Protective effect of Crocus sativus stamens extract on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity and oxidative damage in rat kidney

Crocus sativus is a medicinal plant supposedly possessing various biological activities. Currently, it is evaluated only by the medicinal properties of its stigma and many parts of this plant are unused. This work contributes to the valorization of C.sativus stamens by exploring the property of methanolic extract to prevent gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Twenty Wistar rats (weight 250 ± 30g) were assigned into four equal groups (n = 5), and among the assigned groups,  group 1 was given only distilled water (Control), group 2 received intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of gentamicin (GEN) 80 mg/kg/d, group 3 received the combination of gentamicin (80 mg/kg/d, i.p.) and oral administration of a lower dose of C. sativus methanolic extract (250 mg/kg/d), while the group 4 received the combination of gentamicin (80 mg/kg/d, i.p.) and oral administration of a higher dose of C. sativus methanolic extract (500 mg/kg/d). The injection of gentamicin for the nephrotoxicity induction and post-treatment with methanolic extract was carried out once a day for 15 days. For nephrotoxicity evaluation, biochemical and histopathological analyses were performed. The estimation of serum and urinary creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, sodium levels was carried out with the help of Architect Ci 4100 Analyzer. Oxidative stress was assessed by the determination of renal malondialdehyde (MDA) and catalase (CAT) levels. The results of the study suggested that gentamicin injection induced a significant (p < 0.01) elevation in serum renal biochemical parameters and oxidative stress indices. The methanolic extract of C. sativus significantly (p < 0.05) reduced serum creatinine, urea, and sodium levels, with an improvement in the histopathological results of gentamicin-induced alterations. Furthermore, pretreatment with plant extracts improved hepatic antioxidant status, by the elevation of the CAT and reducing the lipid peroxidation level (MDA) in tissues. The present study suggests that the methanolic extract of C. sativus stamens has an interesting nephroprotective effect on the renal lesions induced by GEN in modulating renal parameters and oxidative stress on Wistar rats

Chemical composition, vasorelaxant, antioxidant and antiplatelet effects of essential oil of Artemisia campestris L. from Oriental Morocco

Background: Artemisia campestris L. (Asteraceae) is a medicinal herb traditionally used to treat hypertension and many other diseases. Hence, this study is aimed to analyze the essential oil of A. campestris L (AcEO) and to investigate the antiplatelet, antioxidant effects and the mechanisms of its vasorelaxant effect. Methods: The chemical composition of AcEO was elucidated using GC/MS analysis. Then, the antioxidant effect was tested on DPPH radical scavenging and on the prevention of β-carotene bleaching. The antiplatelet effect was performed on the presence of the platelet agonists: thrombin and ADP. The mechanism of action of the vasorelaxant effect was studied by using the cellular blockers specified to explore the involvement of NO/GC pathway and in the presence of calcium channels blockers and potassium channels blockers. Results: AcEO is predominated by the volatiles: spathulenol, ß-eudesmol and p-cymene. The maximal antioxidant effect was obtained with the dose 2 mg/ml of AcEO. The dose 1 mg/ml of AcEO showed a maximum antiplatelet effect of, respectively 49.73% ±9.54 and 48.20% ±8.49 on thrombin and ADP. The vasorelaxation seems not to be mediated via NOS/GC pathway neither via the potassium channels. However, pretreatment with calcium channels blockers attenuated this effect, suggesting that the vasorelaxation is mediated via inhibition of L-type Ca2+ channels and the activation of SERCA pumps of reticulum plasma. Conclusion: This study confirms the antioxidant, antiplatelet and vasorelaxant effects of A.campestris L essential oil. However, the antihypertensive use of this oil should be further confirmed by the chemical fractionation and subsequent bio-guided assays

Chemical Composition, Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antidiabetic Activities of Ethanolic Extracts of Opuntia dillenii Fruits Collected from Morocco

peer reviewedOpuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw. belongs to the Cactaceae family and is native to the arid and semi-arid regions of Mexico and the southern United States. O. dillenii are now used as medicinal plants in various countries. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition of ethanolic extracts obtained from seeds, juice, and peel of O. dillenii fruits collected from Morocco, and we evaluated their antibacterial, antifungal, and antidiabetic activities. Phytochemical screening revealed high quantities of polyphenols (193.73 ± 81.44 to 341.12 ± 78.90 gallic acid eq [g/100 g dry weight]) in the extracts. The major phenolic compounds determined by HPLC were gallic acid, vanillic acid, and syringic acid. Regarding flavonoids, quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucoside and kaempferol were the predominant molecules. Juice extracts showed weak to moderate antibacterial activity against the bacteria species Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella braenderup. All tested extracts displayed a significant inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities in vitro, with the peel extracts showing the greatest inhibitory effects. Together, these findings suggest that O. dillenii fruits are a promising source for the isolation of novel compounds with antibacterial or antidiabetic activities. For the most abundant phytochemicals identified in O. dillenii peel ethanolic extract, molecular docking simulations against human pancreatic α-amylase enzyme were performed. These indicated the presence of bioactive compounds in the extract with a better potential to decrease the enzyme activity than the commercial drug acarbose

