Efficacy of aqueous garlic extract on growth, aflatoxin B1 production, and Cyto-morphological aberrations of Aspergillus flavus, causing human ophthalmic infection: topical treatment of A. flavus keratitis

By using agar well diffusion assay, antifungal activity of aqueous extract prepared from Egyptian garlic (Allium sativum L.) was evaluated in vitro against two strains of Aspergillus flavus (OC1 and OC10) causing human ocular infection. The recorded minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for growth inhibition of both strains was 3.60 mg/ml. Aqueous garlic extract (AGE) was used in successive in vivo tests as an attempt to cure rabbit's fungal keratitis caused by A. flavus OC1. Findings showed that diluted preparation of AGE was effective topical antifungal agent and succeeded to cure severe A. flavus keratitis in a time course less than 10 days without any observable side effects. Microscopic examination showed that AGE induced deleterious cyto-morphological aberrations inA. flavus target cells. AGE applied to Czapek's broth via contact method was more effective on growth, spores and aflatoxin B1 production than AGE applied to the same broth at the same concentration via fumigation method.

Efficacy of aqueous garlic extract on growth, aflatoxin B1 production, and cyto-morphological aberrations of Aspergillus flavus, causing human ophthalmic infection: topical treatment of A. flavus keratitis.

By using agar well diffusion assay, antifungal activity of aqueous extract prepared from Egyptian garlic (Allium sativum L.) was evaluated in vitro against two strains of Aspergillus flavus (OC1 and OC10) causing human ocular infection. The recorded minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for growth inhibition of both strains was 3.60 mg/ml. Aqueous garlic extract (AGE) was used in successive in vivo tests as an attempt to cure rabbit's fungal keratitis caused by A. flavus OC1. Findings showed that diluted preparation of AGE was effective topical antifungal agent and succeeded to cure severe A. flavus keratitis in a time course less than 10 days without any observable side effects. Microscopic examination showed that AGE induced deleterious cyto-morphological aberrations in A. flavus target cells. AGE applied to Czapek's broth via contact method was more effective on growth, spores and aflatoxin B1 production than AGE applied to the same broth at the same concentration via fumigation method.

HLA antigens and idiopathic epilepsy.

Fifty-two mentally normal Egyptian children with idiopathic epilepsy were human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typed. They were divided into two subgroups: generalized tonic-clonic seizures (36 cases) and absences (16 cases). When the frequencies of HLA antigens were compared statistically with those of 120 normal controls, HLA-A9 was found to be significantly higher in the total epilepsy group and the two subgroups. This finding, together with the low HLA-A9 gene frequency in our group of normal Egyptians as compared with other ethnic populations, strongly suggests an association between antigen A9 and one or more of the polygenes controlling the development of idiopathic epilepsy. The relative risk indicated that persons having antigen A9 are 16 times more susceptible to epilepsy than persons lacking it.