Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) Ameliorates Diabetic Nephropathy in Rats

The protective action against oxidative stress of red cabbage (Brassica oleracea) extract was investigated. Diabetes was induced in male Wistar rats using streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight). Throughout the experimental period (60 days), diabetic rats exhibited many symptoms including loss of body weight, hyperglycemia, polyuria, polydipsia, renal enlargement and renal dysfunction. Significant increase in malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation marker, was observed in diabetic kidney. This was accompanied by a significant increase in reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity and a decrease in catalase activity and in the total antioxidant capacity of the kidneys. Daily oral ingestion (1 g/kg body weight) of B. oleracea extract for 60 days reversed the adverse effect of diabetes in rats. B. oleracea extract lowered blood glucose levels and restored renal function and body weight loss. In addition, B. oleracea extract attenuated the adverse effect of diabetes on malondialdehyde, glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity as well as catalase activity and total antioxidant capacity of diabetic kidneys. In conclusion, the antioxidant and antihyperglycemic properties of B. oleracea extract may offer a potential therapeutic source for the treatment of diabetes

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Polyphenolic-enriched olive leaf extract attenuated doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in rats via suppression of oxidative stress and inflammation

Abstract Background The therapeutic value of doxorubicin as an effective anti-neoplastic agent is limited by its cardiotoxic side effects. We investigated the effects of ethanolic leaf extracts of olive leaf OL on cardiotoxicity as well as oxidative stress which was induced by doxorubicin (DOX) in Wistar rats. The cardiotoxicity was induced by intraperitoneally injecting a single dose of doxorubicin (10 mg kg−1) after 7 days of OL administration. OL was given by gastric gavage in 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg doses of extract for 10 days. Results Cardiac toxicity of DOX was evidenced by histopathological changes in cardiac tissues and an increase in the activities of serum markers of heart damage (AST and CK). DOX caused oxidative stress as evidenced by the elevation of malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl content levels, and catalase activity. That stress was also accompanied by a concurrent depletion of the activity of superoxide dismutase within cardiac tissues. The cardiotoxicity and oxidative stress damages caused by DOX also coincided with an increase of myeloperoxidase activity and iNOS expression. Most of these doxorubicin-induced biochemical and histological alterations were effectively attenuated by prior administration of OL. OL combination with DOX significantly increased its cytotoxicity in HepG2 liver cancer cell line and IC50 dropped from 259.35 to 158.12 μg/ml. Conclusion OL potentiated the cytotoxicity of DOX in liver cancer cell line and may play a role in the protection against its cardiotoxicity and thus can be a useful adjuvant therapy where doxorubicin is the common liver cancer-treating drug.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/174064/1/41936_2021_Article_251.pd

Antioxidant, Anti-Lipoxygenase and Cytotoxic Activity of Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne Polyphenolic Constituents

Leptadenia pyrotechnica Forssk is a traditional medicinal herb used for treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer. In this research, the aqueous ethanolic crude extract of Leptadenia pyrotechnica aerial parts, along with its ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water partitioning fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant capacity, polyphenolic content, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The total antioxidant capacity was estimated by the FRAP, DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching assays.The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest polyphenolic content (252.27 mg gallic acid/g) and the best antioxidant activity (1.2, 0.57, 0.45 mmol ascorbic acid equivalent/g in the FRAP, ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively). Furthermore, the same extract showed appreciable anti-inflammatory via lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory activity (IC50 = 1.41 µg/mL). Moreover, the ethyl acetate fraction also showed the strongest cytotoxic effect (IC50 = 43.16 µg/mL) against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. These results suggest that this plant may be considered an interesting source of compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties for therapeutic, nutraceutical and functional food applications