Quercetin Attenuates Brain Oxidative Alterations Induced by Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Rats.

Iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP) therapy has diverse health benefits but high doses or prolonged therapy might induce oxidative cellular injuries especially in the brain. Therefore, we conducted the current study to investigate the protective role of quercetin supplementation against the oxidative alterations induced in the brains of rats due to IONPs. Forty adult male albino rats were allocated into equal five groups; the control received a normal basal diet, the IONP group was intraperitoneally injected with IONPs of 50 mg/kg body weight (B.W.) and quercetin-treated groups had IONPs + Q25, IONPs + Q50 and IONPs + Q100 that were orally supplanted with quercetin by doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg quercetin/kg B.W. daily, respectively, administrated with the same dose of IONPs for 30 days. IONPs induced significant increases in malondialdehyde (MDA) and significantly decreased reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG). Consequently, IONPs significantly induced severe brain tissue injuries due to the iron deposition leading to oxidative alterations with significant increases in brain creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Furthermore, IONPs induced significant reductions in brain epinephrine, serotonin and melatonin with the downregulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA) mRNA expressions. IONPs induced apoptosis in the brain monitored by increases in caspase 3 and decreases in B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) expression levels. Quercetin supplementation notably defeated brain oxidative damages and in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, quercetin supplementation during IONPs is highly recommended to gain the benefits of IONPs with fewer health hazards.

Combined Oral and Topical Application of Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) Alleviates Contact Dermatitis Associated With Depression Through Downregulation Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines.

Background: Depression and contact dermatitis (CD) are considered relatively common health problems that are linked with psychological stress. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antidepressant activities of pumpkin were previously reported. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the combined topical and oral application of pumpkin fruit (Cucurbita pepo L.) extract (PE) in relieving CD associated with chronic stress-induced depression and compare it to the topical pumpkin extract alone and to the standard treatment. Materials and Methods: Forty male albino rats were exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) for 4 weeks for induction of depression and then exposed to (1-fluoro-2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene, DNFB) for 2 weeks for induction of CD. Those rats were assigned into 4 groups (n = 10 each); untreated, betamethasone-treated, PE-treated and pumpkin extract cream, and oral-treated groups. Treatments were continued for 2 weeks. All groups were compared to the negative control group (n = 10). Depression was behaviorally and biochemically confirmed. Serum and mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-6, COX-2, and iNOS, were assessed. Oxidant/antioxidant profile was assessed in the serum and skin. Histopathological and immunohistochemical assessments of affected skin samples were performed. Results: Pumpkin extract, used in this study, included a large amount of oleic acid (about 56%). The combined topical and oral administration of PE significantly reduced inflammatory and oxidative changes induced by CD and depression compared to the CD standard treatment and to the topical PE alone. PE significantly alleviated CD signs and the histopathological score (p < 0.001) mostly through the downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the upregulation of antioxidants. Conclusion: Pumpkin extract, applied topically and orally, could be an alternative and/or complementary approach for treating contact dermatitis associated with depression. Further studies on volunteer patients of contact dermatitis are recommended.

Antidiabetic effects of novel ellagic acid nanoformulation: Insulin-secreting and anti-apoptosis effects.

Antioxidants are one of the effective treatment lines in managing type 2 diabetes (typ2diab) and its complications. Nanoformulations could help in ameliorating the oral bioavailability and biocompatibility properties. Ellagic acid (Ella) is a natural antioxidant compound commonly present in fruits. This study examined the effect Ella nanoparticles (Ella NPs) alone and combined with metformin, the standard antidiabetic drug, on controlling blood glucose in typ2diab. Forty-eight adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. Except for the control group that was fed a regular pellet diet, all animals were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 9 weeks. For the last 4 weeks, rats were injected with streptozotocin (35 mg/kg). Then the rats were randomized into 8 groups: control, HFD, diabetic, Ella, Ella + metformin, Ella NPs, and Ella NPs + metformin. Data showed that Ella NPs improved blood glucose levels and the body weights of diabetic rats throughout all the weeks of the experiment whereas effects of the regular Ella were limited to the last two weeks of the treatment. Additionally, data demonstrated that the antidiabetic action of Ella NPs and its effective duration were similar to metformin. Ella NPs led to a lowering effect on lipid profile markers (total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)), superior to the regular Ella, which reduced only TG and VLDL. Results of the pathological examination showed improved number and activity of beta islets in all treatment groups. The most enhanced islets were in the Ella NPs and metformin group. The different treatments decreased caspase 3 and increased insulin gene expression, and the effect was superior in the Ella NPs and metformin group. The results of this study confirmed that Ella could manage typ2diab by lowering glucose and lipid levels and improving body weight with the superiority of Ella NPs. The mechanisms behind these effects are inhibition of beta-cell apoptosis and stimulation of insulin production.

