Iraqi Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (IJPS) , 2022
High percentage of the Iraqi population profoundly rely on folk medicine to meet their health nee... more High percentage of the Iraqi population profoundly rely on folk medicine to meet their health needs which makes their safety questionable. This study aims to evaluate Iraqi herbalists' knowledge and practice to ensure the public's safety. This study was conducted in a cross-sectional design between October 2021 and March 2022, using a pretested questionnaire administered to Iraqi herbalists practicing in Middle Euphrates Area. Through face-to-face meetings, participants completed a multicomponent questionnaire comprising 15 items in four sections. The data obtained were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences; Chi-square was used to correlate some variables, and P-values of <0.05 were considered significant. A total of 54 male herbalists from five Iraqi provinces joined this survey, the majority practicing in Kabala. Most herbalists had 10-20 years of experience, and more than 50% had a university degree. Data showed that 72.2% of herbalists identify their herbal items using their own experience, and 35.2% use this experience as their sole source of knowledge. Only 35.1% use herbal books in conjugation with their experiences, and a few (1.9%(use multiple sources of information. Herbalists with more years of experience (79.6%(evaluate patient conditions properly, follow up (40.7%(, and refer patients to their physicians when needed (42.6%(. Although fifty percent of herbalists educate their patients regarding the storage condition of remedies, most of them refrain from writing the complete ingredients on their final product regardless of their experience. Results also showed that most herbalists do not have a record tracking adverse reaction. Most Iraqi herbalists lack the proper system for prescribing and dispensing their remedies and adequately identifying the sold herbs. The study showed a variation in practice among herbalists using approaches based mainly on their experience.
Garlic (known as; Allium sativum) is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world. A... more Garlic (known as; Allium sativum) is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world. Allicin is the major agent of garlic that gives its known pharmacological activities as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antioxidant agent. It could be extracted from bulbs of Allium sativum by water extraction to give allicin in low yield therefore other better methods were followed for extraction such as ultrasonic-assisted method that gives good yield. Attempts to optimize allicin extraction were found with sliced garlic at 25 °C for 90 minute of extraction for maximum yield (112μg/mL). Allicin was subjected to its evaluation as anti-herpetic against herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and exhibited a promising activity compared to acyclovir which was used as a reference standard. On the other hand, a novel synthetic amantadine derivative was evaluated as antiherpetic agent and prepared from the reaction of 2thiouracil-5-sulphonyl chloride with amantadine hydrochloride in pyridine. The synergestic effect of allicin and the amantadine derivative was evaluated against HSV-1, using both in silico molecular docking as for dynamics simulations. Thymidine kinase target enzyme was chosen to analyze any possible interactions, as well as any protein-ligand stability. Furthermore, some of properties of the potential HSV-1 thymidine kinase target inhibitor of the amantadine derivative were analyzed.
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is overexp... more The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is overexpressed in a considerable proportion of breast cancer patients. The increased expression of this tyrosine kinase receptor is usually associated with poor clinical prognosis in female patients with breast cancer. In these patients, specific response of immune system against HER2 had been observed. This suggests that immunotherapy approaches can be employed for enhancing the response of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes against HER2 in susceptible tumor microenvironment. In this regard, peptide vaccines are considered one of the most affordable immunotherapy modalities due to their low production cost and long-term effect. For this purpose, we have screened the extracellular domain of HER2 crystal for potential B-cells and T-cells epitopes by using different immuno-informatics tools. The output peptides were then refined and filtered according to their antigenicity, allergenicity and vulnerabi...
Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders.They are a... more Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders.They are a large family of compounds synthesized by plants; they belong to a group of natural substances with variable phenolic structures. In this study we aim to scan the types of flavonoids in a newly studied, wild Iraqi plant named Echinops tenuisectus of Compositae family. The medicinal importance of flavonoids on one hand, and the absence of any phytochemical investigation on tenuisectus species of Echinops genus on the other hand, acquired this study itÛ¥s importance. Three flavonoids were identified in the seed,s extract of this plant (Silymarin, Rutin, Quercetin ) by two chromatographic methods, first Thin layer chromatography (TLC) using TLC ready made GF254 plates, UV detector at 254 nm, and two different solvent systems in which the Rf value of the standards (Silymarine, Rutin, Quercetin) matched with the Rf value of the Silymarin, Rutin and Quercetin found in the plant seedÙ«s extract...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 2021
Yellow fever is a neglected hemorrhagic disease with a high case fatality rate ranging between 25... more Yellow fever is a neglected hemorrhagic disease with a high case fatality rate ranging between 25% and 50% for the hospitalized patients. Yellow fever disease is caused by a zoonotic pathogen known as yellow fever virus. This RNA virus is usually transmitted by mosquitos and it is considered endemic in the tropical regions of South America and Africa. Although an effective vaccine is available for yellow fever virus, no antiviral drug is yet licensed against the disease. Thus, yellow fever virus is still representing a re-emerging threat among unvaccinated individuals in endemic regions. The NS2B-NS3 protease seems to play an important role in yellow fever virus replication cycle. As such, the NS2B-NS3 protease may represent a potential target for structure-based drug design and discovery. In this direction, computational approaches like virtual screening can be utilized to hasten the design of novel antivirals and/ or repurposing an already FDA approved drugs. In this in silico stu...
Coronavirus disease 2019 is a current pandemic health threat especially for elderly patients with... more Coronavirus disease 2019 is a current pandemic health threat especially for elderly patients with comorbidities. This respiratory disease is caused by a beta coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The disease can progress into acute respiratory distress syndrome that can be fatal. Currently, no specific drug or vaccine are available to combat this pandemic outbreak. Social distancing and lockdown have been enforced in many places worldwide. The spike protein of coronavirus 2 is essential for viral entry into host target cells via interaction with angiotensin converting enzyme 2. This viral protein is considered a potential target for design and development of a drug or vaccine. Previously, we have reported several potential epitopes on coronavirus 2 spike protein with high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good stability against specified proteases. In the current study, we have constructed and evaluated a peptide vaccine from these potential epitope...
Al Mustansiriyah Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Sua... more This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Suaedabaccata (Chenopodiaceae) and its constituent the trigonelline alkaloid, against several microorganisms(Staphylococcus aureus to represent one member of Gram positive bacteria, Escherichiacoli to represent one member of Gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans to represent onemember of fungi) in that trigonelline alkaloid and the plant extract, showed an antibacterial activityagainst the growth of gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, while gram negative bacteria,Escherichia coli and the yeast, Candida albicans were resistant to both.
Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial hea... more Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial health effects. It is well known as a medicinal plant from ancient Greek and Roman times and it has been an important drug for centuries. Its pharmacological activity is mostly due to its phenolic compounds, mainly tannins. Therefore obtaining an extract with a high percent of total phenolic compounds would be interesting for studying the biological potential of the plant. The dried herbal parts of Lythrum salicaria L. were sequentially extracted with different solvents: 96 % ethanol, 70 % ethanol, and distilled water, in order to select the best solvent exhibiting the maximum percent of total phenolic compounds; the measurements were performed using modified Folin-Ciocâlteu method according to Makkar et al. In addition, the total flavonoid content was also analyzed in the different extracts using Chang et al method. The quantitative analysis of the examined chemical compounds showed that 7...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, Page 1-13, 2021
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is
