Influence of some β-lactam drugs on selected antioxidant enzyme and lipid peroxidation levels in different rat tissues

Cardiomodulatory and Antioxidative Potentials of Almond-Citrus Peel Fortified Shortbread in High Fat Diet/L-NAME-Induced Hyperlipidemic-Hypertensive Rats

In folk medicine, the almond nut (Terminalia catappa) and orange peel (Citrus sinensis) are cost-effective sources of nutraceutical utilized in the treatment of degenerative diseases. Hyperlipidemia and hypertension are two pathological conditions implicated in cardiovascular disorders. This study sought to evaluate the cardiomodulatory effect of almond-citrus peel fortified shortbread in hyperlipidemic-hypertensive rats induced by high fat diet and Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester. The experimental animals were divided into eight groups. The experimental rats were fed with shortbread supplemented with almond and citrus peel at varying inclusions of 0.2% citrus, 50% almond, and almond (50%)- citrus (0.2%) for 21 days. The mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and lipid profile of the experimental rats were measured. Thereafter, the activities of angiotensin-1-converting enzyme (ACE), arginase, malondialdehyde (MDA), phosphodiesterase-5, nitric oxide (NO), and antioxidant indices were evaluated. The result showed significant elevation in SBP, MABP, blood cholesterol, triglyceride, ACE, arginase, activities, and MDA levels in the heart tissue of the untreated rats. In contrast, the antioxidant status and NO level were significantly decreased in the untreated groups. Remarkably, the treatment with almond-citrus peel fortified shortbread and the individual effect of almond (50%) and citrus peel (0.2%) all reversed these trends in the hyperlipidemic-hypertensive rats. Intriguingly, the blend of almond (50%)-citrus peel (0.2%) fortified shortbread showed the best antioxidative and cardioprotective effect. The results suggest that almond and citrus peel offer potentials as therapeutic agent in the prevention and management of hyperlipidemia and hypertension.

Hydroxamates as a potent skeleton for the development of metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors

Bacterial resistance caused by metallo-β-lactamases (MβLs) has become an emerging public health threat, and the development of MβLs inhibitor is an effective way to overcome the resistance. In this study, thirteen novel O-aryloxycarbonyl hydroxamates were constructed and assayed against MβLs. The obtained molecules specifically inhibited imipenemase-1 (IMP-1) and New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1, exhibiting an IC₅₀ value in the range of 0.10-18.42 and 0.23-22.33 μM, respectively. The hydroxamate 5 was found to be the most potent inhibitor, with an IC₅₀ of 0.1 and 0.23 μM using meropenem and cefazolin as substrates. ICP-MS analysis showed that 5 did not coordinate to the Zn(II) ions at the active site of IMP-1, while the rapid dilution, thermal shift and MALDI-TOF assays revealed that the hydroxamate formed a covalent bond with the enzyme. Cytotoxicity assays indicated that the hydroxamates have low toxicity in MCF-7 cells. This work provided a potent scaffold for the development of MβLs inhibitors.

Toxicological analysis of synthetic dye orange red on expression of NFκB-mediated inflammatory markers in Wistar rats

Orange red is a food and cosmetic coloring agent made by the amalgamation of two azo dyes carmoisine and sunset yellow.The current study demonstrates the effect of different concentrations of orange red on antioxidant status, inflammatory biomarkers (TNFα, IFNγ, IL1β, IL6, COX-2, iNOS, and NFκB/p65), biochemical enzymes, and liver histology. In totality, 25 male Wistar rats were procured and arbitrarily alienated into 5 different groups each with 5 animals. Group I was taken as the control. Groups II-V were designated as treatment groups. Groups II and III were administered with (5 and 25 mg/kg b.wt.) and groups IV and V with (150 and 300 mg/kg b.wt.) of orange red via oral gavage for 30 days. It was observed that both low and high concentrations of orange red (25, 150, and 300 mg/kg) remarkably augmented the levels of serum inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IFNγ, IL1β, and IL6) and the protein and gene expression of COX-2, iNOS, and NFκB/p65. A significant decrease in glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, superoxidase dismutase, and catalase activity was observed with increasing concentration of orange red. Furthermore, an increase in the level of several vital biochemical parameters and damage severity to hepatic tissue was also found dose dependent.

Effects of caffeine and caffeic acid on selected biochemical parameters in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats

Biologically active compounds such as caffeine and caffeic acid can be obtained in plants especially cocoa and coffee. Hence, the combinatory effect of caffeine and caffeic acid as well as their individual effect were assessed on the activities of arginase, angiotensin-1-converting enzyme (ACE) as well as nitric oxide (NOx), and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the Nω-Nitro-L-arginine-methylester (L-NAME)-induced hypertensive rats. The individual and combinatory effect of caffeine and caffeic acid were investigated in L-NAME-induced rats. Animals were grouped into eleven containing six animals each. Hemodynamic parameter was determined by tail-cuff plethysmography. Furthermore, the result showed a notable rise in ACE and arginase activities of L-NAME-induced group compared with the control group. However, pretreatment with test compounds lowered ACE, arginase activities, and MDA content with rise in NOx. This study supports that caffeine and caffeic acid combinations demonstrated antihypertensive properties by lowering the systolic blood pressure in L-NAME-induced rats. PRATICAL APPLICATIONS: This duo bioactive compounds; caffeine (alkaloid) and caffeic acid (phenolic acid) are lavishly distributed in coffee. Their cardiopotective and cardiomodulatory roles have been investigated due to their biological activities. As far as we are aware, this could be foremost in-depth study on the antihypertensive and cardioprotective effect of the combinations of caffeine and caffeic acid targeting the key enzymes system relevant to hypertension. Decreased ACE and arginase activities as well as high nitric oxide (NOx) and low MDA level may be associated with its antihypertensive effect. This present study suggests that the combinations of this phenolics and alkaloid compound might proffer a therapeutic strategy in the management of hypertension.

In vivo biochemical evaluations of some β-lactam group antibiotics on glutathione reductase and glutathione S- transferase enzyme activities

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate whether some of the cephalosporin group antibiotics have inhibition effects on GR and GST enzymes with important functions in the metabolic pathway.

METHODS

In this study, some selected cephalosporin group antibiotics on GST and GR enzyme was carried out using 96 rats. 16 groups (16 × 6) were created from these rats, divided to another 4 groups (4 × 24). The resulting groups were named as sham groups, cefazolin groups, cefuroxime groups and cefoperazone groups, respectively. The antibiotics used were injected to cefazolin, cefuroxime and cefoperazone groups. The inhibition effects of the antibiotics were measured in the different time intervals (1st, 3th, 5th, 7th). The statistical investigation of the results was performed using the SPSS software program.

RESULTS

Results revealed the complex effects of the tested substances on GR and GST activity at different time intervals and in different tissues (p < 0.05). This indicated that the tested substances could be exposed to different interactions in vivo.

CONCLUSION

The tested antibiotics showed some significant inhibition effects on the GST and GR enzyme activity in some tissues of brain, eye and muscle. The interaction of enzyme - the drug is a key factor to highlight the toxicological mechanism. For this reason, the results obtained from in vivo experiments are crucial to explane the physiological properties of the enzymes.