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Eight methanolic extracts were tested for their cytotoxic activity against HepG2, PC3, and MCF-7 cell lines using MTT assay. The rhizomes of Cyperus rotundus extract showed the highest activity, divided into five fractions (petroleum ether, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, butanol, and aqueous) and re-evaluated for cytotoxicity. The petroleum ether fraction was the most active against the tested cell lines followed by the methylene chloride. The chromatographic investigation of petroleum ether and methylene chloride fractions resulted in identified of nine compounds; one new compound (1), along with eight known compounds; behenic acid (2), β-sitosterol (3), mandassidione (4), behenic acid monoglyceride (5), sitosteryl (6`-hentriacontanoyl)-β-D-galactopyranoside (6), β-sitosterol 3-O-β- D -glucoside (7), luteolin (8) and pinellic acid (9). Compound 1 was elucidated as a ceramide, 2`-[2-hydroxypentacosanoylamino]-1`, 3`, 4`-nonadecanetriol. The structure of 1 was confirmed by extensive analysis of both NMR (1D and 2D) data and HR-FAB-MS. The isolated compounds showed a very promising anticancer activity. Compounds 2–4 showed potent cytotoxic activity against the three tested cancer cell lines. Compounds 9 and 1 displayed inhibitory activity against HepG2 with IC50 values 6.81 to 8.075 µM, and PC3 with IC50 of 11.92 to 14.48 µM. While compounds 5 and 8 showed remarkable cytotoxic activity against the HepG2 with IC50 values of 7.641 to 10.02 µM. By analyzing the results of the MTT assay together with the obtained docking results we designed a proposed structure-activity relationship (SAR) to be a guide for further identification of new anticancer agents in the future.

Nowadays, herbal extracts are considered to be a potential source for developing new drugs that will overcome resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. This study was aimed to explore the efficacy of several Egyptian plant extracts against Toxoplasma gondii infection in vitro for future development of a new, safe, and effective compound for T. gondii. Methanol extracts from Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile), Laurus nobilis, Citrullus colocynthis, Cinnamum camphora, Boswellia scara, and Melissa officionalis plants and oil extracts (either essential or fixed oils) of some plants such as: lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), marjoram (Origanum majorana), watercress (Nasturtium officionale), wheat germ (Triticum aestivum), sesame (Sesamum indicum), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), citronella (Cymbopogon nardus), clove (Syzygum aromaticum), jojoba (Simmondsia chinesis), and basil (Ocimum basilicum) were investigated for their anti-Toxoplasma activities. The methanol extracts from C. colocynthis and L. nobilis and the oil extracts from lemon grass and marjoram were active against T. gondii with half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 22.86 µg/ml, 31.35 µg/ml, 4.6 µg/ml, and 26.24 µg/ml, respectively. Their selectivity index (SI) values were

Objectives: This study aims to isolate and identify valuable chemicals and pharmaceuticals from the waste of wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) industry and to determine their biological value. Methods: Chromatographic technique was used to isolate compounds from the waste. The chemical identity of the isolated compounds were evidenced by different spectroscopic analyses as well as comparative studies of reported data. The microbial transformed product of pinosylvin mono methyl ether was quantitatively determined using fluorimetric method. All the isolated compounds were tested for their antitoxoplasmosis activity (in vitro) against Toxoplasma gondii. Findings/ Novelty: Nine compounds were isolated and identified including three diterpenes : (1b -hydroxy dehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxy dehydroabietic acid and Methyl-15-hydroxy dehydroabiet-18-ate) ; two aromatic aldehydes (coniferaldhyde and 3-hydroxy, 5-methoxy benzaldhyde) ; two stilbene derivatives; (Pinosylvin and Pinosylvin mono methyl ether) ; a flavan: (Pinocembrin) and a phytosterol (b -sitosterol).For the first time, the fluorimetric method was used for quantitative determination of the novel metabolite produced, E-Pinosylvin mono methyl ether 5-O-b -D-glucopyranoside, from the microbial biotransformation technique. All isolated compounds showed variable antitoxopasmosis activity, carried out for the first time, against T. gondii according to their % mortality and recorded EC50. Keywords: Pinus sylvestris L.; saw dust; antitoxoplasmosis; fluorimetry; microbial transformation

