Exacerbation of diclofenac-induced gastroenterohepatic damage by concomitant exposure to sodium fluoride in rats: protective role of luteolin

Mandarin peel ethanolic extract attenuates diclofenac sodium induced hepatorenal toxicity in rats by mitigating oxidative stress and inflammation

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) constitute approximately one-third of the global pharmaceutical market and are the first drugs of choice when treating fever and pain. Furthermore, among NSAIDs, the use of diclofenac sodium (DS) is preferred as it is a strong inhibitor of cyclooxygenase enzyme. However, despite its strong efficacy, DS is known for its potential to cause hepatorenal damage. Currently, to mitigate the adverse effects of certain drugs, medically effective agricultural products are often preferred as they are inexpensive, effective and safe. One such agricultural product-mandarin-is noteworthy for its high phenolic contents. The purpose of the present study was to assess the efficacy of mandarin peel ethanolic extract (MPEE) in protecting against hepatorenal damage induced by DS. Four groups (six/group) of adult male albino rats received oral administration of physiological saline (control group), DS (10 mg/kg body weight), MPEE (200 mg/kg body weight), and DS + MPEE for 7 days. Rats in the DS group showed increased serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP, BUN, CRE, and UA. Furthermore, the hepatic and renal tissue levels of MDA, TNF-α and IL-1β increased, whereas those of GSH, SOD, GP-x and IL-10 decreased (p < 0.05). Investigation of MPEE in terms of its effects on biochemical, oxidative and inflammatory parameters, it exerted protective and healing effects. Therefore, MPEE can be used to ameliorate DS-induced hepatorenal damage.

Fermented Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) Ameliorates Sodium Fluoride-Induced Cardiorenal Toxicity, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation via Modulation of NF-κB/IκB/IκKB Signaling Pathway in Wistar Rats

High dose of fluoride intake is associated with toxic effects on kidney and cardiac tissues. This study evaluated the potential protective effect of fermented rooibos tea (RTE) on sodium fluoride (NaF)-induced cardiorenal toxicity in rats. Male Wistar rats (n = 56) were randomly allocated into one of seven equal groups: control, NaF (100 mg/kg orally), NaF + RTE (2%, w/v), NaF + RTE (4%, w/v), NaF + lisinopril (10 mg/kg orally), 2% RTE, and 4% RTE. The experiment lasted for 14 days and RTE was administered to the rats as their sole source of drinking fluid. NaF induced cardiorenal toxicity indicated by elevated level of urea, creatinine, LDH, creatinine kinase-MB, and cardiac troponin I in the serum, accompanied by altered histopathology of the kidney and heart. Furthermore, levels of H2O2, malondialdehyde, and NO were elevated, while GSH level was depleted in the kidney and heart due to NaF intoxication. Protein levels of c-reactive protein, TNFα, IL-1B, and NF-κB were increased by NaF in the serum, kidney, and heart. RTE at 2% and 4% (w/v) reversed cardiorenal toxicity, resolved histopathological impairment, attenuated oxidative stress and inhibited formation of pro-inflammatory markers. RTE at both concentrations down-regulates the mRNA expression of NF-κB, and upregulates the mRNA expression of both IκB and IκKB, thus blocking the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. Taken together, these results clearly suggest that the protective potential of rooibos tea against NaF-induced cardiorenal toxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammation may be associated with the modulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Targeting NF-κB/COX-2 signaling by soyasaponin I alleviates diclofenac-induced gastric ulceration in male albino rats

