Introduction: Aluminium (Al) is accumulated in the brain causing neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis, autism and epilepsy. Hence, attenuation of Al-induced neurotoxicity has become a “hot topic“ in looking for an intervention that slow down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.Objective: Our study aims to introduce a new strategy for hampering aluminum chloride (AlCl3)-induced neurotoxicity using a combination of sesamol with the probiotic bacteria; Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) and also to test their possible ameliorative effects on AlCl₃-induced hepatotoxicity.Methods: Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 10/group) which are control, AlCl₃, AlCl₃ + Sesamol, AlCl₃ + L. rhamnosus and AlCl₃ + Sesamol + L. rhamnosus. We surveilled the behavioral, biochemical, and histopathological alterations centrally in the brain and peripherally in liver.Results: This work revealed that the combined therapy of sesamol and L. rhamnosus produced marked reduction in brain amyloid-β, p-tau, GSK-3β, inflammatory and apoptotic biomarkers, along with marked elevation in brain free β-catenin and Wnt3a, compared to AlCl₃-intoxicated rats. Also, the combined therapy exerted pronounced reduction in hepatic expressions of JAK-2/STAT-3, inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-6, NF-κB), fibrotic (MMP-2, TIMP-1, α-SMA) and apoptotic markers, (caspase-3), together with marked elevation in hepatic PPAR-γ expression, compared to AlCl₃ -intoxicated rats. Behavioral and histopathological assessments substantiated the efficiency of this combined regimen in halting the effect of neurotoxicity.Discussion: Probiotics can be used as an add-on therapy with sesamol ameliorate AlCl₃ -mediated neurotoxicity and hepatotoxicity.

New 2-oxo-pyridines containing thiophene/furan scaffold targeting LasR gene on P. aeruginosa using green synthesis approach.

Milk contaminated with aflatoxin can lead to liver cancer. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a serious animal feed contaminant, is transformed into Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and secreted in milk. In this study, a biological method using probiotic bacteria, Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae), was used to assess their antiaflatoxigenic effect in animal milk. A Box–Behnken design was used to establish the optimal ratio of L. rhamnosus and S. cerevisiae, incubation time, and temperature for efficient AFM1 detoxification from milk. To achieve this, the primary, interaction, and quadratic effects of the chosen factors were investigated. To investigate the quadratic response surfaces, a second-order polynomial model was built using a three-factor, three-level Box–Behnken design. The quantity of AFM1 was detected by the ELISA technique. The results of these experiments obtained an optimum condition in AFM1 detoxification of the three tested factors in order to maximize their effect on AFM1 detoxification in milk. The model was tested in three highly contaminated milk samples to assure the efficacy of the model. AFM1 detoxification was up to 98.4% in contaminated milk samples. These promising results provide a safe, low-cost, and low-time-consuming solution to get rid of the problem of milk contamination with AFM1.

Human colostrum (HC) is essential for oral health as it is rich in probiotics that could affect the growth of the cariogenic S. mutans and its biofilm formation; hindering dental caries in advance. In this study, HC was collected from 36 healthy mothers 1–3 days postpartum. The effect of HC on oral health was carried out by assessing the impact of HC and its derived probiotics’ cell-free supernatants (CFS) on the growth of S. mutans (using modified well diffusion) and its biofilm formation (using microtiter plate assay). Moreover, the effect of whole HC on L. rhamnosus, a probiotic oral bacterium, was examined. Probiotics were isolated and identified phenotypically by API 50 CH carbohydrate fermentation and genotypically by 16S rRNA amplification. The in vitro study revealed that HC has cariogenic activity and is associated with biofilm formation. Biofilm strength was inversely proportional to HC dilution (p-value < 0.0001). Nevertheless, HC and colostrum-derived probiotics improve oral health by inhibiting the growth of caries-inducing S. mutans with lower inhibition to L. rhamnosus probiotics. The CFS of isolated probiotics reduced the biofilm formation via the cariogenic S. mutans. These results are not only promising for caries eradication, but they also highlight the importance of breastfeeding infants from their first hours to shape healthy oral microbiota, protecting them from various diseases including dental caries.

As most COVID-19 patients show mild to moderate symptoms; 15% suffer from severe respiratory symptoms, and 5% develop acute respiratory distress syndrome which may be associated with multiple organ failure. The highly virulent SARS-CoV-2 affects organs, other than lungs, such as brain, kidney, cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract. This review highlights the relation between SARS-CoV-2 and organ involvement. SARS-CoV-2 causes the cytokine storm and damage of the lung cells with activation of NF-κB, hence the damage may reach other organs that leads to death in some cases. The current review discusses the factors affecting COVID-19 severity including the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 with the associated cytokine storm, smoking, gender and blood group. This review discusses also genetic factors associated with severe COVID-19 cases, alongside with comorbid diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Also, this review focuses on the effect of immunosuppressants and antirheumatic drugs on the protection and treatment of severe COVID-19 cases.