Seven structurally-related compounds consisting of three antidepressant drugs (imipramine, desmethylimipramine and amitriptyline), three tranquillizing agents (promazine, chlorpromazine and chlorprothixene) and a hybrid, desmethylpromazine. have been examined in a series of tests involving autonomic functions and antagonism of reserpine. Activities of the compounds in antagonizing reserpine-induced ptosis in rabbits and prolongation of alcohol hypnosis in mice give good correlation with their clinical actions, whilst their activities in augmenting excitation of rats by amphetamine and yohimbine toxicity in mice, and in reversing reserpine-induced bradycardia in rats offer further evidence for drug-induced sensitization to adrenergic or tryptaminic mechanisms, which is not however specific for antidepressant agents. No evidence has been obtained to indicate that a central parasympatholytic action is an important component of the antidepressant activity of imipramine and related drugs.
Moringa oleifera seeds are well known for their ability to cause flocculation in turbid water and facilitate bacterial inhibition. These effects are due to the cationic polypeptide MO, which affects the surface charge of suspended particles and causes lysis of bacterial cells. However, the attachment of bacteria to MO prevents further bacterial attachment, reducing the effectiveness of the seeds. This research investigated the effect of surfactants on functionality and reuse of Moringa seeds to develop a sustainable water treatment technique. The seed extracts (MO) were used with a functionalised sand system, and the sands were exposed to commercially available (ionic and non-ionic) surfactants, dodecyl glucoside and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Artificially polluted water contaminated with Escherichia coli was used to evaluate the efficiency of the system. The non-ionic surfactant was found to be effective at separating E. coli from the functionalised sand without the detachment of the MO and subsequent loss of the system efficiency. This was successfully repeated four times. The results demonstrated a sustainable, reusable technique to inhibit bacterial contamination in water.
Bactericidal proteins from the Moringa oleifera seed are reported to be suitable alternatives to conventional methods of bacterial reduction in water. In this study the cationic bactericidal M. oleifera proteins were isolated by attachment onto the surface of silicon dioxide. This functionalised SiO(ƒ-SiO) was then exposed to Escherichia coli and Micrococcus luteus to examine whether the ƒ-SiO could be used to inactivate the bacteria. The effect of the non-ionic surfactant dodecyl glucoside on the attachment of these bacteria to the ƒ-SiO was examined with the aim of developing a method of reusable bacterial inactivation. The primary result of this study was that the E. coli could be readily separated from the ƒ-SiO, allowing the ƒ-SiO to be used for further bacterial inactivation. The regeneration of the ƒ-SiO was demonstrated using fluorescence microscopy on bacterial cells stained with propidium iodide, and zeta potential measurements. Future applications of this work include a reusable method of removing bacteria from contaminated water.
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