hossein behboudi

Many cancer patients suffer from irreparable complications under the influence of oxidative stress. The administration of effective supplements to control and inhibit the action of oxidative radicals has recently attracted the attention of doctors and researchers. In particular, zinc supplementation is one of the minerals most relevant to the human health because of its antioxidant properties. Zinc acts as a cofactor for important enzymes involved in the proper functioning of the antioxidant defense system. In addition, zinc protects cells from oxidative damage. By conducting the present study, the effect of zinc dietary supplements in improving the treatment process of multiple myeloma (MM) patients who underwent autologous bone - marrow transplantation was investigated in terms of oxidative radical changes.

This study was a double - blind, placebo - controlled clinical trial. The study participants were randomly divided into two groups of 20, zinc gluconate (Zn) and placebo. On days 0, +15, and +30 after transplantation, patients received three 30 mg zinc gluconate tablets or placebo daily. The serum levels of zinc and copper of the patients were measured before the intervention and on day 30 after transplantation. The change in NADPH oxidase 2 (Nox2) gene expression was measured by real - time PCR method. The activity of nitrite (Nitric Oxide) and malondialdehyde (Malondialdehyde) metabolites were measured with Thiobarbituric acid and Griess methods, respectively. Analysis of the findings and graphs were done using SPSS Version 27 software. Mann - Whitney test was used to measure the difference in the number of biochemical variables between the intervention group and the placebo group, since thedata was not distributed normally. GraphPad Prism 8 software and one-way ANOVA and unpaired t-test were used to measure the difference in gene expression changes.

During the nutritional questionnaire, it was observed that the placebo group had more zinc, and the estimated difference between the two groups was determined to be 1.236. The expression of NOX2 gene showed a significant decrease (P-value < 0.05) compared to the control group after 30 days. The MDA values and Griess test findings did not change significantly after zinc supplementation, but a decrease was seen in the zinc group compared to the placebo group (P-value > 0.05).

It seems that zinc supplementation is effective for controlling oxidative stress and inflammation.

We aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of Persian Gulf microalgae extracts on some Gram-positive and negative bacterial species in order to find new compounds with antibacterial activity.

After sampling microalgae from December 2020 to April 2021 from the northernmost part of Qeshm Island in Persian Gulf, the antibacterial activity of methanolic and ethyl acetate extract of microalgae were tested in three concentrations of 125, 250, and 500 mg/ml on Gram-positive bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli by disk-diffusion assay and the results were compared with two standard antibiotics including ciprofloxacin and streptomycin. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were assessed spectrophotometrically using microplate and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) reader.

Methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts had antibacterial effects against Gram-positive and negative bacteria. Compared to ethyl acetate extract, the methanolic extract showed stronger effects on both Gram-positive and negative bacteria. The most antibacterial effect was related to methanolic extract with a concentration of 500 mg/ml on S. aureus by 14.6 mm inhibition zone. Evidence from MIC also confirmed that the lowest MIC was belonged to methanolic extract by 0.75 mg/ml against S. aureus. Interestingly, both of these extracts showed more antibacterial activity on Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria.

The investigation proved the efficacy of microalgae extracts isolated from Persian Gulf as natural antimicrobials and suggested the possibility of employing them in medicines as antimicrobial agents.

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is one of the major detoxifiers in alveoli. Polymorphism in GST genes can influence the ability of individuals to suppress oxidative stress and inflammation. The present study was aimed to explore the hypothesis that the genetic polymorphisms of GST T1, M1 and P1 are associated with the severity of the mustard lung in the sulfur mustard-exposed individuals.
Blood samples were taken from 185 sulfur mustard-exposed and 57 unexposed subjects. According to the stage of the mustard lung, sulfur mustard-exposed patients were categorized in the mild/moderate and severe/very severe groups. A multiplex PCR method was conducted to identify GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes. To determine the polymorphisms of GSTP1 in exon 5 (Ile105Val) and exon 6 (Ala114Val), RFLP-PCR method was performed.
The frequency of GSTM1 homozygous deletion was significantly higher in the severe/very severe patients compared with the mild/moderate subjects (66.3% vs. 48%, P = 0.013). The GSTM1 null genotype was associated with the severity of mustard lung (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.257; 95% CI, 1.219-4.180). There was no significant association between GSTT1 and GSTP1 polymorphisms with the severity of the mustard lung.
The different distribution of GSTM1 null genotype in severe/very severe and mild/moderate groups indicated that the severity of the mustard lung might be associated with the genetic polymorphism(s).