature male albino rats weighing from 120 -160 g each of 4-5 month old were used in this study. The animals were divided into 3 equal groups, each of 15 rats. The first and second groups were injected I/M for 5 consecutive days with ceftriaxone at the dose level of 75 mg/kg B.wt. and 300 mg/kg B.wt. respectively. The third group was kept as control and injected I/M with 0.3 ml saline/ rat for 5 consecutive days. The obtained results showed that administration of ceftriaxone induced a variety of side effects. These are represented by reduction of testes, epididymis and accessory sex organ weight, changes in sperm characters [decrease of sperm count and motility] and increase of sperm abnormalities. Moreover, the liver functions were significantly affected. Therefore, caution is required when using large doses of ceftriaxone due to its toxicity to reproductive organs as well as its increasing effect on liver enzymes

Reproductive troubles induced by ivermectin or triclabendazole and their combinations in male rats

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of administration of ivermectin and / or its interaction with triclabendazole on some reproductive organs weight, epididymal sperm characters and serum testosterone level in mature male rats. Sixty mature male rats were divided equally into 4 groups each of 15 rats. The first group received s.c. ivermectin [0.56 mg/kg. b.wt.], the second group received orally triclabendazole [35mg/kg b.wt.], the third group received ivermectin plus triclabendazole as previously mentioned and the fourth group received saline [control group]. After 31 days from drugs administration, the drugs were repeated to all groups. The obtained results showed that administration of two doses of ivermectin, triclabendazole or both together induced a variety of adverse effects. These are represented by certain fertility troubles as reduction of some reproductive organs weight, changes in semen characters [decrease of sperm count and motility and increase of total sperm abnormalities, as well as a decrease in serum testosterone level. It could be concluded that the most harmful effect on male fertility induced by a coadministration of ivermectin and triclabendazole than giving each drug alone

Design study on compact hybrid standing-wave C-band linear accelerator for medical applications

New radiation therapy techniques such as Tomotherapy and Stereotactic radiotherapy require compact and higher power electron accelerators. In this paper a design of 10 MeV, 450 mA, compact, and hybrid standing wave C-band [5712 MHz] linear accelerator with peak power of 7 MW is presented to fulfil the demands of such new radiation therapy techniques. Standing wave structure that operates at [PI]/2 mode has been chosen for the design. Two different coupling techniques were utilized in the structure design; side coupling is used for regular accelerating section while the on-axis coupling is used in buncher section. A special hybrid cell is designed to connect the aforementioned sections such that the first half of this cell uses on axis coupling and fit to the buncher cell dimensions and the second half uses side coupling and fit to the regular cell dimension. Different cells of the design have been optimized using the computer, code SUPERFISH. PARMELA code is used to simulate the electrons' trajectories along the whole structure. Results from PARMELA indicate that the final energy is 10 MeV; the transmission ratio is 44%, and good energy spectrum with 18.6% span from the peak energy

Quasi monochromatic synchrotron radiation source based on compact X-band linear accelerator and terra watt laser for medical diagnostics

X-ray has many useful applications in different research field such as solid state physics, biology, microscopy, medical imaging and diagnostics. One of the great interests in medical application is the Coronary Arterio Graphy [CAG] in which the coronary artery is visualized by contrast agent [iodine] injected into the artery by a catheter that inserted into the artery. This technique is very invasive for patient and associated with high irradiation dose for the patient and for the medical doctor too due to the wide energy spectrum emitted from the X-ray tube used in this technique. In this paper we avoided all the shortcomings of the aforementioned technique by introducing a new, cheap and compact system to produce hard X-ray based on electron-laser collision which enables the physicians to visualize the coronary artery dynamically. The dynamic visualization was possible in this technique due to the high flux of the X-ray photons, which is about 10[11] photons/second. This technique utilizes the advantage of the K-edge attenuation of the iodine [Z = 53] at X-ray energy of 33.169 KeV; hence a monochromatic X-ray radiation just above this energy will give high contrast ratio and clear image. The contrast agent [iodine] in this technique will be injected intravenously instead of using a catheter that inserted into the artery. For that reason the new technique is known as an Intra Venous Coronary Arterio Graphy [IVCAG]. The X-ray flux generated from laser-electron collision has been optimized using CAIN code, while the accelerating cavities of the X-band linear accelerator were designed and optimized using SUPERFISH code. Several scenarios have been proposed to achieve our final goal of compact and stable hard x-ray sources. The progress of the system is presented too

