Date Palm Pollen Grains as a Potential Manager for Male Sub-fertility: A Clinical Trial

Medicinal plants are identified and used throughout human history; it has a great economic value especially in drugs discovery. Date palm pollen (DPP) is used traditionally in Sudan for treating sub-fertile male patients. Male infertility is heterogeneous group of disorders, most of them are idiopathic. This study is aimed to investigate the role of pharmaceutical preparation of DPP in amelioration of male sub fertility with detection of any possible adverse effects on the major body system functions, through blood picture, liver enzymes and kidney function. This study is a single group pretest-posttest experimental prospective comparative self-control. Sub-fertile men with Idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia or azoospermia were received 500 mg capsules of DPP twice daily for three months after conducting their safety profiles to detect any toxic effects on hematological, hepatological and nephrological functions, Blood samples were taken from the patients for serum level of FSH (for azoospermic patients), FSH and Testosterone (for oligoasthenozoospermic patients). Finally, Semen sample have been obtained for computerized assisted semen analysis (CASA) report I and II. DPP administration induced significant increase (p≤0.001) in testosterone level (in oligoasthenozoospermic patients) and FSH level (in azoospermic patients). DPP induced significant changes (p≤0.001) towards improvement in the total and progressive sperm motility percentages measured in oligoasthenozoospermic patients by CASA dynamic analysis report I and II. The toxicological studies for DPP approved their safety use in human

Synergism and efficacy of some naturally occurring D-amino acids against clinically relevant bacterial and fungal species

Amino acids are predominantly synthesized and used in their L-enantiomeric form in all three kingdoms of life. However, bacteria produce diverse D-amino acids that are involved in the synthesis and cross-linking of peptidoglycan. Several studies reported possible antimicrobial activities of selected D-amino acids against Escherichia coli. The present study was undertaken to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal susceptibility patterns and growth inhibitory effects of certain D-amino acids, including D-alanine, D-lysine, D-serine, and D-proline. Our findings indicate that D-lysine is the most potent antibacterial and antifungal, among the examined D-amino acids, followed by D-alanine, whereas D-serine and D-proline had insignificant antimicrobial activities. Gram positive bacteria were more susceptible to the antibacterial effects of D-amino acids than Gram negative bacteria. Growth kinetic studies revealed that D-lysine and D-alanine resulted in extended lag phases, suggesting that the D-amino acids successfully influenced the microorganisms' ability to use nutrients efficiently and disrupted their normal biological functions. Additionally, synergism was evident between D-alanine and D-lysine when combined with either Ampicillin or Amphotericin B. These results suggest a new avenue for D-amino acids' potential as naturally occurring antimicrobial reagents for the treatment and prevention of microbial growth in food and agriculture applications