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@#Introduction: High-calorie diets, particularly the quality of dietary fats, are regarded as an independent risk factor for developing obesity, hyperlipidaemia, and liver diseases. The present study examined the impact of rice bran oil (RBO) on organ-specific fat deposition, lipid profile, and liver function enzymes in Long Evans rats. Methods: Long Evans rats (n=24) were fed for six weeks with a controlled high-fat diet (HFD) to induce hyperlipidaemia and abnormal liver function. Rats were then divided into two groups: one group continued feeding on HFD, and the other group was fed with a RBO diet, replacing the fat source. After six weeks of feeding, six rats from each group were sacrificed and required analytical tests were performed. The remaining obese rats (n=12) were divided into continued HFD and RBO diet, and after sacrificing, essential analytical tests were done. Results: RBO feeding to hyperlipidaemic rats for six weeks significantly reduced brown adipose tissue, abdominal adipose tissue, epididymal adipose tissue, and liver fat compared to continuing HFD group (p<0.05). Similarly, serum levels of total cholesterol, triacylglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were all decreased, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in response to RBO compared to HFD (p<0.05). Additionally, rats fed with RBO showed reduced alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels when compared with continuing HFD-fed rats (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that RBO supports the reduction of fat storage from major fat depots, controls lipid profile, and restores healthy liver functions in rats.
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Aims@#Klebsiella pneumoniae is considered to be one of the most frequent bacterial species associated with urinary tract infections (UTIs) and recurrent UTIs (RUTIs) worldwide. The present study aimed to comprehensively characterize K. pneumoniae isolates from women suffering from UTI and RUTIs. @*Methodology and results@#A total of 15 clinical isolates, collected from different hospitals in Bangladesh, were tested for biochemical features, and amplified by PCR. Antibiogram assay was performed by disk-diffusion assay. Phylogenetic and functional features were analyzed using bioinformatics platform. XLSTAT was used for principal component analysis (PCA). PCR amplification using Klebsiella hemolysin gene (khe) confirmed the presence of K. pneumoniae in agarose gel with expected product size of 486 kb. Antibiogram assay revealed all K. pneumoniae isolates to be completely resistant to six out of ten relevant drugs namely ampicillin, cephradine, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, kanamycin and sulfamethoxazole used for treating UTIs in Bangladesh. Sequencing of 16S rRNA gene of clinically significant K. pneumoniae isolates showed a high level of sequence divergence among the isolates from UTI and RUTIs as well as functional features such as SNP variants and restriction sites. @*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#We surmise that the results could be used as a pipeline for further research in the identification of K. pneumoniae associated with UTI and RUTIs, and treatment of infection.
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Objective: To investigate the comparative effects of Diospyros blancoi (Ebenaceae) leaves (DBL), root bark (DBRB) and stem bark (DBSB) on free radicals and cancer. Methods: The polyphenol contents, antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties were determined using standard spectrophotometric methods. Cytotoxicity and anticancer activities were performed on brine shrimp nauplii and Ehrlich ascite carcinoma cells, respectively. Results: Among the extracts, DBSB showed the highest total antioxidant capacity and reducing capacity on ferrous ion. Based on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, DBSB showed (95.760 ± 0.343)% and (67.460 ± 2.641)% scavenging with IC
ABSTRACT
Zinc plays a protective role in anti-atherosclerosis but the clear mechanism has not been proposed yet. In the present study, we evaluated whether zinc modulates atherosclerotic markers, VACM-1 and ICAM-1 and cell viability both in endothelial cells in vitro and mouse aortic cell viability ex vivo. In study 1, as in vitro model, endothelial EA.hy926 cells were treated with TNFalpha for 5 hours for inducing oxidative stress, and then treated with Zn-adequacy (15 micrometer Zn) or Zn-deficiency (0 micrometer Zn) for 6 hours. Pro-atherosclerosis factors, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 mRNA expression and cell viability was measured. In study 2, as ex vivo model, mouse aorta ring was used. Mourse aorta was removed and cut in ring then, cultured in a 96-well plate. Aortic ring was treated with various TNFalpha (0-30 mg/ml) and intracellular zinc chelator, N, N, N', N', -tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine (TPEN, 0-30 microM) for cellular zinc depletion for 2 days and then cell viability was measured. The results showed that in in vitro study, Zn-adequate group induced more VCAM-1 & ICAM-1 mRNA expression than Zn-deficient group during 6-hour zinc treatment post-5 hour TNF-alpha treatment, unexpectedly. These results might be cautiously interpreted that zinc would biologically induce the early expression of anti-oxidative stress through the increased adhesion molecule expression for reducing atherosclerotic action, particularly under the present 6-hour zinc treatment. In ex vivo, mouse aortic ring cell viability was decreased as TNF-alpha and TPEN levels increased, which suggests that mouse aortic blood vessel cell viability was decreased, when oxidative stress increases and cellular zinc level decreases. Taken together, it can be suggested that zinc may have a protective role in anti-atherosclerosis by cell viability in endothelial cells and aorta tissue. Further study is needed to clarify how pro-atherosclerosis molecule expression is modulated by zinc.