Curcumin protects remote organs against injury that is caused by intestinal ischemia and reperfusion

In addition to several local pathophysiological consequences, intestinal injury that is caused by ischemia and reperfusion can result in the development of lesions in remote organs. Curcumin has therapeutic potential because of its antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects. The present study evaluated the effects of curcumin on oxidative and inflammatory parameters in the liver and kidneys in rats that were subjected to intestinal ischemia and reperfusion. The rats were subjected to 45 min. of ischemia followed by 7 days of reperfusion and treated daily with 60 mg kg-1 curcumin. The liver and kidneys were collected, weighed, and biochemically analyzed. Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion increased levels of lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH), decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), and increased the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the liver. Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion decreased kidney weight and increased GST activity in the kidneys. Curcumin prevented these changes in the liver and kidneys. Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion mainly affected the liver, promoting inflammation and oxidative stress. The kidneys underwent repair much earlier than the liver, in which they did not present alterations of MPO or main parameters of oxidative stress after 7 days of reperfusion. Treatment with curcumin had beneficial effects, ameliorating or even preventing injury that was caused by intestinal ischemia and reperfusion in the liver and kidneys in rats

Trypanosoma cruzi (CEPA CL) promove perda neuronal no plexo mioentérico do cólon de ratos / Trypanosoma cruzi (STRAIN CL) causes neuronal loss in rats´ myo-enteric plexus of the colon

Trypanosoma cruzi, um protozoário parasita, é o agente etiológico da doença de Chagas. A infecção chagásica apresenta duas fases: aguda e crônica. Na fase aguda a mortalidade é mais frequente, sendo que o organismo que consegue sobreviver a ela passa para a fase crônica indeterminada. No trato gastrointestinal o T. gondii pode parasitar o sistema nervoso intramural formando os megaesôfago e o megacólon. Não existem trabalhos que relacionam a perda neuronal do plexo mientérico com a infecção com a cepa CL do T. cruzi. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar alterações morfoquantitativas no plexo mioentérico no colo distal de ratos infectados com a cepa CL durante a fase aguda e crônica da doença. Foram utilizados 20 ratos divididos em quatro grupos: infectado com a cepa CL durante 7 dias (grupo IA) do T. cruzi e seu controle (grupo CA), ambos sacrificados após sete dias do início do experimento, outro grupo infectado (IC) e sacrificado após trinta dias e seu controle (CC). Foi realizada a estimativa da densidade neuronal e a morfometria das áreas do perfil dos corpos celulares dos neurônios através da técnica de Giemsa. A análise quantitativa demonstrou uma redução significativa no número de neurônios nos grupos infectados IA e IC. Em relação ao perfil neuronal foi observada uma atrofia dos neurônios do grupo IC em relação ao controle. Portanto, a cepa CL do T. cruzi provoca uma denervação do plexo mioentérico do colo sem contudo ocasionar hipertrofia neuronal no tempo experimental de trinta dias.

The parasite protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of Chagas´s disease. Infection comprises the acute and chronic type. Mortality in the former is more frequent and the organism that survives passes to the undetermined chronic phase. T. gondii within the gastrointestinal tract parasites the intramural nervous system and causes mega-esophagus and mega-colon. No reports in the literature relate neuronal loss of the myo-enteric plexus with infection by strain CL of T. cruzi. Current analysis verifies morphoquantitative alterations in the myo-enteric plexus in rats´ distal colon infected with strain CL during the acute and chronic phase of the disease. Twenty rats were divided into four groups: infected with strain CL of T. cruzi during 7 days (Group IA) and its control (Group CA), killed after seven days from the start of the experiment; another infected group (IC), killed after 30 days and its control (CC). Neuronal density and morphometry of the areas of cell bodies of neurons were estimated by Giemsa technique. Quantitative analysis showed a significant decrease in the number of neurons in infected groups IA and IC. In the case of the neuronal profile, atrophy of neurons of group IC was reported when compared to control. Strain CL of T. cruzi causes a de-nerving of the myo-enteric plexus of the colon without causing a neuronal hypertrophy during the thirty days of experimental period.

Aspectos gerais e abordagem terapêutica da quercetina sobre as complicações do diabetes causadas pelo estresse oxidativo / General aspects and therapeutic of quercetin on the complications of diabetes caused by oxidative stress

Os flavonóides pertencem à classe de compostos fenólicos, que diferem entre si pela sua estrutura química e características particulares. Frutas, vegetais, grãos, flores, chá e vinho são exemplos de fontes destes compostos. A quercetina é o principal flavonóide presente na dieta humana, sendo a representante mais característica da subclasse flavonol da família dos flavonóides. Desde a sua descoberta, os estudos publicados na literatura científica apontam para o seu papel crucial no combate ao estresse oxidativo, associado a diversas condições patológicas. No diabetes mellitus (DM), por exemplo, também tem sido relatada sua eficiência na inibição da enzima aldose redutase que participa da via dos polióis. Nesta contextualização e considerando as graves consequências advindas do DM para a saúde e qualidade de vida, propôs-se neste trabalho uma revisão geral da literatura pertinente, a fim de reunir dados sobre aspectos biológicos e funcionais da quercetina, bem como, sua atuação benéfica nas complicações do diabetes causadas pelo estresse oxidativo.

