Evidences of protective potentials of microdoses of ultra-high diluted arsenic trioxide in mice receiving repeated injections of arsenic trioxide

Highly Diluted Glyphosate Mitigates Its Effects on Artemia salina: Physicochemical Implications

Glyphosate is an herbicide widely used in agriculture but can present chronic toxicity in low concentrations. Artemia salina is a common bio-indicator of ecotoxicity; it was used herein as a model to evaluate the effect of highly diluted-succussed glyphosate (potentized glyphosate) in glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) exposed living systems. Artemia salina cysts were kept in artificial seawater with 0.02% glyphosate (corresponding to 10% lethal concentration or LC10) under constant oxygenation, luminosity, and controlled temperature, to promote hatching in 48 h. Cysts were treated with 1% (v/v) potentized glyphosate in different dilution levels (Gly 6 cH, 30 cH, 200 cH) prepared the day before according to homeopathic techniques, using GBH from the same batch. Controls were unchallenged cysts, and cysts treated with succussed water or potentized vehicle. After 48 h, the number of born nauplii per 100 µL, nauplii vitality, and morphology were evaluated. The remaining seawater was used for physicochemical analyses using solvatochromic dyes. In a second set of experiments, Gly 6 cH treated cysts were observed under different degrees of salinity (50 to 100% seawater) and GBH concentrations (zero to LC 50); hatching and nauplii activity were recorded and analyzed using the ImageJ 1.52, plug-in Trackmate. The treatments were performed blind, and the codes were revealed after statistical analysis. Gly 6 cH increased nauplii vitality (p = 0.01) and improved the healthy/defective nauplii ratio (p = 0.005) but delayed hatching (p = 0.02). Overall, these results suggest Gly 6cH treatment promotes the emergence of the more GBH-resistant phenotype in the nauplii population. Also, Gly 6cH delays hatching, another useful survival mechanism in the presence of stress. Hatching arrest was most marked in 80% seawater when exposed to glyphosate at LC10. Water samples treated with Gly 6 cH showed specific interactions with solvatochromic dyes, mainly Coumarin 7, such that it appears to be a potential physicochemical marker for Gly 6 cH. In short, Gly 6 cH treatment appears to protect the Artemia salina population exposed to GBH at low concentrations.

Bioresilience to Mercury Chloride of the Brine Shrimp Artemia Salina after Treatment with Homeopathic Mercurius Corrosivus

INTRODUCTION

 Finding solutions to mitigate the impact of pollution on living systems is a matter of great interest. Homeopathic preparations of toxic substances have been described in the literature as attenuation factors for intoxication. Herein, an experimental study using Artemia salina and mercury chloride was developed as a model to identify aspects related to bioresilience.

AIMS

 The aim of the study was to describe the effects of homeopathic Mercurius corrosivus (MC) on Artemia salina cysts hatching and on mercury bioavailability.

METHODS

 Artemia salina cysts were exposed to 5.0 µg/mL of mercury chloride during the hatching phase. MC potencies (6cH, 30cH, and 200cH) were prepared in sterile purified water and poured into artificial sea water. Different controls were used (non-challenged cysts and challenged cysts treated with water, succussed water, and Ethilicum 1cH). Four series of nine experiments were performed to evaluate the percentage of cyst hatching. Soluble total mercury (THg) levels and precipitated mercury content were also evaluated. Solvatochromic dyes were used to check for eventual physicochemical markers of MC biological activity.

RESULTS

 Significant delay (p < 0.0001) in cyst hatching was observed only after treatment with MC 30cH, compared with controls. This result was associated with an increase of THg concentration in water (p = 0.0018) and of chlorine/oxygen ratio (p < 0.0001) in suspended micraggregates, suggesting changes in mercury bioavailability. A specific interaction of MC 30cH with the solvatochromic dye ET33 (p = 0.0017) was found.

CONCLUSION

 Changes in hatching rate and possible changes in Hg bioavailability are postulated as protective effects of MC 30cH on Artemia salina, by improving its natural bioresilience processes.

