The Effects of Boron on Arsenic-Induced Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Status in Male and Female Rats.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible protective effects of boron, an antioxidant agent, against arsenic-induced oxidative stress in male and female rats. In total, 42 Wistar albino male and female rats were divided into three equal groups: The animals in the control group were given normal drinking water, the second group was given drinking water with 100 mg/L arsenic, and the third group was orally administered drinking water with 100 mg/kg boron together with arsenic. At the end of the 28-day experiment, arsenic increased lipid peroxidation and damage in the tissues of rats. However, boron treatment reversed this arsenic-induced lipid peroxidation and activities of antioxidant enzymes in rats. Moreover, boron exhibited a protective action against arsenic-induced histopathological changes in the tissues of rats. In conclusion, boron was found to be effective in protecting rats against arsenic-induced lipid peroxidation by enhancing antioxidant defense mechanisms.

The effects of dietary boron compounds in supplemented diet on hormonal activity and some biochemical parameters in rats.

The aims of this study were to clarify the effects of dietary boric acid or borax, as a boron (B) source, on hormonal status (leptin, insulin, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine) and some biochemical parameter levels as glucose, carnitine, nonesterified fatty acids, and betahydroxybutyric acid in rats. A total of 30 Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into three equal groups: the animals in the first group (control) were fed with a standard rodent diet containing 6.4 mg B/kg, and the animals in the experimental group were fed with a standard rodent diet added with boric acid and borax (100 mg B/kg) throughout the experimental period of 28 days. The B compounds especially borax decreased leptin, insulin, and glucose levels, whereas increased T3 and carnitine levels in plasma. In addition, body weight of rats was found to be low in the boric acid group at the end of 4 weeks. Consequently, our results demonstrate that B supplementation (100 mg/kg) in diet decreases body weight, leptin, and insulin, whereas increases T3 levels in plasma, so enhances the metabolic activity of rats. Between the B compounds used in this study, it was found that borax had a greater effect on hormonal status than boric acid.

Investigation of protective effect of resveratrol and coenzyme Q10 against cyclophosphamide-induced lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress and DNA damage in rats.

It is seen that cyclophosphamide, which is used in treating many diseases, especially cancer, causes toxicity in studies, and its metabolites induce oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of resveratrol and Coenzyme Q10, known for their antioxidant properties, separately and together, against oxidative stress induced by cyclophosphamide. In this study, 35 Wistar albino male rats were divided into five groups. Groups; Control group, cyclophosphamide (CP) group (CP as 75 mg kg i.p. on day 14), coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) + CP group (20 mg/kg i.p. CoQ10 + 75 mg kg i.p. CP), resveratrol (Res) + CP group (20 mg/kg i.p. Res + 75 mg/kg i.p. CP), CoQ10 + Res + CP group (20 mg/kg i.p Res + 20 mg/kg i.p CoQ10 and 75 mg/kg i.p.CP). At the end of the experiment, the cholesterol, creatinine and urea levels of the group given CP increased, while a decrease was observed in the groups given Res and CoQ10. Malondialdehyde level was high, glutathione level, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were decreased in the blood and all tissues (liver, kidney, brain, heart and testis) of the CP given group. DNA damage and histopathological changes were also observed. In contrast, Res and CoQ10, both separately and together, reversed the CP-induced altered level and enzyme activities and ameliorated DNA damage and histopathological changes. In this study, the effects of Res and CoQ10 against CP toxicity were examined both separately and together.

Screening of Naturally Grown European Cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus L.) Genotypes Based on Physico-Chemical Characteristics.

It has become very important to offer species with high nutritional value as fresh or processed products for human consumption in their daily diet for balanced nutrition. In the scope of this study, 15 naturally grown European Cranberry bush (ECB) genotypes that naturally grown were characterized in terms of horticultural characteristics. Fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight, the number of fruits per each cluster and cluster weight were determined within the ranges of 8.78−10.96 mm, 7.93−10.84 mm, 0.21−0.70 g, 31−121, and 7.70−66.67 g, respectively. Ranking of the average values of examined organic acids obtained from all genotypes found as; malic acid (11,419 mg L−1) > citric acid (1926 mg L−1) > ascorbic acid (581 mg L−1) > oxalic acid (561 mg L−1). Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were found at high levels in ECB with 2922−3475 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) L−1 and 1463−3163 mg quercetin equivalents (QE) L−1, respectively. While pomological characteristics were found to be highly positive correlated with each other, they were negatively correlated with chemical properties. Low pH was found to be an important parameter to obtain higher amounts of phytochemicals such as TPC, TFC, organic and phenolic acids correlated with strong antioxidant effects. The obtained results will be useful for both germplasm enrichment and cultivation.

