Preliminary toxicology profile of Dennettia tripetala (Pepper Fruit) methanolic leaves extract

Co-exposure to Aluminium and Cadmium Mediates Postpartum Maternal Variation in Brain Architecture and Behaviour of Mice; Involvement of Oxido-nitrergic and Cholinergic Mechanisms : Postpartum effects of Aluminium and Cadmium co-exposure in pregnancy

Most research has not been done on the possible relationship between pregnant women's cross-metal exposures and postpartum neuroendocrine functions. The purpose of this study was to look into how co-exposure to aluminium chloride (AlCl3) and cadmium chloride (CdCl2) affected the neuroendocrine and neurometabolic changes in postpartum mice. A total of 24 adult pregnant female mice were used for the study. Group 1 served as control and received neither AlCl3 nor CdCl2 (n=6), group 2 comprised pregnant mice treated with AlCl3 (10mg/kg), group 3 with CdCl2 (1.5mg/kg), group 4 with a combination of AlCl3 (10 mg/kg) and CdCl2 (1.5 mg/kg).Oral treatment of animals was done daily from gestation day 7 to gestation day 20. Upon delivery and weaning on postnatal day 21 (PND 21), behavioural assessment was done on the postpartum mice and immediately followed by sacrifice for assessment of histological and neuroendocrine markers. Our findings revealed that the brain-to-body weight ratio was affected and brain oxidative stress was elevated in mice exposed to AlCl3 and CdCl2 during pregnancy. Given the strong association between postpartum hyperactivity, social interaction index, brain catalase and acetylcholinesterase activity, and the brain/body weight ratio, it is plausible that these effects have played a role in the adverse behavioural abnormalities observed in the postpartum maternal mice. Moreover, it was noted that in certain situations, co-exposures to the metals tended to have opposite effects to single metal exposures.

Prenatal double-hit with aluminium and cadmium mediate testicular atrophy and hypothalamic hypoplasia: the role of oxido-nitrergic stress and endocrine perturbations

There is limited experimental evidence on the biochemical consequences of aluminium (Al) and cadmium (Cd) co-exposures during pregnancy and postnatal life.This study investigated the impacts of perinatal Al chloride (AlCl3) and Cd chloride (CdCl2) co-exposures on neuroendocrine functions in mice offspring during postnatal life. The study comprised of four pregnant experimental groups. Group 1 received AlCl3 (10 mg/kg), group 2 were administered CdCl2 (1.5 mg/kg), while group 3 received both AlCl3 (10 mg/kg) and CdCl2 (1.5 mg/kg) (AlCl3+CdCl2), and group 4 received saline (10 mL/kg) only and served as control group. All experimental animals were chemically exposed once daily from gestation days 7-20. Upon delivery, male pups were regrouped based on maternal chemical exposure on postnatal day 21 (PND 21) and allowed to grow to adulthood until PND 78, after which they were sacrificed for assessment of neuroendocrine markers and histological investigations. There was no statistical significance (p > 0.05) on follicle stimulating hormone, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone, thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroxine (T4) in all treatment groups relative to controls|. However, AlCl3 and AlCl3-CdCl2 significantly (p < 0.05) reduced triiodothyronine (T3) levels, with a profound increase in T3:T4 ratio by AlCl3, and AlCl3+CdCl2 compared to control. Furthermore, pups from pregnant mice treated with CdCl2 and AlCl3+CdCl2 demonstrated increased testicular malondialdehyde concentration with increased catalase activity relative to controls, suggesting oxidative imbalance. In addition, AlCl3, CdCl2, and AlCl3+CdCl2 exposures induced testicular and hypothalamic architectural disruption compared to controls, with marked architectural derangement in the AlCl3+CdCl2 group. Our findings suggest that prenatal co-exposures to Alcl3 and CdCl2 induce testicular and hypothalamic alterations in offspring via a testicular oxidative stress and thyrotoxicosis-dependent mechanisms.

