Al-Kufa University Journal for Biology

The results of this study proved the ability of black seed oil to reduce the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1, B2 in the physiological and cellular blood parameters of male albino rats, as the white blood cell count increased to (12000, 12340) cells/mm3 when treating AFB1, AFB2 animals compared to the control treatment (8333.3 cells/mm3). The results also showed that black seed oil reduced the white blood cell count when used with aflatoxin B1, B2 to (8420, 8675) cells/mm3, respectively. As for the hemoglobin concentration rate, it decreased to (7.9-9.7) g/100 ml when the animals were treated with aflatoxin B2, B1, while black seed oil had a positive effect in raising the hemoglobin concentration rate in the blood of the animals treated with black seed oil, (AFB1+ black seed oil AFB2+) to (11.8, 11.2 g/100 ml compared to the control treatment) without any addition (amounting to) 22.34 (g/100 ml) and the black seed oil treatment 23.1 g/211 ml, while the hemoglobin concentration rate (PCV) was observed to decrease significantly in the animals treated with aflatoxin B2,B1 36.6 (% respectively compared to the control treatment 45% in HN, as it reached ):. 34
The percentage increased and became within the normal limits when treating black seed oil and aflatox B2,B1 both at 47 (% respectively. The same is the case for the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, which reached 44.7
The E.S.R rates in the blood of animals treated with aflatox B2,B1 toxins increased from 3.7 (mm, each separately to 4.1
/hour compared to the control treatment 2.4 mm/hour, while the black seed oil treatment and the presence of aflatox B2,B1 both separately reduced the E.S.R to 2.6 mm/hour compared to the treatment Line 2.4 mm/h.

The fungal pollution of the air of Hillah city was studied for the period from January to July 2014 in three areas (Bakrli, Taawoniya Street and Bustan al-Helou), by calculating the rate of fungal pollution and its frequency in the three areas, where Bustan al-Helou area recorded the total fungal pollution rate of (58.3)% and Taawoniya Street at a rate of (23.7)%, while the least pollution was (17.8)% in the Bakrli area. As for the frequency rate of fungi, the fungus Aspergellus niger was the most frequent at a rate of (36.6)%, while the least frequent fungus was Aspergellus ochraceus at a rate of (0.24)% during the study period.

This study aimed to investigate the levels of Ochratoxin A in blood samples of patients with renal failure in Karbala Governorate and compare them with levels in blood samples of people who do not suffer from this disease and the possibility of finding a link between exposure to Ochratoxin A and the development of renal failure. The results of the chemical analysis of blood samples taken from 76 people with kidney failure showed the presence of OTA toxin in 11 samples (14.4%) at high levels ranging between (6-0.2) micrograms/ml of blood, while this toxin was not detected in the blood samples of the comparison group of 90 people except in one sample (female) only, with a large statistical (significant) difference between these two groups, in addition to the presence of a positive correlation (r+) indicating the presence of OTA toxin and kidney failure. The results also showed that women with kidney failure are more sensitive than men to OTA toxin, as the percentage of women carrying the toxin was 50%. On the other hand, the results indicated that the age group (51-70) years is the most exposed to OTA toxin, as the percentage of women exposed to the toxin was 60%. The results proved that OTA toxin plays a role in the occurrence of kidney failure.

The study aimed to know the role of rosemary extract Rosmarinus officinalis in resisting the toxicity of chlorpyrifos pesticide on the reproductive efficiency of white male rats and to study fertility parameters such as sperm parameters and hormone levels ((Testosterone (T), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing hormone (LH) as well as the histological image of the testes. The experiment included the use of (40) adult males that were randomly distributed into (4) equal groups, each group (10) animals. The control group (C) was dosed with distilled water, the second group (T1) was dosed with chlorpyrifos pesticide at a concentration of (20) mg/kg of body weight, the third group (T2) was dosed with rosemary aqueous extract (100) mg/kg, and the fourth group (T3) was dosed with chlorpyrifos pesticide at a concentration of (20) mg/kg and rosemary extract (100) mg/kg for 60 days At the end of the experiment, five animals were dissected after taking blood samples to obtain serum to evaluate the levels of testicular, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones. Then the animals were dissected, the testes were removed and the tail of the epididymis was taken to study the sperm parameters. The remaining five animals from each group were isolated for the purpose of conducting a fertility test on them. Forty females were used to study the ability of males to fertilize and cause pregnancy. The results of the statistical analysis showed a significant decrease (P<0.05) in the levels of hormones (T, FSH, LH) and a significant decrease (P<0.05) in the sperm parameters studied for the pesticide group (T1) compared to the control group and the rest of the treated groups, whose results varied by close differences. The results of the histological study confirmed these effects.

This study was conducted to identify the effect of the genes CBS and MTHFR in pregnant women with preeclampsia in Najaf Governorate. The study included 60 pregnant women with preeclampsia diagnosed by specialists at Al-Zahraa Specialized Hospital and 40 healthy pregnant women as a control group from December 2012 to March 2013. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used (to monitor the incidence and frequency of genetic mutations in the genes under study). The results of isolating and extracting fetal DNA from the blood plasma of pregnant women showed a significant increase (0.0001) in pregnant women with preeclampsia when compared to healthy pregnant women. The isolated DNA was proven to be from the fetus and not the pregnant woman by examining the SRY gene (a gene located on the Y chromosome). The births of 40 pregnant women were monitored, 31 of whom were females, while the remaining nine were males. The SRY gene bands appeared in pregnant women who gave birth to males, while these bands did not appear in those who gave birth to females. The rate of mutations in the CBS gene was monitored by means of a primer designed to double a part of 171 bp on this gene. The results showed that a genetic mutation occurred in it in 51.7% of infected pregnant women, but this mutation appeared in 5% of uninfected pregnant women. The results showed that a mutation in the CBS gene increases the probability of preeclampsia twenty times more than in women who do not carry this mutation, with a significant difference p ≤ 1 * 10-7. The results of the investigation of the genetic mutation C677T in the MTHFR gene showed that it occurred in 68.3% of women with preeclampsia, but it appeared in only 17.5% of those without the disease. The risk of developing preeclampsia in pregnant women increases by 10 times when the mutation C677T in the MTHFR gene occurs, with a significant difference of 10-7*6.2. These results indicate that genetic mutations in the CƁS and MTHFR genes have an important effect on the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, but their occurrence does not necessarily mean the occurrence of the disease