scholarly journals The effect of alkaloids present in blue lupine (Lupinus angustifolius) seeds on the growth rate, selected biochemical blood indicators and histopathological changes in the liver of rats

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Stanek ◽  
Tadeusz Rotkiewicz ◽  
Wiesław Sobotka ◽  
Jacek Bogusz ◽  
Iwona Otrocka-Domagała ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of alkaloids present in blue lupine (Lupinus angustifolius) seeds on the growth rate, selected indicators of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and liver morphology in rats. The experimental material comprised 32 Wistar rats at around 3 weeks of age, with an initial body weight of 81 g. During a 28-day feeding trial, the rats were fed diets containing the seeds of three blue lupine cultivars, Baron, Zeus and Wersal, with different alkaloid concentrations (0.36, 0.41, 0.56 mg/kg, respectively). Diets containing the seeds of three blue lupine cultivars reduced the feed intake and significantly limited the growth rate of experimental rats, compared to the control group. Lupine alkaloids had no effect on the serum concentrations of glucose and total cholesterol in rats, whereas elevated triglyceride concentrations were noted in experimental groups, relative to the control group. Diets containing the seeds of blue lupine cultivars Zeus and Wersal induced changes in alanine transaminase activity. A histopathological analysis of the liver revealed parenchymatous degeneration, which was more advanced in rats fed diets with the seeds of blue lupine cultivars Zeus and Wersal than in the control group, and congestion of portal vessels, which was more severe in rats fed the seeds of blue lupine cultivars Baron and Zeus.

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Asep Ridwanudin ◽  
Muhammad Firdaus ◽  
Idham Sumarto Pratama ◽  
Sigit Anggoro Putro Dwiono

Gold-mouth turban (Turbo chrysostomus L., 1758) is an important source of protein for coastal people in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. In order to acquire its seed production technique, research on the culture of the species was carried out since 2012. Feed source is a key concern when culturing animal, including turban snail. Growth of gold-mouth turban fed with seaweed Gracilaria sp., Ulva spp., and Kappaphycus alvarezii was evaluated. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 30 snail juveniles with an initial body weight and shell length of 4.65 ± 0.00 g and 24.55 ± 0.08 mm, respectively. After six weeks feeding trial, snails fed with Gracilaria sp. diet had significantly higher (P < 0.05) in final weight, final shell length, weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR) and food intake compared to snails fed with Ulva spp. or K. alvarezii diets.


Author(s):  
Lechao Zhang ◽  
Chunhui Duan ◽  
Yunxia Guo ◽  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Yueqin Liu

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of prolactin (PRL) on development of secondary skin follicles in cashmere goats. Goats were randomly assigned to either a bromocriptine treatment or control group. Samples of cashmere fiber, blood and skin were collected from all goats after 1 month. The results indicated that the length, growth rate and diameter of fibers were not influenced (P &gt; 0.05) by the inhibition of prolactin resulting from the treatment with bromocriptine. There was a tendency for increases in total follicle number, primary and secondary follicle numbers and in the ratio of secondary to primary follicles following treatment with bromocriptine, but these differences were not significant (P &gt; 0.05). The percentage of active secondary follicles in anagen was increased (P &lt; 0.05) in the bromocriptine-treated goats but there was no effect of treatment on the percentage of active primary follicles. Bromocriptine decreased (P &lt; 0.05) circulating concentrations of PRL and Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and increased (P &lt; 0.05) those of melatonin (MT), but there was no effect of this treatment on the serum concentrations of cortisol (COR), growth hormone (GH), tetraiodothyronine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). In bromocriptine-treated goats mRNA expressions of PRL and MT membrane receptor 1a (MTNR1a) were decreased (P &lt; 0.05) and mRNA expression of MT nuclear receptor (RORα) was increased (P &lt; 0.05), but there was no effect of the treatment on expression of long PRL receptor (LPRLR), short PRL receptor (SPRLR), MT membrane receptor 1b (MTNR1b) and IGF1. It is concluded that inhibition of PRL promotes secondary hair follicle development in the anagen phase, possibly by down-regulating MTNR1a and up-regulating RORα gene expression in the skin.


