Effects of Rhus tripartitum fruit extract on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity and cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats

What is the Reason That the Pharmacological Future of Chemotherapeutics in the Treatment of Lung Cancer Could Be Most Closely Related to Nanostructures? Platinum Drugs in Therapy of Non-Small and Small Cell Lung Cancer and Their Unexpected, Possible Interactions. The Review

Over the course of several decades, anticancer treatment with chemotherapy drugs for lung cancer has not changed significantly. Unfortunately, this treatment prolongs the patient's life only by a few months, causing many side effects in the human body. It has also been proven that drugs such as Cisplatin, Carboplatin, Oxaliplatin and others can react with other substances containing an aromatic ring in which the nitrogen atom has a free electron group in its structure. Thus, such structures may have a competitive effect on the nucleobases of DNA. Therefore, scientists are looking not only for new drugs, but also for new alternative ways of delivering the drug to the cancer site. Nanotechnology seems to be a great hope in this matter. Creating a new nanomedicine would reduce the dose of the drug to an absolute minimum, and thus limit the toxic effect of the drug; it would allow for the exclusion of interactions with competitive compounds with a structure similar to nucleobases; it would also permit using the so-called targeted treatment and bypassing healthy cells; it would allow for the introduction of other treatment options, such as radiotherapy directly to the cancer site; and it would provide diagnostic possibilities. This article is a review that aims to systematize the knowledge regarding the anticancer treatment of lung cancer, but not only. It shows the clear possibility of interactions of chemotherapeutics with compounds competitive to the nitrogenous bases of DNA. It also shows the possibilities of using nanostructures as potential Platinum drug carriers, and proves that nanomedicine can easily become a new medicinal product in personalized medicine.

Rhus tripartite methanolic extract alleviates propylparaben-induced reproductive toxicity via anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, 5-α reductase in male rats

Evidence showed that herbal medicine could be beneficial for protection against diseases that may be exist in consequence of exposure to environmental toxicants. Propylparaben (PrP) is used as preservative in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. It is classified as one of endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDCs). This study evaluated the protective effect of Rhus tripartita methanolic extract (RTME) against reproductive toxicity induced by PrP in male rats. A total of 60 Wister albino rats were divided into four groups (15 rats for each group). Group I (control): rats received the vehicle (DMSO), group II: normal rats received RTME (10 mg/kg/day), group III: rats received PrP (10 mg/kg/day), and group IV: rats received PrP (10 mg/kg/day) and RTME (10 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks. At the end of experiment, levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and 5α-reductase were analyzed in sera. Data obtained showed a significant reduction in the levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and 5α- reductase in rats given PrP versus control (p < 0.001) and RTME treatment improved these parameters but not returned to normal. Data obtained showed a significant elevation in levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the testis of rats given PrP versus control (p < 0.001), these inflammatory mediators were significant reduced in rats treated with RTME compared with untreated rats (p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between level of DHT and antioxidant enzymes activities (r = 0.56). A significant elevation in the levels of MDA with reduction in the activities of GST, GSPx, SOD, and catalase (p < 0.001) in rat testicular tissues of PrP group versus control (p < 0.001) was found. Treatment with RTME significantly reduced the levels of MDA and enhanced activities of GST, GSPx, SOD, and catalase (p < 0.001) compared to untreated group (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the active ingredient components of RTME abrogate the toxicity of PrP by exhibiting antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, enhancing 5-α reductase with improved hormonal status against PrP- induced testicular damage. Toxicity of propylparaben, and effect of Rhus tripartita methanolic extract.

