Phenolic Profiles of Four Processed Tropical Green Leafy Vegetables Commonly Used as Food

The phenolic profiles are presented of four tropical green leafy vegetables ( Ocimum gratissimum, Vernonia amygdalina, Corchorus olitorius and Manihot utilissima) commonly used as food, after application of traditional treatments, such as boiling and abrasion. The HPLC/DAD/MS technique was mainly used to carry out this study. Preliminary evaluation of the antioxidant properties of the vegetables was also performed using the DPPH in vitro test. For the first time, seasonal variations in the phenolic content of the four investigated vegetables were highlighted. Of the four plants, all showed only quantitative differences, except for Ocimum graticimum, in which cichoric acid, previously detected as one of the main constituents of this vegetable collected in November (dry season), was absent in the sample harvested in March. The phenolic constituents are chemically unmodified after a strong heating process, such as the traditional blanching (about 15 minutes) applied by Nigerian people prior to consuming these vegetables. Nevertheless, these typical preparations showed a consistent decrease in the total phenolic compounds with respect to the raw material, particularly for Corchorus olitorius (from 42.3 to 5.56 mg/g dried leaves) and Vernonia amygdalina (from 40.2 to 4.4 mg/g dried leaves). As expected, when the blanching treatment is reduced to a few minutes, as for Manihot utilissima leaves, the cooked vegetable maintained almost unaltered its original phenolic content (around 10 mg/g dried leaves). The unique exception is the blanched Ocimum gratissimum sample that showed a consistent increment of the total phenols, particularly of rosmarinic acid (from 6.1 to 29.8 mg/g dried leaves) with respect to the unprocessed vegetable

MODULATION OF KEY BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS RELEVANT TO STROKE BY ANTIARIS AFRICANA LEAF EXTRACT FOLLOWING CEREBRAL ISCHEMIA/REPERFUSION INJURY

Background: Oxidative stress plays a significant role in stroke pathogenesis. Hence, plants rich in antioxidant phytochemicals have been suggested as effective remedies for prevention and treatment of stroke and other neurological diseases. Antiaris africana Engl. (Moraceae) is traditionally used for the management of brain-related problems but there is paucity of data on its anti-stroke potential. Materials and Methods: Ischemia/reperfusion injury was induced by a 30 min bilateral common carotid artery occlusion/ 2 h reperfusion (BCCAO/R) in the brain of male Wistar rats. A sham-operated group which was not subjected to BCCAO/R and a group subjected to BCCAO/R without treatment with MEA served as controls. The ameliorative effect of 14 days of pretreatment with 50 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg A. africana methanol leaf extract (MEA) on BCCAO/R-mediated alterations to key markers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione, xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase) and neurochemical disturbances and excitotoxicity (myeloperoxidase, glutamine synthetase, Na+/K+ ATPase, acetylcholinesterase and tyrosine hydroxylase), was evaluated and compared with the effect produced by treatment with 20 mg/kg quercetin as a reference standard. Results: Results show that pretreatment with MEA significantly mitigated or reversed BCCAO/R-induced changes in the level or activity of the evaluated biochemical markers of oxidative stress, neurochemical dysfunction and excitotoxicity compared with the BCCAO/R untreated control group (p < 0.05). The effect produced by 100 mg/kg MEA was similar to that of the reference standard, quercetin. Conclusion: These results revealed the neuroprotective potential of A. africana in stroke and other ischemia-related pathologies. Key words: brain ischemia

Inhibitory Effect of Aqueous Extract of Moringa oleifera and Newbuoldia laevis Leaves on Ferrous Sulphate and Sodium Nitroprusside Induced Oxidative Stress in Rat’s Testes in Vitro

