Reduction of serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic rats by Guar gum

Objective: Several diseases are reported to be uncommon in those parts of the world where dietary fiber intakes are high, therefore, in this study; we evaluated the hypocholesterolemiceffects of a dietary fiber (guar gum) in hypercholesteromic rats. Materials and Methods: Rats were fed high-fat or a normal fed diet for 12-week then treated with 5% guar gum in their regime during a 28 days period. Results: Total cholesterol was significantly increased in high-fat diet rats, while administration of guar gum significantly lowered it. Body weight was significantly increased in high-fat diet rats while, at the end of 4-weeks treatment of guar gum, body weight of treated rats was significantly decreased. Conclusion: These results suggested that guar gum may be effective as hypocholesterolemic agent and may prevent hypercholesteromia in hypercholesteromic rats. The results also suggested that guar gum may be important for reducing body weight in hyperlipidemic rats

Comparative analysis of the cytotoxic effect of 7-prenyloxycoumarin compounds and herniarin on MCF-7 cell line

Objectives: 7-prenyloxycoumarins are a group of secondary metabolites that are found mainly in plants belonging to the Rutaceae and Umbelliferae families. This study was designed to evaluate and compare the cytotoxic and apoptotic activity of 7-prenyloxycoumarin compounds and herniarin on MCF-7, a breast carcinoma cell line. Materials and Methods: Cells were cultured in RPMI medium and incubated with different concentrations of auraptene, herniarin, umbelliferone, and umbelliprenin. Cell viability was quantified by MTT assay. Apoptotic cells were determined using propidium iodide staining of DNA fragmentation by flow cytometry (sub-G1peak). Bax protein expression was detected by western blot to investigate the underlying mechanism. Results: Doses which induced 50% cell growth inhibition (IC50) against MCF-7 cells with auraptene, herniarin, umbelliferone, and umbelliprenin were calculated (59.7, 207.6, 476.3, and 73.4 µM), respectively. Auraptene induced a sub-G1 peak in the flow cytometry histogram of treated cells compared to control cells, and DNA fragmentation suggested the induction of apoptosis. Western blot analysis showed that auraptene significantly up-regulated Bax expression in MCF-7 cells compared to untreated controls. Conclusion: Auraptene exerts cytotoxic and apoptotic effects in breast carcinoma cell line and can be considered for further mechanistic evaluations in human cancer cells. These results candidate auraptene for further studies to evaluate its biosafety and anti-cancer effects