Abstract: Ciprofloxacin is a second-generation of fluoroquinolone, broad-spectrum antibiotic with bactericidal activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. It is one of the most widely used antibiotics, because of its efficacy, safety, and relatively low cost. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is water-soluble monosaccharide antioxidant; it is essentially required by the body for its various biochemical and physiological processes. S. aureus is Gram-positive cocci; widely distributed in the environment, it is a member of the normal flora of the body. S. aureus is not always pathogenic; it is a common cause of skin infections including abscesses, respiratory infections such as sinusitis, and food poisoning. E. coli is Gram-negative bacteria, found in the environment, foods, and intestines. Most E. coli strains are harmless; it is part of the normal microbiota of the gut. However, some serotypes of E. coli cause serious food poisoning in their hosts; it can cause diarrhea, while others cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia, and other illnesses. Method: Cup cut diffusion method was applied. Experiment I: is carried out to choose the concentration of vitamin C to be used in experiment II. The negative control is normal saline, added in cup in each plate, vitamin C (100 mg/mL, 200 mg/mL, 400 mg/mL) was added, the volume in each cup was 100 μL. Experiment II: Eight groups of treatments were applied. The first is the negative control (1% normal saline), the second group is the positive control of vitamin C (200 mg/mL). The third, fourth and fifth groups are ciprofloxacin with different concentrations (10 mg/mL, 20 mg/mL, 40 mg/mL); the sixth, seventh and eighth are the combination of vitamin C with each concentration of ciprofloxacin (10 mg/mL, 20 mg/mL, 40 mg/mL). Each group includes six petri dishes. Bacterial plates were incubated at 37 o C for 24 h and 48 h. Zone of inhibition is measured in mm. Results and conclusion: Ciprofloxacin produces dose dependent increase in zone of inhibition of S. aureus and E. coli growth, after 24 and 48 hours incubation. While vitamin C in the concentration used produced inhibitory effect on the growth of S. aureus and E. coli, after 24 hours incubation, vitamin C effect was not changed after 48 hours incubation. After 24 hours incubation, vitamin C potentiated the effect of ciprofloxacin at low concentration (10 mg/mL); while vitamin C antagonized the effect of ciprofloxacin at higher concentrations (20 and 40 mg/mL) on S. aureus growth. In the same time, ciprofloxacin antagonized the inhibitory effect of vitamin C on S. aureus growth. After 48 hours incubation, S. aureus produced resistance against ciprofloxacin alone, and that combined with vitamin C compared to zone of inhibition after 24 hours. Ciprofloxacin produced dose dependent inhibition of E. coli growth after incubation for 24 and 48 hours. Vitamin C potentiated the inhibitory effect induced by ciprofloxacin (additive effect). The inhibitory effect of ciprofloxacin, vitamin C and the combination was not changed after 48 hours compared to 24 hours.
Bassma M. Doro, Suhera M. Aburawi(7-2019)

Leishmaniasis is a major health problem and itis estimated that 12 million people are currently infected.A vaccine which could cross-protect people against different Leishmania spp. would facilitate control ofthis disease as more than one species of Leishmania may be present. In this study the ability of a DNA vaccine, using the full gene sequence for L. donovani gamma glutamyl cysteine synthetase (GCS) incorporated in the pVAX vector (pVAXGCS), and a protein vaccine, using the corresponding recombinant L. donovani GCS protein (LdGCS),to protect against L. major or L. mexicana infection was evaluated. DNAvaccination gave transient protection against L. major and no protection against L. mexicana despite significantly enhancing specific antibody titres in vaccinated infected mice compared to infected controls. Vaccination with the LdGCS protected against both species but only if the protein was incorporated into non-ionic surfactant vesicles for L. mexicana. The results of this study indicate that a L. donovani GCS vaccine could be used to vaccinate against more than one Leishmania species but only if the recombinant protein is used. arabic 30 English 176
Basma Doro, (12-2012)

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)