Author(s):  
Kashish Narula ◽  
Narendra Kumar Dara ◽  
Shyam Lal Meena

Background: Thyroid hormones influence nearly all major metabolic pathways. Their most obvious and well-known action is the increase in basal energy expenditure obtained by acting on protein, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. The lipid metabolism is more influenced by the thyroid hormone. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients with suspicion of thyroid disorders were taken as cases. One hundred patients with normal thyroid profile and no history of other chronic diseases were taken as control group. Results: The serum TC, TG and LDL levels in hypothyroid individuals (both overt and subclinical) were significantly higher than euthyroid subjects but the levels were comparable between hyperthyroid and euthyroid group. Conclusion: Dyslipidemias are associated with thyroid disorders, so biochemical screening for thyroid dysfunction in all dyslipidemic patients. Therefore, patients presenting with dyslipidemia are recommended for investigation to explore thyroid dysfunction. Keywords: Thyroid profile, Total cholesterol, Triglycerides and LDL


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 402-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin-Zi Li ◽  
Shan-Shan Lei ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Fu-Chen Zhou ◽  
Ye-Hui Chen ◽  
...  

Aim and Objective: The Dendrobium officinalis flower (DOF) is popular in China due to common belief in its anti-aging properties and positive effects on “nourish yin”. However, there have been relatively few confirmatory pharmacological experiments conducted to date. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether DOF has beneficial effects on learning and memory in senescent rats, and, if so, to determine its potential mechanism of effect. Materials and Methods: SD rats were administrated orally DOF at a dose of 1.38, or 0.46 g/kg once a day for 8 weeks. Two other groups included a healthy untreated control group and a senescent control group. During the 7th week, a Morris water maze test was performed to assess learning and memory. At the end of the experiment, serum and brain samples were collected to measure concentrations of antioxidant enzymes, including malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GSH-Px) in serum, and the neurotransmitters, including γ-aminobutyric acid (γ-GABA), Glutamic (Glu), and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) in the brain. Histopathology of the hippocampus was assessed using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. Results: The results suggested that treatment with DOF improved learning as measured by escape latency, total distance, and target quadrant time, and also increased levels of γ-GABA in the brain. In addition, DOF decreased the levels of MDA, Glu, and MAO-B, and improved SOD and GSHPx. Histopathological analysis showed that DOF also significantly reduced structural lesions and neurodegeneration in the hippocampus relative to untreated senescent rats. Conclusion: DOF alleviated brain aging and improved the spatial learning abilities in senescent rats, potentially by attenuating oxidative stress and thus reducing hippocampal damage and balancing the release of neurotransmitters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
Junhe Zhang ◽  
Weihua Dong

Background: Esophageal carcinoma is one of the common malignant tumors in digestive tract. BECLIN-1 is a key gene that regulates autophagy, and its abnormal expression may be related with many human tumors. However, the mechanism of BECLIN-1 in esophageal carcinoma remains unknown. Objective: In this study, we explored the effect of BECLIN-1 overexpression on tumor growth in mice with esophageal carcinoma and its mechanism. Methods: Recombined lentiviral vector containing BECLIN-1 was used to transfect human esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells and establish stable cell line. qRT-PCR was used to detect BECLIN-1 mRNA level in the transfected Eca109 cells, CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation. Beclin-1, P62 and LC3-II protein expression levels in Eca109 cells were detected using Western blot analysis. Subcutaneous xenograft nude mice model of human esophageal carcinoma was established, and the tumor growths in Beclin-1 group, control group and empty vector group were monitored. Beclin-1 protein expression in vivo was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Beclin-1 mRNA and protein were overexpressed in Eca109 cells. Compared with empty vector group, the growth rate of cells transfected with BECLIN-1 decreased significantly. Compared with the control group and empty vector group, the expression level of P62 protein in beclin-1 group was significantly decreased, while the expression level of LC3-II protein was significantly increased. The tumor growth rate in nude mice of Beclin-1 group was significantly lower than that of the control group and empty vector group, and Beclin-1 protein was mainly expressed in Beclin-1 group in vivo. Conclusion: BECLIN-1 can induce autophagy in esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells, and it can significantly inhibit the growth of esophageal carcinoma.


