EFFECTS OF RESVERATROL ON LIVER FUNCTION OF OBESE FEMALE WISTAR RATS

Therapeutic impact of purified Trichoderma viride L-asparaginase in murine model of liver cancer and in vitro Hep-G2 cell line

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the common cancers, but difficult to diagnose and treat. L-asparaginase has been introduced in the treatment protocol of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) since the 1960s with a good outcome and increased survival rates to nearly 90%. Moreover, it has been found to have therapeutic potential in solid tumors. Production of glutaminase-free-L-asparaginase is of interest to avoid glutaminase-related toxicity and hypersensitivity. In the current study, an extracellular L-asparaginase that is free of L-glutaminase was purified from the culture filtrate of an endophytic fungus Trichoderma viride. The cytotoxic effect of the purified enzyme was evaluated in vitro against a panel of human tumor cell lines and in vivo against male Wister albino mice intraperitoneally injected with diethyl nitrosamine (200 mg/kg bw), followed by (after 2 weeks) oral administration of carbon tetrachloride (2 mL/kg bw). This dose was repeated for 2 months, and after that, the blood samples were collected to estimate hepatic and renal injury markers, lipid profiles, and oxidative stress parameters.

RESULTS

L-asparaginase was purified from T. viride culture filtrate with 36 purification folds, 688.1 U/mg specific activity, and 38.9% yield. The highest antiproliferative activity of the purified enzyme was observed against the hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep-G2) cell line, with an IC50 of 21.2 g/mL, which was higher than that observed for MCF-7 (IC50 34.2 g/mL). Comparing the DENA-intoxicated group to the negative control group, it can be demonstrated that L-asparaginase adjusted the levels of the liver function enzymes and the hepatic injury markers that had previously changed with DENA intoxication. DENA causes kidney dysfunction and altered serum albumin and creatinine levels as well. Administration of L-asparaginase was found to improve the levels of the tested biomarkers including kidney and liver function tests. L-asparaginase treatment of the DENA-intoxicated group resulted in a significant improvement in the liver and kidney tissues to near normal similar to the healthy control group.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that this purified T. viride L-asparaginase may be able to delay the development of liver cancer and may be used as a potential candidate for future application in medicine as an anticancer medication.

Resveratrol and Quercetin as Regulators of Inflammatory and Purinergic Receptors to Attenuate Liver Damage Associated to Metabolic Syndrome

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered a manifestation of metabolic syndrome (MS) and is characterized by the accumulation of triglycerides and a varying degree of hepatic injury, inflammation, and repair. Moreover, peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) play a critical role in the pathophysiological processes in the liver. There is extensive evidence of the beneficial effect of polyphenols such as resveratrol (RSV) and quercetin (QRC) on the treatment of liver pathology; however, the mechanisms underlying their beneficial effects have not been fully elucidated. In this work, we show that the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of RSV and QRC against inflammation in liver damage in our MS model are due to the activation of novel pathways which have not been previously described such as the downregulation of the expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), neutrophil elastase (NE) and purinergic receptor P2Y2. This downregulation leads to a decrease in apoptosis and hepatic fibrosis with no changes in hepatocyte proliferation. In addition, PPAR alpha and gamma expression were altered in MS but their expression was not affected by the treatment with the natural compounds. The improvement of liver damage by the administration of polyphenols was reflected in the normalization of serum transaminase activities.

Characteristics, Biological Properties and Analytical Methods of Trans-Resveratrol: A Review

Trans-resveratrol (TR) is the biological active isomer of resveratrol and the one responsible for therapeutic effects; both molecules are non-flavonoid phenolics of the stilbenes class found mainly in berries and red grapes. TR biological properties lie in modulation of various enzymatic classes. It is a promising candidate to novel drugs due its applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, such as anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antiacne, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and photoprotector agent. It has effects on bone metabolism, gastrointestinal tract, eyes, kidneys, and in obesity treatment as well. Nevertheless, its low solubility in water and other polar solvents may be a hindrance to its therapeutic effects. Various strategies been developed to overcome these issues, such as the drug delivery systems. The present study performed a research about methods to identify TR and RESV in several samples (raw materials, wines, food supplements, drug delivery systems, and blood plasma). Most of the studies tend to analyze TR and RESV by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with different detectors, even so, there are reports of the use of capillary electrophoresis, electron spin resonance, gas chromatography, near-infrared luminescence, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and vibrational spectrophotometry, for this purpose. Thus, the review evaluates the biological activity of TR and demonstrates the currently used analytical methods for its quantification in different matrices.