Improvement of 6-gingerol production in ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) plants by mutation breeding using gamma irradiation.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a valuable culinary and medicinal plant. The compound 6-gingerol is the main gingerol in ginger rhizomes and it possesses interesting pharmacological and physiological properties. Mutation breeding involved using low doses of gamma radiation (5-30 Gy) to increase the genetic variability in ginger rhizomes (M1 generation). Ginger plants selected from the next generation (M2) were characterized and subjected to quantitative analysis for 6-gingerol content using HPLC of ginger extracts. M2 offspring from a parent ginger rhizome irradiated with 20 Gy was found to have a high 6-gingerol content (38.4 ± 0.01 mg/g methanol extract in comparison to 22.1 ± 0.03 mg/g methanol extract in non-irradiated control samples). Radiation induced genetic variability was also probed and confirmed using RAPD-PCR analysis. This research demonstrates the potential for ginger improvement and to our knowledge is the first to report the use of gamma radiation in breeding ginger plants with enhanced 6-gingerol content.

Oxidative stress induced by aluminum oxide nanomaterials after acute oral treatment in Wistar rats.

This study investigated the oxidative stress induced after acute oral treatment with 500, 1000 and 2000 mg kg⁻¹ doses of Al2O3 -30 and -40 nm and bulk Al2O3 in Wistar rats. Both the nanomaterials induced significant oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner in comparison to the bulk. There was no significant difference between the two nanomaterials. However, the effect decreased with increase with time after treatment. The histopathological examination showed lesions only in liver with Al2O3 nanomaterials at 2000 mg kg⁻¹.

In vitro mutagenicity assessment of aluminium oxide nanomaterials using the Salmonella/microsome assay.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the potential mutagenicity of aluminium oxide nanomaterials (NMs) (Al(2)O(3)-30 nm and Al(2)O(3)-40 nm). Characterization of the NMs was done before the initiation of the study. The mutagenicity of the NMs was studied by the Ames test with Salmonella typhimurium TA100, TA1535, TA98, TA97a and TA102 strains, in the presence and absence of the S9 mixture. Based on a preliminary cytotoxicity study conducted on the strains, different concentrations of Al(2)O(3)-30 nm, Al(2)O(3)-40 nm and Al(2)O(3)-bulk were selected. At all the concentrations tested, Al(2)O(3)-30 nm and Al(2)O(3)-40 nm did not significantly increase the number of revertant colonies compared to the Al(2)O(3)-bulk and control with or without S9 mixture. Our findings suggest that Al(2)O(3) NMs were devoid of any size and concentration dependent mutagenicity compared to the Al(2)O(3)-bulk and control.

Immune defense of rats immunized with fennel honey, propolis, and bee venom against induced staphylococcal infection.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the potency of bee product-immunized rats to overcome an induced Staphylococcus aureus infection. Forty rats were divided to eight groups: T1, T3, and T5 received, respectively, fennel honey, ethanol, and aqueous propolis extracts orally, and T2, T4, and T6 were administered the respective materials intraperitoneally; T7 received bee venom by the bee sting technique; and T8 was the control group. All groups were challenged by a bovine clinical mastitis isolate of S. aureus. Each rat received 2 mL of broth inoculated with 1 x 10(5) colony-forming units/mL intraperitoneally. Two weeks post-induced infection all rats were sacrificed and eviscerated for postmortem inspection and histopathological study. Three rats from T8 and one rat from T7 died before sacrifice. Another two rats, one each in T4 and T5, had morbidity manifestations. The remaining experimental animals showed apparently healthy conditions until time of sacrifice. Postmortem inspection revealed that all T8 rats showed different degrees of skeletal muscle and internal organ paleness with scattered focal pus nodules mainly on lungs and livers. All rats of the treated groups showed normal postmortem features except three rats. A dead rat in group T7 showed focal pus nodules on the lung surface only, whereas the affected two rats in groups T4 and T5 appeared normal except with some pus nodules, but much smaller than in the control, scattered on the hepatic surface and mesentery. Histopathological studies revealed that T8 rats had typical suppurative bronchopneumonia and or severe degenerative and necrobiotic changes in hepatic tissues. Three affected rats of the treated groups showed slight bronchopneumonia or degenerative hepatic changes only. The other animals of the treated groups showed completely normal parenchymatous organs with stimulated lymphatic tissues. It was concluded that all tested previously bee product-immunized rats could significantly challenge the induced S. aureus infection (P < .01). The effects were more pronounced in rats that had received fennel honey solution.