overexp... more The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is overexpressed in a considerable proportion of breast cancer patients. The increased expression of this tyrosine kinase receptor is usually associated with poor clinical prognosis in female patients with breast cancer. In these patients, specific response of immune system against HER2 had been observed. This suggests that immunotherapy approaches can be employed for enhancing the response of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes against HER2 in susceptible tumor microenvironment. In this regard, peptide vaccines are considered one of the most affordable immunotherapy modalities due to their low production cost and long-term effect. For this purpose, we have screened the extracellular domain of HER2 crystal for potential B-cells and T-cells epitopes by using different immuno-informatics tools. The output peptides were then refined and filtered according to their antigenicity, allergenicity and vulnerability to selected proteases. Here, we present multiple B-cells and T-cells epitope candidates against HER2 extracellular domain with high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good resistance for selected proteolytic enzymes. These filtered epitopes can be used for design and construction of anti-HER2 peptide vaccine for potential use in HER2 positive breast cancer patients. Additionally, the sequence of linear B-cells epitopes can be used for the design of monoclonal antibody variable region against HER2 extracellular domain
Design and development of an effective drug to combat the 2019 novel coronavirus remains a challe... more Design and development of an effective drug to combat the 2019 novel coronavirus remains a challenge. Therefore, it is of interest to study the binding features of 1615 FDA approved drugs with the recently known 2019-nCoV main protease structure having high sequence homology with that from SARS-CoV. We document the binding features of top 10 drugs with the target protein. We further report that Conivaptan and Azelastine are mainly involved in hydrophobic interactions with active site residues. Both drugs can maintain close proximity to the binding pocket of main protease during simulation. However, these data need further in vitro and in vivo evaluation to repurpose these two drugs against 2019-nCoV.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, formerly known as 2019 novel coronavirus, is... more The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, formerly known as 2019 novel coronavirus, is a pandemic public health threat. This beta coronavirus potentially infects the alveolar cells of the lung leading to pneumonia. The disease may progress into acute respiratory distress syndrome especially in elderly patients with comorbidities. Therefore, it is of interest to design and develop candidates for treatment, therapy and prevention. The spike glycoprotein of the virus known to potentially interact with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 as a cell entry receptor is a suitable candidate for further consideration as vaccine and treatment candidate. Hence, we screened the spike protein of coronavirus-2 for potential B-cell and T-cell epitopes for further deliberation. Thus, we document several peptides on the spike protein with predicted high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good stability against selected proteases. The linear B-cell epitope with sequence 'GFNCYFPLQSYGF' is of particular interest in this context towards the design and development of short peptide vaccine candidates for combat and care against the virus.
Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders. They are ... more Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders. They are a large family of compounds synthesized by plants; they belong to a group of natural substances with variable phenolic structures. in this study we aim to scan the types of flavonoid in a newly studied wild Iraqi Plant named Echinops tenuisectus of the family Compositae. The medicinal importance of flavonoids on one hand, and the absence of any phytochemical investigation on tenuisetus species of Echinops genus on the other hand, acquired this study its inmportance. three flavonoids were identified in the seed's extract of this plant (Silymarin ,Rutin, Quercetin) by two chromatographic methods; forst Thin Layer Chromatography using TLC ready made GF254 plates, UV detector at 254 nm, and two different solvent systems in which the Rf value of the standards (Silymarin, Rutin and Quercetin) matched the Rf value of silymarin , rutin and Quercetin of the seed's plant extract.High Presuure Liquid Chromatography HPLC was the other chromatographic methos that was used to identify the presence of these flavonoid in the plant seeds. the plant seeds aqueous extract was evaluated for its efficacy in rat by inducing hepatotoxicty with CCL4. Single oral dose of 250mg/kg of seed's extract was given to rat for 7 days. serum activity of transaminase (ALT and AST) were used as biochemical marker of hepatotoxicty. histopathological change in rat's liver section were also examined. the results of the study indicated that the pre-treatment of rats with Echinops extract before the hepato-toxin agent CCL4 offered a hepatoprotective action
This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Sua... more This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Suaeda baccata (Chenopodiaceae) and its constituent the trigonelline alkaloid, against several microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus to represent one member of Gram positive bacteria, Escherichia coli to represent one member of Gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans to represent one member of fungi) in that trigonelline alkaloid and the plant extract, showed an antibacterial activity against the growth of gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, while gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and the yeast, Candida albicans were resistant to both.
Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial hea... more Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial health effects. It is well known as a medicinal plant from ancient Greek and Roman times and it has been an important drug for centuries. Its pharmacological activity is mostly due to its phenolic compounds, mainly tannins. Therefore obtaining an extract with a high percent of total phenolic compounds would be interesting for studying the biological potential of the plant. The dried herbal parts of Lythrum salicaria L. were sequentially extracted with different solvents: 96% ethanol, 70% ethanol, and distilled water, in order to select the best solvent exhibiting the maximum percent of total phenolic compounds; the measurements were performed using modified Folin-Ciocâlteu method according to Makkar et al. In addition, the total flavonoid content was also analyzed in the different extracts using Chang et al method. The quantitative analysis of the examined chemical compounds showed that 70% ethanol solution was the best solvent used in order to obtain the highest phenolic content. Rezumat Lythrum salicaria L., răchitan (Lythraceae) are multiple efecte benefice asupra sănătăţii. Specia este bine cunoscută ca plantă medicinală încă din antichitate, de greci şi romani. A fost considerată de secole ca produs valoros datorită proprietăţilor sale farmacologice imprimate în special de compuşii fenolici (majoritar taninuri). Prin urmare, obţinerea unui extract cu un înalt conţinut de compuşi fenolici va fi valoros, întrucât ar putea prezenta o activitate farmacologică interesantă (hipoglicemiantă, hipolipemiantă, antiseptică, antioxidantă). În acest scop vârfurile florale uscate ale speciei Lythrum salicaria L. au fost extrase selectiv cu diferiţi solvenţi : etanol (96% şi 70%) şi apă distilată, pentru a alege solventul potrivit, care extrage o cantitate maximă de compuşi fenolici (acizi fenolici, taninuri, flavone). Aceştia au fost determinaţi prin metoda Folin-Ciocâlteu modificată de Makkar şi colaboratori. Conţinutul în flavone a fost analizat prin metoda Chang şi colaboratori. Rezultatele obţinute au demonstrat că etanolul 70% a fost solventul adecvat pentru a obţine un extract de cea mai bună calitate.
Iraqi Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (IJPS) , 2022
High percentage of the Iraqi population profoundly rely on folk medicine to meet their health nee... more High percentage of the Iraqi population profoundly rely on folk medicine to meet their health needs which makes their safety questionable. This study aims to evaluate Iraqi herbalists' knowledge and practice to ensure the public's safety. This study was conducted in a cross-sectional design between October 2021 and March 2022, using a pretested questionnaire administered to Iraqi herbalists practicing in Middle Euphrates Area. Through face-to-face meetings, participants completed a multicomponent questionnaire comprising 15 items in four sections. The data obtained were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences; Chi-square was used to correlate some variables, and P-values of <0.05 were considered significant. A total of 54 male herbalists from five Iraqi provinces joined this survey, the majority practicing in Kabala. Most herbalists had 10-20 years of experience, and more than 50% had a university degree. Data showed that 72.2% of herbalists identify their herbal items using their own experience, and 35.2% use this experience as their sole source of knowledge. Only 35.1% use herbal books in conjugation with their experiences, and a few (1.9%(use multiple sources of information. Herbalists with more years of experience (79.6%(evaluate patient conditions properly, follow up (40.7%(, and refer patients to their physicians when needed (42.6%(. Although fifty percent of herbalists educate their patients regarding the storage condition of remedies, most of them refrain from writing the complete ingredients on their final product regardless of their experience. Results also showed that most herbalists do not have a record tracking adverse reaction. Most Iraqi herbalists lack the proper system for prescribing and dispensing their remedies and adequately identifying the sold herbs. The study showed a variation in practice among herbalists using approaches based mainly on their experience.
