Protective mechanisms of gallic acid on hepatorenal dysfunction of zearalenone treated rat

Kefir mitigates renal damage caused by zearalenone in female wistar rats by reducing oxidative stress

The estrogen-like mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEA) was popularly occurred in several food and feeds, posing threats to human and animal health. ZEA induced renal toxicity and caused oxidative stress. In the current study, the protecting effect of kefir administration against ZEA-induced renal damage in rats was explored. Rats were divided into 4 groups, each consisting of 5 animals. For the initial 7 days, they were orally administered sterile milk (200 μL/day). Subsequently, during the second week, the groups were exposed to kefir (200 μL/day), ZEA (40 mg/kg b.w./day) and a combination of kefir and ZEA. The biochemical parameters, kidney histological changes and ZEA residue were assessed. Kefir supplementation enhanced the antioxidant enzymes in the kidney, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities, which increased by 1.2, 4 and 20 folds, respectively, relative to the ZEA group. Remarkably, the concomitant administration kefir + ZEA suppressed ZEA residues in both serum and kidney. Additionally, serum levels of blood urea nitrogen, uric acid and renal malondialdehyde decreased by 22, 65 and 54%, respectively, in the kefir + ZEA group; while, the creatinine content increased by around 60%. Rats co-treated with kefir showed a normal kidney histological architecture contrary to tissues alterations mediated in the ZEA group. These results suggest that kefir may showed a protective effect on the kidneys, mitigating ZEA-induced acute toxicity in rats.

Plant-Derived Bioactive Compounds: Exploring Neuroprotective, Metabolic, and Hepatoprotective Effects for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

There is a growing trend among consumers to seek out natural foods and products with natural ingredients. This shift in consumer preferences had a direct impact on both food and pharmaceutical industries, leading to a focus of scientific research and commercial efforts to meet these new demands. The aim of this work is to review recent available scientific data on foods of interest, such as the artichoke, gooseberry, and polygonoideae plants, as well as olive oil and red raspberries. Interestingly, the urgency of solutions to the climate change emergency has brought new attention to by-products of grapevine bunch stem and cane, which have been found to contain bioactive compounds with potential health benefits. There is a pressing need for a faster process of translating scientific knowledge from the laboratory to real-world applications, especially in the face of the increasing societal burden associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), environmental crises, the post-pandemic world, and ongoing violent conflicts around the world.

Curcumin alleviates zearalenone-induced liver injury in mice by scavenging reactive oxygen species and inhibiting mitochondrial apoptosis pathway

Curcumin (CUR) is a compound extracted from turmeric that has a variety of functions including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. As an estrogen-like mycotoxin, zearalenone (ZEN) not only attacks the reproductive system, but also has toxic effects on the liver. However, whether CUR can alleviate ZEN-induced liver injury remains unclear. This paper aims to investigate the protective effect of CUR against ZEN-induced liver injury in mice and explore the molecular mechanism involved. BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control (CON) group, CUR group (200 mg/kg b. w. CUR), ZEN group (40 mg/kg b. w. ZEN) and CUR+ZEN group (200 mg/kg b. w. CUR+40 mg/kg b. w. ZEN). 28 d after ZEN exposure and CUR treatment, blood and liver samples were collected for subsequent testing. The results showed that CUR reversed ZEN-induced hepatocyte swelling and necrosis in mice. It significantly reduced the serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in mice (p < 0.05). In addition, CUR significantly reduced hepatic ROS, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide and apoptosis levels in mice (p < 0.05). Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot results showed that CUR significantly reduced the expression of Bax and Caspase3, and reversed the increase of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO1 expression in the liver of mice induced by ZEN (p < 0.05). In conclusion, CUR alleviated ZEN-induced liver injury in mice by scavenging ROS and inhibiting the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.

