Narrow Results

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of Polygonum multiflorum (PM) Thunb. on the learning and memory ability in one- and seven- month-old male senescence accelerated mice (SAMP8). The mice were fed with two different diets for 18 weeks; they were casein dietary group (control group) and casein diet supplemented with PM extracts. Active shuttle avoidance test was performed to determine the learning and memory ability of the mice while the spongy degeneration and the lipofuscin, malondialdehyde, and total thiol levels of the brain were measured to evaluate the extent of the brain degeneration and oxidative status. Results of active shuttle avoidance test showed the mice fed with the PM extracts had significantly better learning and memory ability than the control group. The spongy degeneration and the lipofuscin and malondialdehyde concentrations of the mice in the PM groups were significantly lower than the control in both age groups, whereas the total thiol levels were higher but not significantly different. It was concluded that the supplement of the PM extracts could improve the learning and memory ability and reduce the brain pathological changes in mice. This might be due to the antioxidant phytochemicals of the PM extracts.

The efficacy of methotrexate (MTX), a widely used cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent, is often limited by its severe hepatotoxicity. Regarding the mechanisms of these adverse effects, several hypotheses have been put forward, among which oxidative stress is noticeable. The present study was undertaken to determine whether grape seed extract (GSE), a new natural free radical scavenger, could ameliorate the MTX-induced oxidative injury in the rat liver. The animals were divided into 3 groups. Each group consisted of 12 animals. MTX-GSE group: rats were given GSE (100mg/kg body weight) orally for 15 days, and a single dose of MTX (20mg/kg, intraperitoneally) was added on the 10th day. MTX group: these received placebo distilled water (orally) instead of GSE for 15 days and the same MTX protocol applied to this group on the 10th day. Control group: rats were given distilled water (orally) through 15 days and physiological saline (intraperitoneally) instead of MTX was administered on the 10th day in a similar manner. On the 16th day, liver tissue samples were obtained under deep anaesthesia. The level of malondialdehyde (MDA), an end product of lipid peroxidation, and the activities of süperoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), two important endogenous antioxidants, were evaluated in the tissue homogenates. MTX administration increased the MDA level and decreased the SOD and CAT activities in the liver homogenates (p < 0.001), while these alterations were significantly reversed by GSE treatment (p < 0.001). MTX led to significantly reduced whole blood count parameters (p < 0.05). When GSE was supplemented, no significant changes in blood count parameters were noted. It appears that GSE protects the rat liver and inhibits methotrexate-induced oxidative stress. These data indicate that GSE may be of therapeutic benefit when used with MTX.

In this study, we evaluated the analgesic effect of methanol extract from Desmodium triflorum DC (MDT) by using animal models of acetic acid-induced writhing response and formalin test. The anti-inflammatory effect of MDT was investigated by λ-carrageenan-induced paw edema in mice. In order to study the anti-inflammatory mechanism of MDT, we detected the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRd) in the liver, the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) in the edema paw tissue. In the analgesic test, MDT (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) decreased the acetic acid-induced writhing response and the licking time on the late phase in the formalin test. In the anti-inflammatory test, MDT (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) decreased the paw edema at the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th hour after λ-carrageenan administration. On the other hand, MDT increased the activities of SOD and GRd in liver tissues and decreased the MDA level in the edema paw at the 3rd hour after λ-carrageenan-induced inflammation. MDT also affected the levels of interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, NO and MDA which were induced by λ-carrageenan. The results suggested that MDT possessed analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of MDT might be related to the decreases in the level of MDA in the edema paw via increasing the activities of SOD and GRd in the liver, and the NO level via regulating the IL-1β production and the level of TNF-α in the inflamed tissues.

