International Journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research
Volume:9 Issue: 4, Autumn 2021

Plant-based remedies against Covid-19 and their research to discover antiviral compounds have been growing rapidly. However, there are little interest to explore and collect information of bioactive compounds of pepper (Capsicum sp.) to fight off the disease. This study aimed to bioinformatically explore and identify bioactive compounds in chili pepper fruits from four Capsicum species (C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens) which were compatible to fight off SARS-CoV-2 and provide indirect and direct virus inhibition from previous studies. Protein-ligand interactions were obtained from protein data bank (PDB), PubChem, and SwissModel for homology modeling. Docking was performed using PyRx and visualized using BIOVIA Discovery Studio Visualizer 2016. Four chili pepper species were rich in organic acid compounds (100 times higher than carotenoids concentration; 0.2-156 mg/kg F.W). A type of fatty acids composition in seeds was slightly different from flesh and peels by the small amount of pharmaceutically valuable palmitoleic acids in seeds (approximately 30 mg/kg F.W). Composition of flavonoid relatively varied among the species but luteolin was found in all chili peppers (0.5-18 mg/kg F.W). Most of the compounds were actively interacting with 3CLPro rather than ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 which were well covered up by only 10 and 17 molecules respectively. Four chili pepper species contained bioactive compounds that are medicinally important to fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Demand for degradable and biocompatible polymers is rapidly increasing, especially in the food packaging sector where it is highly encouraged by environmental management policies.

This study aimed to prepare zein/Montmorillonite (MMT) and zein/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite films by a high power ultrasonic probe method for use as a food coating. The film was produced through solvent casting method. In all the films, glycerol and Polyethylene glycol were used to improve the fragility properties. The biodegradability, color characteristics and surface roughness of the films were evaluated.

Based on the results of the statistical analysis, the clay dispersion method a, Montmorillonite (MMT) and poly (vinyl alcohol) content significantly affected the mechanical and properties of the composite films. The results showed that mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were improved in the presence of small amounts (up to 3%) of MMT, while increased montmorillonite percentage in the micro composite films weakened the mechanical properties of these films. It was also found that the addition of montmorillonite and poly (vinyl alcohol) increased the porosity of the film. Therefore, the use of high power sonication is a suitable method for producing protein-based nanocomposites with an exfoliated structure.

as the nanocomposite films of zein, zein-polyvinyl alcohol and zein-montmorillonite are highly biodegradable, ntural and non-toxic, they are highly efficient in this field and can be used in food packaging.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common malignancies among women worldwide and is also the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in recent years. Herbs have been used for centuries to treat a variety of ailments, including cancers. Medicinal plants can be use d in pure form or in combination with others.

In this study, after preparing the plant dry, extracts of Artemisia absinthium and Cuscuta epithymum were extracted by Soxhlet method. After Preparation of cell culture medium, Investigations continued. MTT test and Gap closure test were performed to evaluate the toxicity of Cuscuta Epithymum and Artemisia Absinthium Species on CP70 Ovarian Cancer Cells to Compared these two extracts mortality rate.

The lowest cell migration in 48 h was related to A. absinthium treatments with concentrations of 1: 100 and 1: 1000. The lowest cell migration in the period of 72h is related to the treatment of C. epithymum with a concentration of 1: 1000, which these results are less significant than the effect of A. absinthium. The lowest cell migration in the period of 72h is related to the treatment of C. epithymum with a concentration of 1: 1000, which these results are less significant than the effect of A. absinthium.

MTT test showed that the treatment of plant extracts of C. epithymum and A. absinthium can disrupt the growth process as well as the migration and progression of CP70 cancer cells of ovarian cancer and cause cell apoptosis.

