Objectives: Tobacco use in all its forms represents a very well-known preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Alteration of plasma lipids levels is one of the mechanisms by which it causes CVD. In addition, there are controversial reports linking tobacco use with diabetes. This case-control study is aiming to investigate the interrelationship between tobacco use and BMI, lipid profile, and plasma glucose in Libyans residing in Tripoli region. Methods: The study was conducted on 200 healthy male subjects, including, 50 non-smokers aged 40.98±8.07, 50 cigarette smokers aged 41.32±7.39, 50 water-pipe users aged 42.04±7.39, and 50 snuff inhalers aged 39.36±7.00. BMI was estimated as (kg/m 2), lipid profile and fasting plasma glucose were estimated in triplicate by enzymatic colorimetric method and expressed as (mg/dL). Results: Our results showed that BMI is significantly higher in tobacco users than non-smokers (P 0.0001). Total cholesterol and triacylglycerols are significantly higher in tobacco users (P 0.0001). HDL is significantly higher in non-smokers (P 0.0001). LDL not affected by tobacco use (P 0.32). Fasting plasma glucose significantly higher in tobacco users (P 0.0001). Conclusions: In conclusion, tobacco use affects the BMI, lipid profile, and glucose which are components of the metabolic syndrome in the Libyan males population. arabic 31 English 133
H Alemam, Abdulla Bashein, (1-2015)

Background: Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyses the S-methylation of 6-mercaptopurine and azathioprine. Low activity phenotypes are correlated with polymorphism in the TPMT gene. Patients with low or undetectable TMPT activity could develop severe myelosuppression when they are treated with standard doses of thiopurine drugs. Since ethnic differences in the TPMT gene polymorphism have been demonstrated worldwide, assessing it in the Libyan population is worthwhile. Methods: We investigated TPMT gene polymorphism in a total of 246 Libyan healthy adult blood donors from three different Libyan regions (Tripoli, Yefren, and Tawargha) and 50 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). We used polymerase chain reaction restriction length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and allele-specific PCR-based assays to analyse the TPMT gene for the variants* 2 c. 238 G> C,* 3A (c. 460 G> A and c. 719 A> G),* 3B (c. 460 G> A), and* 3C (c. 719 A> G). Results: Our results show that the TPMT variants associated with low enzymatic activity were detected in 3.25%(8 in 246) of adult Libyan individuals and the frequency of total mutant alleles was 1.63%. Heterozygous genotypes were TPMT* 3A in three subjects (0.61%) and TPMT* 3C in five subjects (1.02%). No TPMT* 2 and TPMT* 3B allelic variants and no homozygous or compound heterozygous mutant alleles were detected. The normal allele (wild-type) was found in 98.4% of the adult individuals studied. No mutant alleles were detected among the 50 children who had ALL. arabic 10 English 74
Hamza Ben Zeglam, Abdulla Bashein, (1-2015)

Fungi are a huge source of unexplored bioactive compounds. Owing to their biological activities, several fungi have shown commercial application in the health industry. Tuber aestivum Vittad. is one such edible fungi with an immense scope for practical biological applications. In the present study, the anti-angiogenic activity of petroleum ether and ethanol extracts of T. aestivum was investigated using the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay and compared to the positive controls silibinin and lenalidomide. Both the extracts showed a dose-dependent anti-angiogenic response. The extracts were also assessed for their anti-inflammatory potential by lipoxygenase-inhibition assay. The IC50 values for LOX inhibition assay, computed by the Boltzmann plot, were 368.5, 147.3 and 40.2 μg/mL, for the petroleum ether extract, ethanol extract, and the positive control ascorbic acid, respectively. The ethanol extract of T. aestivum showed superior anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activity than the petroleum ether extract. Compositional investigation of the extracts by GC–MS revealed the presence of various bioactive compounds. The compounds were correlated to their anti-angiogenic and antiinflammatory activity based on a meticulous literature search. arabic 25 English 145
Sandesh J. Marathe, Abdulla Bashein, (1-2020)