CO2 enrichment can enhance the nutritional and health benefits of parsley (Petroselinum crispum L.) and dill (Anethum graveolens L.).

The functional food value of herbal plants is greatly related to their contents of valuable phytochemicals. Regarding its impact on primary and secondary plant metabolism, CO2 enrichment could be a candidate strategy to modulate the levels of nutritionally and medicinally interesting phytochemicals in herbal plants. Herein, the concentrations of 81 metabolites and minerals were evaluated in shoot tissues of parsley and dill grown under two levels of CO2, ambient (378 ±â€¯25 µmole CO2 mole-1 air, aCO2) and elevated (627 ±â€¯24 µmole CO2 mole-1 air, eCO2). Regardless of the plant species, eCO2 improved the levels of soluble sugars, starch, organic acids, some EAAs, most of USFA, total phenolics, total flavonoids and vitamins A and E. However, notable variations in the metabolites responsiveness to eCO2 were recorded among the tested plant species. Moreover, considerable improvements in the total antioxidant capacity, antiprotozoal, antibacterial and anticancer activities were recorded for parsley and dill in response to eCO2.

An ICET- A survey on Hypoparathyroidism in Patients with Thalassaemia Major and Intermedia: A preliminary report.

Hypoparathyroidism (HPT) is a rare disease with leading symptoms of hypocalcemia, associated with high serum phosphorus levels and absent or inappropriately low levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH). In patients with thalassemias it is mainly attributed to transfusional iron overload, and suboptimal iron chelation therapy. The main objectives of this survey were to provide data on the prevalence, demographic and clinical features of HPT in thalassemia major (TM) and intermedia (TI) patients living in different countries, and to assess its impact in clinical medical practice. A questionnaire was sent to all Thalassemia Centres participating to the International Network of Clinicians for Endocrinopathies in Thalassemia and Adolescence Medicine (ICET-A) Network.Seventeen centers, treating a total of 3023 TM and 739 TI patients, participated to the study. HPT was reported in 206 (6.8%) TM patients and 33 (4.4%) TI patients. In general, ages ranged from 10.5 to 57 years for the TM group and from 20 to 54 years for the TI group. Of the 206 TM patients and 33 TI patients with HPT, 117 (48.9%) had a serum ferritin level >2.500 ng/ml (54.3% TM and 15.1% TI patients) at the last observation. Hypocalcemia varied in its clinical presentation from an asymptomatic biochemical abnormality to a life-threatening condition, requiring hospitalization. Calcium and vitamin D metabolites are currently the cornerstone of therapy in HPT. In TM patients, HPT was preceded or followed by other endocrine and non-endocrine complications. Growth retardation and hypogonadism were the most common complications (53.3% and 67.4%, respectively). Although endocrine complications were more common in patients with TM, non-transfused or infrequently transfused patients with TI suffered a similar spectrum of complications but at a lower rate than their regularly transfused counterparts.In conclusion, although a large international registry would help to better define the prevalence, comorbidities and best treatment of HPT, through the result of this survey we hope to give a clearer understanding of the burden of this disease and its unmet needs. HPT requires lifelong therapy with vitamin D or metabolites and is often associated with complications and comorbidities.Therefore, it is important for endocrinologists and other physicians, who care for these patients, to be aware of recent advances of this disorder.