Protective role of Telfairia occidentalis in irradiation-induced oxidative stress in rat brain

This study aimed at evaluating the protective role of Telfairia occidentalis extract (TOE) irradiationinduced oxidative stress in rat brain. Aqueous TOE was administered orally to adult rats for 30 days at doses of 400 mg/kg body weight, 800 mg/kg body weight and 1600 mg/kg body weight, and a corresponding group of rats were treated with 50 mg/kg body weight vitamin E (VE), a standard antioxidant before irradiation at a dose of 2 Gy of gamma rays. The control rats received distilled water only. The rats were observed and sacrificed at 24 hours, 15 and 30 days post-irradiation. The results demonstrated a significant increase in levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), an end product of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generation with a concomitant decrease in the activities of  superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px),  glutathione-S-transferase (GST), a phase two xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme, and a corresponding decrease in the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) after twenty-four hours, 15 and 30 days post-irradiation compared with the control. Treatments with TOE and VE significantly reversed  oxidative stress of irradiated rats when compared with the control rats. In conclusion, supplementation with TOE could reduce radiationinduced biochemical disorders in brain tissues.Keywords: Gamma radiation, oxidative stress, brain, rats and Telfairia occidentalis

Comparative evaluation of the sperm characteristics and morphology of adult Wistar rats fed either low or normal protein-energy diets and orally dosed with aqueous Cuscuta australis extracts

Summary: Cuscuta australis (C. australis) seed and stem are commonly used as dietary supplements in a maize-meal, “Ogi”, by the local population for the management of male and female reproductive dysfunctions. This study, as a part of on-going efforts, therefore, evaluated and compared the effects of Low Protein-energy (LP) and Normal Protein-energy (NP) diets on the sperm morphology and characteristics of adult Wistar rats orally dosed aqueous extracts of C. australis seed (LPSE and NPSE) and stem (LPST and NPST), 300mg of extract/kg body weight of rat/day, for seven days. The control groups (LPWA and NPWA) received vehicle, water. Live-dead ratio and percentage of sperms with curved tail were significantly decreased (p<0.01) in the NPST relative to the NPWA, LPWA, LPST, NPSE and LPSE. Total abnormal sperm counts, acephalic sperms and tailless head sperms were significantly decreased (p<0.001, p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively) in the LPST and NPST relative to LPSE, NPSE, LPWA and NPWA. The LPSE, LPST and NPST showed significantly decreased (p<0.05) percentages of sperms with either bent mid-piece or curved mid-piece relative to the LPWA. Significantly decreased (p<0.05) percentage of sperms with curved mid-piece was also observed in the NPSE relative to LPWA. Protein-energy diet significantly influenced (at least p<0.05) the effect of each extract on sperm motility and percentage of sperms with curved tail. Stem extract significantly decreased (p<0.01) the percentages of acephalic sperms and tailless head sperms. Diet-stem extract interaction significantly influenced (p<0.05) live-dead ratio. Our data suggest that orally administered aqueous extracts of C. australis generally enhanced the sperm morphology and characteristics of the male Wistar rat and that the stem extract maintained sperm morphology better than the seed extract. It also showed that the stem extract decreased live-dead ratio and that the efficacy of orally administered aqueous C. australis stem extract may be affected by variations in dietary protein-energy levels.Keywords: Cuscuta australis, protein-energy malnutrition, spermiogram, sperm morpholog