A combination of NMR and liquid chromatography to characterize the protective effects of Rhus tripartita extracts on ethanol-induced toxicity and inflammation on intestinal cells

Consumption of ethanol may have severe effects on human organs and tissues and lead to acute and chronic inflammation of internal organs. The present study aims at investigating the potential protective effects of three different extracts prepared from the leaves, root, and stem of the sumac, Rhus tripartita, against ethanol-induced toxicity and inflammation using intestinal cells as a cell culture system, in vitro model of the intestinal mucosa. The results showed an induction of cytotoxicity by ethanol, which was partially reversed by co-administration of the plant extracts. As part of investigating the cellular response and the mechanism of toxicity, the role of reduced thiols and glutathione-S-transferases were assessed. In addition, intestinal cells were artificially imposed to an inflammation state and the anti-inflammatory effect of the extracts was estimated by determination of interleukin-8. Finally, a detailed characterization of the contents of the three plant extracts by high resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry revealed significant differences in their chemical compositions

Variability of antioxidant and biological activities of Rhus tripartitum related to phenolic compounds

Rhus species are known in traditional medicine for their therapeutic virtue and their extracts showed numerous important properties including antimalarial, antimicrobial, antiviral, and hypoglycemic and anticonvulsant activi- ties. Rhus tripartitum (Ucria) is a medicinal plant widely used in Tunisia folk medicine against chronic diarrhea and gastric ulcer. This study was designed to examine in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of four extracts of Rhus tripartitum root cortex with increasing solvent polarity (hexane, di-chloromethane, methanol and water). HPLC was used to identify and quantify phenolic compounds in Rhus ex- tract. Water extract showed the highest antioxidant activity using oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC method) with 8.95 ± 0.47 µmol Trolox/mg and a cell based-assay with 0.28 ± 0.12 µmol Trolox/mg as compared to the other fractions. Moreover, methanol extract displayed the strongest anti-cancer activity against human lung carcinoma (A-549) and colon adenocarcinoma cell lines (DLD-1) with an IC50 value of 60.69 ± 2.58 and 39.83 ± 4.56 µg/ml (resazurin test) and 44.52 ± 5.96 and 55.65 ± 6.00 µg/ml (hoechst test), respectively. Besides, the highest anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) release, was exhibited by dichloromethane extract with 31.5 % at 160 µg/ml in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The HPLC analysis showed that catechol and kaempferol were the major phenolics. These data suggest the richness of all fractions of les with different polarity and confirm the known traditional therapeutics virtues of this species for the treatment of dysentery, diarrhea and gastric ulcer

Antidiarrheal and antioxidant activities of Ajuga iva (L.) leave extract

We studied the effect of Ajuga iva leaves extract (AIE) on the intestinal absorption, motricity and its antioxidant capacity against diarrhea. Wistar rats were divided and received either: castor oil (CO), CO and loperamide or CO and different doses of AIE. AIE prevented dose-dependently CO-induced diarrhea. AIE at 800 mg/kg showed inhibition efficiency on defecation and diarrhea. The pro-oxidant effect of the CO in the small intestine was inhibited significantly in presence of AIE: increasing glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and lowering oxygen free radicals (OH°, O2°-), carbonyl protein and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. However, co-administration of AIE in castor oil-exposed groups significantly increased the intestinal contents of calcium and magnesium. AIE exhibits significant anti-diarrheal activity, related in part to its antioxidant properties. Our investigation also provides experimental evidence for the traditional use of this medicinal plant in the treatment of diarrhea

Protective effects of edible Rhus tripartita (Ucria) stem extract against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats

Rhus tripartita is a plant which is traditionally used for the treatment of ulcer and diarrhea in Tunisia. The aim of the study is to evaluate the antiulcer activity of methanol extract of Rhus tripartita stem (RSE). The phytochemical analysis of RSE was performed. Fasted rats treated with 80% ethanol (0.5 mL) to induce gastric ulcer, were pretreated orally with RSE at different doses (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight (BW)) and ranitidine (100 mg/kg) and distilled water were used as a positive and negative control respectively. The results showed that the pre-treatment with RSE decreased significantly the ethanol gastric ulcer index value and preserved the integrity of the gastric mucosa by preventing the mucosal ulceration caused by ethanol. The RSE prevented alcohol-induced decrease in stomach antioxidant enzyme activities such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Total reduced glutathione and malondialdehyde tissue contents were also reversed in RSE-pretreated rats when compared with the negative control grou

Comparison of the effects of PACAP-38 and its analog, acetyl-[Ala15, Ala20] PACAP-38-propylamide, on spatial memory, post-learning BDNF expression and oxidative stress in rat

International audienceWe compared the effects of single intraveinous injection of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (P38) to those of its analog, acetyl-[Ala15, Ala20]PACAP-38-propylamide (P38-alg) on spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) using a weak massed-learning procedure, post-training brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and post-training oxidative stress biomarker assays in male Wistar rats. Acquisition of the MWM task following P38 (30 μg/kg) and P38-alg (30 μg/kg) treatments was similar to control group (Saline: 0.9% NaCl) and there was no interaction between treatments and performance. However, in the probe test, P38-treated group showed a specific interest for the target quadrant whereas the two other groups exhibited less focused place searching behavior. Moreover, P38 had an anxiogenic effect as measured by the distribution of swimming at the periphery of the pool. The swimming test resulted in a decrease in BDNF contents in the hippocampus. P38 but not P38-alg treatment restored BDNF expression. In terms of oxidative stress, both P38 and P38-alg treatments had antioxidative effects. The activity of antioxidative enzymes in the neocortex was increased. However only P38 reduced the levels of carbonylated proteins (CP). These data show that P38 and P38-alg have different behavioral and neurobiological effects. Thus, P38-alg and other analogs with specific functional profiles, inducing beneficial central effects (e.g. neuroprotection) while minimizing undesired peripheral effects may be useful for potential therapeutical use