Aleppo galls alleviate paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity and tissue damage: an experimental study

BACKGROUND

Acute paracetamol toxicity is a common and potentially life-threatening emergency causing liver failure that may necessitate liver transplantation. Unfortunately, current therapies are still defective.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the protective effects exerted by Aleppo galls (Quercus infectoria Olivier) extract against acute paracetamol toxicity in mice.

METHODOLOGY

Eighteen mice were divided into three experimental groups, each included six mice in each group. The groups included: negative control group, paracetamol toxicity group that received an acute toxic intraperitoneal dose of paracetamol (250 mg/kg) for four consecutive days, and treatment group (received 250 mg/kg paracetamol followed few hours later by Aleppo galls extract for the same duration). Animals were anaesthetized using ether anaesthesia. Animals were sacrificed by decapitation and blood samples were drawn. Paracetamol toxicity effects versus Aleppo galls protection were evaluated on liver function tests, liver histology, serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides.

RESULTS

Acute paracetamol toxicity caused significantly elevated serum transaminases (ALT and AST), decreased serum albumin, and increased serum cholesterol and triglycerides. Aleppo galls extract exerted significant protective effects and restored near normal serum levels of the previously-mentioned parameters. Upon histopathological evaluation, mice in the control group showed normal hepatic architecture with preserved hepatic cords and sinuses. Acute paracetamol toxicity induced peripheral zonal degeneration with focal necrosis of the hepatic tissue. The hepatocytes showed cytoplasmic vacuolation with indistinct cell borders. Central hepatic venules were congested. Administration of Aleppo galls extract reduced the tissue damaging effects induced by paracetamol toxicity with only minimal residual degenerative changes that were observed with absent necrosis.

CONCLUSION

Quercus infectoria Olivier (Aleppo galls) is a promising source of phytochemicals and future therapeutics.

Preparation and evaluation of cerium(IV) tungstate powder as inorganic exchanger in sorption of cobalt and europium ions from aqueous solutions

Cerium(IV) tungstate powder was chemically synthesized and exploited as adsorbent material for the decontamination study of cobalt and europium ions from radioactive waste solutions under simulated conditions using batch technique. The influences of pH, particle size and temperature have been reported. The uptake of europium was found to be slightly greater than that of cobalt and the apparent sorption capacity increases with increase in temperature. Thermodynamic parameters such as changes in Gibbs free energy (DeltaG degrees), enthalpy (DeltaH degrees), and entropy (DeltaS degrees) were calculated. The numerical value of DeltaG degrees decreases with an increase in temperature, indicating that the sorption reaction of each ion was spontaneous and more favorable at higher temperature. The positive values of DeltaH degrees correspond to the endothermic nature of sorption processes and suggested that chemisorption was the predominant mechanism. A comparison of kinetic models applied to the sorption rate data of each ion was evaluated for the pseudo first-order, the pseudo second-order, intraparticle diffusion and homogeneous particle diffusion kinetic models. The results showed that both the pseudo second-order and the homogeneous particle diffusion models were found to best correlate the experimental rate data. The numerical values of the rate constants and particle diffusion coefficients were determined from the graphical representation of the proposed models. Activation energy (E(a)) and entropy (DeltaS++) of activation were also computed from the linearized form of Arrhenius equation.

Ameliorative effect of melatonin against gamma-irradiation-induced oxidative stress and tissue injury

