Evaluation of Hepatoprotective Activity of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Onion Peels Containing Protocatechuic Acid

India is the second largest country for cultivation of onion. 19.90% of onion is cultivated in India. Onion that is Allium cepa family Amaryllidaceae used in daily diet for taste. Onions also have number of medicinal properties, such as hepatoprotection, anticancer, antifungal, antioxidant, antiulcer, anti-agging, anti-inflammatory, anticancer etc.[1-2] The dried scales or peels of onion also have the same medicinal constituents with same activity as raw onions. The onion peels contains flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, flavones (qurcertin and its derivatives), ferulic, Gallic, protocatechuic acids, sulphur, vitamins etc. In the present study determination of protocatechuic acid in onion peels extract has been performed using HPTLC. HPTLC separation was carried out on Merck TLC aluminium sheets precoated with silica gel 60F254 using Toluene: Ethyl acetate: Formic acid (6: 6: 1.2 v/v/v) as mobile phase.[3-11] Quantitative analysis was carried out in the absorbance mode at 258 nm. Hydroalcoholic extract was tested for hepatoprotective activity in wistar rats (either sex) by using CCl4 as hepatotoxicity inducing agent and Silamyrin as standard. Hydroalcoholic extract shows hepatoprotective activity as indicated by decrease in the level of SGOT, SGPT, total protein, billirubin an which hepatotoxicity was induced by CCl4 intraperitonial injection route to animal, from the result it may be concluded that onion peels extract may be used for hepatoprotective activity. Keywords: Onion peel extract, Protocatechuic acid, HPTLC, hepatoprotection

B(0)AT2 (SLC6A15) is localized to neurons and astrocytes, and is involved in mediating the effect of leucine in the brain

The B(0)AT2 protein is a product of the SLC6A15 gene belonging to the SLC6 subfamily and has been shown to be a transporter of essential branched-chain amino acids. We aimed to further characterize the B(0)AT2 transporter in CNS, and to use Slc6a15 knock out (KO) mice to investigate whether B(0)AT2 is important for mediating the anorexigenic effect of leucine. We used the Slc6a15 KO mice to investigate the role of B(0)AT2 in brain in response to leucine and in particular the effect on food intake. Slc6a15 KO mice show lower reduction of food intake as well as lower neuronal activation in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) in response to leucine injections compared to wild type mice. We also used RT-PCR on rat tissues, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry on mouse CNS tissues to document in detail the distribution of SLC6A15 on gene and protein levels. We showed that B(0)AT2 immunoreactivity is mainly neuronal, including localization in many GABAergic neurons and spinal cord motor neurons. B(0)AT2 immunoreactivity was also found in astrocytes close to ventricles, and co-localized with cytokeratin and diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) in epithelial cells of the choroid plexus. The data suggest that B(0)AT2 play a role in leucine homeostasis in the brain