Search

Globally, iron deficiency reigns as the most prevalent nutritional disorder, with anemia disproportionately impacting women of childbearing age. Despite the effectiveness of existing treatments, like iron supplements, their side effects remain a concern. This study explores the potential of grape syrup (GS), a functional iron‐rich food, to modulate markers of iron‐deficient anemia in women. A randomized, double‐blind study explored the impact of GS on iron deficiency anemia markers in 130 women. Participants were allocated to intervention or placebo groups. For 4 weeks, the intervention group received a daily 50 mg ferrous sulfate tablet alongside 10 cc of GS thrice daily. The placebo group received a 50 mg ferrous sulfate tablet with a 10 cc placebo syrup thrice daily. Before and after the intervention, key markers like red blood cell count (RBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), ferritin, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and serum iron were assessed. Notably, both Hb and Hct levels were significantly higher in the GS group (p <.05). Additionally, RBC and MCV values showed significant improvement compared to the placebo group (p <.05). However, no significant difference was observed for other iron deficiency markers like serum iron, ferritin, and TIBC (p >.05). This study's findings suggest that combining grape syrup with iron tablets might offer potential advantages over iron tablets alone in managing iron deficiency anemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of applying different concentrations of AgNPs on plant yield, protein and phytochemical compound in Trigonella foenum-graecum. For this purpose, an experiment was carried out based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with six concentrations of AgNPs (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/L). The results showed that the highest biomass (2.14 ± 0.02 g) and chlorophyll content (52.80 ± 2.51 µg·g−1 FW) were obtained in 10 mg/L of AgNPs, while the highest protein content (3.3 ± 0.12 mg·g−1 FW) was obtained in 20 mg/L of AgNPs. The highest amount of trigonelline (TG) and nicotinic acid (NT) contents were obtained in 10 mg/L of AgNPs. Treatments with an AgNPs concentration higher than 10 mg L−1 led to reduced growth, biomass, chlorophyll, protein, TG and NA contents. AgNPs application caused considerable increase in seed yield and TG content. Therefore, the use of low concentration of AgNPs (10 mg/L) could be recommended to improve the T. foenum-graecum growth, biomass, protein content and phytochemical compound production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nude mice are immunodeficient, commonly used model organisms for studying human diseases. Despite the high purchase price and maintenance cost of these animals, few studies have aimed to eradicate inevitable infectious complications which may arise during in-vivo studies. The current project is a practical guideline for detecting and elimination of possible infections developed in nude mice. Materials and Methods: Followed by transplantation of human leukemic cell lines into C57BL/6 nude mice, body weights were monitored daily. After a sudden death of 7 mice during 4 consecutive days, all beddings were discarded and cages, food and water bottles were disinfected immediately. Automated blood culture analyses were carried out using radiometric BACTEC systems, and specific antibiotics were administered based on applied microbial growth inhibition assays. Results: Proteus vulgaris and Klebsiella pneumoniae were identified, respectively, according to the radiometric assays. According to the antimicrobial susceptibility tests, 132mg/kg ciprofloxacin was administered orally for 2 weeks, followed by 500mg/kg cefixime for one week. Meanwhile, low-dose cefixime (132 mg/kg) was applied as a prophylactic treatment. Automated blood cultures showed elimination of both bacterial infections followed by demand treatments. Low-dose antibiotic prophylaxis saved uninfected mice from developing infections. Discussion and Conclusion: Results showed that precise monitoring of nude mice health conditions help early detection of the possibly grown infections. Ciprofloxacin and cefixime are the antibiotics of choice for eradication of Proteus vulgaris and Klebsiella pneumoniae. On the other hand, low-dose antibiotic prophylactic treatment may rescue these expensive animals from possible infections and provide suitable environment for performing in-vivo experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the physiological responses of black cumin seed (Nigella sativa L.) under different concentrations of silver nanoparticles (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/L AgNPs), a completely randomized design experiment is conducted with 5 replications in the greenhouse of Shahed University in 2018. In the present study, growth traits, photosynthetic pigments, anthocyanins, proline content, glycine betaine, soluble and insoluble sugars, phenolic compounds and gas exchange, and fluorescence parameters of the photosynthetic apparatus are investigated. The results show that the AgNPs treatments significantly inhibit biomass production and the growth of root and shoot, decreasing the contents of chlorophyll a and b at high concentrations (20, 40 and 80 mg/L), while the AgNPs treatments increase the content of carotenoids, proline, glycine betaine, soluble sugars, anthocyanins, and phenolic compounds, compared to the control. By increasing the concentration of AgNPs, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, the maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, photochemical quenching coefficient, and effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry decline. Measurement of fluorescence show strong evidence of inhibitory effects on energy transfer from light harvesting complexes to reaction centers, the deterioration of the PSII water splitting system and the inactivation of PSII reaction centers at high concentrations of AgNPs. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that AgNPs induce an inhibitory mechanism on photosynthetic processes and biomass of black seed plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combination therapies, using medicinal herbs, are broadly recommended to attenuate the chemotherapy adverse effects. Based on our previous findings considering the anti-leukaemic effects of ginger extract on acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) cells, the present study was aimed to investigate the anti-cancer role of this pharmaceutical plant on ALL mice models. Moreover, we worked towards identifying the most anti-leukaemic derivative of ginger and the mechanism through which it may exert its cytotoxic impact. In vivo experiments were performed using five groups of six C57BL/6 nude mice, and the anti-leukaemic activity of ginger extract alone or in combination with methotrexate (MTX) was examined. Results showed increased survival rate and reduced damages in mice brain and liver tissues. Subsequently, MTT assay demonstrated synergistic growth inhibitory effect of 6-shogaol (6Sh) and MTX on ALL cell lines and patients primary cells. Eventually, the molecular anti-neoplastic mechanism of 6Sh was evaluated using Bioinformatics. Flow cytometry illustrated 6Sh-mediated apoptosis in Nalm-6 cells confirmed by Western blotting and RT-PCR assays. Further analyses exhibited the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through 6Sh. The current study revealed the in vivo novel anti-leukaemic role of ginger extract, promoted by MTX. Moreover, 6-shogaol was introduced as the major player of ginger cytotoxicity through inducing p53 activity and ROS generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portulaca oleracea L. is a medicinal plant belonging to Portulacaceae family, which exhibited a wide scope of pharmaceutical properties such as pain killer, antipyretic, anti-viral and anti-fungal. The aim of the present study was evaluation of morphological diversity 18 populations of P. oleracea. The seeds of 18 populations were cultivated based on a completely randomized design with three replicates in the research farm of Medicinal Plants Research Center, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. The morphological traits, chlorophyll and protein contents were measured in the vegetative stage. The analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference among populations of P. oleracea in terms of the most studied morphological and biochemical traits. The highest shoot dry weight (84.84±12.70 g per plant) belonged to the Zanjan population, while the lowest shoot dry weight (18.89±1.72 g per plant) belonged to the population of Lourdgan. The correlation between most of the studied traits was positively significant. The cluster analysis of the 18 P. oleracea populations based on morphological and biochemical traits produced three main clusters. Overall, the outcomes of the present study were indicated the presence of high genetic variability among the P. oleracea populations. Our findings suggested that collection of the plants from different regions can be used for hybridization to generate useful recombinants in the segregating generations and improve breeding varieties of P. oleracea and can be utilized for preservation and maintenance the germplasm of this medicinal plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The induction of polyploidy using mutagenic chemicals is one of the plant breeding methods to enhance the production of secondary metabolites. In the current research, to induce polyploidy in lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) plants, seeds were treated with different concentrations of colchicine for various exposure times. A factorial experiment was performed using a randomized complete block design with two factors: colchicine concentrations with four levels (control, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2%) and exposure times with three levels (24, 48, and 72 h) and three replicates. The physiological and phytochemical traits of plants were measured at a 4-6 leave stage. The results indicated that different concentrations of colchicine had a significant effect on the chlorophyll a (Chl.a), chlorophyll b (Chl.b), carotenoid, phenol, flavonoid, and rosmarinic acid contents. The exposure times of colchicine also caused significant changes in Chl.a, Chl.b, carotenoid, phenol, flavonoid, and rosmarinic acid amounts (P # 0.01). Increasing the colchicine concentration significantly increased the physiological and phytochemical traits at 0.05% and 0.1% concentration in comparison to the control (P # 0.01). In contrast, the interaction of colchicine concentration and exposure time had a significant effect on Chl.a, Chl.b, carotenoid, and rosmarinic acid amounts. The findings of this study indicate that one of the effective methods in primary screening of polyploidy plants in the polyploidization breeding program is the estimation of the physiological changes, the contents of chlorophyll a and b, and the total amount of chlorophyll and secondary metabolites. Flow cytometry is recommended to be used for the accurate identification of the ploidy level in M. officinalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees is a medicinal herb in the family Acanthaceae. The leaves of the mature plant contain abundant diterpinoids of medicinal properties. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the impacts of compost tea rates on photosynthesis parameters and antioxidant reactions of A. paniculata. The plant was propagated using seed and planting in a polybag. After four weeks, the plant was transplanted into polybag sized 20 cm×25 cm. Compost tea was used at rates of (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%). Treatments were arranged in randomized completely block design (RCBD) with three replicates. Before flowering stage, the plants were harvested. The results revealed that rates of compost tea significantly affected total dry weight, leaf area, chlorophyll, stomatal conductance, FRAP and total flavonoid contents (P=0.01), while there were no significant difference on DPPH reduction, and total phenolic contents and photosynthetic rate. Soil amendment with compost tea gave a favorable effect on growth and improved soil pH and CEC. Total flavonoid was highly significantly differences among the treatments. The greatest TDW (26.15 g), FRAP (96.03% of inhibition) and flavonoid (1943.7 mg/g) were observed at the 70% rate of compost tea. The highest rates of compost tea (100%) significantly decreased the phenolic and flavonoid compounds. These results suggested that A. paniculata could reach high biomass and quality characteristics with 50 and 70% rate of compost tea. However, in general compost tea had a good potential to improve soil pH and increase plant growth and antioxidant contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]