Objectives: Searching for new antiviral compounds is important due to continuous appearance of new viral strains that resist the commonly used drugs and due to toxic side effects of some of these drugs. This current study was designed to investigate some herbs to discover new natural antiviral agents. Methods: Eight herbal extracts were screened for antiviral activities against Hepatitis A, Herpes Simplex-1 and Coxsackie viruses. Bio guided fractionation of the active extracts using different solvents and further investigation of the bioactive one using various chromatographic techniques including normal phase column chromatography, poly amide column and preparative TLC led to isolation and identification of twelve compounds. Structural elucidation of these compounds was done using different spectroscopic techniques including IR, HR-MS, 1D and 2D-NMR. The antiviral activities of the isolated compounds were assessed by MTT assay that depends on mixed treatment assay which test inactivation of virus particles in the virus suspension by samples. The concentration of samples which inactivate virus particles in virus suspension by 50% compared with untreated control was determined for each sample and was compared with IC50 of positive control, Acyclovir. Findings: Twelve known compounds were isolated from the bioactive fractions of Cleome droserifolia and Lotus creticus. Nine compounds (1-9) from methylene chloride and ethyl acetate fractions of Cleome droserifolia and four compounds (10-13) from ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of Lotus creticus. Teuclatriol (4) was the most potent, with IC50 value of 4.89 0.061mM against HSV-1 and a selective index (SI) value of 4.8. Moreover, the pentamethoxyflavone (3) was the most active against HAV with IC50 value of 9.52 0.329 mM and SI of 3.4. The potent activity against Cox. B4 virus with IC50 of 13.054 0.348 mM and SI of 3.4 exhibited by b -sitosterol 3-O-b -D-glucoside(6, 12). Novelty: The results highlight that these compounds are candidates for the development of new lead antiviral compounds. This is the first report for proving antiviral activities of these compounds. Keywords: Antiviral activity; MTT; pentamethoxyflavone; teuclatriol

The essential oil of Egyptian Cyperus rotundus rhizomes was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/MS. The oil is composed mainly of oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Thirty-seven compounds were...

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the reliability and safety of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) versus local corticosteroid injection on pain intensity and functional disability, as treatment modalities of patients suffering from chronic plantar fasciitis (PF). Patients and methods: This study was conducted on 45 patients suffering from chronic PF who failed to respond to conservative treatments. Patients were divided into 3 groups: 15 patients treated with ESWT once per week for 6 successive sessions (Group I), 15 patients treated with a local corticosteroid injection (Group II) and 15 patients taking acetaminophen 500mg/6 hrs for 7 days and exercises, as controls (Group III). All patients were subjected to history taking, clinical examination and assessment of foot pain, disability and activity limitations using the Foot Function Index (FFI) at the beginning of the study and after 6 weeks. Results: At the beginning of the study, no significant differences were reported between the studied groups regarding the FFI (p value = 0.23). However, at the end of the study, a highly statistically significant difference was reported between the three groups regarding the outcome variables (p value =0.001). Improvement occurred in group I and II but it was superior among group I patients. Skin reddening occurred in 11 patients (73.3%) of group I and 2 patients (13%) of group II with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between the 2 groups. Pain was reported in 4 patients (26.7%) and 15 patients (100%) in group I and group II respectively with a highly significant difference (p < 0.001). None of the cases reported allergy or fat bad atrophy. Conclusion: Both ESWT and local corticosteroid injection treatments improved pain and functional ability in patients with chronic PF. Improvement of the FFI total scores was superior with the ESWT therapy that seems to be an unconventional but a safe method for the management of chronic PF.