Hepatocellular degeneration in mice co-exposed to in-utero aluminium and cadmium: Implication of a disordered antioxidant and energy homeostatic response in the liver

The current study comprised four groups of pregnant animals viz; Control (CTR) received 10 ml/kg of normal saline, Al:10 mg/kg of AlCl3, Cd: 1.5 mg/Kg of CdCl2 Al+Cd; 10 mg/kg of AlCl3 and 1.5 mg/Kg of CdCl2. Treatment was done from pregnancy days (PNT) 7-20. After delivery, male animals were weaned on PSD 21 and sacrificed on PSD 78. From the study significant increases on serum liver enzymes in the group exposed to Cd and that exposed to Al+Cd were observed. The study further showed altered serum and hepatic antioxidant balance for the Cd, Al and Al+Cd groups compared to control. Similarly, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activities in the liver were elevated in Cd and Al+Cd groups while an altered liver histological feature in treated groups were also observed. it was concluded that in utero co-exposure to Al and Cd had the ability to alter hepatic functional indices.

Datura metel stramonium exacerbates behavioral deficits, medial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampal neurotoxicity in mice via redox imbalance

BACKGROUND

Datura metel (DM) stramonium is a medicinal plant often abused by Nigerians due to its psychostimulatory properties. Hallucinations, confusion, agitation, aggressiveness, anxiety, and restlessness are reported amongst DM users. Earlier studies suggest that DM induces neurotoxicity and affect brain physiology. However, the exact neurological effects of DM extract in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampal morphology have not been elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the hypothesis that oral exposure to DM extract exerts a neurotoxic effect by increasing oxidative stress in the mPFC and the hippocampus and induces behavioral deficits in mice.

RESULTS

DM methanolic extract exposure significantly increased MDA and NO levels and reduced SOD, GSH, GPx and CAT activities in mice brains. In addition, our results showed that DM exposure produced cognitive deficits, anxiety, and depressive-like behaviour in mice following oral exposure for 28 days. Moreover, the mPFC and hippocampus showed neurodegenerative features, loss of dendritic and axonal arborization, a dose-dependent decrease in neuronal cell bodies' length, width, area, and perimeter, and a dose-dependent increase in the distance between neuronal cell bodies.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral exposure to DM in mice induces behavioural deficits, mPFC and hippocampal neuronal degenerations via redox imbalance in the brain of mice. These observations confirm the neurotoxicity of DM extracts and raises concerns on the safety and potential adverse effects of DM in humans.

Safety assessment of bio-synthesized iodine-doped silver nanoparticle wound ointment in experimental rats

Background

In the wake of antibiotic resistance, treatment of intractable wound have been very challenging and any alternative treatment which may lead to less use of antibiotics deserves further exploitation. Nanoparticle conjugates has potentially not only reduce antibiotic use but it has been considered safe and effectively disinfect wounds already colonized with resistant bacteria as well as promoting granulation tissue formation. In this study, Iodine-doped silver nanoparticle Ointment (Ag-I NPs) was investigated for its toxicological effect on excisional wound of albino rats.

Methods

Aqueous extraction of Piper guineense leaf was carried out and used for the synthesis of Ag-I NPs. The synthesized Ag-I NPs were characterized by Ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer which confirmed the availability of silver nanoparticles. The particles were then used to prepare a wound healing ointment for treating excision wound inflicted on wistar rat model. Blood samples, liver and kidney biopsies were collected on the 21st day of the experiment from all the rats for hematology, biochemical and histopathological analysis.

Result

In the hematological and biochemical analysis, hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of experimental rats treated with Ag-I NPs were significantly different (p < 0.05) compared to the untreated group. In the histopathology, the photomicrograph of the liver showed the normal control, PEG, Ag-NP, and Ag-I NP groups remained intact displaying distinctive histo-morphological appearance and stable cell density while the untreated (UTD) group showed fatty liver and reduced cellular density. The kidney photomicrograph of the normal control and Ag- I NP groups were present with intact renal corpuscles while the other photomicrographs displayed corpuscular degeneration marked by the large halo-spaced bowman space.

Conclusion

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and iodine-doped silver nanoparticle (Ag-I NP) altered haematological parameters in the rats and also influenced some biochemical changes in the serum of the rats. While in the histopathological study, the antioxidant present in the plant extract used to synthesize Ag NPs and Ag I-NPs may have functioned in synergy to maintain and preserve the integrity of the hepatocytes and renal corpuscles of the rats.