2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
M S Allagui ◽  
N Hfaiedh ◽  
C Vincent ◽  
F Guermazi ◽  
J-C Murat ◽  
...  

Lithium therapy, mainly used in curing some psychiatric diseases, is responsible for numerous undesirable side effects. The present study is a contribution to the understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying lithium toxicity. Male and female mature rats were divided into three batches and fed commercial pellets: one batch was the control and the second and third batches were given 2 g (Li1) and 4 g (Li2) of lithium carbonate/kg of food/day, respectively. After 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, serum levels of free tri-iodothyronine (FT3), thyroxine (FT4), testosterone and estradiol were measured. Attention was also paid to growth rate and a histological examination of testes or vaginal mucosa was carried out. In treated rats, a dose-dependent loss of appetite and a decrease in growth rate were observed, together with symptoms of polydypsia, polyuria and diarrhea. Lithium serum concentrations increased from 0.44 mM (day 7) to 1.34 mM (day 28) in Li1 rats and from 0.66 to 1.45 mM (day 14) in Li2 rats. Li2 treatment induced a high mortality after 14 days, reaching 50-60% in female and male animals. From these data, the LD50 (14 days Li2 chronic treatment) was calculated to be about 0.3 g/day per kilogram of animal, leading to Li serum concentrations of about 1.4 mM. A significant decrease of FT3 and FT4 was observed in treated rats. This effect appeared immediately for the highest dose and was more pronounced for FT3, resulting in an increase of the FT4/FT3 ratio. In males, testosterone decreased and spermatogenesis was stopped. Conversely, in females, estradiol increased in a dose-dependent manner as the animals were blocked in the diestrus phase at day 28. This finding supports a possible antagonistic effect of lithium on the estradiol receptors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel M. Doroteu ◽  
Joao H. M. Viana ◽  
Jair A. Ferreira Junior ◽  
Juliana T. A. Macedo ◽  
Rodrigo A. Oliveira ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study was to compare testicle morpho-functional characteristics in bulls undergoing a single or two immunizations against GnRH. Nelore (Bos taurus indicus) bulls were randomly allocated into three experimental groups: G1 (n=12), a single 400 μg dose of anti-GnRH vaccine on day 0; G2 (n=11), a first 400 μg dose of anti-GnRH vaccine on day 0 followed by a second (boost) dose 30 days later; and control group (CG, n=12), 1 mL saline 0.9% at day 0. Every 30 days, from day 0 until slaughter at day 90, the bulls were weighed and underwent testicular biometry, semen collection and analysis, and blood sample collection for testosterone measurement. Immediately after slaughter, the testicles were removed and transport at 15°C to the laboratory for histopathological analysis. There was a decrease in testicular height (P=0.0476), width (P=0.0021), and in scrotal circumference (P=0.0001), after either a single (G1) or two (G2) immunizations against GnRH. Both G1 and G2 had lower testosterone concentrations than CG from day 60 on (P<0.01), but in G2, it was also lower than in G1 at day 90 (P=0.0006). All sperm parameters were affected by active immunization against GnRH (P<0.05), and in G2, averages were lesser (P<0.05) than in G1 from day 60 on. No signs of seminiferous tubule degeneration were found in any sample from the CG, contrasting with 75.0% and 100.0% of the samples from G1 and G2, respectively. In summary, immunocastration affected testicle morpho-functional characteristics in bulls in a time- and dose-dependent way.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 884
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Haslin ◽  
Rene A. Corner-Thomas ◽  
Paul R. Kenyon ◽  
Adrian J. Molenaar ◽  
Stephen T. Morris ◽  
...  