Cisplatin-Induced Kidney Toxicity: Potential Roles of Major NAD+-Dependent Enzymes and Plant-Derived Natural Products

Cisplatin is an FDA approved anti-cancer drug that is widely used for the treatment of a variety of solid tumors. However, the severe adverse effects of cisplatin, particularly kidney toxicity, restrict its clinical and medication applications. The major mechanisms of cisplatin-induced renal toxicity involve oxidative stress, inflammation, and renal fibrosis, which are covered in this short review. In particular, we review the underlying mechanisms of cisplatin kidney injury in the context of NAD⁺-dependent redox enzymes including mitochondrial complex I, NAD kinase, CD38, sirtuins, poly-ADP ribosylase polymerase, and nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT) and their potential contributing roles in the amelioration of cisplatin-induced kidney injury conferred by natural products derived from plants. We also cover general procedures used to create animal models of cisplatin-induced kidney injury involving mice and rats. We highlight the fact that more studies will be needed to dissect the role of each NAD⁺-dependent redox enzyme and its involvement in modulating cisplatin-induced kidney injury, in conjunction with intensive research in NAD⁺ redox biology and the protective effects of natural products against cisplatin-induced kidney injury.

Pharmacological Effects of Cisplatin Combination with Natural Products in Cancer Chemotherapy

Cisplatin and other platinum-based drugs, such as carboplatin, ormaplatin, and oxaliplatin, have been widely used to treat a multitude of human cancers. However, a considerable proportion of patients often relapse due to drug resistance and/or toxicity to multiple organs including the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and the cardiovascular, hematologic, and nervous systems. In this study, we sought to provide a comprehensive review of the current state of the science highlighting the use of cisplatin in cancer therapy, with a special emphasis on its molecular mechanisms of action, and treatment modalities including the combination therapy with natural products. Hence, we searched the literature using various scientific databases., such as MEDLINE, PubMed, Google Scholar, and relevant sources, to collect and review relevant publications on cisplatin, natural products, combination therapy, uses in cancer treatment, modes of action, and therapeutic strategies. Our search results revealed that new strategic approaches for cancer treatment, including the combination therapy of cisplatin and natural products, have been evaluated with some degree of success. Scientific evidence from both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrates that many medicinal plants contain bioactive compounds that are promising candidates for the treatment of human diseases, and therefore represent an excellent source for drug discovery. In preclinical studies, it has been demonstrated that natural products not only enhance the therapeutic activity of cisplatin but also attenuate its chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Many experimental studies have also reported that natural products exert their therapeutic action by triggering apoptosis through modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and p53 signal transduction pathways and enhancement of cisplatin chemosensitivity. Furthermore, natural products protect against cisplatin-induced organ toxicity by modulating several gene transcription factors and inducing cell death through apoptosis and/or necrosis. In addition, formulations of cisplatin with polymeric, lipid, inorganic, and carbon-based nano-drug delivery systems have been found to delay drug release, prolong half-life, and reduce systemic toxicity while other formulations, such as nanocapsules, nanogels, and hydrogels, have been reported to enhance cell penetration, target cancer cells, and inhibit tumor progression.

Preventive effect of Bacillus mojavensis levan against carbon tetrachloride and cisplatin toxicity: in vivo study

This study is the first to investigate the hepato- and nephron-preventive effect of levan from Bacillus mojavensis (BM-levan) against toxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) and cisplatin. Thirty-six male albino rats weighing between 230 and 250 g were used for this experiment. The groups received multiples doses of BM-levan and were compared to the untreated group. The in vitro and in vivo biological potentials of BM-levan were evaluated by measuring its antioxidant capacity as well as its hepato- and nephron-protective activities in rat models. The investigations highlighted a significant in vitro antioxidant activity indicated by the radical-scavenging capacity, the reducing power, and the total antioxidant activity measurement. In addition, results demonstrate that BM-levan supplementation during 8 weeks (100 mg/kg body weight) significantly (p < 0.05) decreased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities and remarkably (p < 0.05) attenuated the altered lipid profile by decreasing the levels of triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and by enhancing the HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) content, when compared with the CCl₄ group. BM-levan also reduced the content of plasma renal biomarkers (urea, creatinine, and uric acid) in the cisplatin-treated group. Moreover, BM-levan inhibited hepatic and renal oxidative stress generated by CCl₄ and cisplatin administration, through the enhancement of the antioxidant catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and the diminishment of lipid peroxidation. The harmful effects of CCl₄ or cisplatin on hepatic and renal histology were found to be decreased by the addition of BM-levan. Therefore, BM-levan has proved promising for biomedical applications thanks to its in vitro and in vivo antioxidant properties.

