scholarly journals Protective effects of Fragaria ananassa methanolic extract in a rat model of cadmium chloride-induced neurotoxicity

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manal F. Elkhadragy ◽  
Rami B. Kassab ◽  
Dina Metwally ◽  
Rafa S. Almeer ◽  
Rewaida Abdel-Gaber ◽  
...  

Cadmium (Cd) is a common environmental toxicant that has harmful effects on plants, animals, and humans. The present study evaluated the protective effects of Fragaria ananassa methanolic extract (SME) on cadmium chloride (CdCl2)-induced neuronal toxicity in rats. Male albino rats were intraperitoneally (i.p) injected with CdCl2 (6.5 mg/kg) for 5 days with or without the SME (250 mg/kg). We measured the levels of Cd, lipid peroxidation (LPO), nitric oxide, glutathione (GSH), and oxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase (GR) in the whole brain homogenate. Compared with the control group, the Cd-intoxicated group showed a marked increase in the brain levels of Cd, LPO, and nitric oxide and a decrease in the levels of GSH and all tested antioxidant enzymes. Compared with Cd-intoxicated rats, the rats pretreated with SME showed restoration of oxidative balance in the brain tissue. While the expression of brain SOD2, CAT, glutathione peroxidase 1, and GR was down-regulated in the Cd-treated group, the expression of these enzymes was up-regulated in rats pretreated with SME. In addition, administration of SME before CdCl2 increased the Bcl-2 expression, but significantly decreased the expression of Bax. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that compared with Cd-intoxicated rats, rats pretreated with SME showed a decrease in the protein expression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Our findings indicate that SME protects the brain tissue from Cd-induced neuronal toxicity by improving the antioxidant system and increasing antiapoptotic and anti-inflammatory activities.

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhasis Das ◽  
N. Gautam ◽  
Sankar Kumar Dey ◽  
Tarasankar Maiti ◽  
Somenath Roy

Mitochondria are the crossroads of several crucial cellular activities; they produce considerable quantities of superoxide radical and hydrogen peroxide, which can damage important macromolecules. Nicotine affects a variety of cellular processes, from induction of gene expression to modulation of enzymatic activities. The aim of this study was to elucidate the protective effects of andrographolide (ANDRO) aqueous extract (AE-Ap) of Andrographis paniculata, and vitamin E on nicotine-induced brain mitochondria. In this investigation, nicotine (1 mg·kg body mass–1·day–1) was treated, for the period of 7 days, simultaneously with 2 A. paniculata products, ANDRO and AE-Ap (250 mg·kg body mass–1·day–1); and vitamin E (50 mg·kg body mass–1·day–1) was supplemented in different group of male Wistar rats. The activities of mitochondrial electron transport chain (Mito–ETC) complexes (I, II, III), nitric oxide production, superoxide anion, catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, and concentrations of reduced glutathione and oxidized glutathione were measured in discrete regions of brain (the cerebral hemisphere, cerebellum, diencephalons, and brain stem). The study revealed that nicotine inhibits the Mito–ETC complexes and produces nitric oxide, which suppressed the mitochondrial oxidative stress scavenger system in different brain regions. In these circumstances, lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation were noted in different discrete regions of brain mitochondria. ANDRO, AE-Ap, and vitamin E showed the protective potentiality against nicotine toxicity. The analysis of such alterations is important in determining the basis of normal dysfunction in the brain associated with nicotine toxicity, which could be ameliorated by A. paniculata and vitamin E, and may help to develop therapeutic means against nicotine-induced disorders.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Xiaoqiong Li ◽  
Wen Wen ◽  
Ping Li ◽  
Ying Fu ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
...  

Multi-infarct dementia (MID), a prominent subtype of vascular dementia (VD), is responsible for at least 15 to 20 percent of dementia in the elderly. Mitochondrial dysfunctions and glutamate neurotoxicity due to chronic hypoperfusion and oxidative stress were regarded as the major risk factors in the pathogenesis. Kaixin San (KXS), a classic prescription of Beiji Qianjin Yaofang, was applied to treatment for “amnesia” and has been demonstrated to alleviate the cognitive deficit in a variety of dementias, including MID. However, little is known whether mitochondria and glutamate are associated with the protection of KXS in MID treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of KXS in improving the cognitive function of MID rats through strengthening mitochondrial functions and antagonizing glutamate neurotoxicity via the Shh/Ptch1 signaling pathway. Our data showed that KXS significantly ameliorated memory impairment and hippocampal neuron damage in MID rats. Moreover, KXS improved hippocampal mitochondrial functions by reducing the degree of mitochondrial swelling, increasing the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and elevating the energy charge (EC) and ATP content in MID rats. As expected, the concentration of glutamate and the expression of p-NMDAR1 were significantly reduced by KXS in the brain tissue of MID rats. Furthermore, our results showed that KXS noticeably activated the Shh/Ptch1 signaling pathway which was demonstrated by remarkable elevations of Ptch1, Smo, and Gli1 protein levels in the brain tissue of MID rats. Intriguingly, the inhibition of the Shh signaling pathway with cyclopamine significantly inhibited the protective effects of KXS on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells. To sum up, these findings suggested that KXS protected MID rats from memory loss by rescuing mitochondrial functions as well as against glutamate neurotoxicity through activating Shh/Ptch1 signaling pathway.


2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sevgi Eskiocak ◽  
Filiz Tutunculer ◽  
Umit Nusret Basaran ◽  
Ali Taskiran ◽  
Erol Cakir

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