Investigating the therapeutic potential of Allium cepa extract in combating pesticide exposure induced ocular damage.

The ocular surface is subject to a range of potentially hazardous environmental factors and substances, owing to its anatomical location, sensitivity, and physiological makeup. Xenobiotic stress exerted by chronic pesticide exposure on the cornea is primarily responsible for ocular irritation, excessive tear production (hyper-lacrimation), corneal abrasions and decreased visual acuity. Traditional medicine hails the humble onion (Allium cepa) for its multi-faceted properties including but not limited to anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and wound healing. However, there is a lacuna regarding its impact on the ocular surface. Thereby, the current study investigated whether topical application of crude extract of Allium cepa aided in mitigating pesticide-induced damage to the ocular surface. The deleterious effects of pesticide exposure and their mitigation through the topical application of herbal extract of Allium cepa were analysed initially through in vitro evaluation on cell lines and then on the ocular surface via various in-vivo and ex-vivo techniques. Pathophysiological alterations to the ocular surface that impacted vision were explored through detailed neurophysiological screening with special emphasis on visual acuity wherein it was observed that the murine group treated with topical application of Allium cepa extract had comparable visual capacity to the non-pesticide exposed group. Additionally, SOD2 was utilized as an oxidative stress marker along with the expression of cellular apoptotic markers such as Bcl-xL to analyse the impact of pesticide exposure and subsequent herbal intervention on oxidative stress-induced corneal damage. The impact on the corneal epithelial progenitor cell population (ABCG2 and TERT positive cells) was also flowcytometrically analysed. Therefore, from our observations, it can be postulated that the topical application of Allium cepa extract might serve as an effective strategy to alleviate pesticide exposure related ocular damage.

Therapeutic management of peritoneal ascitic sarcomatosis by Ruta graveolens: A study in experimental mice.

RELEVANCE: Malignant peritoneal sarcomatosis related ascitic formation often leads to grave consequences but the therapeutic management of the fatal pathophysiological condition remains a rarely discussed issue. The present study investigates the anti-neoplastic activity of the plant alkaloid from Ruta graveolens on ascitic Sarcoma-180 bearing mice as a model of human malignant peritoneal ascites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The efficacy of the loco-regional administration of Ruta graveolens on tumour cells was explored with cytopathological and cytotoxicological studies, along with the expressional modulation vital regulatory molecules viz. Chk2, c-Myc, CD95 and Aurora kinase. RESULTS: The study revealed a series of anti-neoplastic events exerted by Ruta graveolens that included the boosting of anti-tumour immunity, generation of tumour cell cytotoxicity and disruption of cellular energetics which lead to the induction of apoptosis and simultaneous impairment of cell division in tumour cells. Expressional decline of c-Myc oncoproteins and mitosis promoter Aurora kinase A together with up regulation of vital tumour suppressor Chk-2 and apoptosis inducer CD 95 in ascitic tumour cells was also found to be associated with Ruta administration. CONCLUSION: Our observations revealed that loco-regional Ruta administration resulted in the anti-neoplastic effect on peritoneal sarcoma related ascites and the alteration of vital regulatory molecules which depicted the therapeutic utility of Ruta in the management of peritoneal malignant ascites.