Genotoxicity testing of Ambelania occidentalis (Apocynaceae) leaf extract in vivo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Assessment of the potential genotoxic risk of medicinal Tamarindus indica fruit pulp extract using in vivo assays

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of beta-aminopropionitrile fumarate and exercise on equine tendon healing: Gross and histological aspects

In the present study, the effects of intralesional injections of beta-aminopropionitrile fumarate (BAPN-F) was assessed in equine experimental tendinitis. BAPN-F is a lathyrogen which inhibits crosslinking of collagen, permitting more time for parallel reorientation of the repair tissue. Sixteen two-year-old Arabian horses without health problems were used in this experiment. The animals were divided into two groups: group one was left in box rest, and group two was submitted to controlled exercise during the experiment. Tendinitis was induced with collagenase in the superficial flexor tendon of both forelimbs. Twenty days after the induction of tendinitis, intralesional treatment with BAPN-F was performed and the contralateral limbs received saline. A biopsy was obtained and gross and histopathological analysis was performed on the 150th day of the experiment. The collagen fibrillar alignment pattern in the heating area was better in the BAPN-F group submitted to controlled exercise than in the other group, as observed by sonographic and histopathologic examination. The present results indicate that BAPN-F in combination with controlled loading improved sear remodeling and tendon wound collagen maturation.

Antithrombotic effect of Lonomia obliqua caterpillar bristle extract on experimental venous thrombosis

The venom of Lonomia obliqua caterpillar may induce a hemorrhagic syndrome in humans, and blood incoagulability by afibrinogenemia when intravenously injected in laboratory animals. The possible antithrombotic and thrombolytic activities of L. obliqua caterpillar bristle extract (LOCBE) were evaluated in this study. The minimal intravenous dose of the extract necessary to induce afibrinogenemia and anticoagulation was 3.0 and 10.0 µg protein/kg body weight for rabbits and rats, respectively. In rabbits, this dose induced total blood incoagulability for at least 10 h and did not reduce the weight of preformed venous thrombi, in contrast to streptokinase (30,000 IU/kg). In rats, pretreatment with 5.0 and 10.0 µg/kg LOCBE prevented the formation of thrombi induced by venous stasis or by injury to the venous endothelium. The dose of 5.0 µg/kg LOCBE did not modify blood coagulation assay parameters but increased bleeding time and decreased plasma factor XIII concentration. When the extract was administered to rats at the dose of 10.0 µg/kg, the blood was totally incoagulable for 6 h. These data show that LOCBE was effective in preventing experimental venous thrombosis in rats, justifying further studies using purified fractions of the extract to clarify the mechanisms of this effect.

Molecular analysis of the PROP1 and HESX1 genes in patients with septo-optic dysplasia and/or pituitary hormone deficiency

OBJETIVO: O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os genes PROP1 e HESX1 em um grupo de pacientes com displasia septo-óptica (DSO) e deficiência hormonal hipofisária (combinada - DHHC; ou deficiência isolada de GH - DGH). Onze pacientes com apresentação clínica e bioquímica consistente com DHHC, DGH ou DSO foram avaliados. SUBJECTS and METHODS: em todos os pacientes, o gene HESX1 foi analisado pelo sequenciamento direto e, nos casos de DHHC, o gene PROP1 foi também sequenciado. RESULTADOS: Um polimorfismo no gene HESX1 (1772 A > G; N125S) foi identificado em um paciente com DSO. Foram encontrados três pacientes portadores da variação alélica 27 T > C; A9A e 59 A > G; N20S no éxon 1 do gene PROP1. Mutações no gene PROP1 e HESX1 não foram identificadas nesses pacientes com DGH, DHHC e DSO esporádicos. CONCLUSÃO: Alterações genéticas em um ou diversos outros genes ou mecanismos não genéticos devem estar implicados nesse processo patogênico.

Pituitary Apoplexy After a Single Dose of Long-Acting Octreotide

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is a rare and potentially life-threatening syndrome resulting from an acute infarction or hemorrhage of the pituitary gland. Although the pathogenesis is not fully understood, some predisposing factors such as pituitary stimulation tests, diabetes mellitus, anticoagulant or antiplatelet aggregation therapy, head trauma, and high blood pressure may play a role in its pathophysiology. Octreotide is the mainstay of medical treatment for acromegaly. The majority of reported complications of octreotide therapy are gastrointestinal. We report the case of a 51-year-old acromegalic woman who developed pituitary apoplexy within the context of high blood pressure and a single dose of long-acting octreotide. Our data suggest that the combination of hypertension and octreotide therapy enhances the risk of pituitary apoplexy.

Conservative management of pituitary tumor apoplexy

A apoplexia pituitária é uma rara síndrome neuroendócrina causada, na maioria dos casos, pela hemorragia ou enfarte de um adenoma pituitário preexistente. O tratamento recomendado é variável; alguns autores defendem a descompressão cirúrgica do tumor em regime de urgência, enquanto outros sugerem que o tratamento conservador pode levar à recuperação da função neuroftalmológica. Descrevemos os casos de dois pacientes com apoplexia pituitária que apresentaram macroadenomas clinicamente não secretores e hipopituitarismo, incluindo hipogonadismo. Ambos foram submetidos ao tratamento conservador, sem cirurgia, e houve a remissão do tumor.

