Perbandingan antara perancah tulang nanobiokomposit alginat/ kulit kerang dan alginat/kalsium karbonat terhadap pertumbuhan osteoblas

Kalsium karbonat (CaCO3) memainkan peranan yang penting dalam merangsang pertumbuhan osteoblas. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk membandingkan prestasi perancah nanobiokomposit alginat/kulit kerang (nCP) yang mengandungi CaCO3 dari sumber semula jadi dan perancah alginat/kalsium karbonat (CC) yang mengandungi CaCO3 sintetik terhadap pertumbuhan osteoblas melalui kajian in vitro dan pemerhatian awal kebioserasian in vivo. Perancah tulang berbentuk tiga dimensi dibangunkan dengan menggunakan campuran 40% Alginat dan 60% serbuk kulit kerang bersaiz nano (perancah nCP) atau serbuk CaCO3 sintetik (perancah CC). Kajian in vitro terhadap pembebasan kalsium dan aktiviti enzim alkalin fosfatase (ALP) pada kedua-dua perancah yang telah dibenihkan dengan osteoblas ditentukan pada hari ketiga, kelima dan ketujuh pengkulturan. Kajian in vivo dijalankan dengan implantasi subkutan perancah yang telah dibenihkan dengan osteoblas pada bahagian dorsum lapan ekor mencit selama 21 hari. Setelah 21 hari, perancah dikeluarkan dari mencit untuk pemerhatian histologi menggunakan pewarnaan H&E and von Kossa. Hasil kajian in vitro menunjukkan peningkatan secara signifikan (p < 0.05) perembesan kalsium dan aktiviti enzim ALP pada perancah nCP pada hari ketujuh berbanding perancah CC pada hari ketiga dan kelima. Pemerhatian histologi terhadap kedua-dua perancah menunjukkan infiltrasi dan proliferasi osteoblas serta pembentukan tisu tulang peringkat awal. Pembentukan saluran darah juga dapat dikenal pasti pada perancah nCP. Kedua-dua perancah menunjukkan potensi untuk menyokong dan membantu pertumbuhan osteoblas namun perancah nCP didapati menunjukkan potensi yang lebih baik secara keseluruhan. Kesimpulannya, CaCO3 dari sumber semula jadi iaitu kulit kerang dan bersaiz nano berpotensi untuk dijadikan sebagai biobahan di dalam aplikasi kejuruteraan tisu tulang

Tocotrienol-Rich Fraction from Palm Oil Prevents Oxidative Damage in Diabetic Rats

Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the effects of tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) (200 mg/Kg) on biomarkers of oxidative stress on erythrocyte membranes and leukocyte deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Male rats (n = 40) were divided randomly into four groups of 10: a normal group; a normal group with TRF; a diabetic group, and a diabetic group with TRF. Following four weeks of treatment, fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels, oxidative stress markers and the antioxidant status of the erythrocytes were measured. Results: FBG levels for the STZ-induced diabetic rats were significantly increased (P &lt;0.001) when compared to the normal group and erythrocyte malondialdehyde levels were also significantly higher (P &lt;0.0001) in this group. Decreased levels of reduced glutathione and increased levels of oxidised glutathione (P &lt;0.001) were observed in STZ-induced diabetic rats when compared to the control group and diabetic group with TRF. The results of the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were significantly lower in the STZ-induced diabetic rats than in the normal group (P &lt;0.001). The levels of DNA damage, measured by the tail length and tail moment of the leukocyte, were significantly higher in STZ-induced diabetic (P &lt;0.0001). TRF supplementation managed to normalise the level of DNA damage in diabetic rats treated with TRF. Conclusion: Daily supplementation with 200 mg/Kg of TRF for four weeks was found to reduce levels of oxidative stress markers by inhibiting lipid peroxidation and increasing the levels of antioxidant status in a prevention trial for STZ-induced diabetic rats

The effects of oleuropein on apoptotic rate and oxidative stress profiles during tumour promotion stage in the mouse skin carcinogenesis model

Oleuropein is a phenolic compound that can be abundantly found in the olive plant and it possesses pharmacological properties including anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. This present study was designed to determine the effects of oleuropein on tumour promotion stage, particularly on the histopathological changes, apoptotic rates and oxidative stress profiles by using the mouse skin carcinogenesis model. Female ICR mice were randomly divided into 3 groups (n= 8 mice per group) as follows: Control induced with DMBA/TPA, negative control (acetone) and oleuropein-treated groups. For the treatment group, the mice were initiated with DMBA (200 nmol) followed by pre-treatment with oleuropein (10 mg/kg) and subsequent promotion with TPA (20 nmol). The treatments were topically applied on the shaved dorsal up to 10 weeks. Histopathology analysis showed that oleuropein-pretreated group appeared lack of thickness in epidermal hyperplasia, as compared to thick hyperplasia and epidermal disorganisation in the DMBA/TPA control group. Data also showed that oleuropein pre-treatment resulted in a significant increase of the apoptotic rates (p<0.05) as indicated by the activated caspase-3 labelling compared to DMBA/TPA group. Interestingly, the level of MDA is significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the oleuropein pre-treated group compared to DMBA/TPA group. Next, pre-treatment of oleuropein caused a significant decrease in the GSH levels (p<0.05) along with a significant increase in the SOD levels (p<0.05) compared to the DMBA/TPA group. Overall, this study indicates that oleuropein may act as a potential chemopreventive agent through its apoptotic and antioxidant defence activities on tumour promotion stage in skin carcinogenesis event

A short review on cockle shells as biomaterials in the context of bone scaffold fabrication

