سمیه عطایی جلیسه

 The high incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer have raised concerns about the effectiveness of current treatments. This study aimed to synthesize iron oxide nanoparticles coated with glucose and conjugated with Safranal (Fe₃O₄@Glu-Safranal) and investigate its effect on the viability and expression of the CASP8, CASP9, p53, and CAD genes in a liver cancer cell line (HepG2).

HepG2 cells were treated with different concentrations of the nanoparticles, and the effect of nanoparticles on cell viability was determined using the MTT test. After determining the inhibitory percentage of different concentrations of nanoparticles, the cells were treated with 50% inhibitory concentration of the nanoparticles, their total RNA was extracted, cDNA was synthesized, and gene expression level was evaluated by real-time PCR. The statistical tests included one-way ANOVA and paired t-test, which were analyzed by SPSS V.22 at a level of significance less than 0.05.

The results showed that the Fe₃O₄@Glu-Safranal nanoparticle at concentrations higher than 62.5 µg/ml causes a significant decrease in the survival rate of cancer cells. A 50% inhibitory concentration of the nanoparticle for liver cancer cell lines was found to be 277 and 458 μg/ml, respectively. This showed that the nanoparticle had stronger cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. Also, it was observed that treatment of the cells with Fe₃O₄@Glu-Safranal caused a significant increase in the expression of the CASP8, CASP9, p53, and CAD genes by 4.27, 2.09, 3.92, and 1.76 folds, respectively, in liver cancer cells (P < 0.05).

Apoptosis induction can be considered the main anticancer mechanism of the Fe₃O₄@Glu-Safranal nanoparticle, which is caused in response to direct cell damage or generated oxidative stress.

Eugenol is the major constituents of clove oil, which is known as an anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant agent. Staphylococcus aureus is most common pathogens that cause nosocomial infections and some bacterial infections death. In this study, the effect of Eugenol on the expression of mecA gene and the interaction with mecA protein (PBP2a) was evaluated in methicillin resistant isolates of Staphylococcus aureus.

Antibacterial activity of Eugenol was investigated in isolates of Staphylococcus aureus with DISC diffusion, MIC and MBC. Interaction between Eugenol and mecA protein (PBP2) was evaluated with bioinformatic approaches. The expression of mecA gene was assessed in Eugenol treated and untreated isolates by Q-RT-PCR.

results of this study showed that Eugenol inhibited bacterial growth in the DISCs in 80% of Staphylococcus aureus isolates. MIC and MBC of Eugenol in the most isolates were determined 5.22 mg/ml and 10.44 mg/ml, respectively. In silico analysis showed interaction between Eugenol and mecA protein (PBP2). mecA gene downregulated in Eugenol treated isolates (5.22 mg/ml) in compared to control.

It seems that Eugenol led to growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus isolates through both interaction with PBP2 and mecA gene downregulation.

Cinnamomum is a type of tonic spice that has had a special place in traditional medicine for a long time due to its effects on body health. Even today, with the discovery of its wide therapeutic properties, it is used in many countries. The main components of Cinnamomum, including cinnamaldehyde, can play a role in the treatment of breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant effect and anticancer properties of the active ingredient in cinnamon in breast cancer. The dose of the active ingredient of cinnamon was determined and checked by the MTT test method. The effects of cinnamon active substance on PI3K/AKT signaling pathway were investigated using molecular docking and real-time PCR methods. The results were that the dose of the effective substance was equal to 0.093 mg/ml and among the four proteins, AKT gene was selected due to the highest and best reaction at the protein level and the expression of AKT gene was very low in the presence of cinnamon. According to the effects, activity and antioxidant properties of the active substance of cinnamon, taking into account their side effects in vitro and in silico, this active substance of the plant can be used as an inhibitor of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and also it can be used as a Malignant tumor preventer.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram-negative bacillus and an opportunistic pathogen. This bacterium is the third most common cause of nosocomial infections. Exoenzymes T, S, U, Y are secreted by the type III secretion system, which is one of the important pathogenic factors of this bacterium, and exotoxin A is secreted by the type II secretion system. In this study, the frequency of exoA and exoT genes in clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the antibiotic resistance of the strains were investigated. 29 strains of P. aeruginosa bacteria were identified from patients admitted to Razi Hospital in Rasht, using common microbiology methods and were examined along with the standard strain of ATCC27853. The resistance of these strains to 6 types of antibiotics was determined using disk diffusion method. Then DNA extraction and PCR was performed to determine the frequency of exoA and exoT genes. In this research, the highest rate of antibiotic resistance was observed for Imipenem(86.75). The results obtained from PCR showed a frequency of 37.93%for exoA and 68.96% for exoT.

