Antioxidant and antihyper- tensive effect of Azadirachta excelsa leaf extract in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model

A research was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activities of Azadirachta excelsa and its antihypertensive effect in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR). The Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) was quantified and IC50 level of A. excelsa was determined. For the antihypertensive effect, the rats were randomly assigned into four treatment groups as followed: Group I (normotensive control from Wistar-Kyoto rats),Group II (hypertensive control from SHR), Group III (SHR receiving 250 mg/kg of A. excelsa extract), and Group IV (SHR receiving 40 mg/kg of captopril). The Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) of these animals was performed by tail-cuff method. The average of TPC and TFC was 202 ± 0.42 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/g extract and 198 ± 0.67 mg rutin equivalent/g extract, respectively. Meanwhile, the IC50 value of free radical scavenging activity was about 308μg/ml. The systolic blood pressure level of the SHR treated with A.excelsa significantly reduced (153 mmHg; P <0.05) compared to the untreated SHR control (187 mm Hg; Group II). In conclusion, we found that A. excelsa extract at a dose of 250 mg/kg possesses phenolic properties that can be used as a potential treatment for hypertension due to its high antioxidant activities

Histological changes of liver tissue and serobiochemical relation in does with pregnancy ketosis

Histological changes of liver in does with pregnancy ketosis were characterized. Twenty pregnant does at day 80 of pregnancy were used for this experiment. A total of 10 does were fed by grass (Napier) and goat concentrate with water ad libitum. Those 10 goats considered as healthy pregnant goat, and another 10 goats showing clinical and subclinical signs of ketosis considered as unhealthy pregnant does. Liver biopsies were performed when clinical signs appeared. Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), free fatty acid (FFA), and glucose were dosed. Histological preparation revealed similar incidence and intensity of mild liver steatosis with lower cellular vacuolation in hepatocyte presence in healthy late pregnant does. Almost all of the pregnant does with ketosis state (n=8/10) had large amount of small lipid droplets in almost every hepatocyte over the whole liver acinus with higher number of cellular vacuolation, and related with higher BHBA and FFA levels while low in glucose level

Clinical, biochemical and histological changes during developement of pregnancy ketosis in goats

Thin does or very over-conditioned does and does carrying with multiple pregnancies are more likely to develop pregnancy ketosis (pregnancy toxaemia). Pregnancy ketosis is one of the metabolic disorders in ruminant animal such as does and ewes during the last weeks of pregnancy (5 – 6 weeks before gestation) and beside high ketone body levels characterised by free fatty acids levels (FFA). These FFA are derived from the adipose tissue. The ability of adipocytes to respond to changes in the energy balance, by secretion of FFA makes this parameter a main indicator for disorder that coincide with changes in energy balance. It is biochemically and endocrinologically characterized by ketosis, hypoinsulinemia and an elevation of B- hydroxybtyrate concentration in the plasma, free fatty acids (FFA), and cortisol. However, the effect of plasma free fatty acid on pathophysiology, metabolites and histological changes of this disorder remain poorly understood. Clinical signs, often with a slow onset, are characterised by neuorological signs like teeth grinding, stress and dull eyes. Ketosis also affected on pathological part which characterized by fatty liver. In this review, we are focusing various key aspects of the disease with special reference on the clinical, biochemical and histological changes during development of pregnancy ketosis in goat population

Preliminary nutritional content analysis of commercialized Malaysian edible bird nest

This study investigated the chemical and mineral compostions of the commercialized edible bird’s nests (EBN) of Aerodramus fuciphagus that have been bought from the local health store in Malaysia. The chemical and mineral compositions were determined according to the official Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC) methods and spectroanalytical procedure using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) respectively. The results revealed that the commercialized EBNs examined mainly consisted of protein (46.59%) with 381.49 mg/g protein of essential amino acids, carbohydrates (39.84%), moisture content (8.77%), ash content (3.89%), fibre content (0.53%) and crude fat content (0.38%). The main amino acid constituents in the studied commercialized EBN were arginine (51.44%) followed by methionine + cysteine (13.58%) while alanine (1.92%) and gylcine (2.01%) were among the least constituents of amino acids. Major mineral elements detected from Malaysian EBN were calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K) and sodium (Na). This study revealed preliminary results on the nutritional content of commercialized Malaysian EBN which were attributed by many factors and further studies on nutritional attributes of raw, cleaned Malaysian EBN can be done in comparison to this study