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In late 2017, increased mortality was detected in chicken farms in Algeria undergoing A(H9N2) influenza outbreaks. Analysis of viruses isolated from affected farms showed that they were monophyletic, were of the G1 hemagglutinin (HA) lineage, and were antigenically and genetically similar to viruses detected contemporaneously in other countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East. The virus was able to spread via contact transmission between ferrets but did not cause disease in intravenously inoculated chickens.

The aim of this study is to investigate the Thymus vulgaris essential oil (TVEO) as an antifungal agent in aromatherapy and/or as an active ingredient in the prevention or management of topical inflammatory diseases. The chemical composition of TVEO was determined with gas chromatography and revealed the presence of 25 compounds. Carvacrol was found to be the major component (56.8%). Antifungal action of TVEO was determined in vitro by using different methods. By the disc diffusion method, TVEO showed more potent antifungal activity against Candida strains than the positive control. The diameter of inhibition zone (DIZ) varied from 34 to 60 mm for Candida yeasts. Significantly higher antifungal activity was observed in the vapor phase at lower quantities. Candida albicans and C. parapsilosis were the most susceptible strains to the oil vapor with DIZ varying from 35 to 90 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of yeast were determined with an agar dilution method and revealed that MIC varied from 0.3 to 0.15 µL/mL for yeast species. The topical anti-inflammatory potential of TVEO was also explored in vivo with the croton oil-induced ear edema assay. TVEO exhibited a potent anti-inflammatory effect at all doses (100, 10 and 2 mg/kg), which were statistically similar (p > 0.05) to the positive control. This activity was also confirmed at the cellular level with histopathology analysis. Our results suggest the potential application of this carvacrol-rich TVEO in the prevention and management of fungal infections and topical inflammation and deserve further investigation for clinical applications. Furthermore, while the mode of action remains mainly undetermined and should be studied.

Objective: The present study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and wound healing activities of methanolic extract of Centaurea africana rootsin albino Wistar rats.Methods: Following extraction of the C. africana roots with 80% methanol, the extract was formulated as an ointment (5% and 10% w/w). The ointmentwas then evaluated for wound healing activity using excision and incision wound models. Parameters, including wound contraction, epithelizationtime, histopathologically, and hydroxyproline content, were determined using the excision model, whereas tensile strength was measured from theincision model. In parallel, edema of the ear, locally induced by croton oil, was studied for the assessment of anti-inflammatory activity.Results: Wound treated with 5% and 10% methanolic extract ointment exhibited a significant wound healing activity in both models as evidencedby increased wound contraction, shorter epithelization time, higher tissue breaking strength, and increased hydroxyproline content. The methanolicextract also produced dose-related significant reduction (p<0.001) of inflammation.Conclusion: Results of the present study revealed that C. africana displays remarkable wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities.Keywords: Anti-inflammatory activity, Centaurea africana roots, Methanolic extract, Incision and excision wound model.

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