[Study on the different dosages of Elaeagnus angustifolia aqueous extract with and without morphine on the antinociceptive rate in mice]

Elaeagnus angustifolia extract has been used for its antinociceptive effects. The present study was done to compare of different dosage of this plant extract with and without Morphine on the extent of the antinociceptive effect. This study was done on the 80 male NMRI mice with a mean weight of 28 +/- 3G. These animals were divided to 10 groups [8 mice in each group] including: control, positive control, group treated with morphine [2 mg/kg], group treated with E. angustifolia aqueous extract [62.5, 125 and 250 mg/kg] and group treated with the plant aqueous extract plus morphine. Study was done on the 80 mice in two stages: with and without morphine and with three dosages of E.angustifolia aqueous extract. The extract was injected through the intraperitoneal route, [i.p] 30 minutes before the writhing test. Normal saline was injected in the control group and indomethacin, [5 mg/kg] to the positive control group. Then, the increase in abdominal pulse was calculated for 30 minutes as a sign of visceral pain and the pulse rates were compared in the different groups. Pulse rate in the control group was 88.4 +/- 2.4. These rates were 39.6 +/- 2.4 when 62.5 mg/kg E. angustifolia was used without morphine and 9.3 +/- 1.4 with same dosage of extract with morphine [p<0.0001]. Moreover, our findings showed that antinociceptive effect increased with higher dosages of plant extract [p<0.001]. Elaeagnus angustifolia and morphine show evidence of synergistic effect for antinociception in mice

Comparative study of the major Iranian cereal cultivars and some selected spices in relation to support Aspergillus parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production

Aflatoxins are toxic fungal metabolites enable to contaminate a wide range of natural substrates. This contamination can be host-specific for different plant species. In this study, the ability of a toxigenic Aspergillus parasiticus to produce various aflatoxins on major Iranian cereals was evaluated with special focus on plant susceptibility to toxin production at cultivar level. Aspergillus parasiticus cultured on major Iranian cereal cultivars and some selected spices was incubated in shaking condition at 28?C for 6 days. The concentration of aflatoxins B1 and total [B1, B2, G1 and G2] was measured by thin layer chromatography. The amounts of aflatoxin B1 produced on maize, wheat and rice cultivars were in the ranges of 1.0-33.9, 41.9-193.7, and 39.1-82.3 micro g/g fungal weight, respectively. Interestingly, genetically modified Bacillus thuringiensis rice [GM rice] of Tarom Molaii cultivar examined for the first time in this study showed less susceptibility to aflatoxin production in comparison with its normal counterpart [P < 0.05]. The mean of aflatoxin production on maize cultivars was less than both wheat and rice cultivars that indicates considerable resistance of maize to aflatoxin compared with two other cereals. Unlike to Cuminum cyminum, both Helianthus annuus and Carum carvi seeds were highly resistant to aflatoxin production. These results indicate that inter- and intra-species differences exist in susceptibility of the major Iranian cereals as well as spices tested to A. parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production. Further studies are recommended to determine resistance markers of selected cultivars of Iranian cereals

Screening of soil and sheep faecal samples for predacious fungi: Isolation and characterization of the nematode-trapping fungus arthrobotrys oligospora

Over one-year period, 150 pasture soil samples and 138 sheep faecal samples, collected from different parts of Iran were screened for the presence of nematophagous fungi. The samples were cultured at 25°C on chloramphenicol-2% water agar [CHF-WA] plates in the presence of Haemonchus contortus third stage larvae [L3] and checked over a two-month period for characteristic conidia, conidiophores and hyphal traps of nematophagous fungi. Suspected nematophagous fungi were isolated by periodic transfer of the fungi on CHF-WA plates using the agar block method. Overall, 11 soil samples were found to harbour the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys from which 3 pure isolates were made and consequently identified as Arthrobotrys oligospora IRAN 877 C, IRAN 878 C and IRAN 879 C. Nematophagous fungi were not found in any tested sheep faecal samples. The predatory capacity of the isolates was tested against H. contortus infective larvae and then compared to reference strains A. oligospora CBS 111.37, A. oligospora CBS 251.82 and Duddingtonia flagrans CBS 583.91. The local strains of A. oligospora reduced the development of H. contortus L3 by 75-85%, whereas, the predatory capacity of reference A. oligospora and D. flagrans strains was measured in the range of 51-85% compared to the fungus free controls. Study of the effect of temperature on predatory activity of A. oligospora strains IRAN 877 C and CBS 111.37 revealed a reduction of more than 95% in infective larvae of H. contortus at temperature levels between 15 to 25°C. This reduction was significantly decreased to 30% and 50% at 10°C and 30°C, respectively. The nematode-trapping fungus A. oligospora is reported from soil of Iran for the first time and its potential role in biocontrol of gastrointestinal nematodes of ruminants is discussed