Comparative analysis of the detrimental in vitro effects of three fusariotoxins on the selected structural and functional characteristics of rabbit spermatozoa

In this study, we evaluated the in vitro effects of 1-50 μM zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON) and T-2 toxin (T-2) on rabbit spermatozoa for as much as 8 h of in vitro exposure. Our results indicate that all sperm quality parameters were negatively affected by these fusariotoxins in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The most prominent structure affected by ZEA was the plasma membrane, exhibiting alterations consistent with the onset of apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction. This correlated with the most prominent decline of the sperm motility among all selected fusariotoxins. Significant necrotic changes and mitochondrial dysfunction were primarily responsible for the sperm damage in the presence of T-2. Finally, exposure of spermatozoa to DON led to a significant decrease in the DNA integrity. This study may provide new information on the specific mechanisms of action involved in the in vitro toxic behavior of fusariotoxins on male gametes.

POLYPHENOL-RICH POMEGRANATE EXTRACT AS A POTENTIAL MODULATOR OF STEROIDOGENESIS IN HUMAN OVARIAN CELLS

Pomegranate represents a rich source of phytocompounds with high medicinal value. Nowadays, many studies have shown that the pomegranate extract also possesses anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects on cancer cells, thus leading to increased popularity as a functional food and nutraceuticals. The aim of the study was to determine the biological effect of dry pomegranate extract (at concentrations 5, 10, 20 and 40 µg/ml; for 24h) on the viability of ovarian cells and the secretion of steroid hormones. Cultures of human ovarian granulosa cells (HGL5) and human ovarian carcinoma cells (OVCAR-3) were used such as a model cell system. The metabolic activity was evaluated by AlamarBlueTM assay, the release of steroid hormones was assayed by the ELISA method. Experimental results indicated a significant (P≤0.001) increase of proliferation in HGL5 cells after the addition of the extract at the concentrations 5, 10 and 20 µg/ml. Moreover, the number of viable OVCAR-3 cells significantly (P≤0.05; P≤0.01; P≤0.001) decreased after the addition of the extract at the concentrations 10, 20 and 40 µg/ml compared to the control. In addition, the secretion of 17ß-estradiol by the HGL5 cells was significantly (P≤0.05; P≤0.001) increased at all used concentrations of the extract. Despite to increasing of the 17ß-estradiol secretion, progesterone levels produced by the HGL5 cells were not significantly (P≥0.05) affected at all used concentrations of the extract. The current study provided experimental evidence that the pomegranate extract might be a promising candidate as a potential modulator of steroidogenesis and as a potential chemoprotective agent.

Co-administration of amygdalin and deoxynivalenol disrupted regulatory proteins linked to proliferation of porcine ovarian cells in vitro

Deoxynivalenol (DON) represents one of the most prevalent trichothecene mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, causing economic and health impacts. On the other hand, amygdalin has been demonstrated to possess both prophylactic and curative properties, thus it has been used as a traditional drug because of its wide range of medicinal benefits, including curing or preventing cancer, relieving fever, suppressing cough, and quenching thirst. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate potential effects of natural product amygdalin combined with mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) on the key regulators of cell proliferation and apoptosis in porcine ovarian granulosa cells. Ovarian granulosa cells were incubated for 24h with amygdalin (1, 10, 100, 1000, 10 000 μg.mL-1) combined with deoxynivalenol (1 μg.mL-1), while the control group remained untreated. The presence of proliferative (cyclin B1, PCNA) and apoptotic markers (caspase-3) in porcine ovarian granulosa cells after amygdalin treatment (1, 10, 100, 1000, 10 000 μg.mL-1) combined with deoxynivalneol (1 μg.mL-1) was detected by immunocytochemistry. The presence of proliferative (cyclin B1, PCNA) and apoptotic markers (caspase-3) in porcine ovarian granulosa cells was detected by immunocytochemistry. Co-administration of amygdalin plus DON significantly (p <0.05) increased the number of granulosa cells containing cyclin B1 and PCNA at all tested concetrations, when compared to control. However, percentage of granulosa cells containing major apoptotic marker caspase-3 did not differ after co-administration of amygdalin and DON. In summary, results form this in vitro study indicate that co-exposure of amygdalin and deoxynivalenol  may act to stimulate proliferation-associated peptides in porcine ovarian granulosa cells, and thus alter cell proliferation and normal follicular development.

IN VITRO EFECTS OF SELECTED BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE COMPOUNDS ON RABBIT SPERMATOZOA MOTILITY BEHAVIOUR

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effects of selected pure naturally occuring biologically active compounds (resveratrol-RES, quercetin-QUE, curcumin-CUR, epicatechin-EPI, isoquercitrin-ISO) on rabbit sperm motility using the IDENT staining method and the computer-aided sperm (CASA) analysis. Semen samples were collected regularly from 10 male rabbits, pooled, the seminal plasma was removed and the sperm fraction was exposed to different concentrations (1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 μmol/L) of chosen biomolecules. At culture times of 0h, 2h, 4h, 6h and 8h, the spermatozoa motility was assessed using the TOX IVOS II. CASA system and the IDENT fluorescent staining method. The motility assessment revealed different behavior patterns, specific and unique to each of the studied biomolecules. After 8h of in vitro culture, the highest sperm motility was detected in experimental groups subjected to 10 μmol/L RES (P

CYANOGENIC GLYCOSIDES AS A POTENTIAL BIOREGULATOR

Natural substances which are considered to be a food that provides medical and health benefits are called bioregulator. Bioregulators can be used in medicine for preventing and treating migraine, hypertension, chronic inflammation, and other reaction source diseases. Amygdalin is considered for one of the most important bioregulator. It is a controversial nature cyanogenic glycoside abundant in the seeds of Rosaceae family. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees and most species are deciduous, but some are evergreen. In the past few years, has been a renewed interest about distribution of Rosaceae fruits because amygdalin has been used for many years in traditional and alternative medicine. Therefore, it is included in regulatory pathways and processes. Recent data indicate potential regulatory activity of amygdalin in signaling pathways of highly metastatic cells, suggesting that amygdalin might not only be an innovative tool to neutralize metastatic dissemination but also to complement mTOR-inhibitor based regimens.

