Gastroprotective Effect of Ethanolic Extract of Curcuma xanthorrhiza Leaf against Ethanol-Induced Gastric Mucosal Lesions in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Herbal medicines appeared promising in prevention of many diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the gastroprotective effect of Curcuma xanthorrhiza leaf in the rats induced gastric ulcer by ethanol. Normal and ulcer control received carboxymethycellulose (5 mL/kg) orally, positive control was administered with 20 mg/kg omeprazole (reference drug) and 2 groups were received 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg of the leaf extract, respectively. To induce of gastric ulcers formation, ethanol (5 mL/kg) was given orally to all groups except normal control. Gross ulcer areas, histology, and amount of prostaglandin E2, superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde were assessed to determine the potentiality of extract in prevention against gastric ulcers. Oral administration of extract showed significant gastric protection effect as the ulcer areas was remarkably decreased. Histology observation showed less edema and leucocytes infiltration as compared with the ulcer control which exhibited severe gastric mucosa injury. Furthermore, the leaf extract elevated the mucus weight, level of prostaglandin E2 and superoxide dismutase. The extract also reduced malondialdehyde amount significantly. Results showed leaf extract of Curcuma xanthorrhiza can enhanced the gastric protection and sustained the integrity of gastric mucosa structure. Acute toxicity test did not showed any sign of toxicity (2 g/kg and 5 g/kg)

Ferulago angulata activates intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in MCF-7 cells associated with G(1) cell cycle arrest via involvement of p21/p27

Ferulago angulata is a medicinal plant that is traditionally known for its anti-inflammatory and antiulcer properties. The present study was aimed to evaluate its anticancer activity and the possible mechanism of action using MCF-7 as an in vitro model. F. angulata leaf extracts were prepared using solvents in the order of increasing polarity. As determined by MTT assay, F. angulata leaves hexane extract (FALHE) revealed the strongest cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 5.3 ± 0.82 μg/mL. The acute toxicity study of FALHE provided evidence of the safety of the plant extract. Microscopic and flow cytometric analysis using annexin-V probe showed an induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 by FALHE. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with FALHE encouraged the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis, with cell death transducing signals that reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential with cytochrome c release from mitochondria to cytosol. The released cytochrome c triggered the activation of caspase-9. Meanwhile, the overexpression of caspase-8 suggested the involvement of an extrinsic pathway in the induced apoptosis at the late stage of treatment. Moreover, flow cytometric analysis showed that FALHE treatment significantly arrested MCF-7 cells in the G1 phase, which was associated with upregulation of p21 and p27 assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Immunofluorescence and the quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of MCF-7 cells after treatment with FALHE revealed an upregulation of Bax and a downregulation of Bcl-2 proteins. These findings proposed that FALHE suppressed the proliferation of MCF-7 cells via cell cycle arrest and the induction of apoptosis through intrinsic pathway

Shotgun cloning, characterization and detection of virulence gene of staphylococcus aureus strain 125

Staphylococcus aureus is a flexible bacterium. About 20% of healthy persons are persistent carriers of Staphylococcus aureus and 60% are intermittent carriers. It expresses a wide variety of virulence factors and causes infections and diseases that range from benign skin infections to potentially fatal systemic disorders. Molecular biology has lead to unraveling of the pathogenesis of Staphylococcal diseases and identification of several virulence genes like agr, sar, nagD, and cvf genes. In this study, a shotgun cloning technique was carried out to contract the genomic library of Staphylococcus aureus strains 125(SA125), in order to screen the virulence gene in mice. SA125 is a non MRAS hospitalized strain isolated from UMMC patients. The shotgun cloning of SA125 was carried out by using Puc18 plasmid as vector and E.coli (JM109) as host. Female ICR mice (6-8 week old) were used as animal models form preliminary virulence gene screening. Beside that, recombinant plasmids screening were carried out to analyze the DNA insert. From shotgun cloning, a total of 86 recombinants clones were obtained and the inserted fragments of SA125 were in the range of 1.8-3.3kb. Seven randomly selected recombinant clones were screened for virulence gene in mice and it was revealed that SHV2 is the most virulence recombinant clone. Further studies are required to analyses and characterize the possible virulence gene of SHV2

Assessment of wound healing potential of copper (II) Bis [N'-((5-chloro-1H-indol-3-YL) methylene) nicotinohydrazide] on experimentally-induced excision wounds in rats

