ABSTRACT
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic intestinal inflammation. Common clinical symptoms are weight loss, diarrhea, ulcers, and inflammation. Aloe vera (AV) has several medicinal properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory analgesic, and improvement of gastric and skin ulcers. This study aimed to investigate the protective and therapeutic effects of AV gel on acetic acid-induced UC in rats. UC was induced in 48 rats by injection of 4% acetic acid into the rectum. Protective and treatment groups received treatments 7 days before and after the induction of colitis, respectively. The negative control group, the positive control group, and AV groups received distilled water, sulfasalazine, and 50 and 300 mg/kg of gel extract, respectively. Water and food intake and body weight changes were recorded. The extent of the mucosal ulcers, colon tissue thickening, and mucosal bleeding were scored by the Gerald classification system score (microscopy observations). Slides of tissues were prepared for pathologic assay using the modified Wallace method (macroscopic observations). The results of the macroscopic and microscopic examination showed protective and therapeutic effects of 50 mg/kg dose of AV on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats which reduces the inflammation, ulcers and tissue damage compared with negative control (p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the amount of water and food intake, body weight changes, and colon weight in protective and treatment groups. Based on the results, AV gel could be used to improve the symptoms of UC, as well as prevent people who are susceptible to the UC.
ABSTRACT
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic intestinal inflammation. Common clinical symptoms are weight loss, diarrhea, ulcers, and inflammation. Aloe vera (AV) has several medicinal properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory analgesic, and improvement of gastric and skin ulcers. This study aimed to investigate the protective and therapeutic effects of AV gel on acetic acid-induced UC in rats. UC was induced in 48 rats by injection of 4% acetic acid into the rectum. Protective and treatment groups received treatments 7 days before and after the induction of colitis, respectively. The negative control group, the positive control group, and AV groups received distilled water, sulfasalazine, and 50 and 300 mg/kg of gel extract, respectively. Water and food intake and body weight changes were recorded. The extent of the mucosal ulcers, colon tissue thickening, and mucosal bleeding were scored by the Gerald classification system score (microscopy observations). Slides of tissues were prepared for pathologic assay using the modified Wallace method (macroscopic observations). The results of the macroscopic and microscopic examination showed protective and therapeutic effects of 50 mg/kg dose of AV on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats which reduces the inflammation, ulcers and tissue damage compared with negative control (p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the amount of water and food intake, body weight changes, and colon weight in protective and treatment groups. Based on the results, AV gel could be used to improve the symptoms of UC, as well as prevent people who are susceptible to the UC.
ABSTRACT
Doxorubicin [DOX], a widely used chemotherapeutic agent can give rise to serve cardiotoxicity by inducing apoptosis. Curcumin, the active compound of the rhizome of Curcuma longa L. has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities. Curcumin has been identified to increase cytotoxicity in several cancer cell lines in combination with DOX, but there is no study about its effect and DOX on normal cardiac cells. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated the effect of curcumin on apoptosis induced by DOX in H9c2 rat heart-derived cells. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Also, activation of caspase-3 was evaluated by spectrophotometry. Quantitative real time RT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression of c-IAP1. Detection of intracellular DOX accumulation was performed by flow cytometry. No toxicity observed when the cells exposed for 1 hr to different concentrations of curcumin, but pretreatment of cells with curcumin increased cytotoxicity of DOX in a dose dependent manner. Analysis of caspase-3 activation showed that curcumin pretreatment increased caspase-3 activation. RT-PCR analysis clearly showed that curcumin significantly decreased mRNA gene expression of c-IAP1 compared to cells treated with DOX alone. Pretreatment of H9c2 cells with DOX and curcumin had no effect on the intracellular accumulation of DOX. Our observations indicated that subtoxic concentrations of curcumin sensitize H9c2 cells to DOX-induce apoptosis. These results suggest that the use of curcumin in combination with DOX in malignancy must be reevaluated