15 research outputs found
Protective effect of alpha-mangostin on thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in rats as revealed by morpho-functional analysis
Liver fibrosis is an excessive accumulation
of scar tissue resulting from inflammation and cell death.
Thioacetamide (TAA) is a well-known hepatotoxin that
induces liver fibrosis. A marker of injured hepatocytes is
transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), while
alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and tissue inhibitor
of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) are markers of
activated hepatic stellate cells. Alpha-mangostin, a major
xanthone derivative from the mangosteen pericarp, has
been shown to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory
activities. The objective of this study was to determine
whether alpha-mangostin has a protective effect on
TAA-induced liver fibrosis in rats. The rats were treated
by intraperitoneal injection of compounds for eight
weeks. For the control group a mixture of dimethyl
sulfoxide and phosphate buffered saline was
administered. Two hundred mg/kg BW of TAA was
administered three times weekly. Alpha-mangostin was
administered at 5 mg/kg BW and silymarin at 100 mg/kg
BW, both twice weekly. TAA induced histologically
recognizable liver damage and fibrosis, as anticipated.
Furthermore, it increased immunohistochemically
detectable TGF-β1, α-SMA, and TIMP-1. Coadministration of alpha-mangostin or silymarin with
TAA prevented or ameliorated the effects of TAA
administration alone. The anti-fibrotic effect of alphamangostin was stronger than that of silymarin
J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol., 48, 193–199 (2002)
However, cell inactivation was not significantly observed at concentrations of 10 6 , 10 7 cfu/ml even after an exposure of 150 min. Ultrastructural changes of treated bacteria showed deformation, rough damage and surface destruction revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Some bacterial cells showed collapsed and shrunken patterns within 60 min and severe rupture and cellular lysis after 90 min of ozone treatment. This study supports the proposed mechanism of the bacteria inactivation by ozone that caused cell membrane destruction and finally lysis reaction. Thus, the precaution of using ozone as a biocide should be used to address appropriate concentrations of bacterial contamination in water