Books by Ayah Rebhi Hilles

The purpose of this study is to compare the anti-fertility effect of fenugreek seeds aqueous (FSA) extract with marketed combined oral contraceptive pills (COCPs) on female rats by determining serum reproductive hormone concentrations and observing their uterus tissue histology, determining the thickness of endometrium uterus, the uterine weight and the implantation rate. Administration of 0.05 of COCPs led to decrease the serum FSH concentration to 71.56 ng/ml while 750 mg/kg FSA extract led to decrease it to 25.62 ng/ml which shows that FSA extract is effective three times more than COCPs. The endometrium thickness of the uterus in the FSA extract treated group was normal while in the COCPs increased. The uterine weight in the FSA extract treated group was normal while the COCPs treated group was insignificantly high. The uterus tissues in the FSA extract treated group was normal while in the COCPs treated group, there were histopathological changes in the uterine tissues; the glands distribution decrease which a remarkable sign of atrophic endometrium and there were abnormal deciduiod cells (decidual like cells).

Asian swamp eel (Monopterus albus) has a unique morphological elongated body which is similar to the snake and covered with a thick layer of the mucus. This study aimed to investigate the anti-oxidative, anti-cancer and antimicrobial activities of eel skin mucus in-vitro. The antioxidant results revealed that methanol extract showed higher activity than aqueous extract with higher phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as higher antioxidant assays which including DPPH radical scavenging and ¿-carotene bleaching. Preliminary cytotoxicity study was demonstrated against human lung carcinoma cell line (A549) using cell viability assay which revealed that methanol extract is more potent than aqueous extract as IC50 values were 621±0.09 µg/mL and 845 ± 0.25 µg/mL respectively. Assessment of antimicrobial activity of the eel mucus extracts against several bacterial and fungal strains was conducted using diffusion method. Methanol extract at 100 µl/well was found to inhibit the growth of Microsporum gypseum and Aspergillus niger. Significantly. Furthermore, the methanol extract at 100 µl/disc significantly inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Asian swamp eel is a freshwater eel covered with a thick layer of mucus. The aim of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic activity of eel skin mucus in-vivo. For in-vivo study, a topical gel delivery system used from eel skin mucus formulated gel to apply into the infected rat skins. Sprague Dawley rats were divided into normal, positive control, negative control, and treated groups. The infections were introduced to the rats by intracutaneous injections of pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The development of impetigo, tinea capitis and cutaneous candidiasis in the animal model was confirmed based on the clinical and histological observations. Following that, the infected rats were treated topically with the formulated gel from eel mucus extract. The histological analysis of the skin tissues which treated with the formulated gel was shown a complete recovery in the skin tissues at a similar rate as the control antibiotic groups. In conclusion, the present study revealed that eel skin mucus formulated gel efficient therapeutic candidate in treating skin infections which can be considered as a novel discovery as a natural alternative treatment for certain skin diseases.