Berberine Recovered Oxidative Stress Induced by Sodium Nitrite in Rat Erythrocytes

OBJECTIVE

Berberine, a plant derived alkaloid, present in Berberis species is well known as one of the most important antioxidants. The current research aimed to study the heamatoprotective characteristics of berberine and clarify its plausible mechanisms against sodium nitrite.

METHODS

Forty numbers of male Sprague Dawley rats were categorized into five equal groups, including group 1: control (normal saline); group 2: berberine (100 mg/kg); group 3: sodium nitrite (80 mg/kg); group 4: sodium nitrite (80 mg/kg) plus berberine (50 mg/kg) and group 5: sodium nitrite (80 mg/kg) plus berberine (100 mg/kg) groups. All animals were orally administrated for two months once daily. At the end of the 60th day, blood samples were withdrawn by cardiac puncture and collected in test vials when the animals had been anesthetized with ketamine (70 mg/kg). Then, hemolysate was prepared and the oxidative stress biomarkers, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant capacity of erythrocytes were evaluated.

RESULTS

Feeding of rats with sodium nitrite remarkably enhanced malondialdehyde (MDA) (p=0.001) levels and considerably reduced the levels of glutathione (GSH) (p=0.001), and also reduced the enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) (p=0.02), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p=0.001), glutathione reductase (GR) (p=0.02), and catalase (CAT) (p=0.01). However, the co-administration of these animals with 100 mg/kg of berberine remarkably reverted the values to reach nearly a normal level. While 50 mg/kg berberine failed to restore significantly all of these antioxidant biomarkers at a normal level.

CONCLUSION

Our results clearly demonstrated that berberine in a dose-dependent manner led to protection against sodium nitrite-induced oxidative injury in rat erythrocytes, which possibly reflects the antioxidant ability of this alkaloid.

Protective Effect of Red Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) Pods against Sodium Nitrite-Induced Liver Injury in Mice

Vegetables, drinking water, and preserved meats may contain sodium nitrite (NaNO2), which causes liver disease by inducing oxidative stress. Phytochemicals are highly recommended as an alternative to synthetic drugs and affordable medicines to treat liver disease because they have fewer or no side effects. Therefore, this study aims to determine the antioxidant and hepatoprotective potential of red okra fruit ethanol extract against NaNO2-induced liver damage. Thirty-six male mice were separated into six groups. The normal control group (WA) was given distilled water only, and the NaNO2 (SN) group was given only 50 mg/kg BW NaNO2. The other four groups (P1, P2, P3, and P4) were given NaNO2 and red okra ethanol extract at doses of 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg BW, respectively. Gavage was administered orally for 21 consecutive days. Commercial kits define all biochemical parameters according to the manufacturer's instructions. Liver tissue staining followed standard protocols using hematoxylin and eosin. The study revealed that NaNO2 induction causes oxidative stress and damages the liver. The activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) significantly increased in the groups treated (P2-P4) with ethanol extract of red okra (p < 0.05). Besides, the oxidants (malondialdehyde, F2-isoprostanes, and nitric oxide) in the liver homogenate significantly decreased in the P4 group, which were given red okra ethanol extract (p < 0.05). Likewise, red okra pods decreased significantly for the serum biochemical parameters of liver damage (aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and alanine aminotransferase) in the P3 and P4 groups (p < 0.05). Then, it led to a restoration of the histological structure compared to exposed mice (SN), as the pathological scores decreased significantly in the P3 and P4 groups (p < 0.05), as well as the number of the necrotic and swollen liver cells was reduced. Hepatocytes returned to normal. The results showed that the ethanol extract of red okra fruit could be helpful as an affordable medicine. It is an antioxidant and hepatoprotective agent to protect the liver from damage caused by NaNO2.

Chlorella vulgaris ameliorates sodium nitrite-induced hepatotoxicity in rats

The current was conducted to evaluate the ameliorating effect of Chlorella vulgaris (CV) extract against sodium nitrite-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Forty-five rats were allocated randomly into 5 groups (n = 9). Group I (GI), control group: orally gavaged with normal saline daily. Group II (GII): orally gavaged with CV extract (70 mg/kg BW) for 3 months. Group III (GIII): orally gavaged with sodium nitrite (80 mg/kg BW) for 3 months. Group IV (GIV): received sodium nitrite as GIII and CV extract as GII simultaneously for 3 months. Group V (GV): received CV extract as GII and then, sodium nitrite as in GIII from the end of first month until the end of the experiment. Sodium nitrite significantly increased the activities of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and serum concentrations of tumor interleukin 1-β and necrosis factor α. In addition, it increased concentrations of malondialdehyde and nitric oxide and expression level of caspase-3 in the hepatic tissue. However, it decreased activities of hepatic glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase and induced degenerative and necrotic changes in hepatic tissues. In contrast, CV extract administration modulated sodium nitrite-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and alteration in hepatic tissue function and architecture. This study indicated that CV extract modulated sodium nitrite-induced hepatic toxicity through decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation and enhancing antioxidant enzyme activities in hepatic tissue of rats.