Iranian Journal of Toxicology
Volume:14 Issue: 2, Apr 2020

Chromolaena odorata (C. odorata) is a medicinal plant with hypoglycemic effect known in traditional medicine. The present study investigated the in vitro antioxidant and in vivo anti-hyperglycemic effect of the methanol root extract of C. odorata in rats.

Phytochemical compositions were evaluated, using standard procedures while the antioxidant activities were examined, using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and ferric reducing power (FRAP) assays. Twenty albino rats were administered 120 mg/kg of body weight (bw) alloxan and were divided into four groups of five animals each. Groups A to D were treated with 2 ml/kg of normal saline, 300 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg bw extract and 5 mg/kg bw glibenclamide, respectively, through oral route for 14 days. Blood samples were collected and prepared for the analysis of serum lipids profile.

The extract contained tannins (54.76±4.08 mg/100 g), saponins (322.78±17.35 mg/100 g), glycosides, alkaloids (74.34±6.08 mg/100 g), flavonoids (79.63±4.55 mg/100 g), phenols (154.32±11.21 mg/100 g), glycosides, steroids and reducing sugar. The extract promoted the inhibition of DPPH radicals with IC50 values of 191.68±1.68 µg/mL. In comparison with the untreated controls, total cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly reduced (P<0.05) following treatment with C. odorata extract while high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, was significantly increased. 

The C. odorata extract exhibited antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects in alloxan-induced diabetic rat, thus could be considered as a natural product in the management of dyslipidemia secondary to diabetes.

Paraquat (PQ), an herbicide, is a very poisonous compound for both humans and animals. This study was conducted to examine the protective effect of the Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in newborn rats from pregnant rats pre-treated with PQ. 

The experiments were conducted on 25 rats, divided in five groups randomly and equally: 1. Control Group received normal saline (0.1 ml/day); 2. PQ Group received PQ only (5 mg/kg/day); 3. PQ+CoQ10 Group received PQ (5 mg/kg) and CoQ10 (10 mg/kg) daily; 4. PQ+olive oil Group received PQ (5 mg/kg) and olive oil (10 mg/kg) daily; 5. Olive oil Group received olive oil (10 mg/kg/day). All of the injections were made intraperitoneally and started on the 16th day of pregnancy through to parturition. Sixteen days after parturition, the lungs were removed from the newborn rats, paraffin sections were made and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and analyzed histomorphometrically and stereologically.

The results revealed that interstitial tissue and lung alveoli had normal structures in the control and olive oil groups. In PQ and PQ-olive oil groups alveolar hemorrhage, inflammation, extensive fibrosis, decreased alveolar numbers, increased mast cells, and changes in the epithelia were observed. In PQ-CoQ10 Group there was a significant recovery in all of the histological alterations.

Generally, Coenzyme Q10 had a protective effect against lung damages caused by PQ, but a complete recovery of the damaged lung tissue would probably take longer than 16 days after birth.

High concentrations of various heavy metals of mine tailings can easily contaminate the environment. Such materials need monitoring and remediation to prevent them from polluting the environment and food chain. 

The concentrations of certain metals were evaluated in the soil samples at Sorkheh and Mazraeh copper mining areas in northwestern Iran, using three reliable pollution indices. We assessed the ability of three plants, Alhaji maurorum and Stachys inflata at Sorkheh mines, and Cirsium vulgare at Mazraeh mines, the dominant plants grown in those areas, in taking up the metals from the associated soils. The plant and soil samples were analyzed inductively by coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

The results revealed that the soil samples at Sorkheh and Mazraeh mining areas were highly contaminated with As at CF values of 16.9 and 4.6, respectively. The soil samples from the two mining areas were moderately contaminated with Pb and Zn. The data confirmed that A. maurorum and S. inflata had a good ability to accumulate Cd, Mo and Sc from the soils in Sorkheh area. The other plant, C. vulgare, accumulated Zn and Pb at 1891 mg/kg and 18.6 mg/kg, respectively. The studied plants were good indicators of heavy metals contaminating the soils in these mining areas. 

This study provided geochemical evidence about the heavy metals that contaminated the soils in the mining areas, and contributed new information about these toxic metals and their concentrations in the three plants and the soil samples.

Newbouldia laevis and Crateva adansonii are popular plants used traditionally in the management of patients with malaria infection in Nigeria. In this study, the acute toxicity and anti-plasmodial effects of the leaf extracts of Newbouldia laevis and Crateva adansonii were investigated in mice.

The Anti-plasmodial activities of both extracts were investigated individually and combined in mice infected with the chloroquine sensitive ANKA-65 Plasmodium berghei strain. Five groups of four mice each were used in our experiments. The LD50 was determined, using the line equation of the mortality against dose levels plot. 

The extracts of N. laevis and C. adansonii had a safety level of 200 mg/kg (LD50= 471.43 mg/kg) and 600 mg/kg (LD50=3,500 mg/kg), respectively. Each experimental group was infected with P. berghei strain. The percent inhibition of parasitemia induced by the extracts of N. laevis and C. adansonii were 30.14±2.88% and 61.35±1.41%, respectively, compared to the 78.89% achieved for the standard drug (chloroquine). Mice treated with the combined extracts had a parasite inhibition of 24.23±0.86%. Upon the analysis of the extracts, there were tannins, steroids, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids in both. The quantitative analyses revealed that tannins were the most abundant (261.85±4.76 mg/100 g & 92.71±6.58 mg/100 g) while saponins were the least abundant (15.09±1.13 mg/100 g & 14.08±1.28 mg/100 g) phytochemicals in both extracts.  