Cockle shells contribute to a large amount of waste product in South East Asia due to the extensive culturing of the mollusc for consumption. These nacreous materials in the recent years have been gaining wider popularity due to its potential use as biomaterials. As shown in various studies, cockle shell powder consists of 95-98% aragonite form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The calcium carbonate obtained from cockle shells are easily converted into nanoparticles, which have shown encouraging results in bone tissue grafting. With the recent advancement in bone tissue engineering and development of a newer generation of biomaterial based bone scaffolds, the cockle shell powder has promising applications in the near future to be used in the formulation of bone grafting materials. In this review, the use of biomaterials in bone tissue grafting and nacreous materials as potential biomaterials with a focus on the cockle shell and its recent advancement as the main component in the formulation of a nanobiocomposite bone scaffold is discussed

Potential association of nicotinamide on the telomerase activity and telomere length mediated by PARP-1 mechanism in myeloid cancer

Administration of nicotinamide is affecting various types of cells through its survival, maturation, and differentiation. Nicotinamide as part of vitamin B3, plays an important role in DNA repair and maintenance of the genomic stability which related to its function as a NAD+ precursor that involve in many biological processes. During DNA breaks, PARP-1 mechanism will be activated and use NAD+ as a substrate in process of DNA damage and repair that will result to either cell repair and cell death. In the meantime, in presence of nicotinamide that is also acting as a PARP-1 inhibitor, causing inability of the repair mechanism to fix the entire DNA damage which also lead to the cell death. Therefore, loss of PARP-1 enzyme will cause disturbance in the DNA repair process. Telomere shortening rate was reduced in the presence of nicotinamide that might related with telomerase enzyme which able to maintain the telomere length of the cell. Other than that, telomere also can be influenced by PARP-1 activity where it might show some correlation between nicotinamide, telomere and telomerase that could related with PARP-1 mechanism. Currently, there is no treatment options that respond effectively in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in blast crisis (BC) phase without any side effect and it is require an identification of new drug therapies to treat the CML patients. By understanding the role and potential of nicotinamide relation with PARP-1 mechanism in telomere and telomerase status may improve the therapeutic strategy for chronic myeloid leukemia

Evaluation of the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of goniothalamin in leukemic cell lines

The cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of goniothalamin, a plant styryllactone, were evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the Alkaline Comet assay respectively in human leukemic cell lines. Following 72 h of treatment, the IC50 values of goniothalamin in human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells and CEM-SS T-lymphoblastic cells were 4.5 μg/mL and 2.4 μg/mL respectively. The genotoxicity of goniothalamin in both HL-60 and CEM-SS cells was detected as early as 2 h following treatment at IC10 and IC25 concentrations. However, pretreatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) at 1 mM for 30 minutes did not abrogate genotoxicity of this compound. This result suggests that primary induction of DNA damage by goniothalamin may not involve oxidative damage. In conclusion, our results demonstrate genotoxic damage induced by goniothalamin in leukemic cells. Further studies are needed to ascertain the mode of action of goniothalamin in inducing DNA damage

Study of Heavy Metal Levels among Farmers of Muda Agricultural Development Authority, Malaysia

Heavy metals, particularly cadmium, lead, and arsenic, constitute a significant potential threat to human health. This study was conducted to determine the levels of cadmium, lead, and arsenic in nail samples from farmers at Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA), Kedah, Malaysia, and evaluate factors that can contribute to their accumulations. A total of 116 farmers participated in this study. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze concentration of heavy metals in the nail samples and questionnaires were given to participants to get demographic, health status, and their agricultural activities data. In this paper, the level of heavy metals was within the normal range and varies according to demographic factors. We found that there were significant correlations between working period with level of lead and arsenic (r = 0.315 and r = 0.242, resp., P < 0.01) and age with lead level (r = 0.175, P < 0.05). Our findings suggested that agricultural activities could contribute to the accumulation of heavy metals in farmers. Hence, the control of environmental levels of and human exposure to these metals to prevent adverse health effects is still an important public health issue

The Relationship between Time Spent on Facebook and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) Among Third Year Biomedical Science Students in Faculty Health Sciences, UKM

AbstractSocial networking site Facebook is the latest online avenue for social interactions. Facebook commands a lot of popularity among the students. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between time spent on Facebook and the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of third year Biomedical Science students in the Faculty Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. A cross sectional study was carried out and the tools to collect information were close ended questionnaire. The study found that there was no significant correlation between time spent on Facebook and students CGPA; r= 0.152, p= 0.185.There is no significant difference CGPA between gender p>0.05 and there is significant difference between race p<0.05. It can be concluded that the FSK student's CGPA achievement was not significantly associated with the time spent on Facebook

The Role of Hibiscus sabdariffa

Hematopoietic stem cells- (HSCs-) based therapy requires ex vivo expansion of HSCs prior to therapeutic use. However, ex vivo culture was reported to promote excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), exposing HSCs to oxidative damage. Efforts to overcome this limitation include the use of antioxidants. In this study, the role of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (Roselle) in maintenance of cultured murine bone marrow-derived HSCs was investigated. Aqueous extract of Roselle was added at varying concentrations (0–1000 ng/mL) for 24 hours to the freshly isolated murine bone marrow cells (BMCs) cultures. Effects of Roselle on cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione (GSH) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and DNA damage were investigated. Roselle enhanced the survival (P<0.05) of BMCs at 500 and 1000 ng/mL, increased survival of Sca-1+ cells (HSCs) at 500 ng/mL, and maintained HSCs phenotype as shown from nonremarkable changes of surface marker antigen (Sca-1) expression in all experimental groups. Roselle increased (P<0.05) the GSH level and SOD activity but the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was unaffected. Moreover, Roselle showed significant cellular genoprotective potency against H2O2-induced DNA damage. Conclusively, Roselle shows novel property as potential supplement and genoprotectant against oxidative damage to cultured HSCs