Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products
Volume:7 Issue: 1, May 2012

Artemisia aerial parts are well known for antimicrobial activities including anti malaria. This study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of essential oil from the seeds of Artemisia aucheri Boiss (Asteraceae). Essential oil was extracted from the powdered seeds of Artemisia aucheri by hydrodistillation. Antimicrobial activity against five bacterial species was tested using the disc diffusion method, and the chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil of Artemisia aucheri seed showed activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. The essential oil constituents identified by GC-MS were as follows: decane, ρ-cymene, 1,8-cineole, linalool, ρ-mentha-8-ol, triene, borneol, lavandulol, bornyl acetate, chrysanthenyl acetate, dehydro aromadenderene, and caryophyllene oxide. Most of these compounds are also found in the aerial parts of Artemisia aucheri. Variation in the compositions of essential oils from Artemisia aucheri, and thus variation in the antimicrobial activity of these oils, may be due to the plant parts used for essential oil prepration.

Previous studies have shown that shallomin, one of the active constituents of Persian shallot, has a broad range of antimicrobial properties. The safety of shallomin must be established before it can be used in clinical applications. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the acute toxic effects of shallomin and to estimate its lethal dose low (LDLo) value. Two series of experiments were performed: In the first series, we used functional testing to assess the acute toxic effects of shallomin on the blood, liver, and kidney and examined histopathological changes in the liver, kidney, lung, and heart, following 7 days of daily intraperitoneal administration of 3 standard doses (10, 20, and 30 µg/g body weight of mice). In the second series, the LDLo value was estimated by determining daily mortality in mice after 7-day administration of escalating doses of shallomin (10 to 240 µg/g body weight of mice). The results showed that shallomin (at the anticipated in vivo doses), unlike the placebo (ethanol), did not produce any adverse effects on the tested organs. The LDLo value was observed to be 160 µg/g body weight; this value is 8- to 32-times the anticipated in vivo dose that produces antimicrobial effects under in vitro conditions against various pathogenic organisms. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that shallomin is a relatively safe agent, although its use needs to be carefully monitored. Further in vivo chronic toxicity tests need to be performed to establish the therapeutic potential of shallomin as an antimicrobial agent.

Treatment of infectious diseases is becoming more challenging with each passing year. This is especially true for infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen with the ability to rapidly develop resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)–producing strains among multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa strains isolated from burn patients.Materila and The isolates were identified, tested for susceptibility to various antimicrobial agents, and screened for the presence of MβLs by using the double-disk synergy test. The minimal inhibitory concentration of imipenem was determined by microplate broth dilution method on Mueller-Hinton agar. To detect VIM, SIM, and GIM MBLs, the isolates were subjected to polymerase chain reaction. In this study, we identified 100 P. aeruginosa isolates from 176 clinical specimens obtained from burn patients. The isolates showed maximum resistance to ampicillin (100%), ceftazidime (94%), and ceftriaxone (89%). The CLSI-MBL phenotypic test showed that of the 100 P. aeruginosa isolates, 22 (22%) were positive for MBL production in the double-disk synergy test. Of the 22 MBL-positive P. aeruginosa isolates, 8 were resistant to imipenem. PCR analysis showed that 8 isolates were positive for blaVIM1. The other genes blaSIM1 and blaGIM1 were not detected. The study results demonstrate the serious therapeutic threat of the spread of MBL producers among P. aeruginosa populations. Metallo-β-lactamases were detected in 22% of imipenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates. Early detection and infection-control practices are the best antimicrobial strategies for this organism; therefore, systematic surveillance to detect MBL producers is necessary.

Cisplatin is an effective antineoplastic drug used extensively in the treatment of malignancies. It induces painful peripheral neuropathy at high doses. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of carbamazepine (CBZ) on cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathic pain by using the tail-flick test. The study was performed using male Wistar rats weighing 180–200 g. Neuropathic pain was induced by intraperitoneal (IP) administration of cisplatin (5 mg/kg). The effect of oral (PO) CBZ administration (5, 10, and 15 mg/kg) on cisplatin-induced pain was assessed using the tail-flick test. Our results showed that cisplatin (5 mg/kg, IP) induced egregious pain (P < 0.01) on day 15. Acute administration of CBZ (5, 10, and 15 mg/kg, PO) caused significant (P < 0.05) increase in tail-flick time latency in a dose-dependent manner, in comparison with that observed in the control group. Furthermore, chronic administration of CBZ (5, 10, and 15 mg/kg, PO) increased (P < 0.05) the pain threshold on days 5 and 10. The analgesic effect of morphine (5 mg/kg, IP) was greater than that after acute CBZ administration (5, 10, and 15 mg/kg, PO). Our results showed that both acute and chronic CBZ administration attenuated cisplatin-induced pain. We suggest that CBZ can be used clinically for alleviating cisplatin-induced neuropathic pain in cancer patients, without any limitations such as tolerance to analgesic effect.

The increasing use of herbal drugs and their easy availability have necessitated the use of mutagenicity tests to analyze their toxicity and safety. The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro mutagenicity of Artemisia draconculus L., a herbal drug, by performing single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE). In this study, we obtained a herbal drug with A. draconculus at a density of 0.94; doses of 100 μl, 200 μl, 400 μl, and 800 μl equivalent to 94 mg, 188 mg, 376 mg, and 752 mg of A. draconculus, respectively, were used. Sodium dichromate at a dose of 262 mg was considered to be the positive control, and blood was considered to be the negative control. Blood samples were centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 5 min, and the lower portion of the residue was isolated and mixed with low melting point agarose. A cell suspension was prepared and applied on pre-coated agarose gel slides. Lysis, electrophoresis under alkaline conditions, staining of DNA, comet visualization, and comet scoring were carried out. The statistical analysis of the obtained results showed that with an increase in the dosage of A. draconculus, DNA damage also increased significantly (P < 0.05). These findings provide valuable information regarding the safety and toxicity of this herbal drug, and this information will be helpful in ensuring rational use of this drug.

Hemolyis of red blood cells is a serious toxic effect commonly found among patients envenomed by Hemiscorpius lepturus scorpion. The aim of the present study was to evlaute the efficay of the avaible polyvalent antivneom in preventing this phenomena. Using a red blood cell fragility test, the anti-hemolytic effectiveness of a new antivenom serum against Hemiscorpius lepturus venom was investigated. Hemolysis was measured using spectrophotometry. Addition of venom (2, 10, 20, and 40 µg/ml) to 0.5 ml of 5% washed red blood cell suspension produced concentration-dependent hemolysis. Both the pre-incubation of red blood cell suspensions with various concentrations of antivenom (4%, 10%, and 20% v/v) and the co-administration of antivenom with 20 µg/ml venom resulted in concentration-dependent protection against hemolysis. Both the methods resulted in protection against hemolysis at the antivenom concentration of 20% (v/v). However, the inhibition of hemolysis after 24 h was found to be greater for red blood cell suspensions preincubated with antivenom (75% inhibition) than for red blood cell suspensions that were co-administered with antivenom and venom (50% inhibition). The results suggest that the antivenom against H. lepturus venom is useful in inhibiting hemolysis produced by the venom, but the duration of protection is relatively short and appropriate measures need to be taken, depending on the patients’ clinical progress, to re-administer the antivenom at intervals less than 8 h. This proposed treatment method merits further clinical assessment.