Ginger with the scientific name of Zingiber officinale contains the active ingredient Gingerol and many antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial properties of aqueous and hydro–alcoholic extracts of ginger and to investigate the anti-Alzheimer's effect of its hydro–alcoholic extract by inhibiting the production of amyloid nanofibers.

After milling, aqueous and hydro–alcoholic extract of ginger was prepared by soaking method and its antimicrobial effects on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated using agar diffusion method and determination of MIC and MBC. Visible spectroscopy was used to determine the inhibitory effect of hydro–alcoholic extract on the production of amyloid filaments.

The results showed that the diameter of the growth inhibition zone due to hydro–alcoholic extract of ginger in the well method was 15 mm for Staphylococcus aureus and 10 mm for Escherichia coli. The MIC and MBC levels for both bacteria were 50 and 100 mg / ml, respectively, and the aqueous extract of ginger had no effect on Escherichia coli. Increasing the concentration of ginger extract in the sample reduced the production of amyloid fibrils, which was associated with decreased absorption and redshift in the visible absorption spectrum of the Congored. The presence of the active ingredient gingerol was confirmed by GC–Mass method up to 34.7%.

Ginger extract with the presence of antimicrobial compounds such as gingerol, with good performance and lower side effects and cost, can be introduced as an effective medicinal plant for reducing the effects of inflammatory and Alzheimer's disease.

Today, due to increase in resistance of antibiotics, it is necessary to find suitable alternatives to natural materials. Algae also have many applications in medicine, pharmacy and the food industry.  Therefore, the present study was performed to investigate the antibacterial activity of red algae Gracilaria gracilis extract. In this study, the active compounds of methanolic extract of red algae G. gracilis were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The Antimicrobial effect of algae extract on bacteria were investigated by sequential dilution method. The chemical analysis of the algae extract compounds showed that the major components of the extract were phenylethine, silacyclopntenen, phthalic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, dibutyl phthalate, phytol and gibberellin. In the study of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration, it was shown that Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus with algae extract with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 6.2 and 112.5 mg/mL, respectively, compared to other studied bacteria, showed more sensitivity. Based on the results, the methanolic extract of red algae G. gracilis had good antimicrobial activity. Therefore, clinical research is necessary for the clinical applications of this extract.

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-np) have high penetration and antimicrobial effect due to their high    surface-to-volume ratio. The aim of this study was to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles with red algae extract, Gracilaria gracilis, and to investigate their antibacterial activity against a number of standard and drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria.  First, Ag-np were synthesized. To confirm the structure and size of Ag-np, was used X-Ray diffraction spectroscopy, FE-SEM electron microscopy, and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The antimicrobial effects of algae extract on bacteria were determined by sequential dilution method. The size of nanoparticles under electron microscopy was between 12 and 46 nm. The nanoparticles were able to inhibit most of standard and antibiotic resistant bacteria, Ag-np at a concentration of 29 μg /ml, on the standard bacteria: S. typhimorium, E. coli, K. pneumonia and the clinically resistant bacteria, E. coli and           K. pneumonia, they had the most inhibitory effect. In contrast, standard and clinically resistant isolates of S. aureus and    standard strain S. pneumonia were resistant to Ag-np. The results of this research showed that the G. gracilis red algae as a bio-source that can be useful for green synthesis of silver nanoparticles at very low cost applications, these nanoparticles can be used as candidates for drug composition.

In recent years, the use of medicinal plants has increased due to their lower side effects and costs compared to chemical drugs and patientschr('39') adaptation to these drugs. This study was performed to investigate the antibacterial effect of aqueous and alcoholic extract of four native medicinal plants of Gilan province against the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae.

In this study, plant species were collected from different areas of Gilan province and extraction was performed. The antibacterial effect of the extracts was investigated by the disc diffusion method. Then, using microdilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentration of bacterial growth was determined.

The results showed that chamomile alcoholic extract with the maximum average halo diameter of 14 mm showed the best effect against K. pneumoniae. The bacterium showed resistance against the aqueous and alcoholic extracts of fleawort. Also, the ethanolic extracts of nettle and chamomile plants had the best antibacterial effect at 0.39 mg/ml. The minimum inhibitory concentration of aqueous extract of fleawort plant against Klebsiella pneumoniae was 12.5 mg/ml which was lower than other types of extracts. According to the results, these extracts can be used as antibacterial products in the pharmaceutical and food industries and in the treatment of infection symptoms.