Garlic (known as; Allium sativum) is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world. A... more Garlic (known as; Allium sativum) is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world. Allicin is the major agent of garlic that gives its known pharmacological activities as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antioxidant agent. It could be extracted from bulbs of Allium sativum by water extraction to give allicin in low yield therefore other better methods were followed for extraction such as ultrasonic-assisted method that gives good yield. Attempts to optimize allicin extraction were found with sliced garlic at 25 °C for 90 minute of extraction for maximum yield (112μg/mL). Allicin was subjected to its evaluation as anti-herpetic against herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and exhibited a promising activity compared to acyclovir which was used as a reference standard. On the other hand, a novel synthetic amantadine derivative was evaluated as antiherpetic agent and prepared from the reaction of 2thiouracil-5-sulphonyl chloride with amantadine hydrochloride in pyridine. The synergestic effect of allicin and the amantadine derivative was evaluated against HSV-1, using both in silico molecular docking as for dynamics simulations. Thymidine kinase target enzyme was chosen to analyze any possible interactions, as well as any protein-ligand stability. Furthermore, some of properties of the potential HSV-1 thymidine kinase target inhibitor of the amantadine derivative were analyzed.
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is overexp... more The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is overexpressed in a considerable proportion of breast cancer patients. The increased expression of this tyrosine kinase receptor is usually associated with poor clinical prognosis in female patients with breast cancer. In these patients, specific response of immune system against HER2 had been observed. This suggests that immunotherapy approaches can be employed for enhancing the response of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes against HER2 in susceptible tumor microenvironment. In this regard, peptide vaccines are considered one of the most affordable immunotherapy modalities due to their low production cost and long-term effect. For this purpose, we have screened the extracellular domain of HER2 crystal for potential B-cells and T-cells epitopes by using different immuno-informatics tools. The output peptides were then refined and filtered according to their antigenicity, allergenicity and vulnerabi...
Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders.They are a... more Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders.They are a large family of compounds synthesized by plants; they belong to a group of natural substances with variable phenolic structures. In this study we aim to scan the types of flavonoids in a newly studied, wild Iraqi plant named Echinops tenuisectus of Compositae family. The medicinal importance of flavonoids on one hand, and the absence of any phytochemical investigation on tenuisectus species of Echinops genus on the other hand, acquired this study itÛ¥s importance. Three flavonoids were identified in the seed,s extract of this plant (Silymarin, Rutin, Quercetin ) by two chromatographic methods, first Thin layer chromatography (TLC) using TLC ready made GF254 plates, UV detector at 254 nm, and two different solvent systems in which the Rf value of the standards (Silymarine, Rutin, Quercetin) matched with the Rf value of the Silymarin, Rutin and Quercetin found in the plant seedÙ«s extract...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 2021
Yellow fever is a neglected hemorrhagic disease with a high case fatality rate ranging between 25... more Yellow fever is a neglected hemorrhagic disease with a high case fatality rate ranging between 25% and 50% for the hospitalized patients. Yellow fever disease is caused by a zoonotic pathogen known as yellow fever virus. This RNA virus is usually transmitted by mosquitos and it is considered endemic in the tropical regions of South America and Africa. Although an effective vaccine is available for yellow fever virus, no antiviral drug is yet licensed against the disease. Thus, yellow fever virus is still representing a re-emerging threat among unvaccinated individuals in endemic regions. The NS2B-NS3 protease seems to play an important role in yellow fever virus replication cycle. As such, the NS2B-NS3 protease may represent a potential target for structure-based drug design and discovery. In this direction, computational approaches like virtual screening can be utilized to hasten the design of novel antivirals and/ or repurposing an already FDA approved drugs. In this in silico stu...