Oxidative stress has been identified as one of the factors that affects fertility status. Therefore, this study sought to in-vestigate the inhibitory effect of aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera and Newbuoldia laevis leaves on FeSO4 and So-dium Nitroprusside (SNP) induced lipid peroxidation in rat testes in vitro. Incubation of the testes tissue homogenate in the presence of FeSO4 and SNP caused a significant increase in the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of the testes. The aqueous extract from both Moringa oleifera and Newbuoldia laevis leaves caused a significant decrease in the MDA contents of the testes in a dose-dependent manner. However, aqueous extract from Moringa oleifera leaf (EC50 = 0.29 mg/ml) had a significant (P < 0.05) higher inhibitory effect on Fe2+ induced lipid peroxidation in the rat testes homoge-nate than that of Newbuoldia laevis leaf extract (EC50 = 0.58 mg/ml); while there was no significant (P < 0.05) differ-ence between the plant extracts on SNP induced lipid peroxidation in the rat testes homogenates. Therefore, part of the mechanisms through which the water extractable phytochemicals in the leaves protect the testes from oxidative stress may be through their antioxidant activity; DPPH scavenging ability, Fe2+ chelating and reducing power. Therefore, these plants have potential to prevent oxidative stress in testes and improve fertility outcomes

R-\u3b1\u2013Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine optimal combinations in MPP+- induced cellular model of Parkinson\u2019s disease

Mitochondrial insufficiency and oxidative damage contribute to the etiopathology of Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD). However, there is a dearth of information on the protective activities against PD of mitochondrial nutrients, safe for coenzyme Q10. In the present study, the PD protective effects of two mitochondrial nutrients, R-\u3b1\u2013lipoic acid (LA) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), as well as their combinations using 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+)-treated SKN-MC human neuroblastoma cells as a model of PD was examined. Pretreatment of cells with LA (1-100 \u3bcM), ALC (1-100 \u3bcM) or LA-ALC (1:10; 10:100; 100:100 \u3bcM) combinations showed protective effects against MPP+-induced toxicity of cells. The best concentrations were LA-ALC (1:10 \u3bcM) combination, LA (10 \u3bcM) and ALC (100 \u3bcM) in that order, thus indicating a synergy by the mitochondrial nutrients. This could be a promising strategy in combating PD and other neurodegenerative disorders

R-α–Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine optimal combinations in MPP+- induced cellular model of Parkinson’s disease

Mitochondrial insufficiency and oxidative damage contribute to the etiopathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, there is a dearth of information on the protective activities against PD of mitochondrial nutrients, safe for coenzyme Q10. In the present study, the PD protective effects of two mitochondrial nutrients, R-α–lipoic acid (LA) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), as well as their combinations using 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+)-treated SKN-MC human neuroblastoma cells as a model of PD was examined. Pretreatment of cells with LA (1-100 μM), ALC (1-100 μM) or LA-ALC (1:10; 10:100; 100:100 μM) combinations showed protective effects against MPP+-induced toxicity of cells. The best concentrations were LA-ALC (1:10 μM) combination, LA (10 μM) and ALC (100 μM) in that order, thus indicating a synergy by the mitochondrial nutrients. This could be a promising strategy in combating PD and other neurodegenerative disorders

Inhibitory Effect of Aqueous Extract of Stem Bark of Cissus populnea on Ferrous Sulphate- and Sodium Nitroprusside-Induced Oxidative Stress in Rat&#x2019;s Testes In Vitro

Cissus populnea are plants associated with a myriad of medicinal uses in different parts of the world and are good sources of carotenoids, triterpenoids, and ascorbic acid. The antioxidant properties and inhibitory effect of water extractible phytochemicals from stembark of C. populnea on FeSO4 and sodiumnitroprusside- (SNP-) induced lipid peroxidation in rat testeswere investigated in vitro.The results revealed that the extract was able to scavenge DPPH radical, chelate Fe2+ and also had a high reducing power. Furthermore, the incubation of the testes tissue homogenate in the presence of FeSO4 and SNP, respectively, caused a significant increase in the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of the testes. However, the aqueous extract of the stem bark of C. populnea caused a significant decrease in theMDA contents of both Fe2+ (EC50 = 0.027mg/mL) and SNP- (EC50 = 0.22mg/mL) induced lipid peroxidation in the rat testes homogenates in a dose-dependent manner.The water extractible phytochemicals from C. populnea protect the testes from oxidative stress and this could be attributed to their high antioxidant activity: DPPH-scavenging ability, Fe2+-chelating and -reducing power. Therefore, oxidatively stress in testes could be potentially managed/prevented by this plant

Reversal of acetaminophen-generated oxidative stress and concomitant hepatotoxicity by a phytopharmaceutical product