Probing the Interactions of 31 Mycotoxins with Xanthine Oxidase: Alternariol, Alternariol-3-Sulfate, and α-Zearalenol Are Allosteric Inhibitors of the Enzyme

Mycotoxins are frequent toxic contaminants in foods and beverages, causing a significant health threat. Interactions of mycotoxins with biotransformation enzymes (e.g., cytochrome P450 enzymes, sulfotransferases, and uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferases) may be important due to their possible detoxification or toxic activation during enzymatic processes. Furthermore, mycotoxin-induced enzyme inhibition may affect the biotransformation of other molecules. A recent study described the strong inhibitory effects of alternariol and alternariol-9-methylether on the xanthine oxidase (XO) enzyme. Therefore, we aimed to test the impacts of 31 mycotoxins (including the masked/modified derivatives of alternariol and alternariol-9-methylether) on XO-catalyzed uric acid formation. Besides the in vitro enzyme incubation assays, mycotoxin depletion experiments and modeling studies were performed. Among the mycotoxins tested, alternariol, alternariol-3-sulfate, and α-zearalenol showed moderate inhibitory actions on the enzyme, representing more than tenfold weaker impacts compared with the positive control inhibitor allopurinol. In mycotoxin depletion assays, XO did not affect the concentrations of alternariol, alternariol-3-sulfate, and α-zearalenol in the incubates; thus, these compounds are inhibitors but not substrates of the enzyme. Experimental data and modeling studies suggest the reversible, allosteric inhibition of XO by these three mycotoxins. Our results help the better understanding of the toxicokinetic interactions of mycotoxins.

Toxicity of zearalenone and its nutritional intervention by natural products

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a toxic secondary metabolite mainly produced by fungi of the genus Fusarium, and is often present in various food and feed ingredients such as corn and wheat. The structure of ZEN is similar to that of natural estrogen, and it can bind to estrogen receptors and has estrogenic activity. Therefore, it can cause endocrine-disrupting effects and promote the proliferation of estrogen receptor-positive cell lines. In addition, ZEN can cause oxidative damage, endoplasmic reticulum stress, apoptosis, and other hazards, resulting in systemic toxic effects, including reproductive toxicity, hepatotoxicity, and immunotoxicity. In the past few decades, researchers have tried many ways to remove ZEN from food and feed, but it is still a challenge to eliminate it. In recent years, natural compounds have become of interest for their excellent protective effects on human health from food contaminants. Researchers have discovered that natural compounds often used as dietary supplements can effectively alleviate ZEN-induced systemic toxic effects. Most of the compounds mitigate ZEN-induced toxicity through antioxidant effects. In this article, the contamination of food and feed by ZEN and the various toxic effects and mechanisms of ZEN are reviewed, as well as the mitigation effects of natural compounds on ZEN-induced toxicity.

Apigeninidin-enriched Sorghum bicolor (L. Moench) extracts alleviate Aflatoxin B1-induced dysregulation of male rat hypothalamic-reproductive axis

We examined the protective effect of the apigeninidin (API)-enriched fraction from Sorghum bicolor sheaths extracts (SBE-05, SBE-06, and SBE-07) against aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁)-induced dysregulation of male rat's reproductive system that may trigger infertility. Male rats (160 ± 12 g) were treated with AFB₁ (50 µg/kg) along with 5 or 10 mg/kg of SBE-05, SBE-06, and SBE-07 for 28 days. Subsequently, we assessed the reproductive hormone-prolactin, FSH, LH, testosterone levels, and testicular function enzymes. Moreover, we examined rats' testes, epididymis, and hypothalamus for oxidative and inflammatory stress biomarkers, caspase-9 activity and tissues pathology. We observed that comparative to AFB₁ alone treated rats, API co-treatment significantly (p < 0.05) abated the AFB₁-mediated decrease in prolactin and antioxidant defenses and lessened lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species levels in the examined organs-testes, epididymis, and hypothalamus. API abated AFB₁-induced hormone decreases-testosterone, FSH, and LH; and caused improvement in sperm quantity and quality. API lessened AFB₁-mediated increase in pro-inflammatory cytokine, increased interleukin-10 level, an anti-inflammatory cytokine and reduced caspase-9 activities. In addition, API reduced alterations in the examined tissue histology. Our findings suggest that S. bicolor API-enrich extracts have active antioxidative, antiapoptotic, and anti-inflammatory activities, which can protect against AFB₁-induced dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Does probiotic Kefir reduce dyslipidemia, hematological disorders and oxidative stress induced by zearalenone toxicity in wistar rats?