Flavonoids belong to the class of phenolic compounds that differ by their chemical structure and characteristics. Fruits, vegetables, grains, flowers, tea and wine are examples of sources of these compounds. Quercetin is the major flavonoid present in the human diet and it is the most typical representative of the flavonol subclass of the flavonoid family. Since its discovery, studies published in scientific literature point to its crucial role in combating oxidative stress associated with various pathological conditions. In diabetes mellitus (DM), for example, it has been also reported the effectiveness in inhibiting aldose reductase enzyme that participates of polyol pathway. In this context and considering the dire consequences of diabetes to health and quality of life, it was proposed in this paper a general review of relevant literature in order to gather data on biological and functional aspects of quercetin and its beneficial role in the complications diabetes caused by oxidative stress.

Study of the myenteric and submucous plexuses after BAC treatment in the intestine of rats

A morphological and quantitative study in the ileal and colonic myenteric and submucous plexuses of rats after BAC denervation was performed. Four groups were employed: SI--ileum control; CBI--denervated ileum; SC--colon control; and CBC--denervated colon. We used the Myosin-V immunohistochemistry technique to study the myenteric and submucous plexuses. In the submucous plexus of the ileum and colon there was not a significant decrease in the number of neurons/mm2 and of ganglia/mm2. The denervation of the myenteric plexus in the group CBI was 44.7

and in the group CBC, 68.3

. In the myenteric plexus there was also a significant decrease in the number of ganglia/mm2 (13.8

in group CBI and 52.14

in group CBC) and in the number of neurons/ganglion (33.9

in group CBI and 39.6

in group CBC). The morphological analyses showed that there was an alteration in the shape of the ganglia of the ileal and colonic myenteric plexus. The area of the cell bodies had a significant increase both in the myenteric and the submucous plexus in groups CBI and CBC. These data demonstrate that the BAC treatment causes morphologic and quantitative changes in the myenteric plexus and quantitative changes in the cell body area of the submucous plexus.

Perspectivas dos sistemas de liberaçäo colo-específicos / Perspectives for the colon-specific drug delivery systems

A pesquisa e o desenvolvimentode novos dispositivos para liberaçäo de fármacos com elevado grau de especificidade, constituem estímulo e justificativas constantes na continuidade dos investimentos realizados nas últimas décadas em tecnologia farmacêutica. Neste contexto, várias pesquisas foram direcionadas à obtençäo de sistemas terapêuticos apresentando elevado grau de seletividade para liberaçäo de fármacos em regiöes específicas do trato gastrointestinal. Dentre esses, os sistemas terapêuticos colo-específicos destinados a via oral, voltados ao tratamento de afecçöes locais, aliado às perspectivas de administraçäo oral de peptídeos para absorçäo e açäo sistêmica, apresentam elevada posiçäo de destaque. O colo devido as suas particularidades (elevado tempo de residência e baixa atividade enzimática) tem sido amplamente explorado como ambiente adequado e promissor tanto para o tratamento local, como para a liberaçäo e otimizaçäo da biodisponibilidade de fármacos: corticosteróides, contraceptivos, hormônio do crescimento e insulina.

Morphological and quantative study of the myenteric plexus of the duodenum of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The purpose of this work was to study the morphological and quantitative alterations of the myenteric plexus neurons of the duodenum of rats with acute and chronic streptozotocin-induced diabetes and establish a comparison with non-diabetic animals. Samples of duodenum were destined to histological sections stained by Hematoxilin-Eosin and to membrane preparings stained by the Giemsa and NADH-diaphorasis methods. Semall, medium and large neurons were found, with a predominance of medium ones on chronic and acute diabetic animals. It was verified that most of the neurons of diabetic and non-diabetic animals have an eccentrical nucleus and thus this characteristic is not an indicative of degenerative process. It was observed that in diabetes there is a decrease in the number of myenteric neurons. It is argued that this initial decrease is due to the toxic effects of the drug and not to the physiopathology of diabetes itself, and also that the expressive smaller proportion of neurons on the chronically diabetic animals is due to the immediate loss related to streptozotocin and the further consequences of aging during nine weeks of diabetes.