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide parasitic disease responsible for serious health problems to human. The currently available drugs used for toxoplasmosis treatment showed a limited efficacy and cause serious host toxicity. The in vitro screening for toxoplasmicidal activity of Araucaria heterophylla resin (AHR) extract and its major component 13-epi-cupressic acid (CUP) showed that both AHR (EC50 = 3.90) and CUP (EC50 = 3.69) have high toxoplasmicidal activity in comparison with standard cotrimoxazole (EC50 = 4.28). The antiprotozoal effects of AHR and CUP were investigated against acute and chronic toxoplasmosis using mice models. Two groups of Swiss albino mice were infected by RH Toxoplasma strain intraperitoneally and by Me49 strain orally. Both groups were treated with AHR and CUP in different doses. Their effects were evaluated by survival rate, peritoneal, spleen and liver parasite burdens, brain cyst burden, NO serum level and histopathological lesions. The ultrastructural changes of tachyzoites of acutely infected mice were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). There is an evidence of toxoplasmicidal activity of AHR and CUP in acute and chronic experimental toxoplasmosis. In the acute model, mice treated with AHR and CUP showed prolonged survival rates, a significant decrease in the parasite density in peritoneal lavage and pathological insult in both liver and spleen compared with that of untreated ones. SEM results denote evident morphological alterations of treated tachyzoites. In chronic experimental toxoplasmosis, AHR and CUP treated groups could significantly reduce brain cyst burden by 96.05% and 98.02% respectively. This study indicates that AHR and CUP showed potent toxoplasmicidal activities experimentally and could be used as a potential natural nontoxic agent for treatment of toxoplasmosis.

Background Human leukocyte antigen HLA-DRB1 alleles encoding a common amino acid sequence called shared epitope in the third hypervariable region of DRB1 molecule have been identified as risk alleles for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aim of the work The aim was to study HLA-DRB1 01, 04 and 10 alleles in Egyptian RA patients and determine their relation with anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody level, disease activity, clinical and radiological severity. Patients and methods The study involved 40 RA patients and 20 control. Simplified disease activity index (SDAI) was calculated, clinical severity was assessed using the mechanical joint score (MJS) and radiological severity evaluated using the simple erosion narrowing score (SENS). HLA-DRB1 genotyping and anti-CCP antibodies were detected. Results The mean patients’ age was 41.6 ± 12.7 years and disease duration 8.9 ± 7.7 years. The frequency of HLA DRB1 01, 04 and 10 in patients was 42.5%, 60% and 25% respectively. Of them 04 was significantly higher than in controls ( p = 0.013) and was associated with anti-CCP positive cases ( p = 0.0008) while the absence of HLA-DRB1 alleles was significantly associated with negative anti-CCP negative RA ( p = 0.0008). There were significant associations between HLA-DRB1 01 and 04 with SDAI ( p = 0.0002 and p = 0.005, respectively); between HLA-DRB1 04 and 10 with SENS ( p = 0.002 and p = 0.001 respectively) and between HLA-DRB1 01, 04 and 10 with MJS ( p = 0.02, p = 0.03 and p = 0.02, respectively). Conclusion HLA-DRB1 04 is associated with RA in Egyptian patients and is strongly associated in the production of elevated titers of anti-CCP antibodies which contribute to the development, severity and activity of the disease.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of intensive dynamic exercises on the oxidative status in patients with primary fibromyalgia (FM) and to explore the importance of these effects on the outcome of FM. Patients and methods We measured levels of stress oxidants (protein carbonyls, nitric oxide, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and antioxidant parameters (thiols and catalase) in blood samples from 40 FM patients and from healthy controls (n = 25) at presentation and after 12 weeks of intensive exercise program that comprised aerobic and strengthening exercises (lasting 1 h three times per week). In the patients, pain was assessed using the visual analog scale and tender points counts, and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory were applied at presentation and after 12 weeks of exercise therapy. Results At presentation, the serum levels of the oxidative stress parameters were significantly higher (P < 0.001), whereas the serum levels of antioxidant parameters were significantly lower (P < 0.001) in patients with FM than in controls. There was a higher significant decrease (P < 0.001) in the oxidative stress parameters following the 12-week exercise regime, whereas the antioxidant parameter levels showed a higher significant increase (P < 0.001) after the exercise treatment. Tender points, visual analog scale, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory showed a higher significant (P < 0.001) improvement with exercise therapy. Conclusion Twelve weeks of intensive dynamic exercise program should be recommended to patients with FM as it was effective in decreasing the oxidative stress parameters, increasing the antioxidant parameters, and improving the clinical outcome of this disease.