Morphological and molecular characterization of an equine isolate of Pythium insidiosum and comparison with the first human isolate from the same geographic region

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of Bauhinia forficata extract in diabetic pregnant rats: maternal repercussions

Bauhinia forficata, commonly known as paw-of-cow, is widely used in Brazil folk medicine for the treatment of Diabetes mellitus. The purposes of present study were to determine the repercussions of diabetes on the defense system against oxidative stress in pregnant female rats and to characterize the influence of the treatment with Bauhinia forficata extract on the antioxidant system, glycemic control, hepatic glycogen, cholesterol, triglycerides, total proteins and lipids. Virgin female Wistar rats were injected with 40 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) before mating. Oral administration of an aqueous extract of Bauhinia forficata leaves was given to non-diabetic and diabetic pregnant rats in 3 doses: 500 mg/kg from 0 to 4(th) day of pregnancy, 600 mg/kg from 5(th) to 14(th) day and 1000 mg/kg from 15(th) to 20(th) day. All the females were killed on the day 21 of pregnancy. A maternal blood sample was collected by venous puncture and the maternal liver was removed for biochemical measurement. The diabetic pregnant rats presented hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, bypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, hyperuricemia, decreased determinations of reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Treatment with B. forficata extract did not interfere in the albumin, total protein and lipid, triglyceride, cholesterol and SOD determinations. Increased hepatic glycogen, decreased uric acid concentration and increased GSH activity was observed. This last fact suggests that the plant may have some action on antioxidant defense system. However, the demonstration of the active component present in B. forficata responsible for its antioxidant effect and the increase in hepatic glycogen deserve further investigation.

Effects of Annona squamosa extract on early pregnancy in rats

Annona squamosa Linn., family Annonaceae, is said to show varied medicinal effects, including insecticide, antiovulatory and abortifacient. The purpose of present study was to investigate if A. squamosa seed aqueous extract, in doses higher than that popularly used to provoke abortion, interferes with reproductive performance, and to correlate the ingestion of this extract with possible alterations in rat embryonic implantation. Doses of 300 mg/kg (Treated Group I, n = 17) and 600 mg/kg (Treated Group II, n = 12) body wt. were administered by gavage, during days 1 to 5 of pregnancy (preimplantation period). The control group (n = 13) received water in the same manner, during the same period for comparison with experimental groups. The animals were euthanized on day 10 of pregnancy. Treatment of dams during the preimplantation period showed no signs of toxicity, and no alteration in the corpora lutea, implantations and embryo in terms of development numbers. The percentage of preimplantation and postimplantation losses in treated groups I and II did not differ from those of control. Treatment with aqueous extract of A. squamosa seeds caused no morphological change in the endometrium. The absence of morphological alterations in uterine epithelial cells in treated groups I and II permitted a viable embryonic implantation, as verified by the number of embryos in development at day 10 of pregnancy. Thus, A. squamosa seed aqueous extract did not interfere with the reproductive performance of pregnant rats.

Effect of Bauhinia forficata aqueous extract on the maternal-fetal outcome and oxidative stress biomarkers of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Bauhinia forficata Link, commonly known as paw-of-cow, is widely used in Brazilian folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes.Aim of this study: To evaluate the effect of Bauhinia forficata treatment on maternal-fetal outcome and antioxidant systems of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.Materials and methods: Virgin female Wistar rats were injected with 40 mg/kg streptozotocin before mating. Oral administration of an aqueous extract of Bauhinia forficata leaves was given to non-diabetic and diabetic pregnant rats at increasing doses: 500 mg/kg from 0 to 4th day of pregnancy, 600 mg/kg from 5th to 14th day and 1000 mg/kg from 15th to 20th day. At day 21 of pregnancy the rats were anaesthetized with ether and a maternal blood sample was collected for the determination superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH). The gravid uterus was weighed with its contents and fetuses were analyzed.Results and conclusion: The data showed that the diabetic dams presented an increased glycemic level, resorption, placental weight, placental index, and fetal anomalies, and reduced GSH and SOD determinations, live fetuses, maternal weight gain, gravid uterine weight, and fetal weight. It was also verified that Bauhinia forficata treatment had no hypoglycemic effect, did not improve maternal outcomes in diabetic rats, but it contributed to maintain GSH concentration similarly to non-diabetic groups, suggesting relation with the decreased incidence of visceral anomalies. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Morus nigra aqueous extract treatment on the maternal-fetal outcome, oxidative stress status and lipid profile of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Differential response related to genotoxicity between eggplant (Solanum melanogena) skin aqueous extract and its main purified anthocyanin (delphinidin) in vivo

Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments in the plant kingdom. A number of studies have demonstrated that anthocyanins present antioxidant capacity and show inhibitory effects on the growth of some cancer cells. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate both the antimutagenicity/antigenotoxicity and mutagenicity/genotoxicity of aqueous extract obtained from the Solanum melanogena, a possible novel source of anthocyanin, and its main purified anthocyanin extract (delphinidin), using the single cell (comet) assay and micronucleus test. Pretreatment with higher doses of the purified anthocyanin (10 and 20 mg/kg b.w.) led to a statistically significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the frequency of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes induced by cyclophosphamide. The pattern of reduction ranged from 48% to 57% independent of concentration. No apparent: genotoxicity and mutagenicity was found for either the anthocyanin or delphinidin extracts. Taken together, these results suggest that mice pre-treated with specific compounds present in anthocyanins (delphinidin) displayed a lower incidence of mutations induced by cyclophosphamide. This finding emphasizes the potential of natural colorants to prevent mutations and also the applicability of genotoxic evaluation for improving health. Furthermore, the results presented here could be an additional argument to support the use of anthocyanins in the diet. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.