Vigorous research has been conducted into the phenology of the shea tree, its usage and that of the shea butter extracted from the nuts of the shea fruit. Shea butter is the most valuable product in the Shea tree and its use as raw or in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products was expanded in the last years. The aim was to carry out comparative study between imported South African raw Shea Butter, one sample from Poland and samples from Libyan market on their physical properties (organoleptic), thin layer chromatography (TLC) chromatogram, phytochemical screening and diphenylpicrylhydrazil (DPPH) scavenging activity. As well as antimicrobial screening. Organoleptic test was carried out by comparing color and odor. TLC chromatogram was performed by spotting solution of samples in hexane on TLC plate and eluted twice in hexane: ethylacetate 8:2 to get good separation. Phytochemical screening was performed to determine the presence of carbohydrates (Fehling test), steroids, and triterpens (Salkwiski test). DPPH assay was carried out by spraying TLC sample spots by 0.2% DPPH methanolic solution. Antimicrobial test was conducted on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Mueller-Hinton agar was used with ciprofolxacin as +ve control and DMSO as–ve control. As a result, Shea Butter samples showed wide diversity in color and odor which considered normal except two white samples that might undergo refining process, while spreadability and TLC chromatograms were similar. Samples and control showed presence of carbohydrates, steroids and triterpens. Control and samples had DPPH scavenging activity. Shea Butter control and samples had no antimicrobial activities against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. arabic 17 English 111
Sakina Salem Saadawi, Khairi Ali Alennabi, Hanin Nafed Mughrbi, Kholoud Lotfi, Nesrin Saleh Ali Abdulnabi(4-2020)

Aims: The aim of the study was to assess the antibacterial effect of Ficus carica extracts against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, & Staphylococcus aureus. Study Design: Evaluation of antimicrobial activity using Cup-cut agar method. Place and Duration of Study: Microbiology Research Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tripoli, from October 2015 to March 2016. Methodology: The leaves and stem part extracts of Ficus carica plant were prepared using maceration method. The antibacterial activities of the extracts were evaluated using Cup-cut agar method to determinate inhibitory zone diameters in millimeters of the plant extracts against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The measurement of exponential bacterial growth curves was used to determine the type of growth pattern spectrophotometrically at 600 nm. Furthermore, plate count methods were also used to enumerate the bacterial count and to determine the percentage of inhibition as well as IC50. Results: The results of this study showed that Ficus carica extracts used, exhibited antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. The maximum zone of inhibition against S. aureus (27± 0.04mm, p
Basma Mohamed K Doro(1-2018)

The poor rate of drug discovery for the control of Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including schistosomiasis has necessitated effective management of existing drugs by modulating their delivery. Nanotechnology-based colloidal drug carriers have been explored to improve the activity and safety profile of drugs for NTDs including parasitic diseases. In developing new drug delivery systems for schistosomiasis, research efforts have focused mainly on Praziquantel (PZQ) as the sole antischistosomal agent in current clinical practice. Carrier systems of the polymer, inorganic and lipid-based type have been investigated for the delivery of PZQ. However, promising results were obtained using lipid-based delivery systems including liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers and nanoemulsions. Selection of these lipid carrier systems has been based on the lipophilicity of PZQ, controlled drug release, potential increase in its bioavailability by promoting lymphatic absorption to bypass the extensive first pass effect biodistribution to the host liver and enhancement of PZQ interaction with the worm tegument of a similar phospholipid nature.
Sakina Salem Mohammed Saadawi(2-2022)