Coronavirus disease 2019 is a current pandemic health threat especially for elderly patients with... more Coronavirus disease 2019 is a current pandemic health threat especially for elderly patients with comorbidities. This respiratory disease is caused by a beta coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The disease can progress into acute respiratory distress syndrome that can be fatal. Currently, no specific drug or vaccine are available to combat this pandemic outbreak. Social distancing and lockdown have been enforced in many places worldwide. The spike protein of coronavirus 2 is essential for viral entry into host target cells via interaction with angiotensin converting enzyme 2. This viral protein is considered a potential target for design and development of a drug or vaccine. Previously, we have reported several potential epitopes on coronavirus 2 spike protein with high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good stability against specified proteases. In the current study, we have constructed and evaluated a peptide vaccine from these potential epitope...
Al Mustansiriyah Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Sua... more This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Suaedabaccata (Chenopodiaceae) and its constituent the trigonelline alkaloid, against several microorganisms(Staphylococcus aureus to represent one member of Gram positive bacteria, Escherichiacoli to represent one member of Gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans to represent onemember of fungi) in that trigonelline alkaloid and the plant extract, showed an antibacterial activityagainst the growth of gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, while gram negative bacteria,Escherichia coli and the yeast, Candida albicans were resistant to both.
Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial hea... more Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial health effects. It is well known as a medicinal plant from ancient Greek and Roman times and it has been an important drug for centuries. Its pharmacological activity is mostly due to its phenolic compounds, mainly tannins. Therefore obtaining an extract with a high percent of total phenolic compounds would be interesting for studying the biological potential of the plant. The dried herbal parts of Lythrum salicaria L. were sequentially extracted with different solvents: 96 % ethanol, 70 % ethanol, and distilled water, in order to select the best solvent exhibiting the maximum percent of total phenolic compounds; the measurements were performed using modified Folin-Ciocâlteu method according to Makkar et al. In addition, the total flavonoid content was also analyzed in the different extracts using Chang et al method. The quantitative analysis of the examined chemical compounds showed that 7...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, Page 1-13, 2021
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is
overexp... more The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a well-studied oncoprotein that is overexpressed in a considerable proportion of breast cancer patients. The increased expression of this tyrosine kinase receptor is usually associated with poor clinical prognosis in female patients with breast cancer. In these patients, specific response of immune system against HER2 had been observed. This suggests that immunotherapy approaches can be employed for enhancing the response of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes against HER2 in susceptible tumor microenvironment. In this regard, peptide vaccines are considered one of the most affordable immunotherapy modalities due to their low production cost and long-term effect. For this purpose, we have screened the extracellular domain of HER2 crystal for potential B-cells and T-cells epitopes by using different immuno-informatics tools. The output peptides were then refined and filtered according to their antigenicity, allergenicity and vulnerability to selected proteases. Here, we present multiple B-cells and T-cells epitope candidates against HER2 extracellular domain with high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good resistance for selected proteolytic enzymes. These filtered epitopes can be used for design and construction of anti-HER2 peptide vaccine for potential use in HER2 positive breast cancer patients. Additionally, the sequence of linear B-cells epitopes can be used for the design of monoclonal antibody variable region against HER2 extracellular domain
Design and development of an effective drug to combat the 2019 novel coronavirus remains a challe... more Design and development of an effective drug to combat the 2019 novel coronavirus remains a challenge. Therefore, it is of interest to study the binding features of 1615 FDA approved drugs with the recently known 2019-nCoV main protease structure having high sequence homology with that from SARS-CoV. We document the binding features of top 10 drugs with the target protein. We further report that Conivaptan and Azelastine are mainly involved in hydrophobic interactions with active site residues. Both drugs can maintain close proximity to the binding pocket of main protease during simulation. However, these data need further in vitro and in vivo evaluation to repurpose these two drugs against 2019-nCoV.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, formerly known as 2019 novel coronavirus, is... more The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, formerly known as 2019 novel coronavirus, is a pandemic public health threat. This beta coronavirus potentially infects the alveolar cells of the lung leading to pneumonia. The disease may progress into acute respiratory distress syndrome especially in elderly patients with comorbidities. Therefore, it is of interest to design and develop candidates for treatment, therapy and prevention. The spike glycoprotein of the virus known to potentially interact with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 as a cell entry receptor is a suitable candidate for further consideration as vaccine and treatment candidate. Hence, we screened the spike protein of coronavirus-2 for potential B-cell and T-cell epitopes for further deliberation. Thus, we document several peptides on the spike protein with predicted high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good stability against selected proteases. The linear B-cell epitope with sequence 'GFNCYFPLQSYGF' is of particular interest in this context towards the design and development of short peptide vaccine candidates for combat and care against the virus.
Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders. They are ... more Flavonoids are known to play a vital role in the management of various liver disorders. They are a large family of compounds synthesized by plants; they belong to a group of natural substances with variable phenolic structures. in this study we aim to scan the types of flavonoid in a newly studied wild Iraqi Plant named Echinops tenuisectus of the family Compositae. The medicinal importance of flavonoids on one hand, and the absence of any phytochemical investigation on tenuisetus species of Echinops genus on the other hand, acquired this study its inmportance. three flavonoids were identified in the seed's extract of this plant (Silymarin ,Rutin, Quercetin) by two chromatographic methods; forst Thin Layer Chromatography using TLC ready made GF254 plates, UV detector at 254 nm, and two different solvent systems in which the Rf value of the standards (Silymarin, Rutin and Quercetin) matched the Rf value of silymarin , rutin and Quercetin of the seed's plant extract.High Presuure Liquid Chromatography HPLC was the other chromatographic methos that was used to identify the presence of these flavonoid in the plant seeds. the plant seeds aqueous extract was evaluated for its efficacy in rat by inducing hepatotoxicty with CCL4. Single oral dose of 250mg/kg of seed's extract was given to rat for 7 days. serum activity of transaminase (ALT and AST) were used as biochemical marker of hepatotoxicty. histopathological change in rat's liver section were also examined. the results of the study indicated that the pre-treatment of rats with Echinops extract before the hepato-toxin agent CCL4 offered a hepatoprotective action
This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Sua... more This study includes the detection of the anti microbial activity of both the plant extract of Suaeda baccata (Chenopodiaceae) and its constituent the trigonelline alkaloid, against several microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus to represent one member of Gram positive bacteria, Escherichia coli to represent one member of Gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans to represent one member of fungi) in that trigonelline alkaloid and the plant extract, showed an antibacterial activity against the growth of gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, while gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and the yeast, Candida albicans were resistant to both.
Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial hea... more Lythrum salicaria L., known as purple loosestrife (Lythraceae) has a wide range of beneficial health effects. It is well known as a medicinal plant from ancient Greek and Roman times and it has been an important drug for centuries. Its pharmacological activity is mostly due to its phenolic compounds, mainly tannins. Therefore obtaining an extract with a high percent of total phenolic compounds would be interesting for studying the biological potential of the plant. The dried herbal parts of Lythrum salicaria L. were sequentially extracted with different solvents: 96% ethanol, 70% ethanol, and distilled water, in order to select the best solvent exhibiting the maximum percent of total phenolic compounds; the measurements were performed using modified Folin-Ciocâlteu method according to Makkar et al. In addition, the total flavonoid content was also analyzed in the different extracts using Chang et al method. The quantitative analysis of the examined chemical compounds showed that 70% ethanol solution was the best solvent used in order to obtain the highest phenolic content. Rezumat Lythrum salicaria L., răchitan (Lythraceae) are multiple efecte benefice asupra sănătăţii. Specia este bine cunoscută ca plantă medicinală încă din antichitate, de greci şi romani. A fost considerată de secole ca produs valoros datorită proprietăţilor sale farmacologice imprimate în special de compuşii fenolici (majoritar taninuri). Prin urmare, obţinerea unui extract cu un înalt conţinut de compuşi fenolici va fi valoros, întrucât ar putea prezenta o activitate farmacologică interesantă (hipoglicemiantă, hipolipemiantă, antiseptică, antioxidantă). În acest scop vârfurile florale uscate ale speciei Lythrum salicaria L. au fost extrase selectiv cu diferiţi solvenţi : etanol (96% şi 70%) şi apă distilată, pentru a alege solventul potrivit, care extrage o cantitate maximă de compuşi fenolici (acizi fenolici, taninuri, flavone). Aceştia au fost determinaţi prin metoda Folin-Ciocâlteu modificată de Makkar şi colaboratori. Conţinutul în flavone a fost analizat prin metoda Chang şi colaboratori. Rezultatele obţinute au demonstrat că etanolul 70% a fost solventul adecvat pentru a obţine un extract de cea mai bună calitate.
