Hepatoprotektivno djelovanje ekstrakta biljke Calotropis gigantea na oštećenje jetre štakora tetraklormetanom

Ethanolic extract (50 %) of stems of Calotropis gigantea R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae) at doses of 250 and 500 mg kg1 were studied for hepatoprotective activity in male Wistar rats with liver damage induced using carbon tetrachloride, 2 mL kg-1 twice a week. The protective effect of C. gigantea extract was compared with the standard drug silymarin. Various biochemical parameters such as aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxide (LPO), superoxidedismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated. The results revealed that the C. gigantea extract significantly decreased AST, ALT (p < 0.001) and lipid peroxide (p < 0.01) levels. The antioxidant parameters GSH, GPx, SOD and catalase levels were increased considerably compared to the levels in groups treated with carbon tetrachloride onlyEtanolni ekstrakt (50 %) stabljika biljke Calotropis gigantea R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae) u dozi 250 i 500 mg kg1 testiran je na hepatoprotektivno djelovanje oštećenje jetre mužjaka Wistar štakora inducirano tetraklormetanom, 2 mL kg1 dva puta tjedno. Zaštitni učinak ekstrakta biljke C. gigantea uspoređivan je sa standarnim lijekom silimarinom. Evaluirani su različiti biokemijski parametri kao što su aspartat amino transferaza (AST), alanin amino transferaza (ALT), glutation (GSH), lipidni peroksidi (LPO), superoksiddismutaza (SOD), glutation peroksidaze (GPx) i katalaza (CAT). Rezultati ukazuju da ekstrakt biljke C. gigantea značajno smanjuje koncentracije AST, ALT (p < 0.001) i lipidnih peroksida (p < 0.01). Koncentracije antioksidativnih parametara GSH, GPx, SOD i katalaze bile su značajno povišene u usporedbi sa skupinom tretiranom samo tetraklormetanom

Chitooligosaccharide and Its Derivatives: Preparation and Biological Applications

Chitin is a natural polysaccharide of major importance. This biopolymer is synthesized by an enormous number of living organisms; considering the amount of chitin produced annually in the world, it is the most abundant polymer after cellulose. The most important derivative of chitin is chitosan, obtained by partial deacetylation of chitin under alkaline conditions or by enzymatic hydrolysis. Chitin and chitosan are known to have important functional activities but poor solubility makes them difficult to use in food and biomedicinal applications. Chitooligosaccharides (COS) are the degraded products of chitosan or chitin prepared by enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis of chitosan. The greater solubility and low viscosity of COS have attracted the interest of many researchers to utilize COS and their derivatives for various biomedical applications. In light of the recent interest in the biomedical applications of chitin, chitosan, and their derivatives, this review focuses on the preparation and biological activities of chitin, chitosan, COS, and their derivatives

De novo peroxisome biogenesis: Evolving concepts and conundrums

Peroxisomes proliferate by growth and division of pre-existing peroxisomes or could arise de novo. Though the de novo pathway of peroxisome biogenesis is a more recent discovery, several recent studies have highlighted key mechanistic details of the pathway. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the primary source of lipids and proteins for the newly-formed peroxisomes. More recently, an intricate sorting process functioning at the ER has been proposed, that segregates specific set of PMPs first to peroxisome-specific ER domains (pER) and then assembles PMPs selectively into distinct pre-peroxisomal vesicles (ppVs) that later fuse to form import-competent peroxisomes. In addition, plausible roles of the three key peroxins Pex3, Pex16 and Pex19, which are also central to the growth and division pathway, have been suggested in the de novo process. In this review, we discuss key developments and highlight the unexplored avenues in de novo peroxisome biogenesis