Correlations between Basal Trace Minerals and Hormones in Middle and Long-Distance High-Level Male Runners

Several essential trace minerals play an important role in the endocrine system; however, toxic trace minerals have a disruptive effect. The aim of this research was to determine basal concentrations and the possible correlations between trace minerals in plasma and several plasma hormones in runners. Sixty high-level male endurance runners (21 ± 3 years; 1.77 ± 0.05 m; 64.97 ± 7.36 kg) participated in the present study. Plasma hormones were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and plasma trace minerals were analyzed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Correlations and simple linear regression were used to assess the association between trace minerals and hormones. Plasma testosterone concentrations were inversely correlated with manganese (r = -0.543; β = -0.410; p < 0.01), selenium (r = -0.292; β = -0.024; p < 0.05), vanadium (r = -0.406; β = -1.278; p < 0.01), arsenic (r = -0.336; β = -0.142; p < 0.05), and lead (r = -0.385; β = -0.418; p < 0.01). Plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were positively correlated with arsenic (r = 0.298; β = 0.327; p < 0.05) and cesium (r = 0.305; β = 2.272; p < 0.05), and negatively correlated with vanadium (r = -0.303; β = -2.467; p < 0.05). Moreover, cortisol concentrations showed significant positive correlations with cadmium (r = 0.291; β = 209.01; p < 0.05). Finally, insulin concentrations were inversely related to vanadium (r = -0.359; β = -3.982; p < 0.05). In conclusion, endurance runners living in areas with high environmental levels of toxic minerals should check their concentrations of anabolic hormones.

Clinical oxidative stress during leprosy multidrug therapy: impact of dapsone oxidation

This study aims to assess the oxidative stress in leprosy patients under multidrug therapy (MDT; dapsone, clofazimine and rifampicin), evaluating the nitric oxide (NO) concentration, catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, glutathione (GSH) levels, total antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxidation, and methemoglobin formation. For this, we analyzed 23 leprosy patients and 20 healthy individuals from the Amazon region, Brazil, aged between 20 and 45 years. Blood sampling enabled the evaluation of leprosy patients prior to starting multidrug therapy (called MDT 0) and until the third month of multidrug therapy (MDT 3). With regard to dapsone (DDS) plasma levels, we showed that there was no statistical difference in drug plasma levels between multibacillary (0.518±0.029 µg/mL) and paucibacillary (0.662±0.123 µg/mL) patients. The methemoglobin levels and numbers of Heinz bodies were significantly enhanced after the third MDT-supervised dose, but this treatment did not significantly change the lipid peroxidation and NO levels in these leprosy patients. In addition, CAT activity was significantly reduced in MDT-treated leprosy patients, while GSH content was increased in these patients. However, SOD and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity levels were similar in patients with and without treatment. These data suggest that MDT can reduce the activity of some antioxidant enzyme and influence ROS accumulation, which may induce hematological changes, such as methemoglobinemia in patients with leprosy. We also explored some redox mechanisms associated with DDS and its main oxidative metabolite DDS-NHOH and we explored the possible binding of DDS to the active site of CYP2C19 with the aid of molecular modeling software.

Induction of apoptosis of tumor cells by some potentiated homeopathic drugs: implications on mechanism of action

BACKGROUND

Homoeopathic medicines treat diseases, including cancer, using ultradiluted preparations. Earlier studies indicated that homoeopathic medicines are cytotoxic to tumor cells and reduced animal tumors. However, the mechanism of homoeopathic medicines at the cellular level is not known.

METHODS

The following drugs were used in the study: Ruta 200C, Carcinosinum 200C, Hydrastis 200C, Thuja 200C, and Thuja 1M. These drugs were tested for their ability to induce apoptosis as seen by morphology, DNA laddering, expression of genes related to apoptosis, and TUNEL assay. Similarly, the effect of homoeopathic medicines on apoptosis was measured by microarray analysis. Activity of Ruta 200C was compared with that of the mother tincture.

RESULTS

Ruta 200C produced morphological changes in the Dalton's lymphoma ascites tumor cells and induced DNA laddering. Carcinosinum 200C increased apoptotic gene p53 and Ruta 200C decreased antiapoptotic gene Bcl2. Administration of potentiated homoeopathic drugs to tumor-bearing mice induced TUNEL-positive cells in the tumor, showing increased apoptosis of tumor cells. Microarray analysis of cells treated with homoeopathic drugs indicated that many enzymes related to apoptosis were increased by homoeopathic drugs.

CONCLUSION

These data indicate that apoptosis is one of the mechanisms of tumor reduction of homeopathic drugs. A comparison of potentiated drugs with their mother tincture indicated that the potentiated drugs have biological activity similar to that of their mother tincture in spite of ultradilution.