Does captopril interrupt compensatory ovarian changes in hemispayed rats

ACE inhibitors are often recommended as the drug of choice to ameliorate essential hypertension. Since the presence of renin-angiotemsin system in the gonadotrophs and the preovulatory fo11ic1e might have a 1ink in ovulatory process, our study has been directed to investigate the possible impact of ACE inhibitor, if any, at the pituitary-ovarian system.Experimental research schedule and the findings as presented in the conference and a1so pub1ished are as follows Strictly 4-day cyclic rats were subjected to surgical hemi-spaying on day 1 of the cycle, distributed into four groups and treated with either captopirl (ACE inhibitor),captorpirl with prolactin, captopirl with progesterone or the vehicle alone. On the following day 1 of the cycle examination of the fallopian tubes and the ovaries of the animals revealed that 70% of the captopril-treated animals fai1ed to ovu1ate but maintained compensatory,ovarian hypertrophy (40.9 + 3.00 Vs 32.4 + 2.6 mg). The remaining 30% of the same group of animals although showed the sign of ovulation and compensatory ovarian enlargement (41.8 + 2.2 Vs 32.4 ± 2.6 mg), yet the number of eggs ovulated were found to be extremely low in count (1.6 + 0.1 Vs 12.3+ 0.4).Conversely, the groups of. animals which had either prolactin or progesterone concurrent with captopirl showed conspensatory changes in terms of ovulation and ovarian hypertrophy as documented in the vehicle-treated controls. While angiotensin helps in the synthesis and re1ease of pro1actin and the progesterone-primed preovu1atory environment of the fo11ic1e is pro1actin dependent, our findings of captopril induced fai1ure of compensatory ovulation in hemispayed rats suggest that angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor possibly generates a lesion on the prolactin-progesterone system, an essential system to initiate ovulation

Autophagic Cell Death Is Induced by Acetone and Ethyl Acetate Extracts from Eupatorium odoratum In Vitro: Effects on MCF-7 and Vero Cell Lines

Eupatorium odoratum (EO) contains many biologically active compounds, the anticancer effects of which are not well documented. This study evaluates the cytotoxic effects and mechanism of action of EO extracts on MCF-7 and Vero cell lines. Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity using MTT assay, morphological alterations, and apoptosis were carried out. Autophagy was evaluated by LC3-A protein expression. Cytotoxic activity, membrane blebbing and ballooning at 24 hours, replacement by mass vacuolation, and double membrane vesicles mimicking autophagy and cell death were observed in the cancer cells. No apoptosis was observed by DNA fragmentation assay. Overexpression of LC3-A protein indicated autophagic cell death. Cell cycle analysis showed G0 and G2/M arrest. The Vero cells did not show significant cell death at concentrations <100 μg/mL. These results thus suggest that acetone and ethyl acetate extracts of EO induce cell death through induction of autophagy and hold potential for development as potential anticancer drugs

Hypotensive effects of aqueous extract of Eugenia polyantha leaves are partly mediated via cholinergic receptor

Eugenia polyantha leaves, a popular fresh salad (‘ulam’) used by the Kelantanese has been claimed as a cure for hypertension. In this study, the hypotensive effects of aqueous extract of Eugenia polyantha leaves (AEEP) on the anaesthetized male normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats were described. Increasing intravenous doses of AEEP (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 mg/kg) significantly reduced the mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) of twelve animals by 6.06 ± 4.1 %, 8.02 ± 3.9 %, 6.35 ± 0.6 %, 9.34 ± 1.6 % and 30.19 ± 2.0 % (Wilcoxon-Signed Rank test or WSR, p<0.01) respectively. However, only reductions in MAP, by the doses of 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 mg/kg of AEEP and by the positive control (5 µg/kg acetylcholine, 37.87 ± 1.7 %) were significantly higher than the reduction of MAP by the negative control (0.9 % normal saline, 5.372 ± 0.5 %) (WSR test, p<0.05). From the dose-response curve, the ED50 value for hypotensive effects of AEEP was 35.5 mg/kg. Subsequently, a pharmacological antagonistic study was carried out either of pre-treatment with propranolol (2 mg/kg) or by pre-treatment with atropine (2 mg/kg). Pre-treatment with atropine (2 mg/kg) significantly reduced the hypotensive effect of 100 mg/kg of AEEP (WSR test, p<0.05) whilst pre-treatment with propranolol (2 mg/kg) does not significantly reduced the hypotensive effect of 100 mg/kg AEEP (WSR test, p>0.05). This attenuation suggested that the hypotensive effect of AEEP may be partly mediated by cholinergic but not by β-adrenergic receptor pathways

