Effect of Europinidin against Alcohol-Induced Liver Damage in Rats by Inhibiting the TNF-α/TGF-ß/IFN-γ/NF-kB/Caspase-3 Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND: The effect of europinidin on alcoholic liver damage in rats was examined in this research. METHODS: A total of 24 Wistar rats were grouped in the same way into four groups: normal control (normal), ethanol control (EtOH), europinidin low dose (10 mg/kg), and europinidin higher dose (20 mg/kg). The test group rats were orally treated with europinidin-10 and europinidin-20 for 4 weeks, whereas 5 mL/kg distilled water was administered to control rats. In addition, 1 h after the last dose of the above-mentioned oral treatment, 5 mL/kg (i.p.) EtOH was injected to induce liver injury. After 5 h of EtOH treatment, samples of blood were withdrawn for biochemical estimations. RESULTS: Administration of europinidin at both doses restored all of the estimated serum, i.e., liver function tests (ALT, AST, ALP), biochemical test (Creatinine, albumin, BUN, direct bilirubin, and LDH), lipid assessment (TC and TG), endogenous antioxidants (GSH-Px, SOD, and CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), cytokines (TGF-ß, TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL-12), caspase-3, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) associated with the EtOH group. CONCLUSION: The results of the investigation showed that europinidin had favorable effects in rats given EtOH and may have hepatoprotective potential property.

Protective effect of fustin against adjuvant-induced arthritis through the restoration of proinflammatory response and oxidative stress.

Rheumatoid arthritis causes irreparable damage to joints. The present research sought to check fustin's anti-arthritic efficacy against the complete Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis paradigm in animals by altering the inflammatory response. In the rats, complete Freund's adjuvant was used to trigger arthritis and they received fustin at 50 and 100 mg/kg for 21 days. At regular intervals, the hind paw volume and arthritic score were assessed. After the trial period, hematological, antioxidant, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and other biochemical parameters were estimated. Fustin-treated rats showed the down-regulation of hind paw volume, arthritic score, and altered hematological parameters (TLC, DLC (neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, basophil)). Furthermore, fustin significantly mitigates proinflammatory cytokine (reduced interleukin, tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-α), IL-6, IL-1ß), oxidative stress (attenuated malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD)), attenuated production of prostaglandin E2 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) and improved nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) action. Fustin led to the benefit in arthritis-prone animals elicited by complete Freund's adjuvant via pro-inflammatory cytokine.

Neuroprotectant Effects of Hibiscetin in 3-Nitropropionic Acid-Induced Huntington's Disease via Subsiding Oxidative Stress and Modulating Monoamine Neurotransmitters in Rats Brain.

BACKGROUND: Previously reported data suggest that hibiscetin, isolated from roselle, contains delphinidin-3-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside including anthocyanidins and has a broad range of physiological effects. In this study, we aim to analyze the effect of hibiscetin neuroprotective ability in rats against 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA)-induced Huntington's disease (HD). METHODS: To investigate possible toxicities in animals, oral acute toxicity studies of hibiscetin were undertaken, and results revealed the safety of hibiscetin in animals with a maximum tolerated dose. Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 6); (group-1) treated with normal saline, (group-2) hibiscetin (10 mg/kg) only, (group-3) 3-NPA only, and (group-4) 3-NPA +10 mg/kg hibiscetin. The efficacy of hibiscetin 10 mg/kg was studied with the administration of 3-NPA doses for the induction of experimentally induced HD symptoms in rats. The mean body weight (MBW) was recorded at end of the study on day 22 to evaluate any change in mean body weight. Several biochemical parameters were assessed to support oxidative stress (GSH, SOD, CAT, LPO, GR, and GPx), alteration in neurotransmitters (DOPAC, HVA, 5-HIAA, norepinephrine, serotonin, GABA, and dopamine), alterations in BDNF and cleaved caspase (caspase 3) activity. Additionally, inflammatory markers, i.e., tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukins beta (IL-1ß), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were evaluated. RESULTS: The hibiscetin-treated group exhibits a substantial restoration of MBW than the 3-NPA control group. Furthermore, 3-NPA caused a substantial alteration in biochemical, neurotransmitter monoamines, and neuroinflammatory parameters which were restored successfully by hibiscetin. CONCLUSION: The current study linked the possible role of hibiscetin by offering neuroprotection in experimental animal models.

Application of Green Nanoemulsion for Elimination of Rifampicin from a Bulk Aqueous Solution.

The study aimed to prepare green nanoemulsion (GNE) multi-components ((water/dimethyl sulfoxide-transcutol/isopropyl alcohol/capmul MCM C8 (CMC8)) to remove rifampicin (RIF) from a contaminated aqueous bulk solution. Pseudo ternary phase diagrams dictated several batches of GNE prepared following the reported method. Selected nanoemulsions (NF1-NF5) were characterized for morphology, globular size, size distribution (polydispersity index, PDI), viscosity, zeta potential, refractive index (RI), and free-thaw kinetic stability. They were investigated for percent removal efficiency (%RE) of RIF from the bulk aqueous solution for varied time intervals (10-60 min). Finally, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray (SEM-EDX) and inductive coupled plasma-optical emission system (ICP-OE) were used to confirm the extraction of trace content of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and others in the treated water. Considering the data obtained for globule size, PDI, viscosity, zeta potential, freeze-thaw stability, and refractive index, NF5 was the most suitable for RIF removal. The largest %RE value (91.7%) was related to NF5, which may be prudent to correlate with the lowest value (~39 nm) of size (maximum surface area available for contact adsorption), PDI (0.112), and viscosity (82 cP). Moreover, %RE was profoundly influenced by the content of CMC8 and the aqueous phase. These two phases had immense impact on the viscosity, size, and RI. The percent content of water, Smix, and CMC8 were 15% w/w), 60% w/w, and 25% w/w, respectively in NF5. SEM-EDX and ICP-OE confirmed the absence of DMSO and other hydrophilic components in the treated water. Thus, efficient NF5 could be a promising option to the conventional method to decontaminate the polluted aqueous system.