scholarly journals Activity of Cuban Plants Extracts against Leishmania amazonensis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marley García ◽  
Lianet Monzote ◽  
Ramón Scull ◽  
Pedro Herrera

Natural products have long been providing important drug leads for infectious diseases. Leishmaniasis is a major health problem worldwide that affects millions of people especially in the developing nations. There is no immunoprophylaxis (vaccination) available for Leishmania infections, and conventional treatments are unsatisfactory; therefore, antileishmanial drugs are urgently needed. In this work, 48 alcoholic extracts from 46 Cuban plants were evaluated by an in vitro bioassay against Leishmania amazonensis. Furthermore, their toxicity was assayed against murine macrophage. The three most potent extracts against the amastigote stage of Leishmania amazonensis were from Hura crepitans, Bambusa vulgaris, and Simarouba glauca.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Ebner ◽  
Eliot Morrison ◽  
Miriam Bertazzon ◽  
Ankur Midha ◽  
Susanne Hartmann ◽  
...  

SummaryAscaris spp. is a major health problem of humans and animals alike, and understanding the immunogenicity of its antigens is required for developing urgently needed vaccines. The parasite-secreted products represent the most relevant, yet highly complex (>250 proteins) antigens of Ascaris spp. as defining the pathogen-host interplay. We applied an in vitro antigen processing system coupled to quantitative proteomics to identify potential CD4+ Th cell epitopes in Ascaris suum-secreted products. This approach restricts the theoretical list of epitopes, based on affinity prediction, by a factor of ∼1200. More importantly, selection of 2 candidate peptides based on experimental evidence demonstrated the presence of epitope-reactive T cells in Ascaris-specific T cell lines generated from healthy human individuals. Thus, this stringent work pipeline identifies a human haplotype-specific T cell epitope of a major human pathogen. The methodology described represents an easily adaptable platform for characterization of highly complex pathogenic antigens and their MHCII-restriction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-72
Author(s):  
Ban Hussein Ali ◽  
Thaer A. Saleh ◽  
Mohammed M. Al-Halbosiy

            Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by Leishmania parasite, this disease considers as a major health problem worldwide. The available therapy is unsatisfactory expensive with a cytotoxic side effects. Studies of marine algae as a source of pharmacological active compounds have increased worldwide.  This study was aimed to investigate the effect of a type of green algae (Chara vulgaris) on promastigotes of L. tropica, by using. various concentrations (500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6 µg/mL) in vitro by MTT assay [3-(4.5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2.5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide)], to investigate its effect on the proliferation of promastigotes, by three incubation periods (24, 48, 72 hr.) The results showed a significant (p< 0.05)   decrease in survived of promastigotes in treatment groups with concentrations that ranged between 15 to 500 μg/ ml.  This study revealed a major growth inhibition effect of the organic extract of C. vulgaris against L. tropica promastigotes, and the extract of ethyl acetate showed potential activity is better than the aqueous extract.


2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanna Chaijaroenkul ◽  
Kesara Na-Bangchang

AbstractMultidrug resistance Plasmodium falciparum is the major health problem in Thailand. Discovery and development of new antimalarial drugs with novel modes of action is urgently required. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antimalarial interaction of 9-hydroxycalabaxanthone and α-mangostin with the standard antimalarial drugs mefloquine and artesunate in chloroquine sensitive (3D7) and chloroquine resistant (K1) P. falciparum clones in vitro. Median (range) IC50 (drug concentration which produces 50% parasite growth inhibition) values of the 9-hydroxycalabaxanthone, α-mangostin, artesunate and mefloquine for 3D7 vs K1 clones were 1.5 (0.9-2.1) vs 1.2 (1.1-1.6) μM, 17.9 (15.7.0-20.0) vs 9.7 (6.0-14.0) μM, 1.0 (0.4-3.0) vs 1.7 (1.0-2.5) nM, and 13.3 (11.1-13.3) vs 7.1 (6.7-12.2) nM, respectively. Analysis of isobologram and combination index (CI) of 9-hydroxycalabaxanthone with artesunate or mefloquine showed synergistic and indifference antimalarial interaction, respectively. α-mangostin-artesunate combination exhibited a slight antagonistic effect of antimalarial interaction, whereas α-mangostin and mefloquine combination showed indifference interaction in both clones. The combination of 9-hydroxycalabaxanthone with α-mangostin showed the synergistic antimalarial interaction in both clones


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Rossato ◽  
Larissa da Silva Silveira ◽  
Leonardo Quintana Soares Lopes ◽  
Walter Paixão De Sousa Filho ◽  
Larissa Finger Schaffer ◽  
...  

