Prospective of biosynthesized L.satiVum oil/PEG/Ag-MgO bionanocomposite film for its antibacterial and anticancer potential

A substantial interest has been manifested in utilizing oil/metal oxide hybrid bionanocomposite, especially organic/ inorganic to design different biomedical applications. The present study reports the synthesis, characterization, antibacterial and anticancer properties of biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and L.satiVum oil/PEG/Ag-MgO bionanocomposite. The fabricated AgNPs and L.sativum oil/PEG/Ag-MgO bionanocomposite were characterized by employing different spectroscopic (UV, FTIR, XRD) and microscopic (TEM, SEM) techniques. The particle size analysis showed that the mean size of 16.32 nm for AgNPS and 13.45 nm L.satiVum oil/PEG/Ag-MgO, indicating the excellent dispersion of Ag-MgO nanoparticles in the PEG- L.satiVum oil matrix. The antimicrobial activity of AgNPs and polymeric bionanocomposite was investigated against two pathogenic bacteria. The highest antibacterial effect was observed for bionanocomposite towards Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (27 mm) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (25 mm) at 40 µg/well. The bionanocomposite completely vanished the bacterial growth (100%) at 80 µgmL-1 concentrations. Moreover, the AgNPs and polymeric bionanocomposite was evaluated for anticancer activity against human cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells) at different doses (50, 250, 500, and 1000 µgmL-1). The results showed polymeric bionanocomposite was stronger in inducing the HeLa cancer cell death than AgNPs. Overall, the fabricated L.satiVum oil/PEG/Ag-MgO bionanocomposite serve as a potential antimicrobial and anticancer agent and could be used in the development of novel drugs and health care products in near future.

Metabolic biomarkers related to oxidative stress and antioxidant status in Saudi autistic children

OBJECTIVE

Measurement of oxidative stress and antioxidant-related parameters (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) in Saudi autistic children.

DESIGN AND METHODS

30 autistic children (22 males and 8 females) aged 3-15 years (25/30 of these were below 8 years old), and 30 healthy children as control group were included in this study. Levels of lipid peroxides, vitamin E, vitamin C, glutathione together with enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase were determined in plasma while superoxide dismutase (SOD was measured in red blood cells of both groups.

RESULTS

Lipid peroxidation was found to be significantly higher in autistic compared to control Saudi children. On the other hand, vitamin E and glutathione were remarkably lower in autistic patients while vitamin C shows non-significant lower values. Regarding the enzymatic antioxidants, both glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly higher in autistic compared to control while catalase recorded more or less similar activities in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Saudi autistic children are under H(2)O(2) stress due to GSH depletion, over expression of SOD together with the unchanged catalase enzyme. This could be helpful in the early diagnosis of young autistic patients and suggesting the possibility of antioxidant supplementation for the early intervention with autistic children.

On the pathogenicity of attenuated Schistosoma mansoni cercariae released from metabolically disturbed Biomphalaria alexandrina

Biomphalaria alexandrina were treated with sublethal concentrations (LC10) of dry powdered leaves Solanum nigrum or whole dry Ambrosia maritima. The two plants affected the development of schistosome parasite within snails by disturbing the glycolytic flux, the most important metabolic pathway for schistosome-infected snails. Attenuated cercariae released from treated snails were used to infect male albino mice to evaluate their pathogenicity compared to control cercariae shed from untreated snails. The mean number of worms established declined from about 70 +/- 17.6 worms/mouse infected with control cercariae to 23.4 +/- 20.33 and 14.18 +/- 10.06 worms/mouse infected with S. nigrum and A. maritima-attenuated cercariae respectively. Most males and females detected in these animals measured 0.4-0.6 and 0.6-1.2 mm respectively compared to 1.2-1.4 and 1.4-1.7 mm in males and females released from mice infected with normal cercariae. Egg count in the liver and intestine of mice infected with attenuated cercariae was remarkably lower showing reduced fecundity of worms developed from attenuated cercariae. Number and size of granulomatous reactions showed remarkable reduction in attenuated cercariae-infected mice. Biochemical analyses for pathogenicity achieved with attenuated cercariae showed that while serum aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST &ALT) were more or less similar, depleted glycogen and elevated lipid peroxides were normalized when compared to those infected with normal cercariae.

Effect of carnosine administration on metabolic parameters in bilharzia-infected hamsters

Carnosine is a naturally occurring dipeptide (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) found in muscles, brain and other tissues. This study was designed to test the ability of carnosine to offset metabolic disturbances induced by Schistosoma mansoni parasitism. Results indicate that parasitic infection caused elevation of liver weight/body weight in S. mansoni-infected hamsters, induced lipid peroxidation and reduced glycogen levels. Moreover, adenylate energy charge (AEC) and ATP/ADP and ATP/AMP concentration ratios were markedly lower in infected hamsters. Administration of carnosine (10 mg/day) for 15 days concurrent with infection effectively reduced worm burden and egg count. Administration of carnosine 2 and 4 weeks post-exposure only partially ameliorated the S. mansoni effects on metabolism. Carnosine treatment also normalized most of the parameters measured, including glycogen repletion, the antioxidant status and AEC. These finding support the use of carnosine for possible intervention in schistosomiasis.