Protective effect of carvacrol on ketamine induced testicular damage in mouse model of schizophrenia

Introduction: Ketamine is applied to induce symptoms of schizophrenia in animal models. Besides the nervous system, ketamine also affects male lower genitourinary tracts. The present study evaluated the effects of carvacrol on antioxidant enzymes and examined the histopathologic changes in the testes of ketamine induced schizophrenic mice.Methods: A total of 48 male mice were treated with 25 mg/kg ketamine or saline for a period of 14 days. Between the 8th and 14th days, the animals received carvacrol (25 and 50 mg/kg) or saline. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken to measure luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone; the testes were also collected for biochemical and histopathological evaluations. Results: The results indicated that induction of schizophrenia by ketamine led to an oxidative stress by increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) level (P < 0.05). Treatment with 50 mg/kg carvacrol resulted in significant decrease in oxidative injury by decreasing MDA level and increasing antioxidant enzymes (P < 0.05). Testosterone, FSH and LH levels showed no significant difference between treatment groups and control groups except for testosterone which increased in mice treated with 50 mg/kg carvacrol (P < 0.05). Administration of carvacrol reduced the deleterious histopathologic changes caused by ketamine.Conclusion: The present study showed that ketamine causes oxidative stress and damage in testicular tissues and co-administration with carvacrol prevents the harmful effects of ketamine

Performance, immunity, and serum biochemical parameters in broiler chickens fed diet supplemented with Zataria multiflora essential oil

Background and aims: Zataria multiflora Boiss (ZM) is a thyme-like plant reported to have immunomodulatory properties. This study was aimed to examine effects of ZM essential oil on performance, biochemical and immunological parameters in broilers. Methods: Two hundred and forty, broiler chickens were divided into 4 groups. CON considered as control group received basal diet, T100, T200 and T400 treated by basal diet supplemented with ZM 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg feed, respectively. Body weight and feed intake were recorded at 14, 28, and 42 days of age. At the end of experiment, eight broilers per group were slaughtered and carcass portion yield was calculated. Humoral immune response efficacy by injection of 5 sheep red blood cell into the pectoral muscle of birds was evaluated. Results: This study showed that supplementation of ZM promoted the weight gain in T200 as compared to other groups (P<0.05). Also, the best food conversion ratio was achieved in the same group. On the other hand, ZM supplementation in all of the doses used, did not cause significant increase in carcass portion yield (P<0.05), except for liver weight, which was significantly increased in T400. Serum biochemical analysis showed that levels of total protein, albumin and globulin were highest in T200 while the lowest were in T400; addition of ZM especially at the dose of 200 mg/kg improved immune responses in broilers (P<0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of present study, supplementing broilers diet with ZM could have favorable impact on performance and immunity

Ameliorative action of farnesol on cyclophosphamide induced toxicity in mice

Introduction: Cyclophosphamide is an alkylating agent with antineoplastic and immunosuppressive effects. Acrolein, one of its metabolites, is responsible for different toxic side effects such as oxidative stress, and cell death. The present study aimed to evaluate protective effects of farnesol, a natural terpenoid with antioxidant effects, on cyclophosphamide induced side effects. Methods: For this purpose, mice received 200 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide plus 5 or 10 mg/kg of farnesol as pretreatment for 7 days. At the end of the study, samples from blood and different organs were collected. Histopathological and biochemical analyses including malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) content as well as alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were done to determine the toxic effects of cyclophosphamide and probable protective effect of farnesol. Results: Application of farnesol as a pretreatment could reduce tissue damages induced by cyclophosphamide particularly in testis, liver and spleen. The kidney did not show any relapse in tissue damages induced by cyclophosphamide. The testis demonstrated the most improvement by administration of farnesol, and the anti-oxidant enzymes increased in testicular tissues. Conclusion: This study indicated the protective effect of farnesol against oxidative stress induced by cyclophosphamide in the tissues, especially at the dose of 10 mg/kg on the testicular tissue. Hence, it might be beneficial in patients who are using cyclophosphamide

The injection of rice bran oil to avian egg: focus on carotenoids content of liver and brain in embryonic period

