RESUMO
Background: Royal jelly [RJ] is a complementary diet widely prescribed by traditional medicine specialists for treatment of in- fertility. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of RJ on a set of reproductive parameters in immature female rats
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, thirty two immature female rats [30-35 g] were divided into four groups [n=8/group]: three experimental groups and one control. The experimental groups received 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/body weight doses of RJ daily for 14 days, and the control group received 0.5 ml distilled water interaperitonealy [i.p]. The treated rats were sacrificed and their ovaries were dissected for histological examination. The serum levels of ovarian hormones, nitric oxide [NO] and ferric reducing antioxidant power [FRAP] were evaluated, and the ratios of the ovarian and uterine weight to body weight were calculated. One-way ANOVA was used for data analysis
Results: The body weights were significantly different [P=0.002] among the rat groups, with an increase in all RJ treated animals. Uterine and ovarian weights and the serum levels of progesterone [P=0.013] and estradiol [P=0.004] were significantly increased in experimental groups compared to the control group. In addition, a significant increase in the number of mature follicles and corpora lutea [P=0.007] was seen in RJ recipients compared to the controls. A significant increase in the serum levels of FRAP [P=0.009] and a significant decrease in NO level [P=0.013] were also observed
Conclusion: RJ promotes folliculogensis and increases ovarian hormones. This product can be considered as a natural growth stimulator for immature female animals
RESUMO
Dendrimers are a new class of synthetic macromolecules, which have many applications in medical sciences. This study was carried out with the purpose of investigating the antibacterial effect of polypropylenimine-G2 [PPI-G2] dendrimer on some bacterial species. In this study, the antibacterial effects of PPI-G2 dendrimer were studied by disk diffusion and microdilution method. PPI-G2 dendrimer in concentrations of 0.5, 5, 50, and 500microg/ml were inoculated onto blank disks and placed in Mueller-Hinton agar media. Zone of inhibition was investigated by bacterial inoculation according to the McFarland standard 0.5. Minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] and minimum bactericidal concentration [MBC] of PPI-G2 dendrimer in the concentrations of 0.05, 0.5, 5, 50, and 500microg/ml, were determined using microdilution method in nutrient broth media. In this study, antibacterial activity of dendrimer increased with increasing their concentration in the disk. Zone of inhibition in the concentration of 500microg/ml for E. coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus were 19, 20, 25, and 21mm, respectively. The MIC for Enterobacter cloacae, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus was 5microg/ml and for E. coli was 500microg/ml. In addition, the MBC for Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aurous was 50microg/ml and for E. coli and Enterobacter cloacae was 500microg/ml. The findings of this study showed that PPI-G2 dendrimer has antibacterial effects. However, use of the dendrimer for drinking water disinfection requires further and wider studies