The Intervention and Mechanism of Action for Aloin against Subchronic Aflatoxin B1 Induced Hepatic Injury in Rats

Intervention mechanism of marine-based chito-oligosaccharide on acute liver injury induced by AFB1 in rats

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is extremely hepatotoxic, a causative agent of liver cancer, and can cause symptoms of acute or chronic liver damage. Chito-oligosaccharides (COS), obtained from the degradation of chitosan derived from shrimp and crab shells, is a natural antioxidant substance and its antitumor properties have been widely studied, but less research has been done on the prevention of AFB1-induced acute liver injury. In this study, rats were acutely exposed to 1 mg/kg BW AFB1 and simultaneously gavaged with different doses of COS for 8 days. The results showed that COS attenuated the hepatic histopathological changes and reduced serum biochemical indices (ALT, AST, ALP, and TBIL) in rats. It significantly inhibited MDA content and promoted SOD and GSH-Px activity production. Moreover, it also improved hepatocyte apoptosis. Furthermore, AFB1-vs-HCOS differential genes were enriched with 622 GO entries, and 380 were Biological Processes, 170 were Molecular Functions, 72 were Cellular Components. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analyzed by KEGG enrichment were more enriched in pathways, such as metabolism, PPAR signaling pathway, and peroxisome. Q-PCR technique verified that Lama5, Egr1, Cyp2b1, and Gadd45g in DEGs were associated with oxidative stress damage and apoptosis. In conclusion, COS intervention reduces the effect of AFB1 on hepatic genes and thus reduces the changes in hepatic gene function.

Screening of the phytochemical constituents of Teucrium polium extract and evaluation of their prophylactic role against the oxidative damage and cytotoxicity of Aflatoxin B1 in rats

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is common carcinogen causing acute and chronic hepatocyte injuries. This study aimed to determine the bioactive components of Teucrium polium methanolic extract (TPE) and to evaluate their protective role against AFB1-induced oxidative damage, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity in rats. Six groups of male albino rats were treated orally for 4 weeks including the control group, the ِAFB1-treated group (80 μg/kg b.w.), the groups treated with low (LD) or high (HD) dose TPE (50 or 100 mg/kg b.w.), and the groups treated with AFB1 plus TEP (LD) or TPE (HD). Blood and serum samples were collected for different assays. The GC-MS identified 34 compounds, the major compounds were pinene, germacrene D, α-cadinol, α-thujene, epi-bicyclosesquiphellandrene, and limonene. Animals that received AFB1 showed significant changes in all indicators of oxidative stress, biochemistry, cytokines, MNPCEs, comet tail formation in bone marrow, mRNA expression of inflammatory-related genes, Nrf2, and iNOS beside histological changes in the liver. TPE at the two doses tested showed insignificant changes in all tested parameters. The extract could normalize most of these parameters and the hepatic structure in AFB1-treated animals in a dose-dependent fashion. therefore, we concluded that TPE supplementation is effective for protection against AFB1 in endemic areas.

Arabic Gum Could Alleviate the Aflatoxin B1-provoked Hepatic Injury in Rat: The Involvement of Oxidative Stress, Inflammatory, and Apoptotic Pathways

Aflatoxin B₁ (AF) is an unavoidable environmental pollutant that contaminates food, feed, and grains, which seriously threatens human and animal health. Arabic gum (AG) has recently evoked much attention owing to its promising therapeutic potential. Thus, the current study was conducted to look into the possible mechanisms beyond the ameliorative activity of AG against AF-inflicted hepatic injury. Male Wistar rats were assigned into four groups: Control, AG (7.5 g/kg b.w/day, orally), AF (200 µg/kg b.w), and AG plus AF group. AF induced marked liver damage expounded by considerable changes in biochemical profile and histological architecture. The oxidative stress stimulated by AF boosted the production of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) level along with decreases in the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) level and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. Additionally, AF exposure was associated with down-regulation of the nuclear factor erythroid2–related factor2 (Nrf2) and superoxide dismutase1 (SOD1) protein expression in liver tissue. Apoptotic cascade has also been evoked following AF-exposure, as depicted in overexpression of cytochrome c (Cyto c), cleaved Caspase3 (Cl. Casp3), along with enhanced up-regulation of inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and nuclear factor kappa-B transcription factor/p65 (NF-κB/p65) mRNA expression levels. Interestingly, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory contents of AG may reverse the induced oxidative damage, inflammation, and apoptosis in AF-exposed animals.