The genus Streptomyces Waksman & Henrici 1943 includes aerobic, gram-positive, and filamentous bacteria which produce well developed vegetative hyphae with branches. The wall consists of a large mixture of different compounds, including peptidoglycan, teichuronic acid, teichoic, and polysaccharides. The peptidoglycan components consist of glycan as a chains of irregular N-acetyl- d-muramic acid (NAM), diaminopimelic acid, and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG) and DAP, which is unique in the cell walls of prokaryotic microorganisms. The teichoic and teichuronic acid are chemically bonded to peptidoglycan. One gram of soil samples was used to make suspension, by adding 99 mL of sterile distilled water (stock suspension) into it and shaking it in a shaker at 160 rpm for 30 minutes at room temperature. Serial dilutions from 0.1-0.001 were made from the stock suspension, and left for 10 minutes. After shaking, 0.1 mL of each dilution was cultured on Yeast Extract and Malt Extract agar (YEME) with Streptomycin 50 ug/mL. The inoculated plates were incubated at 28 °C for 7 to 10 days. Based on cultural characteristics, suspected colonies of Streptomyces were selected, which are characterized as small, white, pin-point, rough, chalky, and a clear zone of inhibition around them. These colonies were confirmed their identification by types of Gram’s stain, aerial and substrate mycelium color, pigment production, and pigment color.  Streptomyces were re-streaked on International Streptomyces project (ISP) to obtain pure colonies used for identification.   The current study aimed to screen bacteria Streptomyces isolates. Only 21 samples of soil were suspected to contain Streptomyces, and 45 isolates were obtained with different morphology types per samples of soil. The colonies suspects were selected basis on color that ranged from gray, white and creamy. The microscopic examination of local Streptomyces spp. after Gram-staining method was conducted. The observations revealed that local Streptomyces is gram positive and rod shaped similar to features of fungal in possessing branched mycelium. The Streptomyces produced extra cellular enzymes like amylase, urease, catalase, protease, Gelatinase, cellulase and phosphatase. Utilization of citrate was positive, with no Melanine reaction production and soluble pigmented, and negative for indole production. The identification of the Streptomyces is a very complex process.  Morphological and biochemical characteristics are two important aspects for the classification in the Streptomycetaceae family. By studying the morphological, cultural, and biochemical characteristics, it is observed that the local isolates are belonging to the genus of Streptomyces.

Vitamin D, especially calcitriol (its active metabolite), increases gastrointestinal calcium absorption. Because urinary calcium excretion is associated with calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract; vitamin D metabolites could theoretically cause hypercalciuria. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between treatment and vitamin D supplementation on the rate of hypercalciuria in patients. In the present double-blind randomized clinical trial, 90 patients (male-female) with urinary stones and serum vitamin D levels less than 30 ng/mL were evaluated. Patients were randomLy divided into two groups of 45 patients. One group was given 50,000 units of oral vitamin D weekly for up to 8 weeks. For the other group, the drug was given as a placebo for up to 8 weeks. Sampling was performed one month after the end of treatment. The data garnered from hospital records were inserted into SPSS software for analysis. In the present study, the mean age of the subjects was 39.78 years. Also, out of 90 patients, 52 were male and 38 were female. Blood PTH levels decreased significantly after treatment in vitamin D group (P <0.001). Also, serum levels of vitamin D in this group showed a significant increase (P <0.001). However, in this study urinary calcium levels after treatment did not show significant changes (P = 0.680). The present study showed that in people with a history of kidney stones, taking vitamin D supplement alone for people with lower than standard serum levels of vitamin D did not show any significant difference in calcification. As a result, the therapeutic dose of this drug is recommended in patients with kidney stones according to the condition.

Despite the great importance of public knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases such as hepatitis c virus (HCV), very few studies have been conducted in this field in Iran. Therefore, the present study determined the factors affecting the knowledge of young couples before marriage in relation to HCV. During this cross-sectional study, 1501 couples were assessed, out of which 1110 (73.9%) couples entered the study. A standard questionnaire was used to collect the data. In this questionnaire, first, the demographic characteristics of the participants such as age, gender, level of education, daily extracurricular study, and hours of mass media use were collected, followed by the main items of the study. After data gathering, they were analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistical Software Version 22. Univariate analysis was used to examine the relationship between factors related to the knowledge, and multivariate analysis was used to estimate the related factors. The total score of knowledge about hepatitis C was 0.49 ± 0.29. The total knowledge score for hepatitis C symptoms was 0.27± 0.19. The total score of knowledge about hepatitis C transmission routes was 0.34±0.28. The univariate analysis showed that age, level of education, history of hepatitis in a first degree relative of the family, and social networks were significantly associated with the rate of knowledge about hepatitis C (p <0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that females [(B: 2.11), CI 95% (1.07_3.25), p: 0.014)], higher education level [(B: 4.01), CI 95% (1.98_6 .33), p: 0.014)], history of hepatitis in a first degree relative of the family [(B: 3.56), 95% CI (1.46_5.69), p: 0.011)] and use of social networks [ (B: 2.77), CI 95% (1.11_4.48), p: 0.014)] were significantly associated with the rate of knowledge about HCV. Compared with other studies in this field, the level of knowledge about hepatitis C among young couples in Iran is alarmingly low. In health policies related to hepatitis C, more attention should be paid to the population of men, people with less than a bachelor's degree.