While radiation hazards, due to free radical generation, present an enormous challenge for biological and medical safety, melatonin is a potent scavenger of a variety of free radicals. The aim of this study was to investigate the radioprotective effect of melatonin against oxidative stress and tissue injury induced by gamma radiation. Rats were subjected to two doses of 2 and 4Gy from cesium-137 source. Four days prior to irradiation, animals received melatonin daily (10mg/kg body weight i.p.). In the irradiated animals, the oxidative stress markers malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl were significantly increased in the liver, while a marked decrease in hepatic contents of DNA, RNA, and glutathione (GSH) as well as activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) was demonstrated. In addition, catalase (CAT) activity was increased in the liver 5 days after irradiation. The levels of total lipids, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), urea, and creatinine, as well as activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), were significantly increased in sera of the irradiated rats. This is coupled with decreased serum levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total protein and albumin, and total globulins by irradiation. The administration of melatonin alone daily for 4 days caused significant decreases in MDA and protein carbonyl content and produced significant elevations of GSH content and GST activity in the liver. Moreover, significant decreases in total lipids, cholesterol, and TG without change in LDL or HDL levels in serum were demonstrated. Treatment with melatonin for 4 days before acute irradiation significantly abolished radiation-induced elevations in MDA and protein carbonyl levels in the liver and significantly maintained hepatic GSH content, GST, and CAT activities close to the control values. Preirradiation treatment with melatonin showed significantly higher hepatic DNA and RNA contents than irradiated rats. The levels of total lipids, cholesterol, TG, HDL, LDL, total proteins, albumin, total globulins, creatinine, and urea, as well as the activities of AST, ALT, and GGT in serum were significantly ameliorated when melatonin was injected before irradiation. In conclusion, the increase in oxidative stress markers and the concomitant change in antioxidant levels indicate the role of oxidative stress in radiation-induced tissue damage. Moreover, melatonin shows a radioprotective impact against ionizing-radiation-induced oxidative stress and organ injury.

Psychiatric morbidity among housemaids in Kuwait. a. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the hospitalized group of housemaids

OBJECTIVES

To determine the first hospital admission rates and the nature of psychiatric disorders among housemaids and compare them with the Kuwaiti female patients.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Based on the International Classification of Diseases (10th revision; ICD-10) symptom checklist, a semi-structured interview was administered to all the housemaids and the Kuwaiti female patients hospitalized during the 2-year study period.

RESULTS

The hospital admission rates were 1.86 times higher in housemaids than in the Kuwaiti female patients and the nature of psychiatric disorders was also different in the two groups. The stress-related disorders were more common among housemaids while schizophrenia was the commonest disorder among Kuwaiti patients. Duration of hospital stay was significantly shorter for housemaids, and four fifths of them were repatriated on mental health grounds.

CONCLUSIONS

The psychiatric morbidity is higher among housemaids than Kuwaiti females and a substantial number of them are prematurely repatriated on health grounds. Further studies are needed to explore the possible pre-immigration risk, and post-immigration precipitating factors, to prevent this 'expatriate failure'.

Determination of partition coefficients of diazepam and flurazepam between phosphatidylcholine bilayer vesicles and water by second derivative spectrophotometric method

Second derivative spectrophotometry allowed the establishment of a simple and accurate method for the determination of partition coefficients of benzodiazepine drugs in a liposome/water system. The absorption spectra of diazepam (DZ) and flurazepam (FZ) in phosphatidylcholine (egg yolk) bilayer vesicle suspensions showed small spectral changes depending on the concentration of phosphatidylcholine vesicles. However, the intense background signals caused by the light scattering of the phosphatidylcholine vesicles made it difficult to yield a correct base line, thus the quantitative spectral data could not be obtained. In the second derivative spectra, the spectral changes were enhanced and three derivative isosbestic points were observed for each drug indicating the entire elimination of the residual background signal effects. The derivative intensity change of each drug (DeltaD) induced by its interaction with phosphatidylcholine bilayers was measured at a specific wavelength. From the relationship between the DeltaD value and the lipid concentration, the molar partition coefficients (K(p)s) of DZ and FZ were calculated and obtained with a good precision of R.S.D below 10%. The fractions of the partitioned DZ and FZ calculated by using the obtained K(p) values agreed well with the experimental values. The results prove that the derivative method can be usefully and easily applied to the determination of partition coefficients of benzodiazepines in the liposomes/water system without any separation procedures.

