High levels of Zinc-α-2-Glycoprotein among Omani AIDS patients on combined antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the levels of zinc-α-2-glycoprotein (ZAG) among Omani AIDS patients receiving combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). METHODS: A total of 80 Omani AIDS patients (45 males and 35 females), average age of 36 years, who were receiving cART at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Muscat, Oman, were tested for the levels of ZAG. In addition, 80 healthy blood donors (46 males and 34 females), average age of 26 years, attending the SQUH Blood Bank, were tested in parallel as a control group. Measurement of the ZAG levels was performed using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. RESULTS: The ZAG levels were found to be significantly higher among AIDS patients compared to the healthy individuals (P=0.033). A total of 56 (70%) of the AIDS patients were found to have higher levels of ZAG and 16 (20%) AIDS patients were found to have high ZAG levels, which are significantly (P>0.031) associated with weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: ZAG levels are high among Omani AIDS patients on cART and this necessitates the measurement of ZAG on routine basis, as it is associated with weight loss.

Evaluation of anti-resistant activity of Auklandia (Saussurea lappa) root against some human pathogens.

OBJECTIVE: The antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of the Auklandia (Saussurea lappa)root plant was investigated to verify its medicinal use in the treatment of microbial infections. METHODS: The antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract was tested against clinical isolates of some multidrug-resistant bacteria using the agar well diffusion method. Commercial antibiotics were used as positive reference standards to determine the sensitivity of the clinical isolates. RESULTS: The extracts showed significant inhibitory activity against clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactemase, Acinetobacter baumannii. The minimum inhibitory concentration values obtained using the agar dilution test ranged from 2.0 µg/µL-12.0 µg/µL. In the contrary the water extract showed no activity at all against the tested isolates. Furthermore, the results obtained by examining anti-resistant activity of the plant ethanolic extract showed that at higher concentration of the plant extract (12 µg) all tested bacteria isolates were inhibited with variable inhibition zones similar to those obtained when we applied lower extract concentration using the well diffusion assay. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that the crude ethanolic extract of the Auklandia (Saussurea lappa) root plant has a wide spectrum of activity suggesting that it may be useful in the treatment of infections caused by the above clinical isolates (human pathogens).