The experiment aimed to examine the impacts of an increased growth rate of ewes between three and seven months of age on udder development using ultrasound and to establish whether ultrasonography could be used to identify ewe mammary structures that may be indirect indicators of singleton growth to weaning. Udder dimensions, depths of gland cistern (GC), parenchyma (PAR) and fat pad (FP) were measured in late pregnancy (P107), early lactation (L29), and at weaning (L100) in 59 single-bearing yearling ewes selected from two treatments. The ‘heavy’ group (n = 31) was preferentially fed prior to breeding achieving an average breeding live-weight of 47.9 ± 0.38 kg at seven months of age. The ‘control’ group (n = 28) had an average breeding live-weight of 44.9 ± 0.49 kg. Udder dimensions, GC, PAR and FP did not differ between treatments. Lamb growth to L100 was positively associated (p < 0.05) with PAR at P107 and GC at L29. There was no evidence of negative effects of the live-weight gain treatments on udder development of yearling ewes as measured by ultrasonography. The results suggest that this ultrasound method has the potential to identify pregnant yearling ewes which would wean heavier singletons.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Peng Zhu ◽  
Yu-wei He ◽  
Huan Chen ◽  
Zhi-Fang Sun ◽  
Na Ding ◽  
...  

Objective. To observe the effect of preventive acupuncture and moxibustion on blood lipid of menopause rats.Methods. Seventy 10-month-old SD rats with estrous cycle disorders were divided into three control groups and four treatment groups (n=10/group) and another ten 3.5-month-old female SD rats were chosen as young control group. Preventive acupuncture and moxibustion were applied at Guanyuan (CV 4). Body weight growth rate has been recorded. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and uterusE2level were measured.Results. Compared to young control group, plasma TC and LDL increased and uterusE2reduced significantly in 12-month-old control group. Compared to 12-month-old control group, plasma TC and LDL level and body weight growth rate decreased while HDL level increased remarkably in preventive acupuncture 12-month-old group. Compared to 14-month-old control group, plasma TC level and body weight growth rate decreased remarkably in preventive moxibustion 14-month-old group.Conclusions. Preventive acupuncture and moxibustion can significantly decrease the plasma TG and LDL, increase the plasma HDL, and prevent fat accumulation. Our finding suggests that preventive acupuncture and moxibustion have beneficial effects on blood lipid. Different treatment effects were found between preventive acupuncture and preventive moxibustion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (6_suppl) ◽  
pp. 477-477
Author(s):  
Myriam Kossai ◽  
Camélia Radulescu ◽  
Julien Adam ◽  
Anaïs Dziegielewski ◽  
Nicolas Signolle ◽  
...  

477 Background:Plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma (UC) is a rare pathological variant of UC with low chemotherapeutic sensitivity and dismal outcomes. The molecular and immune profiles of such tumors remain poorly investigated. Herein, we investigated the phenotypical features of a cohort of plasmacytoid UC (n = 32) by comparison to a control group of conventional high-grade UC with matched clinicopathological characteristics (n = 30). Methods: Histopathological analysis included the following antibodies: p63, GATA3, CK5/6, CK20 and HER2. In addition, the density of intra-tumor CD8+ lymphocytes, and PD-L1 expression in tumor (TC) and immune cells (IC) were evaluated. Clinical data were collected. Results: Plasmacytoid UC expressed GATA3 (97% vs 86% p = 0.18), CK20 (59% vs 36% p = 0.08) markers and showed a significantly higher rate of HER2 overexpression (2+ and 3+ score: 25% vs 0%, p < 0.01) compared to controls. A significantly lower expression of CK5/6 (22% vs 56%, p < 0.05) and p63 (41% vs 80%, p < 0.05) was observed in plasmacytoid UC compared to controls. The density of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ cells was similar between plasmacytoid and conventional UC (p = 0.5). PD-L1 expression on IC was similar compared to conventional UC (p = 0.3). Overall survival at 5 years was significantly lower among patients with plasmacytoid UC compared to patients with conventional UC (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Together, our study demonstrated that plasmacytoid UC belong to the luminal subtype and display a rather inflamed microenvironment similar to conventional UC. These data support the inclusion of plasmacytoid variant of UC in clinical trials evaluating immune checkpoint inhibitors monotherapy or combination immunotherapeutic strategies.


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