Ahmad M. Khalil
Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
Biography
Dr. Ahmad Khalil received Ph.D. in Cytogenetics from Ohio State University in 1987. Since 2000 a Professor of Molecular Cytogenetics at Yarmouk University, JORDAN. Chaired Department of Biological Sciences at Yarmouk 2001-2003. Founded Biotechnology M. Sc. Program at Yarmouk in 2003. Published 48 research papers most of them in peer reviewed International Journals. Research interest in biotechnology cell culture techniques and their applications in environmental health. Developed and expanded expertise in investigating biology of prostate cancer. Active reviewer and member in Editorial Board of several local, regional and International Journals. Participated in more than 40 conferences, training courses and workshops world-wide
Abstract
Ivermectin (IVM) is widely used in human and veterinary medicine for the control of parasitic infections. Researches revealed new avenues of medicinal applications of IVM as an antiviral and an anticancer agent. Very little is known about the genotoxic potential of IVM and the available literature is contradictory. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possible genetic damage caused by IVM. Male Sprague Dawley rats were intraperitoneally given IVM at doses between 0.2mg and 3.2mg/kg body weight (b. w). Percentage of mitotic and aberrant bone marrow cells were followed. The results indicated that IVM by itself, at doses higher than the recommended dose, induced significant levels of cytogenetic toxicity. To this end, we decided to investigate the potential use of combination of varying doses of aged garlic extract (AGE); 300, 600 and 1200 mg/kg b w and the minimum detectable toxic (MTD) dose of IVM; 0.4 mg/kg. A powerful capacity of AGE to reduce IVM cytogenetic effects was demonstrated. Overall, the data prove the safety of IVM at the recommended dose and provide a strong scientific evidence for superior protection of AGE against possible cytogenotoxic side effects of IVM, confirming the existence of a meaningful therapeutic window.