The findings support the notion that the traditional use of either plant in the management of malaria in Nigeria appears to be logical.

The venoms of some scorpions are rich in bioactive components that may be used in the development and discovery of new antibacterial drugs. The venoms have many components, such as neurotoxins, salts, proteins and peptides with therapeutic properties, and can rapidly eliminate a broad range of bacteria. This study evaluated the anti-bacterial activity of Odontobuthus bidentatus’ crude venom against typical Gram-positive and negative bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Escherichia coli.

The antibacterial effects of the crude venom were evaluated using Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and MTT assays and its IC50 value was determined, using GraphPad software. 

The crude venom significantly inhibited the growth of both Gram-positive and negative bacteria. Also the MTT results showed that the crude venom significantly reduced the viability of E. Coli, S. Aureus, and B. Subtilis bacteria compared with that for the controls. The IC50 values of the venom for E.coli, S.aureus, and B.subtilis were 30.19, 17.64, and 24.13 µM, respectively. 

The findings suggest that the venom of O. bidentatus scorpion has antibacterial properties. Also, our results offer preliminary clues toward the development of new antibacterial agents and new drugs with high therapeutic potentials for use in animals and humans.

Cholinesterase is an enzyme that plays a critical role in regulating neural transmission. Many factors may decrease the cholinesterase levels in serum and Red Blood Cells (RBCs). It is suggested that the use of opium may effectively change the levels of Cholinesterase in serum and RBCs. This study aimed to evaluate the serum and RBC levels of cholinesterase in patients who were acutely poisoned with opium. 

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 65 patients suffering from acute opium poisoning. The serum levels of cholinesterase were measured using an automated analyzer. The levels were also measured in RBCs, using a colorimetric method. Simultaneously, 65 patients served as the positive controls from among those poisoned with organophosphates.

The serum cholinesterase levels were lower than the normal range in 16.9% of patients poisoned with opium and in 76.9% of those poisoned with organophosphate agents (P<0.001). Similarly, the levels of RBC cholinesterase were lower than the normal range as found in 64.6% and 15.4% of patients poisoned acutely with opium (Group 1) and organophosphate (Group 2), respectively (P<0.001).

Acute opium poisoning effectively reduced both the levels and activities of cholinesterase in the patients’ serum and RBCs significantly different from those noted in patients suffering from organophosphate toxicity.

The contamination of poultry feed with Aflatoxins (AF) is important in terms of economic damage to the poultry industry and public health. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of Turmeric Powder (TP), containing 2.96% of Total Curcuminoids (TCM) on reducing the adverse effects of dietary AF in Japanese quails.

180 male Japanese quails aged 22-55 days were divided into six groups, and were fed basic diet (group 1, controls), or basic diet contaminated with 4 mg/kg AF and/or TP doses as follows: 3 g/kg TP (group 2), 5 g/kg TP (group 3), 4 mg/kg AF (group 4), 4 mg/kg AF and 3 g/kg TP (group 5) or 4 mg/kg AF and 5 g/kg TP (group 6).

Adding TP to the quails diet that contained AF improved the liver antioxidant status, reduced Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, increased the serum SOD and CAT enzyme levels and improved the total antioxidant capacity (P<0.05). The addition of TP significantly reduced the adverse effects of AF on body weight loss, relative liver weight gain, decreased serum total protein, and increased the AST, ALT and ALP enzyme activities. It also reduced the severity of liver histological pathologies, such as fatty changes, biliary duct proliferation, periportal fibrosis, hyperemia, and leukocyte infiltration.

The effect of TP on reducing the adverse effects of dietary AF may be attributed to its antioxidant properties. The AF-contaminated diet containing 5 g/kg TP (148 mg/kg TCM) was more effective in reducing the AF complications in the quails compared to 3 g/kg of TP (88.8 mg/kg TCM).

Antibiotics are considered important and integral parts of modern life, and are widely used for treating human and animal illnesses, in medicine and veterinary medicine. However, they can cause environmental pollution and may lead to increased bacterial resistance even at low concentrations.

In this study, Ampicillin degradation from β-lactam antibiotic family was studied, using a surface methodology consisting of ultraviolet radiation (254 nm) and H2O2 oxidation process in an 8-watt Pyrex reactor. The variables used included the reaction time (30-60 min), Ampicillin concentration (5-25 mg/l), H2O2 concentration (5-25 mg/l), and pH range of 3-9 at three alpha levels of -1, 0 and +1.

The data were analyzed by the analysis of variance test (ANOVA), while the validity was evaluated using regression coefficients. The optimum condition for Ampicillin degradation followed a linear model, at a 60-min. reaction time and pH 3, the Ampicillin (5mg/l) and hydrogen peroxide (25mg/l) provided the maximum antibiotic removal efficiency (82%).

The results suggest a positive and significant effect for the antibiotic concentration and a negative effect for the pH. The Ampicillin concentration with a coefficient of 8.91 had the highest impact on the efficiency of the removal process. Therefore, antibiotic pollution in the environment can be reduced through the UV-H2O2 process, so as to protect human health from the associated hazards.