Evaluation of antidiabetic properties of cactus pear seed oil in rats

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (Cactaceae)) is a medicinal plant widely used to treat diabetes. This work investigates the hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic effect of cactus pear seed oil (CPSO), its mechanism of action, and any toxic effects

ANTIMOTOLITY EFFECT OF ORGANIC EXTRACTS OF ANTHEMIS MAURITIANA MAIRE & SENNEN FLOWERS ON THE RODENT ISOLATED JEJUNUM

 Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of the organic extracts of Anthemis mauritiana (AM) Maire and Sennen (Asteraceae)flowers on the contractile responses of the rabbit and rat jejunums and its possible mechanisms.Methods: Soxhlet extraction with different successive solvents (petroleum ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and methanol) were prepared andevaluated by preliminary phytochemical test. Antispasmodic effects of the extracts were evaluated against spontaneous contractions of rabbit and ratjejunum contracted by carbachol and high K+ concentration.Results: The phytochemical screening analysis revealed that the extracts of AM flowers contain flavonoids and tannins with variable quantities.Petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts showed the most relaxant effects in the rabbit jejunum at concentrations with IC50 value of 9.31±2.65 μg/mland 25.04±5.87 μg/ml respectively. Ethyl acetate showed a total inhibition at 1 mg/ml, but the methanol extract at 5 mg/ml. In contrast, the residualaqueous extract was a reverse activity. And also all extracts caused an inhibitory effect on both K+ (75 mM) and CCh (10−6 M )induced contractions inthe rat jejunum except aqueous fraction. The extracts that have antispasmodic activity induced a marked depression on cumulative concentrationresponsecurve for carbachol and CaCl2.Conclusions: The results indicate that the antispasmodic effect decreased with the polarity of the organic extracts, but the aqueous fraction hada reverse effect. These results explain and confirm the popular use of genus of this plant for the treatment of gastrointestinal disturbances, andencourage studies on new compounds, in order to obtain new antispasmodic agents.Keywords: Anthemis mauritiana, Organic extract, Antispasmodic, Smooth muscle.Â

ANTIDIARRHEAL ACTIVITY OF THYMUS ALGERIENSIS BOISS AND REUT AQUEOUS EXTRACT ON RATS AND MICE

Objective: Thymus algeriensis (Lamiaceae) used in Moroccan popular medicine has been investigated for its antidiarrheal effects.Methods: Antidiarrheal effects of the aerial-part Thymus algeriensis aqueous extract was carried out by using two standard methods of bioassay: Castor oil-induced diarrhea and gastrointestinal transit test.Results: The pre-treatment of rats with the 50 mg/Kg aqueous extract produced a significant inhibition against castor oil induced-diarrhea and fecal output; furthermore the extract significantly decreased the propulsive movement of the charcoal meal in the mice small intestines. The extract when administered at higher doses (100 and 200 mg/kg) caused increased peristalsis in charcoal fed animals and exhibited a less significant reduction in fecal output and castor oil-induced diarrheas than 50 mg/ml dose.Conclusion: The antidiarrheal effects of the extract may explain the rationale for the use of the plant in traditional medicine as a popular antidiarrheal recipe.Â

Hepatoprotective effect of Opuntia dillenii seed oil on CCl4 induced acute liver damage in rat

Objective: To investigate the hepatoprotective effect of Opuntia dillenii seed oil (ODSO) on CCl4 provoked liver injury in rat. Methods: Animals were treated orally with ODSO at a concentration of 2 mL/kg, once daily for one week before the first intraperitoneal injection of CCl4, and thereafter the administration of the oil was continued for 7 days until the introduction of the second injection of CCl4. Fourteen hours after the last dose of CCl4, rats were sacrificed, and the relative liver weight, weight gain, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate amino transferase, alanine aminotransferase, direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, triglycerides, total cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, plasmatic glucose, urea, creatinine, acid uric and malondialdehyde were determined. Results: The significant increase was found in relative liver weight and plasma levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate amino transferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, triglycerides, very low-density lipoprotein, urea, uric acid and malondialdehyde. Likewise, the significant decrease was indicated in the weight gain and the level of glucose plasmatic, and high-density lipoprotein levels in CCl4 produced liver injury in rats were re-established to normal levels when treated with ODSO. While, no change was observed in the total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and creatinine in all animals. Conclusions: We conclude that the ODSO has a protective effect on CCl4-mediated liver injury. Hence, we suggest its inclusion as a preventive control of liver disorders