Effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester on oxidant and anti-oxidant status of liver and serum in a rat model with acute methanol intoxication

Amelioration of oxidative damage parameters by carvacrol on methanol-induced liver injury in rats

The methanol metabolite that causes hepatotoxicity is formic acid, generating reactive oxygen radical formation and cell damage. Carvacrol is an antioxidant monoterpenic phenol produced from Thymus vulgaris. This study aimed to investigate the effects of carvacrol on methanol-induced oxidative liver damage in rats. Eighteen rats were divided into three groups. Methotrexate was administered orally for 7 days to methotrexate+methanol (MTM) and methotrexate+methanol+carvacrol (MMC) groups. Methotrexate was given before methanol to cause methanol poisoning. Distilled water was given to the healthy group (HG) as a solvent. At the end of the 7th day, 20% methanol was administered orally at a dose of 3 g/kg to the MTM and MMC groups. Four hours after methanol administration, 50 mg/kg carvacrol was injected intraperitoneally into the MMC group. Animals were sacrificed 8 h after carvacrol injection. Biochemical markers were studied in the excised liver tissue and blood serum samples, and histopathological evaluations were made. Severe hemorrhage, hydropic degeneration, pycnosis, and mononuclear cell infiltration were observed in the liver of the MTM group. Additionally, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were significantly higher, and total glutathione (tGSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS) were significantly lower in the MTM group compared to HG (P<0.001). Carvacrol prevented the increase in MDA, TOS, ALT and AST levels with methanol and the decrease in tGSH and TAS levels (P<0.001), and alleviated the histopathological damage. Carvacrol may be useful in the treatment of methanol-induced liver damage.

A study of effect of Centella asiatica on oxidative markers in the hippocampus of offsprings born to alcohol-fed pregnant rats and the correlation with their cognitive functions

OBJECTIVES

Alcohol consumption causes several harmful effects on the organs, which is hugely understated. Many deformities occur in the fetus when pregnant mothers indulge in alcoholism. Alcohol is a known teratogen, hence organ formation, particularly development of parts brain critical for cognitive function may be affected. The oxidative brain damage also could contribute to reduced cognitive efficiency of brain exposed to alcohol. In this study, effect of Centella asiatica in relieving the oxidative brain damage in offspring of alcohol fed mother rats was evaluated.

METHODS

In this study we fed alcohol (5 g/kg body weight, 30% w/v) to a group of pregnant Wistar rats during gestation period, and another group served as control. Four groups of rats (n = 6 each) were selected from the offspring of these mother rats. The groups were, control, positive (treated) control, untreated and treated from alcohol-fed mother. Their cognitive parameters were tested in water maze, shuttle box and compared. Further their oxidative status was evaluated by estimating malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl, total antioxidants and glutathione reductase (GSH) in hippocampus.

RESULTS

The results suggested that there was significantly high cognitive performance in maze test and shuttle box memory retention in rats treated with C. asiatica water extract and the antioxidant levels were high in their hippocampus.

CONCLUSIONS

The outcome of the study suggested that C. asiatica produced beneficial effects in reversing the alcohol induced brain damage in pregnancy.

Antioxidant effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester in experimentally induced periodontitis

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant effect of systemically administered caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) in periodontitis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, lipopolysaccharide-induced experimental periodontitis (LPS), CAPE 5: LPS+5 μmol/kg/day CAPE, and CAPE 10: LPS+10 μmol/kg/day CAPE. Following lipopolysaccharide-induced experimental periodontitis, CAPE was administered intraperitoneally for 28 days. Gingival and serumal total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS) were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS

Gingival tissue TAS was significantly higher with CAPE application compared with the LPS group and was highest in the CAPE 10 group (p<0.05). Gingival tissue TOS was highest in the LPS group, and both of the CAPE dosages decreased the gingival tissue TOS, with the highest decrease in the CAPE 10 group (p<0.05). The differences were not significant for serumal TAS or TOS levels (p>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The effect of CAPE on increased TAS and decreased TOS levels in inflamed gingival tissue indicates the antioxidant therapeutic potential of CAPE in periodontitis.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Within the limitations of this study, CAPE may be suggested as an effective host modulator agent for reducing oxidative stress in gingival tissue and might be considered as an adjunctive therapy in periodontitis.

1-Boc-Piperidine-4-Carboxaldehyde Prevents Binge-Eating Behaviour and Anxiety in Rats

BACKGROUND

Piperidines are biogenic amines studied mainly in toxicology because they were initially found as alkaloids from peppers and insect venoms. Piperidines are also produced in the human body, and their actions seem to be related to wakefulness/sleep and other cognitive phenomena. Piperidines have been minimally characterized for therapeutic applications. In this context, 1-Boc-piperidine-4-carboxaldehyde (1-Boc-piperidine) is a piperidine-derivative molecule with no mechanism of action reported, although its uses include the synthesis of GPR119 selective agonists that have been patented as anti-obesity drugs.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this work was to study the effects of 1-Boc-piperidine on binge-eating behaviour and anxiety in Wistar rats.

METHODS

In experimental protocol 1, binge-eating behaviour was induced in animals that received pre-treatment (i.p.) with (i) vehicle (methanol 10%; 1 mL/kg), (ii) 1-Boc-piperidine (1 µmol kg-1), or (iii) 1-Boc-piperidine (10 µmol kg-1). In experimental protocol 2, mildly stressed animals were evaluated in the elevated plus maze under the acute effects of the pre-treatments applied in experimental protocol 1.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

1-Boc-piperidine decreased, in a dose-dependent manner, the intake of calories from a succulent hyper-caloric food in a binge-eating protocol in female rats, whereas the acute exposition to this piperidine exerted an anxiolytic effect in the male rat. In both effects, the mechanism of action remains to be characterized.

Coffee Consumption and Risk of Biliary Tract Cancers and Liver Cancer: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

Background: A meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the evidence from prospective cohort and case-control studies regarding the association between coffee intake and biliary tract cancer (BTC) and liver cancer risk. Methods: Eligible studies were identified by searches of PubMed and EMBASE databases from the earliest available online indexing year to March 2017. The dose–response relationship was assessed by a restricted cubic spline model and multivariate random-effect meta-regression. A stratified and subgroup analysis by smoking status and hepatitis was performed to identify potential confounding factors. Results: We identified five studies on BTC risk and 13 on liver cancer risk eligible for meta-analysis. A linear dose–response meta-analysis did not show a significant association between coffee consumption and BTC risk. However, there was evidence of inverse correlation between coffee consumption and liver cancer risk. The association was consistent throughout the various potential confounding factors explored including smoking status, hepatitis, etc. Increasing coffee consumption by one cup per day was associated with a 15% reduction in liver cancer risk (RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.82 to 0.88). Conclusions: The findings suggest that increased coffee consumption is associated with decreased risk of liver cancer, but not BTC.