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Papers by Suhad S Humadi
overexpressed in a considerable proportion of breast cancer patients. The increased expression of
this tyrosine kinase receptor is usually associated with poor clinical prognosis in female patients
with breast cancer. In these patients, specific response of immune system against HER2 had been
observed. This suggests that immunotherapy approaches can be employed for enhancing the
response of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes against HER2 in susceptible tumor microenvironment. In
this regard, peptide vaccines are considered one of the most affordable immunotherapy modalities
due to their low production cost and long-term effect. For this purpose, we have screened the
extracellular domain of HER2 crystal for potential B-cells and T-cells epitopes by using different immuno-informatics tools. The output peptides were then refined and filtered according to their antigenicity, allergenicity and vulnerability to selected proteases. Here, we present multiple B-cells and T-cells epitope candidates against HER2 extracellular domain with high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good resistance for selected proteolytic enzymes. These filtered epitopes can be used for design and construction of anti-HER2 peptide vaccine for potential use in HER2 positive breast cancer patients. Additionally, the sequence of linear B-cells epitopes can be used for the design of monoclonal antibody variable region against HER2 extracellular domain
baccata (Chenopodiaceae) and its constituent the trigonelline alkaloid, against several microorganisms
(Staphylococcus aureus to represent one member of Gram positive bacteria, Escherichia
coli to represent one member of Gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans to represent one
member of fungi) in that trigonelline alkaloid and the plant extract, showed an antibacterial activity
against the growth of gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, while gram negative bacteria,
Escherichia coli and the yeast, Candida albicans were resistant to both.
Drafts by Suhad S Humadi
overexpressed in a considerable proportion of breast cancer patients. The increased expression of
this tyrosine kinase receptor is usually associated with poor clinical prognosis in female patients
with breast cancer. In these patients, specific response of immune system against HER2 had been
observed. This suggests that immunotherapy approaches can be employed for enhancing the
response of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes against HER2 in susceptible tumor microenvironment. In
this regard, peptide vaccines are considered one of the most affordable immunotherapy modalities
due to their low production cost and long-term effect. For this purpose, we have screened the
extracellular domain of HER2 crystal for potential B-cells and T-cells epitopes by using different immuno-informatics tools. The output peptides were then refined and filtered according to their antigenicity, allergenicity and vulnerability to selected proteases. Here, we present multiple B-cells and T-cells epitope candidates against HER2 extracellular domain with high antigenicity, low allergenicity and good resistance for selected proteolytic enzymes. These filtered epitopes can be used for design and construction of anti-HER2 peptide vaccine for potential use in HER2 positive breast cancer patients. Additionally, the sequence of linear B-cells epitopes can be used for the design of monoclonal antibody variable region against HER2 extracellular domain
baccata (Chenopodiaceae) and its constituent the trigonelline alkaloid, against several microorganisms
(Staphylococcus aureus to represent one member of Gram positive bacteria, Escherichia
coli to represent one member of Gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans to represent one
member of fungi) in that trigonelline alkaloid and the plant extract, showed an antibacterial activity
against the growth of gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, while gram negative bacteria,
Escherichia coli and the yeast, Candida albicans were resistant to both.