The increasing popularity of herbal medicine and the well-established health benefits of phytochemicals have spurred the multiplicity of nutraceutical and phytopharmaceutical products. In this study, TrévoTM, a nutraceutical and phytopharmaceutical product, was evaluated for beneficial effects in acetaminophen-induced hepatic toxicity in Wistar rats. Animals received TrévoTM (1.5 mL/kg, 3.0 mL/kg or 4.5 mL/kg) orally for 14 days. Hepatotoxicity wasinduced by the oral administration of acetaminophen (2 g/kg), 24 h priorto sacrifice.Biochemical liverfunction tests, oxidative stress indicators and histoarchitectural changes were evaluated. Acetaminophen administration occasioned significant increase (P &lt; 0.05) in serum bilirubin level and activities ofthe aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase, -glutamyltransferase and lactate dehydrogenase accompanied by a significant decrease (P &lt; 0.05) in albumin level as well as histopathological alterations in liver sections. Promotion of hepatic oxidative stress by acetaminophen wasrevealed by significant (P &lt; 0.05) increase in lipid peroxidation, depletion of reduced glutathione, and decrease in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Administration of TrévoTM remarkably ameliorated acetaminophen-induced histopathological alterations and changes in serum and tissue biochemical markers. The protective effect of TrévoTM (4.5 mL/kg) was at par with that of Silymarin (25 mg/kg). The present study indicates that TrévoTM has notable salubrious effects

Neuromodulatory effect of solvent fractions of Africa eggplant (Solanium dadyphyllum) against KCN-induced mitochondria damage, viz. NADH-succinate dehydrogenase, NADH- cytochrome c reductase, and succinate-cytochrome c reductase

Abstract Background In the past few years, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of plant-based health supplements with respect to their safety and efficacy in diseases treatment and prevention. Solanum dasyphyllum, also known as Africa eggplant is ethnomedicinally used as an antivenom, pain reliever and anticonvulsant in various part of Nigeria, however, there is no scientific data to support some of these claims. Methods This study evaluated the protective effect of solvent fractions of Solanum dasyphyllum, hexane fraction of S. dasyphyllum (HFSD), dichloromethane fraction of S. dasyphyllum (DFSD), ethylacetate fraction of S. dasyphyllum (EAFSD), methanolic fraction of S. dasyphyllum (MFSD) and crude fraction of S. dasyphyllum (CFSD) on cyanide-induced oxidative stress and neurotoxicity in vitro in the cerebral cortex. Neuroprotective activities were evaluated by assaying for markers of oxidative stress, neurotoxicity and electron transport system enzymes via evaluating lipid peroxidation (LPO), protein carbonyl (PC), reduced glutathione (GSH), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), NADH-succinate dehydrogenase (NSD), NADH-cytochrome c reductase (NCR), and succinate-cytochrome c reductase (SCR) in the homogenate of cerebral cortex. Results The results showed that all solvent fractions of S. dasyphyllum significantly ameliorated cyanide-induced oxidative stress (P < 0.05). It inhibited the activity of acetylcholinesterase-HFSD (68.42 ± 5.37%), DFSD (36.32 ± 5.45%), EFA (20 ± 0.69%), MFSD (33.16 ± 4.8%) and CFSD (35.79 ± 2.8%), increased the activity of NSD [HFSD (94.74 ± 7.3%), EAFSD (78.95 ± 5.4%) and CFSD (60.53 ± 4.6%)], while DFSD (− 5.26 ± 1.4%) and MFSD (− 7.9 ± 0.4%) had a negative effect, increased the activity of NCR [HFSD (91.89 ± 7.1%), DFSD (90.54 ± 8.2%), EAFSD (62.16 ± 4.7%); MFSD (306.76 ± 7.2%) and CFSD (154.0 ± 8.1%)]. All the solvent fractions also significantly increased the activity of SCR [HFSD (70.59 ± 3.8%), EAFSD (58.82 ± 6.4%), MFSD (88.24 ± 9.0%) CFSD (76.47 ± 8.2%)] apart from DFSD (− 5.88 ± 1.2%) in rat cerebral cortex. Conclusion This result shows that S. dasyphyllum has neuroprotective activities, however HFSD shows the most potent bioactivities in maintaining mitochondria integrity by preserving the electron transport system. Further work can be done on isolating and characterizing the bioactive compound in HFSD for novel natural product in the treatment of neurological disorders