Copper (II) Schiff base derivatives are frequently used for the treatment of many disorders. The aim of current study was to investigate the effects of the Schiff base derivatives on rats of wound healing enclosure and histology of granulation tissues in rats. Wound healing activity of Copper (II) Bis [N'-((5-chloro-1H-indol-3-YL) methylene) nicotinohydrazide] which is shortly called CI-indole-nicotinic, was perused by specifing the percentage of wound closure after tropical application of the compound. Four groups of animals were treated respectively with 0.2mL of gum acacia, 0.2mL of Intrasite gel, 0.2mL of CI-indole-nicotinic (50 mg/mL) and 0.2mL of CI-indole-nicotinic (100 mg/mL) for 10 days to assess the gross rate of wound enclosure, histology and endogenous enzymes parameters. The results indicated the affective capacity of CI-indole-nicotinic inj tissue regenetration and healing the injured skin. Grossing on day 5 and day 10 declared that the compound significantly accelerated the rate of wound healing. Histology of granulation tissues indicated remarkably the angiogenesis augmentation and increased fibroblasts and collagen formation as well as reduction in flammatory cells balance in CI-indole-nicotinic-treated groups compared to control group. Moreover, the compund represented dose-dependent levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and slight lipid peroxidation enzyme - malondialdedhyde (MDA) inhibition in granulation tissue. The acute toxity examination displayed no nephorotoxic or hepatotoxic side effects. In conclusion, wound healing capability of CI-indole-nicotinic compund could possibly attribute to enhance collagen deposition in granulation tissue and antioxidant activity of the compound

Gastroprotective activity of Polygonum chinense aqueous leaf extract on ethanol-induced hemorrhagic mucosal lesions in rats

Polygonum chinense is aMalaysian ethnic plant with various healing effects. This study was to determine preventive effect of aqueous leaf extract of P. chinense against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats. Sprague Dawley rats were divided into seven groups. The normal and ulcer control groups were orally administered with distilled water. The reference group was orally administered with 20mg/kg omeprazole. The experimental groups received the extracts 62.5, 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg, accordingly. After sixty minutes, distilled water and absolute ethanol were given (5 mL/kg) to the normal control and the others,respectively. In addition to histology, immunohistochemical and periodic acid schiff (PAS) stains, levels of lipid peroxidation,malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzymes, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. The ulcer group exhibited severe mucosal damages. The experimental groups significantly reduced gastric lesions and MDA levels and increased SOD level. Immunohistochemistry of the experimental groups showed upregulation and downregulation of Hsp70 and Bax proteins, respectively. PAS staining in these groups exhibited intense staining as compared to the ulcer group. Acute toxicity study revealed the nontoxic nature of the extract. Our data provide first evidence that P. chinense extract could significantly prevent gastric ulcer

Chemopreventive evaluation of a Schiff base derived copper (II) complex against Azoxymethane-induced colorectal cancer in rats

Background: Based on the potential of Schiff base compounds to act as sources for the development of cancer chemotherapeutic agents, this in vivo study was performed to investigate the inhibitory properties of the synthetic Schiff base compound Cu(BrHAP)2 on colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF). Methodology: This study involved five groups of male rats. The negative control group was injected with normal saline once a week for 2 weeks and fed 10% Tween 20 for 10 weeks, the cancer control group was subcutaneously injected with 15 mg/kg azoxymethane once per week for two consecutive weeks, the positive control group was injected with 15 mg/kg azoxymethane once per week for two consecutive weeks and 35 mg/kg 5-fluorouracil (injected intra-peritoneally) for 4 weeks, and the experimental groups were first injected with 15 mg/kg azoxymethane once per week for two consecutive weeks and then fed 2.5 or 5 mg/kg of the Schiff base compound once a day for 10 weeks. Application of the Schiff base compound suppressed total colonic ACF formation by up to 72% to 74% (P,0.05) when compared with the cancer control group. Analysis of colorectal specimens revealed that treatments with the Schiff base compound decreased the mean crypt scores in azoxymethane-treated rats. Significant elevations of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities and a reduction in the level of malondialdehyde were also observed. Histologically, all treatment groups exhibited significant decreases in dysplasia compared to the cancer control group (P,0.05). Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated down-regulation of the PCNA protein. Comparative western blot analysis revealed that COX-2 and Bcl2 were up-regulated and Bax was down-regulated compared with the AOM control group. Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that the Cu(BrHAP)2 compound has promising chemoprotective activities that are evidenced by significant decreases in the numbers of ACFs in azoxymethane-induced colon cancer