پریسا صابری حسن آبادی

Despite advances in diabetes-related treatments, the effects of the disease have not yet been adequately reversed or prevented in patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop more effective medication-assisted treatments in this field.

In this study, type 1 diabetes mice models was established using multiple low-dose alloxan, and the diabetic mice were treated with three doses of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) i.e low, medium, and high viz. 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, respectively for a period of 21 days. Then, specific test were done to evaluate blood biochemical parameters, oxidative stress markers, inflammatory genes expression, and histopathological changes in the mice kidney and liver.

The obtained results showed remarkably improved anti-diabetic, hepato-renal-protective, and oxidative stress indexes of DMF in alloxan-induced diabetic mice (P< 0.001). Treated mice with DMF demonstrated a noteworthy decrease in blood glucose levels when compared with diabetic group (P< 0.001). Diabetic liver and kidney tissues showed marked dilation of bile ducts, tubules, infiltration, and inflammation. On the contrary, the histological features of the treated mice with DMF improve as shown by normal size of glomerular capillaries along with decrease in less dilatation of ducts in comparison with diabetic mice. The real-time quantitative PCR results indicated that DMF injection decreased the alloxan-induced increase of significant elevations in mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines levels in both kidney and liver tissues. Meanwhile, mice treated with DMF showed an increase in Sirt1 and Nrf2 expression in comparison to diabetic group.

In conclusion, it can be concluded that DMF treatment provides hepato-renal protective effects on alloxan-induced diabetic mice model by attenuating ROS inflammatory pathways.

Paraquat is one of the chemical herbicides with high toxicity. In case of incorrect consumption, this chemical causes fatal poisoning in people, especially those active in the field of agriculture. Nowadays, using compounds of natural origin to improve or reduce the harmful effects of agricultural pesticides is one of the important issues that has attracted the attention of researchers in this field. Quercetin as a natural flavonoid is found in large quantities in fruits and vegetables. As a kind of natural antioxidant, this compound has great power in removing free radicals. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the protective effects of quercetin on ovarian toxicity caused by paraquat in rats.

To conduct this experimental research, 30 adult Wistar rats with an average age of 6 to 8 months and a weight range of 160 to 180 gr were randomly divided into 5 experimental groups including 6 rats in each group. Paraquat (1.25 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) was injected into mice. Then quercetin was injected intraperitoneally in concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg. The negative control group received only normal saline. After 24 hours, the animals were sacrificed and their ovaries were evaluated for changes in oxidative stress indices.

The results showed that paraquat significantly increased the reactive oxygen species (ROS), protein carbonyl, and lipid peroxidation, and significantly decreased glutathione content and survival of ovarian tissue cells when compared with the control group (P<0.001). The results showed that different concentrations of quercetin could inhibit the lipid peroxidation reaction caused by paraquat toxicity, and the positive control group had a statistically significant difference compared to the negative control group (P<0.001). By administering quercetin in different concentrations, we saw a decrease in the production of lipid peroxidation. From a statistical point of view, quercetin at the concentration (mg/kg) of 50 had a significant difference with the positive control group (P<0.01) and this significant difference was also evident at the concentrations of (mg/kg) 100 and 200 (P<0.0001). Increasing the concentration of quercetin was associated with improved performance in inhibiting paraquat toxicity.

Results showed that quercetin can be useful as an effective antioxidant combination in improving oxidative stress indicators and ovarian tissue of mice. Quercetin can reduce paraquat-induced oxidative damage in rat ovarian tissues in a dose-dependent manner. Quercetin can potentially be used to control ovarian toxicity, modulate or inhibit oxidative factors, strengthen the immune system, and strengthen the antioxidant system in animal models. Probably, it can be used as a kind of safe supplement in combination with other drugs affecting the immune system. However, this hypothesis along with the effect of other drug interactions should be confirmed using appropriate in vivo studies. Understanding the process of cell death caused by paraquat and the inhibitory effect of natural antioxidants on it provides a new road map for future studies to develop new therapeutic strategies.

Background and

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that have carcinogenic effects. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a highly toxic mycotoxin that can contaminate wheat grains and flour under various conditions of production, storage, and maintenance. Considering the carcinogenicity and mutagenicity of this toxin, it is necessary to monitor the contamination of wheat flour used in bakeries and to prevent this product from entering the bread supply chain. The aim of this study was to identify and determine the amount of OTA in wheat flour consumed by bakeries in Sari, during 2017 using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.

In this study, 30 samples of flour used in the preparation of lavash, barbari and sengak bread were collected from five different geographical areas of Sari (Mazandaran province) in 2017. The concentration of OTA was finally determined using HPLC device and through purification with an immunoaffinity column.

No concentration of OTA was observed in any of the tested samples. The results were in compliance with the mentioned reference values of OTA concentration in bakery products based on the Iranian National Standard Organization.

Based on the results, the flour used in breads is safe in terms of OTA. This amount is in accordance with the permissible limits set by the Iranian National Standard Organization and is acceptable for consumption.