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a toxic metabolite of the genus Fusarium, which causes hepatotoxicity and induces oxidative stress. Kefir is an important probiotic dairy-product showing important in vitro antioxidant potential. In this study, the effect of Kefir supplementation to mitigate ZEA toxicity in rats was investigated. Animals were divided into four groups of five rats each, which received sterile milk (200 μL/day) during the first week. Then, they were switched to Kefir (200 μL/day), ZEA (40 mg/kg b. w./day) and Kefir + ZEA for the second week. Hematological and biochemical parameters, as well as liver histological analysis were determined. Kefir administration prevented the changes occurred in the count of all blood cells, and improved the antioxidant enzymes in the liver, such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities that increased by 6, 4.5 and 1.3 folds, respectively, compared to ZEA group. Interestingly, the concurrent regimen Kefir + ZEA removed ZEA residues in the serum and liver. Furthermore, the Kefir + ZEA group showed a reduction in the levels of bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and hepatic malonaldehyde by ∼82, 54, 66, 50 and 36%, respectively, compared to the ZEA group. The histopathological analysis showed a normal liver histological architecture in Kefir + ZEA group, while degenerative changes were observed in ZEA group. These results suggest that Kefir as probiotic consortium may have a hepatoprotective effect against ZEA poisoning.

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Zearalenone caused oxidative stress and liver damage in rats.

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Zearalenone induced disruption of hematological and biochemical parameters.

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Kefir improved the antioxidant defense systems in rats subjected to Zearalenone.

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Kefir prevented Zearalenone-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

Costus speciosus extract protects against the oxidative damage of zearalenone via modulation of inflammatory cytokines, Nrf2 and iNOS gene expression in rats

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin that induces severe health disturbances in humans and animals. This study aimed to determine the bioactive compounds in Costus speciosus extract (CSE) using GC-MS and evaluate its protective capability against ZEN-induced oxidative damage, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity in rats. Six groups of male Sprague Dawley rats were treated orally for 15 days including the control group, CSE-treated groups at low (200 mg/kg b. w) or high (400 mg/kg b. w) dose, ZEN-treated group (40 μg/kg b. w), and the groups treated with ZEN plus the low or the high dose of CSE. Blood and tissue samples were collected for different assays and pathological analyses. The results of GC-MS indicated the identification of 6 compounds and Azulene was the major. Animals that received ZEN showed severe disturbances in serum biochemical, cytokines, oxidative stress indicators, mRNA expression of iNOS, Nrf2, and inflammatory-related genes. ZEN also increased micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCEs) and comet tail formation in bone marrow cells along with the disturbances in the histological architecture of the liver and kidney. Co-administration of CSE plus ZEN could normalize the majority of the tested parameters and the histological picture at a dose as low as 200 mg/kg b. w. Therefore, CSE protects against ZEN toxicity via its antioxidant activity, modulation of iNOS, inflammatory-related genes, and the Nrf2 pathway and it could be used in the endemic regions.

Coadministration of gallic acid abates zearalenone-mediated defects in male rat's reproductive function

As gallic acid (GA) role in zearalenone (ZEN); mediated reproductive dysfunction has not been studied, we report on GA's effect on reproductive dysfunction in rats treated with ZEN-100 µg/kg alone, or with GA-40 mg/kg; for 4 weeks. The mycotoxin ZEN contaminates crops, causing toxicity on ingestion, economic losses, and alters reproductive function. Relative to control, GA reversed ZEN-induced reduction of rats' testicular function enzymes and reproductive hormones and improved ZEN-impaired sperm quality. GA significantly (p < 0.05) increased rats antioxidant status, inhibited (p < 0.05) reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and lipid peroxidation levels, and abated (p < 0.05) proinflammatory biomarkers in the examined organs: hypothalamus, testis, and epididymis. Histopathology revealed that GA facilitated the preservation of testicular and epididymal cytoarchitecture significantly altered in rat cohorts treated with ZEN alone. Conclusively, GA protected against ZEN-induced toxicity in the rats' organs examined, enhanced endogenous antioxidative protective mechanism, and abated proinflammatory responses. GA further averted a decline in circulatory, reproductive enzymes, hormone levels. GA also protected against reproductive tissue damage and improved parameters of sperm functionality.