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Pathogenic microorganisms are a major source of environmental concerns, according to their capability of proliferation on all surfaces. Antimicrobial drugs of new types are now has been developed to inhibit bacteria adherence and biofilm formation. However, they are generally of synthetic origin and have a lot of disadvantages. Natural biopolymers as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, look interesting as antibacterial agents. Lignin, a common plant biopolymer, is known to have antioxidant activity. Nanoparticles have qualities that are either better or worse than their bulk materials or parent polymers. The objectives of this article are to recycle cotton stalks into environmentally friendly products by extracting lignin from two Egyptian cotton cultivars (by-products): Giza 86 and Giza 90, using the organosolv technique, and transferring them into lignin nanoparticles. Also, to determine whether lignin and lignin nanoparticle bioactivities (i.e., antioxidant and antibacterial) may be used to treat textiles for medical applications against seven harmful bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus sciuri, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella enterica, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and five mycotoxigenic fungi (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium proliferatum, and Penicillium verrucosum). LNPs were studied using Particle Size Analyzer, Fourier Transformer Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results revealed that organosolv lignin nanoparticles 90 (OLNP90) had the strongest antioxidant effectiveness with an IC50 of 9.41 µg/mL whereas the minimum antioxidant activity for organosolv lignin nanoparticles 86 (OLNP86) was found with an IC50 of 11.66 µg/mL. On the other hand, treatment with lignin and lignin nanoparticles had a greater effect on bacteria than fungi. Penicillium verrucosum exhibited the greatest inhibition zone (15.5 mm) for OLNP86 with no significant differences with Nystatin (15.8 mm), while Salmonella typhi exhibited the greatest inhibition zone (14.7 mm) for OLNP86 in comparison of Tetracycline (25.4 mm). Similarly, the study of textiles treated with lignin and nanolignin showed a clear effect on bacteria and fungi under study, where Penicillium verrucosum exhibited the greatest inhibition zone (30.7 mm), while Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited the greatest inhibition zone (36.3 mm) for OLNP86. As a result, the current study showed that OLNP's antioxidant and antimicrobial characteristics can be further utilized in medical textiles (surgical bandages, clothing, bed sheets, and towels), which can be used for patients with conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney failure who cannot tolerate antibiotics.

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365plant extracts with different degrees ranging from 47 to 62%. The methanol extract of celery, sage and eucalyptus showed improvement in the level of plasma malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α and uric acid and also showed significant improvements in body weight and total food intake. The methanol extract of celery, sage and eucalyptus showed complete safety for liver and kidney functions. α-Linolenic acid and linoleic acid were present in all the studied plants. Stigmasterol and b-sitosterol were present in all the studied plants. KEY-WORDS:Anti-arthritic -Anti-inflammatory -Celery -Eucalyptus sage -Sweet basil. INTRODUCTIONRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the major human autoimmune diseases affecting about 1 per cent of the adult population (Lipsky, 2005). The disease is characterized by inflammation of the synovial tissue and damage to the cartilage and bone of the joints, leading to severe deformities (Brennan & McInnes, 2008;Gorman & Cope, 2008). The drugs that inhibit inflammatory reactions are a vital component of the therapeutic arsenal against RA (Kremers et al., 2004). However, the adverse reactions and toxicity associated with the use of these drugs have expeditiously promoted the use of natural plant products or procedures belonging to the diverse traditional systems of medicine by patients with RA (Nozaki et al., 2006;Chang et al., 2010) and other chronic inflammatory disorders (Salvioli et al., 2007;Jung et al., 2007;Alleva et al., 2010). This growing trend warrants a continuous search for new natural anti-arthritic products. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) is a wellestablished model of rheumatoid arthritis that can be induced in rats by an intradermal injection of Freund's adjuvant (Holmdahl et al., 2001). The AIA model reproduces most of the bone changes found in RA (Holmdahl et al., 2001), including inflammatory bone loss, which has been linked to an increased risk of fracture (Joffe & Epstein, 1991). The role of plant products in various diseases has been known RESUMEN Evaluación de los efectos anti-inflamatorio y antiartrítico de algunos extractos de plantasEl objetivo de la presente investigación ha sido estudiar la actividad anti-inflamatoria de flores de albahaca dulces, hojas de eucalipto, hojas de apio y salvia. Se ha estudiado el efecto sobre la inflamación aguda de extractos metanólicos de apio, salvia y eucalipto y sobre la artritis inducida en ratas. Se han evaluado los efectos de los extractos metanólicos de apio, salvia y eucalipto sobre los parámetros bioquímicos determinados en la artritis inducida y su seguridad en las funciones del hígado y el riñón. Se han estudiado los ácidos grasos, hidrocarburos y fitoesteroles de todas las plantas objeto de la investigación. Los resultados han revelado una actividad antiinflamatoria de los extractos de las plantas estudiadas con diferentes grados entre un 47 y un 62%. Los extractos metanólico de apio, de salvia y de eucalipto han mostrado una mejoría de los niveles de malondialdehído en plasma, factor de necrosis tumoral α y de á...

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The present study deals with the safety evaluation of thyme essential oil used as a spice in foods on liver and kidney functions of rats. Therefore, the activities of some enzymes of rat plasma, i.e., alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as rat plasma contents, i.e., total triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, urea, uric acid and creatinine were determined for rats administered with thyme essential oil at two concentrations of 200 and 400 ppm. In addition, histopathological examinations were performed in order to emphasis the results of biochemical determinations of liver and kidney functions. In general, the thyme essential oil induced little changes in aminotransferases activity in rat plasma and desirable changes in total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol. On the contrary, this oil did not induce any changes in urea, uric acid and creatinine contents. Histological examination showed no changes in kidneys and liver tissues, except hydropic degeneration of some hepatocytes. So, the essential oil induced limited alteration in some parameters relevant to liver and kidneys functions. The outcome from these results that the essential oil of aerial part of thyme plant had harmless effect on liver and kidneys tissues.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of vitamins K, D, and C supplementation on the development of osteopenia in calcium-deficient young female rats. Fourty nine female Sprague-Dawley rats, 6 weeks of age, were randomized into 7 groups with 7 rats in each group: Baseline control, 0.5% (normal) calcium diet, 0.1% (low) calcium diet, 0.1% calcium diet + vitamin K (30 mg / 100g food intake), 0.1% calcium diet + vitamin D (25 µg / 100 g food intake), 0.1% calcium diet + vitamin C (1.5 g / 100 g food intake) and 0.1% calcium diet + K, D and C. After 10 week of feeding, serum calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and ALP activity were measured, and intestinal calcium absorption, renal calcium reabsorption, and bone growth parameters were evaluated. Calcium deficiency induced hypocalcemia, increased serum PTH level and ALP activity stimulated intestinal calcium absorption and renal calcium reabsorption and reduced maturation-related bone gain. Vitamin K supplementation in calcium-deficient rats stimulated elevation of serum PTH level, ALP activity delayed the reduction in femoral bone density and BMD. On the other hand, vitamin D supplementation in calcium -deficient rats stimulated intestinal calcium absorption via increased ALP activity with prevention of the abnormal elevation of serum PTH level, prevented hypocalcemia and retarded the reduction in femoral growth but had no effect on the femoral bone density and BMD.In contrast, vitamin C supplementation delayed the reduction in femoral bone volume, bone density, and BMD. However, no synthetic effect of vitamin K, D and C on intestinal calcium absorption, renal calcium reabsorption and bone mass was found.