Regulation of alloantigen-mediated T-cell proliferation by endogenous interferon-gamma: implications for long-term allograft acceptance

BACKGROUND

Recent data suggest that interferon (IFN)-gamma is not an essential mediator of acute rejection but, instead, is critical for the induction of long-term allograft acceptance. The in vivo mechanisms by which endogenous IFN-gamma regulates the alloimmune response and thus facilitates the induction of long-term allograft survival are not known.

METHODS

We examined long-term cardiac and skin allograft survival, alloantigen-induced T-cell proliferation, and alloantigen-induced T-cell apoptosis in wild-type (IFN-gamma+/+) and IFN-gamma gene-knockout (IFN-gamma-/-) mice treated with either B7-CD28 T-cell costimulation blockade alone or B7-CD28 T-cell costimulation blockade combined with donor splenocyte transfusion.

RESULTS

We found that IFN-gamma is essential for long-term allograft survival induced by treating mice with either B7-CD28 T-cell costimulation blockade alone or B7-CD28 T-cell costimulation blockade combined with donor splenocyte transfusion. Alloantigen-induced T-cell proliferation in vivo was significantly greater in IFN-gamma-/- mice than in IFN-gamma+/+ mice, and T-cell costimulation blockade abrogated alloantigen-induced T-cell proliferation in wild-type mice but failed to do so in mice that lack IFN-gamma. In contrast, alloantigen-induced T lymphocyte apoptosis in vivo did not differ between IFN-gamma+/+ and IFN-gamma-/- mice, and T-cell costimulation blockade enhanced alloantigen-induced T-cell apoptosis in both mouse strains.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that endogenous IFN-gamma facilitates the induction of long-term allograft survival by limiting the proliferation of alloactivated T lymphocytes. The data also suggest that B7-CD28 T-cell costimulation blockade exerts immunosuppressive actions by inhibiting the proliferation of activated T lymphocytes and by promoting their apoptosis.

Hydration and percutaneous absorption IV: influence of hydration on n-alkanol permeation through rat skin; comparison with hairless and Swiss mice

The effect of protracted aqueous contact of rat skin on its permeability to methanol, n-butanol, and n-hexanol was investigated. With the aid of small diffusion cells, sets of intermittent permeation experiments, each approximately 7 hr in duration, were performed on excised rat skin sections over periods lasting several days, and permeability coefficients were calculated as a function of the duration of the hydration. The permeability coefficient of methanol increased gradually to an asymptote 2.5 times higher than the initial value over the first 80 hr of immersion and then remained essentially invariant through an additional 70 hr. In contrast, the butanol permeability coefficient increased by only a small fraction (approximately 25%) through the first 5 hr of hydration, and it remained at the higher value through to the end of the experiment at 80 hr. For more hydrophobic hexanol, the permeability coefficient increased by approximately 40% over the first 10 hr and then declined, returning to near the initial value by the second day. It was relatively constant past this point--up to 150 hr. When these data were compared with similarly obtained data from earlier studies involving two strains of mice, the Swiss mouse and a hairless mouse mutant, parallelism was noted in the behavior of the rat and Swiss mouse skins, which set them both apart from the behavior of the skin of the hairless mouse. The comparison suggests that, irrespective of animal species, the development of a thick coat of hair occurs with commensurate functional changes in the chemical barrier properties of the epidermis.

Dissolution studies of povidone-sulfathiazole coacervated systems

Sulfathiazole and povidone were coacervated by many methods, indicating complexation of the two compounds. The coacervated complex had a higher solubility and dissolution rate than did sulfathiazole. It resisted the action of dilute acids and alkalies, suggesting a helical structure with sulfathiazole situated between two povidone chains and a hydrogen bond linking the amino groups of the sulfathiazole to the oxygen of povidone. Upon addition of precipitants for sulfathiazole, the povidone portion attempted to compensate and to solubilize the whole complex; hence, partial precipitation or coacervation occurred. A model is given to describe the dissolution profile of the different coacervate systems prepared.