Gastric ulceration is a prevalent worldwide clinical presentation due to altered gastric defense mechanisms. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are one of the common causes of gastric ulcers mediated by the release of inflammatory mediators. The study aimed to investigate the potential protective effect of soyasaponin I (soya) against diclofenac (DIC)-induced gastric ulcer in rats and to highlight the underlying mechanisms. The experiment was conducted on 40 male Wistar albino rats, equally distributed into five groups: control, DIC-induced ulcer (9 mg/kg/d, orally, twice daily for 3 days), ulcer/soya-, ulcer/ranitidine-, and ulcer/soya/selective nuclear factor kappa B inhibitor (JSH-23)-treated groups. The doses of soya, ranitidine, and JSH were 20, 25, and 5 mg/kg/d, respectively, given orally. Gastric specimens were prepared for gene and histological study and for biochemical analysis of gastric prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), oxidative markers, and inflammatory cytokines. The gastric samples were formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), PAS staining, and immunohistochemical assay for identification of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and proliferation marker (Ki67) expressions. The findings revealed decreased gastric PGE2 and altered inflammatory and oxidative markers in the ulcer model group. The H&E staining showed mucosal injury characterized by mucosal surface defects and inflammatory cell infiltrations. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry demonstrated an upregulation of NF-κB and COX-2 expression at gene/protein levels; meanwhile, Ki67 downregulation. The soya-treated group showed maintained biochemical, histological, and PCR findings comparable to the ranitidine-treated group. The JSH-23-treated group still showed partial gastric protection with biochemical and immunohistochemical changes. Soyasaponin I ameliorated DIC-induced gastric ulcers by targeting the COX-2 activity through modulation of NF-κB signaling.

Unveiling the Chemical Profiling Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Algerian Myrtus communis L. Essential Oils, and Exploring Molecular Docking to Predict the Inhibitory Compounds against Cyclooxygenase-2

Considering the large spectrum of side effects caused by synthetic drugs and the development of natural alternatives utilizing Algerian flora, this study aimed to place a spotlight on the chemical profile and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Myrtus communis L. essential oils (MCEOs). In this study, essential oils (EOs) were collected via hydro-distillation of the plant's leaves, and a chemical constituent analysis was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). The in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radical scavenging tests. The in vitro anti-inflammatory capacity was estimated by studying the antidenaturation effect using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a protein model. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activity was carried out by utilizing the classical model of carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats, using diclofenac (DCF) as the reference drug. Moreover, the molecular interaction of the compounds obtained from the GC-MS analysis was studied within the binding site of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) using an in silico approach as the confirmatory tool of the in vitro and in vivo experiments. The GC-MS analysis revealed that MCEOs were mainly composed of oxygenated monoterpenes (70.56%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (3.1%), sesquiterpenes (4.17%), and monoterpenes (8.75%). Furthermore, 1,8-cineole was the major compound (19.05%), followed by cis-geranyl acetate (11.74%), methyl eugenol (5.58%), α-terpineol (4.62%), and β-myrcene (4.40%). MCEOs exhibited remarkable concentration-dependent free radical scavenging activity, with an IC50 of 15.317 ± 0.340 µg/mL, 18.890 ± 2.190 µg/mL, and 31.877 ± 0.742 µg/mL for DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radical, respectively. The significant in vitro anti-inflammatory activity due to the inhibition of BSA denaturation was proportional to the EO concentration, where the highest value was recorded at 100 μg/mL with an approximately 63.35% percentage inhibition and an IC50 of 60.351 ± 5.832 μg/mL. MCEOs showed a good in vivo anti-inflammatory effect by limiting the development of carrageenan-induced paw thickness. The in silico study indicated that, among the 60 compounds identified by the GC-MS analysis, 9 compounds were observed to have a high binding energy to cyclooxygenase-2 as compared to diclofenac. Our study revealed that EOs from Algerian Myrtus communis L. can be considered to be a promising candidate for alleviating many debilitating health problems and may provide new insights in the fields of drug design, agriculture, and the food industry.

