Antiobesity and antihyperglycaemic effects of Adiantum capillus-veneris extracts: in vitro and in vivo evaluations

Context: Adiantum capillus-veneris L. (Adiantaceae) hypocholesterolemic activity is therapeutically praised. Objectives: Pharmacological modulation of pancreatic triacylglycerol lipase (PL) and α-amylase/α-glucosidase by A. capillus-veneris are evaluated. Materials and methods: Using positive controls (acarbose, orlistat, guar gum, atorvastatin, glipizide and metformin) as appropriate, crude aqueous extracts (AEs) of A. capillus-veneris aerial parts were tested via a combination of in vitro enzymatic (0.24–100 mg/mL), acute in vivo carbohydrate tolerance tests (125, 250 or 500 mg/kg body weight [b.wt]) and chronic in vivo studies (500 mg/kg b.wt) in high cholesterol diet (HCD) fed Wistar rats. Results: Like acarbose, A. capillus-veneris as well as chlorogenic acid, with respective IC50 values (mg/mL) of 0.8 ± 0.0 and 0.2 ± 0.0, were identified as in vitro potent dual inhibitors of α-amylase/α-glucosidase. Unlike guar gum, A. capillus-veneris had no glucose diffusion hindrance capacity. Equivalent to orlistat, A. capillus-veneris and its phytoconstituents inhibited PL in vitro with an ascending order of PL- IC50 values (μg/mL): ferulic acid; 0.48 ± 0.06 < ellagic acid; 13.53 ± 1.83 < chlorogenic acid; 38.4 ± 2.8 < A. capillus-veneris; 1600 ± 100. Incomparable to acarbose or metformin and glipizide, A. capillus-veneris (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg b.wt) lacked antihyperglycaemic efficacies in acute starch- or glucose-evoked postprandial hyperglycaemia increments in normoglycaemic overnight fasting rats. Superior to atorvastatin; A. capillus-veneris exerted significant antiobesity (p < 0.001) with marked triacylglycerol-reducing capacities (p < 0.001) in comparison to rats fed with HCD for 10 weeks. Discussion and conclusion: A. capillus-veneris, modulating pancreatic digestive enzymes, may be advocated as a combinatorial diabesity prevention/phytotherapy agent

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of the antiangiogenic activities of Trigonella foenum-graecum extracts

Objective: To assess the antiangiogenic activity of fenugreek. Methods: Different fractions of fenugreek crude extracts were prepared and their antiangiogenic properties were assessed using the ex vivo rat aortic ring assay and in vivo chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. They were investigated for their direct cytotoxic activity in the MCF7 cells using the MTT assay. Results: The ethanol extract showed 100% inhibition of blood vessel outgrowth from primary tissue explants in the rat aortic ring assay at a concentration of 100 μg/mL while the other extracts did not show significant antiangiogenic activity. The ethanol extract was therefore investigated at varying concentrations and exhibited a significant dose dependent effect. The CAM assay coincided with the results of the aortic ring assay as ethanol extract showed a significant inhibition of formation of new blood vessels. The extracts only showed anti-proliferative activity at the highest concentration of 400 μg/mL towards MCF7 breast cancer cell lines in the MTT assay. Conclusions: Findings of the both assays confirmed that the ethanol extract inhibited vascularization significantly. Further studies on the ethanol extract would be beneficial in isolating the active ingredient responsible for the inhibition

The Social Contract in the MENA Region and the Energy Sector Reforms

During the last few years and because of the low oil prices in particular, the increasing awareness of the unsustainability of subsidized systems led several MENA countries to take steps to lower subsidies, which have been part of the social contract for decades, especially as far as the energy sector is concerned. Nowadays, the need for reforms is compelling for more than one reason. Namely, the subsidized system distorts market trends, fosters inefficient use of resources, depresses foreign direct investment and fuels overconsumption, which is no longer sustainable, particularly as far as the population growth in most of the MENA countries is concerned. In this paper both the resource-abundant countries and the energy importing nations will be analyzed, in order to investigate similarities and differences between the two and to carry out an initial assessment of the reforms in two representative countries, namely Saudi Arabia, exporting country par excellence, and Egypt, which imports energy