Alterations in histological structure, blood estrogen and progesterone levels after oral administration of garlic extract in yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus)

In this study, the effects of garlic phytoestrogen extract on gonad maturation along with estrogen and progesterone levels in yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus) were investigated. A total of 60 yellowfin seabreams were caught from Naseri pond in Khuzestan Province, Southwest Iran and transported to the laboratory. Fish were treated in four groups receiving garlic extract with doses of 0 (control), 0.5, 1 and 2 % of diet (T1, T2 and T3, respectively). Each treatment consisted of three replicates. The fish were fed twice a day at 3% of body weight for 14 days. For histological study, samples were taken from the gonads. In order to assay the hormone levels, samples were taken from the caudal vein of the fish on days 0, 7, 10 and 14. The histological results showed that garlic extract in the lowest dose caused a decrease in vitellogenesis, however, in higher doses an elevation in vitellogenesis and also the tendency of this hermaphrodite fish gonads to be female. The highest amount of vitellogenesis was reported in T1 on 10th day. In total, elevating in the amount of this extract initially upraised the number of vitellogenic follicles and promotion of ovarian maturation. However, higher doses and also increasing the administration time of the extract exhibited inverse results. Measuring the levels of hormones showed a significant change in their plasma levels during the experiment, so that an increase in level of estrogen was observed in all three prescribed doses and an increase in level of progesterone was observed in higher doses (T2 and T3; p<0.05). The results of the present study indicate the effect of garlic phytoestrogen extract on growth and maturation of ovaries

The Effect of Acute and Chronic Sesame Oil Consumption on the Strychnine Induced Seizure in Adult Rats

Background & objectives: Diet plays an important role in control of seizure in epileptic patients. Therefore in this research, the effect of acute and chronic sesame oil consumption on the seizure induced by strychnine in adult rats was investigated. Methods: In this experimental study, forty -two rats were divided into six groups: control (saline recipient, 1 ml/kg (, acute recipients of sodium valproate as positive control group (100 or 200 mg/kg, ip.), acute recipients of sesame oil (0.75 or 1.5 ml/kg, ip.) and chronic recipient of sesame oil (1.5 ml/kg/day, orally, 21 days). To induce seizure, strychnine was injected intraperitoneally 30 minutes after receiving saline, valproate or oil. Then seizure onset time and death time were recorded within 30 minutes. Results: Acute injection of sesame oil increased seizure onset time and death time compared to control group but it was no significantly different. The chronic consumption of sesame oil significantly increased seizure onset time (p=0.029) in compared to control group, but there was no effect on the death time. Also, there were no significant differences in seizure onset time and death time between acute and chronic groups. Conclusion: It seems that chronic consumption of sesame oil delayed the onset of seizure and reduced the kindled seizure acquisition

Investigating the Effects of Subchronic Sesame and Flaxseed Oils Consumption against Seizure and Depression in Adult Male Mice: Effects of Sesame and Flaxseed oils against seizure and depression

Epilepsy is a highly debilitating disorder by unpredictable seizures associated with emotional disturbance.One potential treatment for seizure and depression is dietary therapy. So, this study evaluated effects of daily oral administration of sesame and flaxseed oils in depression and seizure. Twenty-one adult male mice were divided into the following groups: control (normal saline recipient, 1ml/kg( , sesame and flaxseed oils groups (8ml/kg bodyweight, for 21 days). At the 22nd day, locomotor activity and depressive - like behavior were assessed by open field and tail suspension tests. Also in 23rd day, animals received a subcutaneous injection of strychnine for induction of seizure. The seizure latency and death time were recorded through observation of animal behavior immediately after injection of strychnine. There were no significant differences in locomotor activity among control, sesame and flaxeed groups. But it has been shown a significant increase in latency to immobility (p=0.027) and decrease in total immobility (p=0.001) in flaxseed oil group compared to control group. Also sesame oil group showed a significant reduction in the duration of total immobility (p=0.027) and its latency to immobility wasn’t significant. There were no significant differences in latency to seizure and death time in flaxseed oil groups compared to the control group. The subchronic consumption of sesame oil significantly increased the death time than the control group (p=0.04) but the latency to seizure was not significant. The results reveal that sesame and flaxseed may be considered as a food adjuvant for attenuating emotional problems in epilepsy

The effect of Aqueous Purslane (Portulaca Oleracea) Extract on Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rat

Background: According to the previous studies Portulaca oleracea (PO) has antioxidative effects and several factors such as oxidative stress is involved in the renal injury caused by ischemia - reperfusion (I/R). Therefore, the goal of present study is to evaluate the renal I/R injury in rats received aqueous extracts of PO (AEPO). Material and Methods: First, the right nephrectomy was performed in adult male Wistar rats and after 20 days they were divided into 5 groups (6=n). Sham operated+vehicle (sham), sham operated+ AEPO300mg/kg (AEPO group), I/R, AEPO150+I/R and AEPO300+I/R. Each group was treated orally for 5 consecutive days by 150 or 300 mg/kg of either AEPO or saline. On the fifth day of treatment, I/R (45 min ischemia/24 hours reperfusion) or sham operation was performed on the left kidney and amounts of urea and creatinine in serum and malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant activity (TAA) in the kidney tissue were measured. Comparisons between groups were analyzed by ANOVA and LSD test. P values of 0.05 or less were considered statistically significant. Results: Induction of I/R increased urea and creatinine levels. AEPO had no effect on serum urea and creatinine, of non-ischemic animals, but increased the levels of urea and creatinine in I/R and treatment groups. SOD activity was significantly higher in all groups (except AEPO300 group) compared to the sham group. However the levels of MDA, GSH and TAA of I/R and treatment groups did not show any significant differences in comparison to sham group. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the PO aqueous extract did not ameliorate the I/R injury and even possibly some ingredients in the extract aggravate the renal I/R injury

Crocin attenuates the lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammation via expression of AIM2 and NLRP1 inflammasome in an experimental model of Parkinson's disease

The underlying mechanisms of inflammasome activation and the following dopaminergic neuron loss caused by chronic neuroinflammation remain entirely unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of crocin on the inflammasome complex within an experimental model of Parkinson's disease (PD) using male Wistar rats. PD was induced by the stereotaxic injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and crocin was intraperitoneally administrated one week before the lesion, and then treatment continued for 21 days. Open field (OF) and elevated plus maze tests were applied for behavioral assays. Furthermore, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunostaining were performed on whole brain tissue, while dissected substantia nigra (SN) was used for immunoblotting and real-time PCR to evaluate compartments involved in PD. The time spent in the center of test was diminished in the LPS group, while treatment with 30 mg/kg of crocin significantly increased it. H&E staining showed a significant increase in cell infiltration at the site of LPS injection, which was ameliorated upon crocin treatment. Notably, crocin-treated animals showed a reduced number of caspase-1 and IL-1β positive cells, whereas the number of positive cells was increased in the LPS group (P < 0.05). A significant decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression was also found in the LPS group, while crocin treatment significantly elevated its expression. IL-1β, IL-18, NLRP1, and AIM2 genes expression significantly increased in the LPS group. On the other hand, treatment with 30 mg/kg of crocin significantly downregulated the expression levels of these genes along with NLRP1 (P < 0.05). In summary, our findings suggest that crocin reduces neuroinflammation in PD by diminishing IL-1β and caspase-1 levels, potentially by inhibiting the expression of AIM2 and NLRP1 genes