Introduction The aim of this work was to compare the potential efficacy of epidural steroid injection versus other conservative measures for relieving pain and improving function in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods This study included 45 patients who presented with low back pain and sciatica due to LDH (at levels of L4-L5 or L5-S1) diagnosed clinically and confirmed by means of MRI. Patients were classified into two groups: group I (15 patients) was treated with drugs and physiotherapy, and group II (30 patients) was subclassified into two subgroups of 15 patients each (group IIL received lumbar epidural injection, whereas group IIC received caudal epidural injection). All patients were assessed at presentation and after starting the treatment at the first week and first, second, and third month using the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for function status. Results Groups I, IIL, and IIC showed improvement in pain and function, confirmed by a decrease in the mean VAS and ODI scores. Both groups of injection showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) when compared with group I with regard to VAS and ODI. There was an insignificant difference (P > 0.05) between the lumbar and caudal groups in the VAS, except at the second month (P < 0.05), and in the ODI, except at first week and first month (P < 0.05). Conclusion Epidural injection could be a preferable choice in managing low back and radicular pain due to LDH. It was a clinically useful mode of treatment that is cost-effective and could offset the need for surgery.

Background Calprotectin is a protein released during the activation and turnover of leukocytes. It can be used as a biomarker of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aim The current study aimed to measure the serum level of calprotectin in RA patients, recently diagnosed and after initiation of treatment, to determine its association with clinical disease, synovial inflammation determined by Ultrasound (US), and its relation to therapy when compared with other inflammatory markers. Patients and methods A total of 32 patients with recent RA and 20 healthy individuals were assessed for serum calprotectin level (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were also measured in patients who were reassessed 4 months after initiation of therapy. Disease activity was evaluated by the disease activity score of 28 joints (DAS28), and US assessment was performed. Results The mean level of serum calprotectin was significantly higher (P

Anti-C1q autoantibodies have been proposed as a useful marker in SLE. This study aimed at measuring serum levels of anti-C1q antibodies in patients with SLE and investigates correlations of this level with the histopathological classes of renal biopsies and disease activity. The anti-C1q antibody level was measured in 30 females SLE patients and 20 controls. The activity of SLE disease was calculated according to the SLE disease activity index. A renal biopsy from patients with clinical manifestations of renal disease was obtained. There was a significant increase in the level of anti-C1q antibodies in SLE patients than controls and in patients with active LN than inactive LN (P0.05). There were significant positive correlations between anti-C1q antibody level and SLEDAIrSLEDAI scores and activity index score of renal biopsies. Anti-C1q antibodies showed higher diagnostic sensitivity and specificity than anti-dsDNA antibodies. In conclusion, anti-C1q antibodies are useful and sensitive non-invasive biomarker with high specificity in combination with anti-dsDNA antibodies for the diagnosis of renal disease activity.

Autoimmune diseases are considered the 3rd leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized countries. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATDs) are associated with high prevalence of nonorgan-specific autoantibodies, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), antidouble-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA), antiextractable-nuclear antigens (anti-ENAs), rheumatoid factor (RF), and anticyclic-citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) whose clinical significance is unknown. We aimed to assess the prevalence of various nonorgan-specific autoantibodies in patients with ATD, and to investigate the possible association between these autoantibodies and occurrence of rheumatic diseases and, if these autoantibodies could be considered as predictor markers for autoimmune rheumatic diseases in the future. This study had 2 phases: phase 1; in which 61 ATD patients free from rheumatic manifestations were assessed for the presence of these nonorgan-specific autoantibodies against healthy 61 control group, followed by 2nd phase longitudinal clinical follow-up in which cases are monitored systematically to establish occurrence and progression of any rheumatic disease in association to these autoantibodies with its influences and prognosis. Regarding ATD patients, ANA, anti-dsDNA, Anti-ENA, and RF were present in a percentage of (50.8%), (18%), (21.3%), and (34.4%), respectively, with statistically significance difference (P