Potential Hepatoprotective Effect of Cheatomorpha gracilis extract against High Fat Diet (HFD)-Induced Liver Damage, and its characterization by HPLC

The current investigation was carried out to estimate the protective effect of aqueous extract of Cheatomorpha gracilis (AEC) against High fat Diet (HFD) induced liver damage in mice. The results of the in vitro study showed that AEC have higher antioxidant capacities in the DPPH and hydroxyl radical-scavenging assays. Indeed, many phenolic compounds (gallic acid, quercetin, naringenin, apigenin, kaempferol and rutin) were identified in the AEC. In the animal studies, during 6 weeks, HFD promoted oxidative stress with a rise level of malonaldehyde (MDA), protein carbonyls (PCOs) levels and a significant decrease of the antioxidant enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. Interestingly, the treatment with AEC (250 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced the effects of HFD disorders on some plasmatic liver biomarkers (AST, ALT and ALP) in addition to, plasmatic proteins inflammatory biomarkers (α2 and β1 decreases / β2 and γ globulins increases). It can be suggest that supplementation of MECG displays high potential to quench free radicals and attenuates high fat diet promoted liver oxidative stress and related disturbances.

Potential Hepatoprotective Activity of Super Critical Carbon Dioxide Olive Leaf Extracts against CCl4-Induced Liver Damage

Virgin olive oil has demonstrated its effective activity against oxidative stress. However, data on the bioactive effect of olive leaves or their major constituents on the liver are scarce. The present research work was conducted to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extracts from fresh and dried olive leaves on hepatotoxicity caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in rat models. For this purpose, healthy albino rats of 180–250 g weight were used. The assessment of biochemical markers was carried out on blood and liver tissue. Then, a histopathological study was carried out on liver tissue. The obtained results showed that fresh and dried olive leaf extracts ameliorate the perturbed biochemical parameters caused by CCl₄ treatment. Furthermore, the results registered for the histopathological study are in accordance with the biochemical parameters and the protective capacity of SC-CO₂ extracts against DNA damage, indicating that olive leaf extracts helped to improve liver fibrosis caused by CCl₄ treatment.

Efficacy of two actinomycete extracts in the amelioration of carbon tetrachloride-induced oxidative stress and nephrotoxicity in experimental rats

Actinomycetes are a group of the Gram-positive bacteria famous for their antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-parasitic, and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of two bacterial extracts derived from two soil actinomycete strains (S19 and G30) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced nephrotoxicity in experimental rats. Sixty-four male rats were assigned to four groups of 16 rats in each group. The 1st group was kept as a normal (control) group and given corn oil combined with the used production medium, while the 2nd group received only CCl₄ (CCl₄ group). On the other hand, the 3rd group (CCl₄+S19) was administered CCl₄ and the extract of the actinomycete strain S19 and the 4th group (CCl₄+G30) received CCl₄ and the extract of the actinomycete strain G30, both treatments for 8 weeks. The results revealed that the two actinomycete extracts S19 and G30 could significantly (p < 0.01) lower the elevated levels of serum creatinine, urea, and uric acid caused by the CCl₄ administration. Additionally, the two actinomycete extracts improved the decreased serum total protein. Interestingly, treatment of the CCl₄-intoxicated rats with S19 and G30 extracts remarkably reversed the lowered renal glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), peroxidase (Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, and the elevated lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels. The histopathological examination of the treated kidney revealed that the two actinomycete extracts improved rats against CCl₄-induced kidney lesions. The present results suggested that the protective effect of the two actinomycete extracts may rely on its effect on reducing the oxidative stress and improving the antioxidant defense system.