Evaluation of genotoxic effects of oral exposure to aluminum oxide nanomaterials in rat bone marrow.

Nanomaterials have novel properties and functions because of their small size. The unique nature of nanomaterials may be associated with potentially toxic effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo genotoxicity of rats exposed with Aluminum oxide nanomaterials. Hence in the present study, the genotoxicity of Aluminum oxide nanomaterials (30 and 40 nm) and its bulk material was studied in bone marrow of female Wistar rats using chromosomal aberration and micronucleus assays. The rats were administered orally with the doses of 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw. Statistically significant genotoxicity was observed with Aluminum oxide 30 and 40 nm with micronucleus as well as chromosomal aberration assays. Significantly (p < 0.05 or p < 0.001) increased frequency of MN was observed with 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw dose levels of Aluminum oxide 30 nm (9.4 +/- 1.87 and 15.2 +/- 2.3, respectively) and Aluminum oxide 40 nm (8.1 +/- 1.8 and 13.9 +/- 2.21, respectively) over control (2.5 +/- 0.7) at 30 h. Likewise, at 48 h sampling time a significant (p < 0.05 or p < 0.001) increase in frequency of MN was evident at 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw dose levels of Aluminum oxide 30 nm (10.6 +/- 1.68 and 16.6 +/- 2.66, respectively) and Aluminum oxide 40 nm (9.0 +/- 1.38 and 14.7 +/- 1.68, respectively) compared to control (1.8 +/- 0.75). Significantly increased frequencies (p < 0.05 or p < 0.001) of chromosomal aberrations were observed with Aluminum oxide 30 nm (1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw) and Aluminum oxide 40 nm (2000 mg/kg bw) in comparison to control at 18 and 24 h. Further, since there is need for information on the toxicokinetics of nanomaterials, determination of these properties of the nanomaterials was carried out in different tissues, urine and feces using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A significant size dependent accumulation of Aluminum oxide nanomaterials occurred in different tissues, urine and feces of rats as shown by ICP-MS data. The results of our study suggest that exposure to Aluminum oxide nanomaterials has the potential to cause genetic damage.

In vivo assessment of genotoxic effects of Annona squamosa seed extract in rats.

Widespread use of pesticides represents a potential risk to human and environmental health. Hence, biopesticides from plants are some of the future strategies for plant protection. In this regard, a seed extract of Annona squamosa was prepared and found to be a promising pesticide. In order to establish the inherent toxicity and non-target safety required for registration and marketing of pesticides, toxicological studies are conducted. The genotoxicity potential was evaluated in rats with 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg Annona squamosa by the comet assay in leucocytes, micronucleus and chromosomal aberration tests in bone marrow. We also studied the effects of 300 mg/kg of extract on lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione level and glutathione S transferase activity in liver, lungs, brain, kidneys, heart and spleen of treated rats. The comet assay showed a statistically significant dose related increase in DNA migration. The micronucleus and chromosomal aberration tests revealed a significant induction in frequency of micronuclei and chromosomal aberrations at 150 and 300 mg/kg. Annona squamosa treatment significantly enhanced lipid peroxidation, decreased glutathione and glutathione S transferase levels revealing the oxidative stress condition. Our results warrant careful use of Annona squamosa seed extract as a biopesticide till more tests are carried out.

In vivo genotoxicity assessment of aluminium oxide nanomaterials in rat peripheral blood cells using the comet assay and micronucleus test.