Hospital Infection is a major health problem and affects around 1.5 million people annually around the world. The Amazon region has a wide diversity of native palm trees that have fruits and oilseeds. Astrocaryum vulgare, commonly known as Tucumã in Brazil, belongs to the family Arecaceae. This palm has orange, fleshy, single-egg-shaped fruits that are used for therapeutic purposes in diseases of the eyes and skin due to the high content of carotenoids, oil is used in cooking, health treatment and massage. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the Tucumã oil against 18 microorganisms. The antimicrobial activity of Tucumã was measured through the determination of the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), as well as the determination of the Minimum Microbicidal Concentration (CMM) aiming to contribute to the discovery of new antimicrobials against pathogenic microorganisms’ human health and may contribute to the treatment of nosocomial infections. The results showed that the oil of Tucumã presented antimicrobial activity against five important bacteria, four Gram - positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus agalactiae) and one Gram - negative (Acinetobacter baumannii).


2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 693-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayra Silva-Miranda ◽  
Euloge Ekaza ◽  
Adrien Breiman ◽  
Karim Asehnoune ◽  
David Barros-Aguirre ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTuberculosis remains a major health problem due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains ofMycobacterium tuberculosis. Some models have provided valuable information about drug resistance and efficacy; however, the translation of these results into effective human treatments has mostly proven unsuccessful. In this study, we adapted high-content screening (HCS) technology to investigate the activities of antitubercular compounds in the context of anin vitrogranuloma model. We observed significant shifts in the MIC50s between the activities of the compounds under extracellular and granuloma conditions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Lastraioli ◽  
Tiziano Lottini ◽  
Lapo Bencini ◽  
Marco Bernini ◽  
Annarosa Arcangeli

Because of their high incidence and mortality solid cancers are a major health problem worldwide. Although several new biomarkers and potential targets for therapy have been identified through biomolecular research in the last years, the effects on patients’ outcome are still unsatisfactory. Increasing evidence indicates that hERG1 potassium channels are overexpressed in human primary cancers of different origin and several associations between hERG1 expression and clinicopathological features and/or outcome are emerging. Aberrant hERG1 expression may be exploited either for early diagnosis (especially in those cancers where it is expressed in the initial steps of tumor progression) or for therapy purposes. Indeed, hERG1 blockage impairs tumor cell growth bothin vitroandin vivoin preclinical mouse model. hERG1-based tumor therapy in humans, however, encounters the major hindrance of the potential cardiotoxicity that many hERG1 blockers exert. In this review we focus on recent advances in translational research in some of the most frequent human solid cancers (breast, endometrium, ovary, pancreas, esophagus, stomach, and colorectum) that have been shown to express hERG1 and that are a major health problem.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 2-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jobayer ◽  
SM Shamsuzzaman ◽  
Kazi Zulfiquer Mamun

Pulmonary tuberculosis is a major health problem in Bangladesh that is responsible for about 7% of total death in a year. This study was conducted to isolate and identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis from sputum and to evaluate the efficacy of PCR as a modern diagnostic tool, for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, especially in the smear negative cases. One hundred and fifty suspected pulmonary TB patients (male/ female: 97/53) were included in this study. Single morning sputum was collected from each patient and diagnostic potential of PCR was compared with staining and culture. Twenty five (16.7%) sputum were positive by ZN stained smear. Among 125 smear negative samples, 13 (10.4%) yielded growth in culture in LJ media and 21 (16.8%) samples were positive by PCR. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR in smear negative cases was 100% and 92.9% respectively. Mean detection time in PCR was 24 hours. PCR detected M. tuberculosis in 21 smear negative and 9 culture negative samples. For diagnosis of tuberculosis in smear negative cases, PCR directly from sputum was a very sensitive and accurate method. In conclusion, PCR may be done, especially in clinically suspected pulmonary tuberculosis patients who remain negative by conventional methods.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjmm.v6i2.19368 Bangladesh J Med Microbiol 2012; 06(02): 2-6


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey .

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a chronic disease that can be prevented. It commonlyaffects children involving in one or more decayed (with lesions or not) teeth, missing teeth (dueto caries), or teeth with fillings in children aged under 71 months. The disease is sometimesoverlooked, but this condition usually affects the general health of children. Early detection ofEarly Childhood Caries (ECC) can prevent problems which are harmful to children. Therefore,the ECC must be prevented and for teeth that have had dental caries they should be givenproper treatment so as not to worsen and affect the quality of life in children. Prevention of thisdisease is a significant component in any health program to prepare for the optimal basis forthe oral health of children. This condition will become a serious health problem if not handledproperly, and it is a major health problem for health providers throughout the world.Primarypreventive must be initiated since a woman getting pregnant.Keywords: Early Childhood Caries (ECC), prevention, treatment


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