Combination of resveratrol and luteolin ameliorates α-naphthylisothiocyanate-induced cholestasis by regulating the bile acid homeostasis and suppressing oxidative stress

Cholestasis is a common liver injury without any effective therapeutic drugs so far. Resveratrol (RES) and luteolin (LUT) are natural polyphenols that exert protective effects on multiple liver injuries. Coadministration of RES and LUT could significantly improve the bioavailability of LUT and increase the systemic exposure to RES, and the combined treatment could also benefit from their multi-component and multi-target characteristics. Our current aim is to study the protective effects of coadministration of RES and LUT on α-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestasis. Serum biochemical indices and liver histopathology in rats indicated that coadministration of RES and LUT could improve liver function by suppressing oxidative stress. Dysregulated bile acid (BA) homeostasis is a significant pathological feature of cholestasis, which was determined to explore the potential biomarkers and to clarify the protection mechanism of coadministration of RES and LUT. The levels of cholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, taurine conjugates and glycine conjugates, and the ratios of taurine conjugates to their free forms could be used as diagnosis indicators for cholestasis in rats. Furthermore, the coadministration of RES and LUT could restore the BA levels and exert better protective effects than administration alone. This study suggested that the coadministration of RES and LUT could protect against ANIT-induced cholestasis and the mechanism was closely related to regulating BA homeostasis and suppressing oxidative stress.

Effects of different selenium sources on duodenum and jejunum tight junction network and growth performance of broilers in a model of fluorine-induced chronic oxidative stress

The protective effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of sodium selenite (SS) and selenomethionine (SM) against chronic oxidative stress-induced duodenum and jejunum tight junction (TJ) network disturbance and growth inhibition of broilers were investigated in the current experiment. At the age of 1 d, 720 Lingnan Yellow broiler chicks were allocated to 4 experimental diets (with 6 replicates per diet and 30 birds per replicate) and offered either a control diet (fluorine [F] 23 mg/kg, control [CoN] group) or test diets (800 mg/kg F, high F [HF] group; 800 mg/kg F+0.15 mg selenium [Se]/kg as SS [SS group] or SM [SM group]) for 56 d. The results showed that HF group could induce chronic oxidative stress and subsequently increased (P < 0.05) proinflammatory cytokines levels of duodenum and jejunum in comparison with the CoN group. Increased proinflammatory cytokines levels of HF group promoted myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) transcription, thus leading to a decrease (P < 0.05) in TJ proteins expression of duodenum and jejunum when compared with the CoN group. A reduction of TJ proteins expression destroyed the TJ structures in the HF group, which in turn increased intestinal mucosal permeability of duodenum and jejunum and ultimately induced growth inhibition of broilers. Dietary Se supplementation could ameliorate HF-induced duodenum and jejunum TJ network impairment and growth retardation of broilers, potentially by increasing (P < 0.05) the glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase activities, reducing (P < 0.05) the reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels, regulating the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, and mediating the transcription level of MLCK in the duodenum and jejunum. Additionally, our data also suggested that the protective effects of SM were superior to those of SS. This study will provide a theoretical basis for developing SM into an efficient protective agent for intestinal mucosal barrier in poultry.

Antiproliferative and palliative activity of flavonoids in colorectal cancer

Flavonoids are plant bioactive compounds of great interest in nutrition and pharmacology, due to their remarkable properties as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and antitumor drugs. More than 5000 different flavonoids exist in nature, with a huge structural diversity and a plethora of interesting pharmacological properties. In this work, five flavonoids were tested for their potential use as antitumor drugs against three CRC cell lines (HCT116, HT-29 and T84). These cell lines represent three different stages of this tumor, one of which is metastatic. Xanthohumol showed the best antitumor activity on the three cancer cell lines, even better than that of the clinical drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), although no synergistic effect was observed in the combination therapy with this drug. On the other hand, apigenin and luteolin displayed slightly lower antitumor activities on these cancer cell lines but showed a synergistic effect in combination with 5-FU in the case of HTC116, which is of potential clinical interest. Furthermore, a literature review highlighted that these flavonoids show very interesting palliative effects on clinical symptoms such as diarrhea, mucositis, neuropathic pain and others often associated with the chemotherapy treatment of CRC. Flavonoids could provide a double effect for the combination treatment, potentiating the antitumor effect of 5-FU, and simultaneously, preventing important side effects of 5-FU chemotherapy.