Advances in nanotechnology and its usage in various fields have led to the exposure of humans to engineered nanomaterials (NMs) and there is a need to tackle the potential human health effects before these materials are fully exploited. The main purpose of the current study was to assess whether aluminium oxide NMs (Al(2)O(3)-30 nm and Al(2)O(3)-40 nm) could cause potential genotoxic effects in vivo. Characterization of Al(2)O(3)-30 nm and Al(2)O(3)-40 nm was done with transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and laser Doppler velocimetry prior to their use in this study. The genotoxicity end points considered in this study were the frequency of micronuclei (MN) and the percentage of tail DNA (% Tail DNA) migration in rat peripheral blood cells using the micronucleus test (MNT) and the comet assay, respectively. Genotoxic effects were evaluated in groups of female Wistar rats (five per group) after single doses of 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg body weight (bw) of Al(2)O(3)-30 nm, Al(2)O(3)-40 nm and Al(2)O(3)-bulk. Al(2)O(3)-30 nm and Al(2)O(3)-40 nm showed a statistically significant dose-related increase in % Tail DNA for Al(2)O(3)-30 nm and Al(2)O(3)-40 nm (P < 0.05). However, Al(2)O(3)-bulk did not induce statistically significant changes over control values. The MNT also revealed a statistically significant (P < 0.05) dose-dependent increase in the frequency of MN, whereas Al(2)O(3)-bulk did not show any significant increase in frequency of MN compared to control. Cyclophosphamide (40 mg/kg bw) used as a positive control showed statistically significant (P < 0.001) increase in % Tail DNA and frequency of MN. The biodistribution of Al(2)O(3)-30 nm and Al(2)O(3)-40 nm and Al(2)O(3)-bulk in different rat tissues, urine and feces was also studied 14 days after treatment using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The data indicated that tissue distribution of Al(2)O(3) was size dependent. Our findings suggest that Al(2)O(3) NMs were able to cause size- and dose-dependent genotoxicity in vivo compared to Al(2)O(3)-bulk and control groups.

LDH profiles of male and female rats treated with Vepacide.

In the present study we investigated the effect of vepacide, a neem-based compound, on the biochemical target enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in different tissues of male and female albino Wistar rats treated orally with 80, 160 and 320 mg/kg (low, medium and high doses, respectively) for a period of 90 days. Prolonged administration of vepacide caused a significant increase of LDH activity in serum and lung tissues and a decrease in liver and kidney in both male and female rats when measured after 45 and 90 days of daily treatment. Females were more susceptible than males with regard to serum and kidney LDH showing sexual dimorphism in the treated rats. Recovery was observed in the affected enzyme after 28 days post treatment (withdrawal study). A positive correlation was observed with regard to this enzyme between serum and lung tissues, whereas for serum versus liver and kidney there was a negative correlation. The effect of vepacide was more pronounced in the lung tissue followed by liver and kidney tissues. Necrosis of the liver and kidney tissues was observed but in the lung tissue an increase in the LDH enzyme was seen. Therefore, it was concluded that the increase in LDH could be indicative of a stress adaptive response to the toxicant.

Effect of dermal application of phosphamidon-92 (technical) on different tissues and hematobiochemical parameters in albino rat.

The histological disturbances occurring from the dermal application of low, medium, and high doses of phosphamidon-92 (technical) to rats as observed by light microscope and analysis of hematobiochemical parameters of blood are presented. Groups of 10 male and 10 female albino rats (Wistar strain) were treated with the test material at dose levels of 0.48 (low), 2.2 (medium), and 3.98 (high) mg/kg X d for 3 wk, followed by a 2-wk observation period. During application, a reduction in food intake and in body weight was recorded with all three treatments. However, gain in body weight and food intake resumed during the observation period and was marked with the high-dose treatment only. Symptoms like hypersalivation and frothing were noticed in both the sexes, as well as a relative decrease in liver weight and gross pathological alterations on microscopical examination of skin, lung, kidney, and testis; significant alterations in some hematobiochemical parameters of blood were observed.