Review on Pharmacology of Cisplatin: Clinical Use, Toxicity and Mechanism of Resistance of Cisplatin

Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic drug that has been used in the treatment of various types of human cancers such as ovarian, lung, head and neck, testicular and bladder. Cisplatin has demonstrated efficacy against various types of cancers such as germ cell tumors, sarcomas, carcinomas as well as lymphomas. The current study presents a pharmacological review on the drug including its mechanism of action, resistance mechanism, and toxicity as well as its clinical applications. The mechanism of action of cisplatin has been associated with ability to crosslink with the urine bases on the DNA to form DNA adducts, preventing repair of the DNA leading to DNA damage and subsequently induces apoptosis within cancer cells. However, the drug exhibits certain level of resistance including increased repair of the damaged DNA, reduction in the accumulation of the drug intracellular and cytosolic inactivation of cisplatin. The drug is also characterized by various toxic side effects including nausea, nephrotoxicity, Cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Due various side effects as well as drug resistance, other anti-cancer drugs that contain platinum such as carboplatin and oxaliplatin among others have been used in combination with cisplatin in chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer. Strong evidence from research has demonstrated higher efficacy of combination of chemotherapies of cisplatin together with other drugs in overcoming drug resistance and in reducing toxic effects as well. Future studies that explore combinational techniques that target various mechanisms such as reduction in the uptake of cisplatin as well as inflammation could enhance efficacy of cisplatin.

Hepatoprotective activity of Rhus oxyacantha root cortex extract against DDT-induced liver injury in rats

The present investigation aimed to study the antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effects of ethyl acetate extract of R. oxyacantha root cortex (RE) against DDT-induced liver injury in male rats. The RE exhibited high total phenolic, flavonoid and condensed tannins contents. The antioxidant activity in vitro systems showed a significant potent free radical scavenging activity of the extract. The HPLC finger print of R. oxyacantha active extract showed the presence of five phenolic compounds with higher amounts of catechol and gallic acid. The in vivo results showed that a single intraperitoneal administration of DDT enhanced levels of hepatic markers (ALT, AST and LDH) in serum of experimental animals. It also increased the oxidative stress markers resulting in increased levels of the lipid peroxidation with a significant induction of SOD and GPx, metallothioneins (MTs) and a concomitant decrease of non protein thiols (NPSH) in liver. However, pretreatment of rats with RE at a dose of 150 and 300mg/kg body weight significantly lowered serum transaminases and LDH in treated rats. A significant reduction in hepatic thiobarbituric reactive substances and a decrease in antioxidant enzymes activities and hepatic MTs levels by treatment with plant extract against DDT, were observed. These biochemical changes were consistent with histopathological observations, suggesting marked hepatoprotective effect of RE with the two doses used. These results strongly suggest that treatment with ethyl acetate extract normalizes various biochemical parameters and protects the liver against DDT-induced oxidative damage in rats and thus help in evaluation of traditional claim on this plant.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor analogue aggravates CCl4-induced acute hepatic injury in rats

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and CNTF analogs were reported to have hepatoprotective effect and ameliorate hepatic steatosis in db/db or high-fat-diet-fed mice. Because hepatic steatosis and injury are also commonly induced by hepatotoxin, the aim of the present study is to clarify whether CNTF could alleviate hepatic steatosis and injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄). Unexpectedly, when combined with CCl₄, CNTF aggravated hepatic steatosis and liver injury. The mechanism is associated with effects of CNTF that inhibited lipoprotein secretion and drastically impaired the ability of lipoproteins to act as transport vehicles for lipids from the liver to the circulation. While injected after CCl₄ cessation, CNTF could improve liver function. These data suggest that CNTF could be a potential hepatoprotective agent against CCl₄-induced hepatic injury after the cessation of CCl₄ exposure. However, it is forbidden to combine recombinant mutant of human CNTF treatment with CCl₄.