Introduction: The brain and liver are highly vulnerable to oxidative stress in embryo developmental periods. The levels of antioxidant in these tissues are correlated with the mother&rsquo;s nutrition during pregnancy. The present study was conducted to assess the level of carotenoids in liver and brain following the injection of Rice Bran Oil (RBO) to the chicken embryo. Methods: The eggs were divided into three groups (n=10, for each group). 0.1 cc of RBO was injected into the chorioallantoic membrane and into the egg yolk on the day 4 of incubation. The experiment was terminated on the day 20 of incubation, then, the liver and brain sample tissues were collected. The carotenoids level was measured and compared in the groups. Results: The levels of carotenoids of the eggs yolks in which RBO were injected in them were 0.31&plusmn;0.08 and 1.2&plusmn;0.08 (&mu;g/g tissue) in brain and liver, respectively. These changes were significant as compared with control group (P&lt;0.05). Conclusion: RBO exposed embryo significantly increased carotenoids level of liver and brain. Therefore, the result of this study confirms health benefit of RBO consumption during embryonic development.</p

Safety assessment of rice bran oil in a chicken embryo model

Objective: Rice Bran Oil (RBO) is extracted from the outer layer of rice. Little information is available regarding its safety. The present study was conducted to assess its safety in chicken embryo model. Materials and Methods: RBO was injected on day 4 of incubation of chickens. The tissues and serum samples were collected. Oxidative stress parameters in the liver, kidney and brain and biochemical parameters of serum were measured. The deformities were also investigated.  Results: The changes in the liver enzymes activity were not statistically significant. There was significant decrease and increase in lipid peroxidation and glutathione level, respectively. It is suggested that RBO is a natural antioxidant source. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) also decreased. No abnormal findings were observed in the chickens. Conclusion: No toxic effect was observed following RBO administration in chicken embryos. This study showed that RBO is not a safety concern

In vitro evaluation of coronal discoloration following the application of calcium-enriched mixture cement, Biodentine, and mineral trioxide aggregate in endodontically treated teeth

Background: This study sought to assess and compare coronal discoloration following the application of white mineral trioxide aggregate, Biodentine, and calcium-enriched mixture cement in endodontically treated teeth. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro experimental study, 64 freshly extracted sound human premolars were selected, cleaned, and stored in saline. After cleaning, shaping, and obturation the root canal of the teeth, the teeth were randomly assigned to one control (n = 4) and three experimental (n = 20) groups. In the experimental groups, the cement were applied over the canal orifices in 3-mm thickness. All teeth were then restored with composite resin. Color parameters, according to the CIE LFNx01aFNx01bFNx01 system, were measured using Vita Easyshade spectrophotometer before application of cement and at 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after the application of cement. The recorded values were statistically analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. For analytical statistics, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was applied to assess normal distribution of data. ANOVA was used to compare the results at baseline and repeated measures. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant Results: Significant differences were noted in color change (ΔE) between all time points except between ΔE4 (2 months) and ΔE5 (3 months) (P < 0.01). However, tooth discoloration caused by the three cement was not significantly different (P = 0.343). Conclusion: The three tested cement were not significantly different in terms of causing coronal discoloration in endodontically treated teeth

Antileishmanial activity of Urtica dioica extract against zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis.

BACKGROUND:Neglected parasitic diseases (NTDs) like cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) have caused high mortality and morbidity rate in developing countries. This disease is considered as one of the six major tropical diseases, and has a great importance in HIV infected individuals as an opportunistic infection in those areas that both infections are endemic. This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of the Urtica dioica L (U. dioica) aqueous extract as an anti-leishmanial herbal drug in-vitro and in-vivo, and in addition to that, evaluated two vital immune system cytokines including gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) plus nitric oxide (NO) and arginase activity against Leishmania major (L. major) infected mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In-vitro anti-leishmanial activity of U. dioica aqueous extract was determined using MTT method and also Parasite Rescue Transformation Assay. Also, the footpad lesion size and parasite load in BALB/c mice infected with L. major were quantified for in-vivo assessment. Furthermore, for evaluating the immune responses, the levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, NO and arginase were measured in the BALB/c mice. These results indicated that U. dioica extract significantly reduced the L. major promastigotes viability. According to the in-vitro cytotoxicity assay of the extract on Leishmania parasites (CC50) and infected macrophages (EC50), the extract had no toxicity to the macrophages, however it efficiently killed the L. major amastigotes. In addition, the lesion size, parasite load, IL-4, and ARG were decreased in the treated infected mice, however IFN-γ and NO were significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:This study established satisfactory results in Leishmania parasite clearing both in-vivo and in-vitro. Therefore, U. dioica extract can be considered as an effective and harmless herbal compound for killing the parasite without toxicity to the host macrophages. Furthermore, it also can treat the CL by switching the mouse immune response towards a cell-mediated response (Th1); hence, it may be identified as a perfect therapeutic herbal drug for CL treatment