ORIGINAL ARTICLE - EFFECTS OF A HERBAL DRINK ON CYCLING ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE

In this study, we examined the effects of acute ingestion of a herbal drink (H) or a coloured water placebo (P) on physiological responses and performance during cycling exercise. Eight healthy and trained male young cyclists (age: 16.0±0.5years) exercised on a cycle ergometer at 72.0±0.8% of the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) until exhaustion in a room maintained at 23.9±0.2 oC and 64.2±1.6% relative humidity on two occasions, 1-week apart. During each exercise bout, subjects received 3ml.kg-1 body weight of H or P every 20 minutes in a double-blind randomised study design. There was no significant difference between H and P trials in the total work time to exhaustion (84.5±5.1 and 82.3±5.6 min respectively). Changes in heart rate, oxygen consumption, plasma glucose concentrations, plasma lactate concentrations, rectal temperature, respiratory exchange ratio and energy expenditure were similar with both type of drinks. Loss of plasma volume was also similar with both drinks. Herbal drink elicited similar physiological responses, thermoregularity responses and exercise performances during endurance cycling when compared to the placebo ingestion. Thus, it can be concluded that the ingredient in the herbal drink did not provide any added advantage to cycling endurance performance

Antioxidative activity and chemicals composition of volatile extracts of cornsilks (Zea mays L.)

Herbs and plants produce essential nutritional elements including natural phytochemicals and antioxidants. Phytochemicals and natural antioxidants have gained significant interest in recent years for their role in the prevention of auto oxidation of oils, fats and fat containing food products. These natural bioactive compounds confer health benefits which include protection against cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, degenerative diseases, stroke, obesity and diverticulosis. Presently, corn hair or Zea mays hairs are discarded due to the lack of knowledge of its nutritional value and possible therapeutic properties. In the present study, it was noted dried corn hair contained 38.4 g/1 OOg total dietary fibre while aqueous extract residue ( 4hrs) recorded the highest total dietary fibre content of 54.2g/1 OOg followed by Soxhlet residue of the water extract at 41.8 g/1 OOg. Dried corn hair boiled for 30 min recorded the highest concentration of total sugars concentration at 85.40 mg/lOOg. On the other aspect, total polyphenol concentration of methanol and water extracts were 102.9 mg GAE/lOOg and 14.2 mg GAE!lOOg of dry plant respectively. In radical scavenging activity, the methanolic extract scavenged at 81.7% of free radicals at 1 OOO!lg/ml while the water extract showed 63.5% of inhibition. Twenty-four volatiles comprising aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, alkane, fatty acids and a furan were identified in all dried cornsilk. 3- methylbutanal, hexanal, heptanal and nonanal was identified as key odorants in dried cornsilk. Besides that, 9, 12-octadecenoic acid and 9, 12, 15-octadecatrienioc acid being the prominent volatile compounds presented in dried cornsilk simultaneously distilled and extracted using SDE techniques. In conclusion, Zea mays hair contained important nutritional elements and various pleasant flavor components and thus, it could potentially be an alternative source of dietary components and flavor in food and food products

Gamma Irradiation Increases the Antioxidant Properties of Tualang Honey Stored Under Different Conditions

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of evaporation, gamma irradiation and temperature on the total polyphenols, flavonoids and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activities of Tualang honey samples (n = 14) following storage over three, six or twelve months. The mean polyphenol concentrations of the six gamma irradiated honey samples at three, six and twelve months, respectively, were 96.13%, 98.01% and 102.03% higher than the corresponding values of the eight non-gamma irradiated samples. Similarly, the mean values for flavonoids at three, six and twelve months were 111.52%, 114.81% and 110.04% higher, respectively, for the gamma irradiated samples. The mean values for DPPH radical-scavenging activities at three, six and twelve months were also 67.09%, 65.26% and 44.65% higher, respectively, for the gamma irradiated samples. These data indicate that all gamma irradiated honey samples had higher antioxidant potential following gamma irradiation, while evaporation and temperature had minor effects on antioxidant potential