Hematobiochemical, Oxidative Stress, and Histopathological Mediated Toxicity Induced by Nickel Ferrite (NiFe2O4) Nanoparticles in Rabbits.

From the past few decades, attention towards the biological evaluation of nanoparticles (NPs) has increased due to the persistent and extensive application of NPs in various fields, including biomedical science, modern industry, magnetic resonance imaging, and the construction of sensors. Therefore, in the current study, magnetic nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanoparticles (NFNPs) were synthesized and evaluated for their possible adverse effects in rabbits. The crystallinity of the synthesized NFNPs was confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The saturation magnetization (46.7 emug-1) was measured using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and 0.35-tesla magnetron by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The adverse effects of NFNPs on blood biochemistry and histoarchitecture of the liver, kidneys, spleen, brain, and heart of the rabbits were determined. A total of sixteen adult rabbits, healthy and free from any apparent infection, were blindly placed in two groups. The rabbits in group A served as control, while the rabbits in group B received a single dose (via ear vein) of NFNPs for ten days. The blood and visceral tissues were collected from each rabbit at days 5 and 10 of posttreatment. The results on blood and serum biochemistry profile indicated significant variation in hematological and serum biomarkers in NFNP-treated rabbits. The results showed an increased quantity of oxidative stress and depletion of antioxidant enzymes in treated rabbits. Various serum biochemical tests exhibited significantly higher concentrations of different liver function tests, kidney function tests, and cardiac biomarkers. Histopathologically, the liver showed congestion, edema, atrophy, and degeneration of hepatocytes. The kidneys exhibited hemorrhages, atrophy of renal tubule, degeneration, and necrosis of renal tubules, whereas coagulative necrosis, neutrophilic infiltration, and severe myocarditis were seen in different sections of the heart. The brain of the treated rabbits revealed necrosis of neurons, neuron atrophy, and microgliosis. In conclusion, the current study results indicated that the highest concentration of NPs induced adverse effects on multiple tissues of the rabbits.

Green synthesis of nickel oxide nanoparticles using Allium cepa peels for degradation of Congo red direct dye: an environmental remedial approach.

Direct dyes are used in different textile operations and processings. The textile industries are disposing of unused direct dyes into the aquatic environment which is posing a serious alarming threat to aquatic lives. The current study deals with the synthesis of nickel oxide nanoparticles using Allium cepa peels aqueous extract. Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Synthesized NiO-NPs were used to remove Congo red direct dye. Various experimental factors like concentration of dye and nanoparticles, pH, and temperature were optimized. Congo red direct dye was decolorized up to 90% at optimized conditions (Congo Red Direct dye concentration 0.02%, catalyst dose 0.003 g·L-1, pH 6, and temperature 50 °C). The real textile industry effluent disclosed 70% decolorization at optimized conditions. The percent reduction in total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) was found to be 73.24% and 74.56% in the case of Congo red dye catalytic treatment and the percent reduction in TOC and COD was found to be 62.47% and 60.23%, respectively, in the treatment of textile effluent using nickel oxide nanoparticles as a catalyst. Treated and untreated dye samples were exposed to Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-Visible spectral analyses too. The reaction products were studied by degradation pathway.

Investigation of Hypoglycemic Peptides Derived from Conserved Regions of adMc1 to Reveal Their Antidiabetic Activities.

Diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic disorder and leading cause of renal, neurological, and gastrointestinal manifestations in developed and developing countries. Despite of many drugs and combinational therapies, the complications of diabetes are still listed due to severe consequences of those drugs. In past few years, plant-derived drugs draw special attention due to their higher efficacy and fewer side-effects. Momordica charantia also known as bitter melon is referred as an antidiabetic and hypoglycemic plant in native populations of Asia and East Africa. In current study, an in silico approach was used to evaluate the interactions and binding patterns of plant-derived peptides devised from a hypoglycemic protein adMc1 of M. charantia as potential inhibitor of DPP-IV, SGLT1, and GLUT2 receptor proteins. The study has described a novel approach to investigate hypoglycemic peptides to cure diabetes. A total of eighty tetra-, penta-, and hexapeptides were devised from conserved regions of adMc1 homologs. The molecular docking approach using MOE software was employed to reveal inhibiting potentials of devised peptides against three selected proteins. Out of 30 shortlisted ligands six peptides (i.e. SMCG, DECC, TTIT, RTTI, ARNL and TVEV) accomplished the criteria of being good drug candidates against selected receptor proteins following the drugability assessment test. The overall results are acceptable on the basis of ADMET profiling for being good drug candidates against selected proteins.

Anticancer, antithrombotic, antityrosinase, and anti-α-glucosidase activities of selected wild and commercial mushrooms from Pakistan.

Mushrooms have been accepted as nutraceutical foods because of their high nutritional and functional values. They have also gained interest due to their medicinal properties, economic importance, and organoleptic merit. In this study, wild Ganoderma lucidum and four commercial mushrooms, that is, Pleurotus ostreatus, Volvariella volvacea, Hericium erinaceus, and Lentinus edodes from Pakistan were screened for their biological activities such as anticancer, antityrosinase, anti-α-glucosidase, and antithrombotic activities from their methanol, ethanol, and water extracts. Enzyme inhibition assay showed that selected mushrooms are potent inhibitors with %age inhibition ranging from 19.00% to 80.91%, and 32.85% to 83.38% for tyrosinase and α-glucosidase, respectively. The best tyrosinase inhibition was shown by P. ostreatus whereas L. edodes was found best as α-glucosidase inhibitor. These mushrooms were tested against cancer cell lines including HT-29 colon and H-1299 lungs carcinoma cell lines. G. lucidum showed 29% and 24% viability of cells against HT-29 and H-1299 cell lines, respectively. This antiproliferative effect was in dose-dependent manner, and the maximum inhibition was observed at 200 µg/ml. Mushrooms extracts were also found effective against clot lysis. The percentage of clot lysis was in the range of 27%-29%. The research would provide knowledge to the people of Pakistan about the importance of locally available commercial mushrooms and wild mushrooms for health improvement and prevention against different kinds of diseases.