Histological analysis of femoral bones in rabbits administered by amygdalin

Cyanogenic glycosides are present in several economically important plant foods. Amygdalin, one of the most common cyanoglucoside, can be found abundantly in the seeds of apples, bitter almonds, apricots, peaches, various beans, cereals, cassava and sorghum. Amygdalin has been used for the treatment of cancer, it shows killing effects on cancer cells by release of cyanide. However, its effect on bone structure has not been investigated to date. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine a possible effect of amygdalin application on femoral bone microstructure in adult rabbits. Four month old rabbits were randomly divided into two groups of three animals each. Rabbits from E group received amygdalin intramuscularly at a dose 0.6 mg.kg-1 body weight (bw) (group E, n = 3) one time per day during 28 days. The second group of rabbits without amygdalin supplementation served as a control (group C, n = 3). After 28 days, histological structure of femoral bones in both groups of rabbits was analysed and compared. Rabbits from E group displayed different microstructure in middle part of the compact bone and near endosteal bone surface. For endosteal border, an absence of the primary vascular longitudinal bone tissue was typical. This part of the bone was formed by irregular Haversian and/or by dense Haversian bone tissues. In the middle part of substantia compacta, primary vascular longitudinal bone tissue was observed. Cortical bone thickness did not change between rabbits from E and C groups. However, rabbits from E group had a significantly lower values of primary osteons' vascular canals and secondary osteons as compared to the C group. On the other hand, all measured parameters of Haversian canals did not differ between rabbits from both groups. Our results demonstrate that intramuscular application of amygdalin at the dose used in our study affects femoral bone microstructure in rabbits.

ENERGETIC PROFILE OF RABBITS AFTER AMYGDALIN ADMINISTRATION

Amygdalin is a cyanogenic glucoside initially obtained from the seeds of bitter almonds (Prunus dulcis). It is a natural product that owns antitumor activity and has also been used for the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, leprosy and diabetes. It is composed of one molecule of benzaldehyde, two molecules of glucose and one molecule of hydrocyanic acid. Cyanide is not cancerocidal as long as glucose is available. The present in vivo study was designed to reveal whether amygdalin is able to cause changes in the energetic profile of rabbit as a biological model. A 12 adult male rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: the control group without any amygdalin administration and two experimental groups receiving daily intramuscular injections (IM) of amygdalin at 0.6 and 3.0 mg/kg b.w. respectively over the period of 28 days. The body weight of each experimental animal was recorded weekly during the whole study. Serum levels of energetic profile (glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol) were determined. Intramuscular application of amygdalin did not affect (P≥0.05) the serum levels of none of selected biochemical parameters significantly. In this in vivo study, no obvious beneficial or negative effects of amygdalin on energetic profile of male rabbits were demonstrated.

ASSESSMENT OF T-2 TOXIN EFFECT AND ITS COMBINATION WITH GROWTH FACTOR AND METABOLIC HORMONES ON 17β-ESTRADIOL SECRETION BY RABBIT OVARIAN FRAGMENTS IN VITRO

Assessment of T-2 effect and its combination with growth factor IGF-I, metabolic hormones leptin and ghrelin on 17β-estradiol secretion by rabbit ovarian fragments was studied. Rabbit ovarian fragments were incubated without (control group) or with alone T-2 toxin (0.01; 0.1; 1; 10; and 100 ng.mL-1), or its combination with insulin-like growth factor I - IGF-I (100 ng.mL-1), leptin (1000 ng.mL-1) or ghrelin (500 ng.mL-1) for 24 hours. Secretion of 17β-estradiol was determined by ELISA. T-2 toxin was not shown to be potential regulator of 17β-estradiol secretion in rabbit ovarian fragments. On the other hand T-2 toxin at all used doses combined with IGF-I significantly (P

NATURAL PLANT TOXICANT – CYANOGENIC GLYCOSIDE AMYGDALIN: CHARACTERISTIC, METABOLISM AND THE EFFECT ON ANIMAL REPRODUCTION

The amount of cyanogenic glycosides, as natural plant toxicants, in plants varies with plant species and environmental effects. Cyanogenic glycoside as an amygdalin was detected in apricot kernels, bitter almonds and peach, plum, pear and apple seeds. Amygdalin itself is non-toxic, but its HCN production decomposed by some enzymes is toxic substance. Target of this review was to describe the characteristic, metabolism and possible effects of amygdalin on reproductive processes. Previous studies describe the effects of natural compound amygdalin on female and male reproductive systems focused on process of steroidogenesis, spermatozoa motility and morphological abnormalities of spermatozoa. In accordance to the previous studies on amygdalin its benefit is controversial.