Evaluation of the effectiveness of natural extract as a substituent for synthetic preservatives and antioxidants in pharmaceutical preparations.

Background: Despite the fact that synthetic preservatives and antioxidants have strong antibacterial and antioxidant activity, they are frequently associated with negative health consequences. Currently, there is an increasing interest in pharmaceutical products that are excellent in quality and free of synthetic preservatives. Methods: As a result, the purpose of this research is to assess the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of olive leaf extract, oleuropein, and thymol in various pharmaceutical products. Furthermore, the efficacy of these natural extracts to substitute synthetic preservatives (methyl-propylparaben and benzalkonium chloride) and antioxidants (butylhydroxytoluene) will be investigated. Results: The results revealed that oleuropein, olive leaf extract, and a blend of oleuropein and thyme oil may be utilized as preservatives at concentrations of (0.6 % w/v), (0.4 % w/v), and (0.4 %/0.1 % v/v), respectively. The results demonstrated that thyme oil and oleuropein have synergistic efficacy against the studied microorganisms. By assessing antibacterial activity, and physical properties, the results demonstrated that pharmaceutical formulations containing natural preservatives were stable and effective for three months under accelerated settings (40 °C/75 % RH). Conclusion: Natural compounds such as oleuropein, olive leaf extract, and thyme oil have shown antibacterial effectiveness equivalent to synthetic preservatives in selected pharmaceutical products. Furthermore, there was synergy in antimicrobial activity between thyme oil and oleuropein and this facilitates the use of these compounds at different levels.

Assessment of antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities of Sisymbrium officinale plant extract.

The most efficient and safe source of medications is the natural and traditional medications which are produced from plants and herbs. In this study, Sisymbrium officinale (S. officinale) was tested to explore its total phenolic and flavonoids contents. Antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities were assessed as well. S. officinale was bought from a local Palestinian market, air-dried, and extracted with 99% ethanol with the aid of ultrasonication. The extract was tested on three types of bacteria using well diffusion method. The anti-microbial testing included three different types of bacteria, two gram-positive bacteria, Streptococcus and Staphylococcus and E. coli as a gram-negative bacterium. Antioxidant activity of the plant extract was conducted using DPPH method, while total phenolic and flavonoids contents were performed using a well-known assay chemical method. Anticancer activity of the extract was conducted against two cancer cell lines (breast (MCF7) and colon (HCT116) cancer cell lines). Results showed that the extract is rich polyphenolic and flavonoids and has strong antioxidant activity reflected by inhibition of free radicals (DPPH) (193.7 ± 3.4). The plant extract showed also strong antimicrobial activity against both E. coli and Streptococcus bacteria with of inhibition of 10 and 14 mm respectively. The extract of this plant also showed anticancer activity (about 6%) against MCF7 (breast cancer cell line).

Determination of N-nitrosamines by automated dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction integrated with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

An automated dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction integrated with gas chromatography and mass spectrometric procedure was developed for the determination of three N-nitrosamines (N-nitroso-di-n-propylamine, N-nitrosopiperidine, and N-nitroso di-n-butylamine) in water samples. Response surface methodology was employed to optimize relevant extraction parameters including extraction time, dispersive solvent volume, water sample pH, sodium chloride concentration, and agitation (stirring) speed. The optimal dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction conditions were 28 min of extraction time, 33 µL of methanol as dispersive solvent, 722 rotations per minute of agitation speed, 23% w/v sodium chloride concentration, and pH of 10.5. Under these conditions, good linearity for the analytes in the range from 0.1 to 100 µg/L with coefficients of determination (r(2) ) from 0.988 to 0.998 were obtained. The limits of detection based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 were between 5.7 and 124 ng/L with corresponding relative standard deviations from 3.4 to 5.9% (n = 4). The relative recoveries of N-nitroso-di-n-propylamine, N-nitrosopiperidine, and N-nitroso di-n-butylamine from spiked groundwater and tap water samples at concentrations of 2 µg/L of each analyte (mean ± standard deviation, n = 3) were (93.9 ± 8.7), (90.6 ± 10.7), and (103.7 ± 8.0)%, respectively. The method was applied to determine the N-nitrosamines in water samples of different complexities, such as tap water, and groundwater, before and after treatment, in a local water treatment plant.

Prevalence and types of articulation errors in Saudi Arabic-speaking children with repaired cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess prevalence and types of consonant production errors and phonological processes in Saudi Arabic-speaking children with repaired cleft lip and palate, and to determine the relationship between frequency of errors on one hand and the type of the cleft. Possible relationship between age, gender and frequency of errors was also investigated. METHODS: Eighty Saudi children with repaired cleft lip and palate aged 6-15 years (mean 6.7 years), underwent speech, language, and hearing evaluation. The diagnosis of articulation deficits was based on the results of an Arabic articulation test. Phonological processes were reported based on the productivity scale of a minimum 20% of occurrence. Diagnosis of nasality was based on a 5-point scale that reflects severity from 0 through 4. All participants underwent intraoral examination, informal language assessment, and hearing evaluation to assess their speech and language abilities. The Chi-Square test for independence was used to analyze the results of consonant production as a function of type of CLP and age. RESULTS: Out of 80 participants with CLP, 21 participants had normal articulation and resonance, 59 of participants (74%) showed speech abnormalities. Twenty-one of these 59 participants showed only articulation errors; 17 showed only hypernasality; and 21 showed both articulation and resonance deficits. CAs were observed in 20 participant. The productive phonological processes were consonant backing, final consonant deletion, gliding, and stopping. At age 6 and older, 37% of participants had persisting hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: Despite early age at time of surgery (mean 6.7 months) for the studied CLP participants in this study, a substantial number of them demonstrated articulation errors and hypernasality. The results showed desirable findings for diverse languages. It is especially interesting to consider the prevalence of glottal stops and pharyngeal fricatives in a population for whom these sound are phonemic.

Consonant profile of Arabic-speaking school-age children in Jordan.

The paper provides a detailed consonant profile of 100 Jordanian children at the onset of formal schooling. The data were elicited through a modified version of Amayreh's (1994) articulation test. The findings showed that all consonants of Jordanian Spoken Arabic were acquired. The six consonants that were not acquired in Standard Arabic have dialectal forms. The accuracy rates of these consonants were discussed in the light of frequency of occurrence of consonants and diglossia. The study recommended an earlier targeting of consonants that have dialectal variants. It also suggested that knowledge of the diglossic nature of Arabic is important for literacy development as well as for diagnosis and treatment of articulation problems.

Completion of the consonant inventory of Arabic.

This study is a follow-up of previous research on the acquisition of Arabic consonants in normally developing children between the ages of 2 and 6 years. The purpose of this study was to provide normative data on the acquisition of late consonants that had not been acquired by the age of 6;4 (years;months). Speech samples from 60 Arabic-speaking children between ages 6;6 and 8;4, in Amman, Jordan, were analyzed to determine the age at which 10 late consonants had been acquired and to determine the error patterns and sound changes used. Five of these consonants had still not been acquired in their standard form (Educated Spoken Arabic) by even the oldest children. However, 8 of the late consonants were produced in their acceptable colloquial forms by age 7;4 and all 10 by age 8;4. The late acquisition of these consonants was discussed from the point of view of functional load and markedness. Implications for diagnosis of articulation disorders and reading problems were considered.