Protective effects of antioxidants on age-related changes in the electrophoretic patterns of cardiac LDH, hepatic ALP and serum proteins in male golden hamster

Protective effect of Actiniopteris radiata (Sw.) Link. against CCl₄ induced oxidative stress in albino rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Actiniopteris radiata is a herb with great medicinal value and is evaluated for hepatoprotective activity. To investigate the protective effect of ethanolic extract of Actiniopteris radiata (EEAR) on CCl₄ induced oxidative stress in male Wistar albino rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

EEAR were administered for 8 consecutive weeks to rats. Group I - control; Group II - toxin control (30% CCl₄); Group III and Group IV received EEAR (250 and 500 mg/kg respectively). Antioxidant status in liver were estimated by determining the activities of the antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx); as well as by determining the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reduced glutathione (GSH). In addition, isoenzyme pattern and mRNA expression of the antioxidants were studied. Partial characterization of EEAR was performed by Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

RESULTS

CCl₄ induced oxidative stress as evidenced from increase in LPO along with reduction of SOD, CAT, GPx and GSH. Treatment with EEAR (250 and 500 mg/kg) mitigated the CCl₄ induced oxidative stress. An analysis of the isozyme pattern of these antioxidant enzymes revealed variations in SOD2, CAT, GPx2 and GPx3 in CCl₄ treated rats, which were normalized after EEAR treatment. Furthermore, expression of genes for the antioxidant enzymes, were down-regulated by CCl₄ treatment, which were reversed by EEAR. The results of partial characterization of EEAR by LC-MS revealed the presence of rutin and other 7 unknown phenolic derivatives.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest the protective effect of EEAR against CCl₄ induced oxidative stress might be attributed to the presence of flavonoids and phenolic compounds.

Comparative study on pesticide mixture of organophosphorus and pyrethroid in commercial formulation

The marketing of mixtures of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides has become very common in developing countries and has resulted in an increase in the prevalence of toxicity. The present study aimed to evaluate the toxic effects of a commercial preparation of the pesticide mixture durasin, which contains 60% diazinon and 0.5% deltamethrin, compared with the individual commercial pesticides of diazinon 30% and deltamethrin 5%. Forty male albino rats weighing 160 ± 20 g were divided into; DA (diazinon 20mg/Kg b.w.), DA (deltamethrin 2mg/Kg b.w.), M (durasin 20mg/Kg b.w.) and control (C); cholinesterase (ChE), malonaldehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and non-specific esterase's isoenzymes in rat's blood were determined following 7 and 14 days of treatment. The weekly- recorded biochemical results were used as criteria for estimating the joint effects of the tested pesticide mixture. Antioxidant defense mechanisms and lipid peroxidation in rat plasma displayed the same responses with intensities which were related to the different treatments. Biochemical analysis showed that (DA) or (DM) individually cause alteration in lipid metabolism and non-specific esterase, while mixture treatment (M) induced antagonistic effects toward all the tested parameters except total reduced glutathione level, which was synergistic at the 2nd week. In conclusion the commercial mixture (M) under study has potentially greater toxic impact than the components alone in the rat.