Cardioprotective effect of garlic juice on the isolated rat heart in ischemia-reperfusion

It has been reported that the chronic oral administration of garlic homogenate protected the rat heart from in vitro ischemic reperfusion injury. However, the biological effects of garlic juice on the heart are expected to be different from oral administration of it. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of garlic juice on the isolated rat heart in ischemia- reperfusion. Rat isolated, perfused hearts were subjected to 30 min baseline measurement followed by 40 min normothermic global ischemia and 45 min reperfusion. Garlic juice [0.01 mg/ml] was added to the perfusion solution 20 min before ischemia in the test 1 and 5 min before and 10 min after ischemia in test 2. Different cardiac variables including left ventricular developed pressure [LVDP], heart rate [HR] and coronary flow [CF] were measured. Rate pressure product [RPP] was calculated, and released lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] enzyme in effluent was measured in reperfusion. Garlic juice significantly increased CF before ischemia in both test groups. The released LDH enzyme at the first minute and the recovery of RPP and LVDP on the 45[th] minute of reperfusion were significantly better in the test group 2 in comparison to the control. The result of the present study shows that garlic juice has a vasodilator activity and protects the isolated ischemic rat heart when it was administrated in reperfusion. It is probably mediated by antioxidant activity of allicin as a principal bioactive compound of garlic juice

[ effect of microwave radiation on rabbit's hearing]

Regarding the rapid development in technology of mobile communication and increasing growth in number of users, the radiation of these waves has become as one of the concerns of today's society. The aim of this study was to assess the potential changes in auditory system of rabbit following exposure to microwave. This was an experimental study carried out at two auditory centers of Tarbiat Modaress University and Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran [Iran] in 2005. White Newsealand male rabbits were the experimental animals used in our study and the Auditory Brainstem Response [ABR] as the method to evaluate the possible changes following exposure to radiation. The latency time of the fifth wave of ABR was measured and recorded pre- and post-exposure using two stimuli [Click and Tone burst] at different frequencies and two intensities of 70 and 100 dB. The latency time of wave V was increased for different frequencies used in our experiment. An increase of more than 0.2 ms was noticed especially at two frequencies of 2000 and 8000 Hz. Statistical analysis of results was indicative of no significant change between latency times of wave V [ms] pre- and post-exposure. The results of audiometry provided evidences regarding the effect of microwave radiation at the levels produced by mobile phones on rabbit's auditory system. Our data suggest the prudent use of mobile phones