DNA polymorphism of the lipoprotein lipase gene and of the apolipoproteins AI, CIII, AIV genes cluster in Egyptian cad patients and in healthy control subjects

Coronary artery disease [CAD] is a major cause of mortality in Egypt. CAD is a multifactorial disorder with both environmental and genetic factors involved in its aetiology and pathogenesis. Dyslipidaemias are among the major risk factors for CAD. Lipoprotein lipase [LPL] gene an apolipoprotein AI-CIII-AIV genes cluster are among the main candidate genes involved in lipid metabolism. The aim of the present study is to determine and detect the frequencies of common DNA polymorphisms of LPL gene and apo AI-CIII-AIV gene cluster in Egyptian CAD patients and healthy control subjects. The study sample included 121 Egyptian male CAD patients and 101 male controls. Mutations and polymorphisms that were previously found to be common in European or Asian populations were chosen to be examined in the current study. These included D9N, N291S, S447X, and Hindlll restriction fragment length polymorphism [RFLP] for LPL gene. Those for the apolipoprotein AI-CIII-AIV genes cluster were: Xmnl RFLP, Al promoter 75G>A, Mspl RFLP, and Pstl RFLP for apo al, Sstl RFLP for apo CIII, and T347S For apo AVI. The N291S and the homozygous pattern of the rare allele of S447X reported in other ethnic groups were not detected in the studied groups. The frequencies of other mutations and polymorphism were reported. Some of these frequencies are comparable with other reported frequencies in the literatures of other ethnic groups. However, there were no statistical significant difference between the CAD patients and the normal males. Failure of the present study to detect significant association between the different polymorphic sites and CAD reflects the complexity of the disease where other environmental and genetic factors may be involved

Smoking attitudes, health believes and behaviour of patients following first myocardial infarction

The aim of this study was to investigate the behavior of patients [related to smoking], following first myocardial infarction, to determine attitude and health beliefs for smokers and ex-smokers, as well as to identify the ex-smokers' responses related to persons that trigger their attitudes toward quitting of smoking. This study was conducted in the Outpatients Clinic of Cardiology Department, Main University Hospital. The selected subjects had the first myocardial infarction 6 months ago. The results of the study confirmed significant attitude differences between those individuals who stop and those who continue to smoke. The most significant persons that trigger the attitude of myocardial infarction patients toward quitting of smoking were physicians and family. The least significant persons were patients with the same disease. It was recommended to motivate smokers who suffer from coronary heart disease to modify their behavior through changing their health beliefs and encouraging a positive attitude for cessation of smoking. This can be achieved through smoking committees presented by medical and nursing staff, and by encouraging anti-smoking measures as substitute for cigarettes

Cytotoxic effects of the pyrethroid insecticide [matox] with reference to its influence on the reproductive hormone

Male rats exposed to the aerosols of the pyrethroid insecticide Matox at a level of one tablet/36 m 3 for 10 hours daily up to 2, 4 and 8 weeks revealed a significant decrease in weight of testis, epididymis, seminal vesicle and prostate gl and s after 4 and 8 weeks. The sperm motility percentage was significantly decreased after 2, 4 and 8 weeks of exposure to Matox aerosols, while the sperm cell concentration was significantly decreased after 4 and 8 weeks of exposure to Matox aerosols. Male rats exposed to Matox aerosols showed a significant decrease in the level of LH and testosterone hormone after 4 and 8 weeks. Meanwhile, the FSH level was significantly reduced only after 8 weeks of exposure. Cytogenetic studies revealed that Matox have neither visible effect on chromosomes structure and arrangement nor numerical chromosomal aberrations. However, the miotic division of testicular cells in Matox treated group were highly decreased when compared with that of control one. Hematological studies showed that Matox aerosols induced a significant decrease in RBCs, WBCs counts, Hb content and PCV after 2, 4 and 8 weeks

Synthesis of certain 1,5-diazepine derivatives of expected CNS depressant activity

A series of compounds of fused 1,5-diazepine structure, 3-substituted by an arylhydrazono group: 7-methyl-3-arylhydrazono-1,5-benzodiazepin 2-ones [7-12] and 3-arylhydrazono-pyrido [2,3-b] 1,5-diazepin-2-ones [13-18] have been synthesized, with special incorporation of fluoro, trifluoromethyl and methylmercapto functions at the arylhydrazono moiety. The pharmacological screening of these new compounds is under investigation