Potential protective effect of escin from Aesculus hippocastanum extract against cyclophosphamide-induced oxidative stress on rat tissues.

Cyclophosphamide (CP)-also known as cytophosphan-is an alkylating agent that has many side effects in humans and rats. Rats were divided into 5 different groups to evaluate the protective effect of escin (ES) obtained from the horse-chestnut plant (Aesculus hippocastanum) against acute damage induce by CP. Groups: control group, ethanol group, ES group (100 mg/kg body weight (bw) ES for 14 days by gastric gavage), ES + CP group (100 mg/kg bw ES for 14 days by gastric gavage and 75 mg/kg bw CP i.p. on 14th day), and CP group (75 mg/kg bw CP i.p. on 14th day). After the experiment was completed, blood and tissue samples (liver, kidney, heart, brain, lung, and testis) were taken from the rats under anesthesia. When the CP group was compared with the control group, an increase was observed in the level of Malondialdehyde (MDA) in blood and all tissues except the lung, but when it was given together with escin, there was a decrease except kidney and lung (P < 0.05). Glutathione (GSH) level decreased in the blood and all tissues when CP was given, whereas an increase was observed in the heart, brain, and lung when given with escin (P < 0.05). There was no statistical change in the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes in all tissues. ES reduced CP-induced damage in all tissues except the kidney. As a result, it was determined that ES had a protective effect against CP-induced tissue damage in rats due to its antioxidant properties.

The subchronic exposure to malathion, an organophosphate pesticide, causes lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress, and tissue damage in rats: the protective role of resveratrol.

The present study was planned to evaluate the protective role of resveratrol (Res) against subchronic malathion exposure in rats over four weeks. In total, 48 Wistar rats were used and divided equally into six groups. The groups were designed as the control group (received only a rodent diet and tap water), the corn oil group (0.5 ml corn oil by the oral route), and the malathion group (100 mg kg-1 day-1 by the oral route). Other three groups received malathion (100 mg kg-1 day-1) plus Res (5, 10, and 20 mg kg-1 day-1, respectively) by the oral route. Malathion increased malondialdehyde and 8-OHdG levels, whereas it decreased glutathione levels. Also, acetylcholinesterase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase activities were found to be low in the blood, liver, kidney, heart, and brain tissues. Biochemical parameters were not notably changed in all groups. In contrast, Res treatment inverted malathion-induced oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and activity of enzymes. Additionally, malathion-induced histopathological changes in the liver, kidney, heart, and brain were ameliorated by Res treatment. These results demonstrate that malathion increases oxidative stress and decreases the antioxidant status while Res has a protective function against malathion toxicity in rats.

Protective effects of boron on cyclophosphamide induced lipid peroxidation and genotoxicity in rats.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible protective effect of boron (B) on cyclophosphamide (CYC) induced oxidative stress in rats. Totally, thirty Wistar albino male rats were fed standard rodent diet and divided into 5 equal groups: physiological saline was given intraperitoneally (i.p.) to the control group (vehicle treated), to the second group only 75 mg kg(-1) CYC was given i.p. on the 14th d, and boron was administered (5, 10, and 20 mg kg(-1), i.p.) to the other groups for 14 d and CYC (75 mg kg(-1), i.p.) on the 14th d. CYC caused increase of malondialdehyde and decrease of glutathione levels, decrease of superoxide dismutase activities in erythrocyte and tissues, decrease of erythrocyte, heart, lung, and brain catalase, and plasma antioxidant activities. Also, CYC treatment caused to DNA damage in mononuclear leukocytes. Moreover, B exhibited protective action against the CYC-induced histopathological changes in tissues. However, treatment of B decreased severity of CYC-induced lipid peroxidation and genotoxicity on tissues. In conclusion, B has ameliorative effects against CYC-induced lipid peroxidation and genotoxicity by enhancing antioxidant defence mechanism in rat.