Little is known about the effect of far-infrared rays (FIR) on serotonin and malondialdehyde levels in depressed patients with insomnia. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of far-infrared rays on depressed people with insomnia. A randomized design was used to determine this effect. A total of 70 inpatients were recruited with the clinical diagnosis of depression with sleep disturbance. In the experimental group, FIR was applied to three chosen acupuncture points by a patch-like sticker for a period of 15 minutes twice a week. The three acupuncture points are Nei-Kuan (PC6), Shenmen (HT7) and Sanyinjiao (SP6). The total duration of experiment was four weeks. For both experimental and control groups, serum levels of serotonin (5HT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were examined before and after the introduction of FIR. The experimental group revealed disparate changes over different dependent variables, in which serotonin increased but MDA decreased after the introduction of FIR. These observations indicate that the serotonin pathway is involved in the pathophysiological mechanism responsible for the damaging effects of MDA on depressed patients with insomnia.

In this study, we evaluated the analgesic effect of the methanol extract of Kalanchoe gracilis (MKGS) stem in animal models by inducing writhing response with acetic acid and conducting formalin test. The anti-inflammatory effect of MKGS was also estimated on mice with λ-carrageenan induced paw edema model. In order to investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of MKGS, we analyzed the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRx) in the liver, and the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) in the edema paw tissue. In the analgesic tests, MKGS (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) decreased both the acetic acid-induced writhing response and the licking time in the late phase of the formalin test. In the anti-inflammatory test, MKGS (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) decreased paw edema at the third, fourth, fifth and sixth hours after λ-carrageenan had been administrated. Furthermore, MKGS increased the activities of SOD and GRx in liver tissues and decreased MDA level in the edema paws three hours after λ-carrageenan was injected. MKGS also affected the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and NO induced by λ-carrageenan. All these results suggested that MKGS possessed analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of MKGS might be related to the lowering of MDA level in the edema paw via increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and GRx in the liver, as well as the decreases in the levels of TNF-α and NO, and the production of IL-1β in inflamed tissues.

The aims of this study intended to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of the 70% ethanol extract from Scoparia dulcis (SDE) and betulinic acid on λ-carrageenan-induced paw edema in mice. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of SDE and betulinic acid was examined by detecting the levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the edema paw tissue and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRd) in the liver. The betulinic acid content in SDE was detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In the anti-inflammatory model, the results showed that SDE (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) and betulinic acid (20 and 40 mg/kg) reduced the paw edema at 3, 4 and 5 h after λ-carrageenan administration. Moreover, SDE and betulinic acid affected the levels of COX-2, NO, TNF-α and IL1-β in the λ-carrageenan-induced edema paws. The activities of SOD, GPx and GRd in the liver tissue were increased and the MDA levels in the edema paws were decreased. It is suggested that SDE and betulinic acid possessed anti-inflammatory activities and the anti-inflammatory mechanisms appear to be related to the reduction of the levels of COX-2, NO, TNF-α and IL1-β in inflamed tissues, as well as the inhibition of MDA level via increasing the activities of SOD, GPx and GRd. The analytical result showed that the content of betulinic acid in SDE was 6.25 mg/g extract.

Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the cytoprotective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 (GS-Rg1) against malondialdehyde (MDA)-suppressed proliferation of the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and its possible mechanisms in vitro.

Methods: Murine bone marrow-derived MSCs were treated with GS-Rg1 (10, 50, 100mg/L) for 24h before being incubated with MDA in vitro, CFU-Fassay, the cell viability and BrdU incorporation assay were examined, the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), p21 and cyclin E of MSC were examined by Q-RT-PCR and Western blotting.

Results: The results showed that the number and size of murine bone marrow MSC colonies, the number of colony-forming cells, methyl thiazolyltetrazolium (MTT) absorbed value greatly and percentage of BrdU-positive cells increased significantly in MSC pretreated with GS-Rg1. GS-Rgl pretreatment markedly decreased the expression level of p21 and increased the expression of CDK2 and cyclin E. GS-Rg1 protects MSCs from MDA-suppressed proliferation.

Conclusion: The protective mechanism could be related to its ability to increase the expression of CDK2 and cyclin E, and to reduce the expression of p21.