Assessment of the physiological changes induced by sodium nitrite, annatto or mono sodium glutamate in male albino rats

Background: food additives are added to most junk and fast foods, especially those for kids. Sodium nitrite is an inorganic salt with widespread applications in the food industry as a color fixative and preservative in meat and fish. Annatto extract is a natural food color obtained from the outer coatings of the seeds of the Annatto tree [Bixa orellana L.]. Monosodium glutamate [MSG], the sodium salt of amino acid glutamate, is a food additive that popularly used all over the world as "flavor enhancer"

Aim of the work: this study was aimed to determine the hazardous effects of sodium nitrite, annatto and monosodium glutamate on some physiological parameters in male albino rats

Materials and methods: this study had been done on fourty male albino rats with an average body weight 100-145 g. The animals were divided into four groups; Group 1: control [untreated group], Group 2: sodium nitrite treated group, Group 3: annatto treated group and Group 4: monosodium glutamate treated group. Blood samples were collected, sera were separated and used for estimation of some biochemical parameters [liver enzymes, kidney functions, glucose, protein profile and lipid profile] and hormonal levels [testosterone, T3 [triiodothyronine] and T4 [thyroxine]]

Results: the biochemical results showed an increase in the activities of liver enzymes [aspartate aminotransferase [ASAT] and alanine aminotransferase [ALAT]], and the levels of glucose, kidney functions [urea, and creatinine], lipid profile [total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein [LDL-C]] and thyroid hormones [thyroxin [T4] and triiodothyronine [T3]] in all treated groups when compared to the control group. A drop in protein profile [total protein, albumin, globulin and A/G ratio], testosterone hormone and HDL level were observed in the treated groups as compared to the control rats

Conclusion: it could be concluded that some food additives like sodium nitrite, annatto, and monosodium glutamate have extreme effects on liver and kidney functions, protein and lipid profiles and also on thyroid and testosterone hormones. So, it is recommended to minimize the use of these additives to protect young children and mature people from these destructive effects

Adverse effects of two kinds of food additive mixtures [flavor enhancer, food preservative or food coloring agent] on physiological parameters in young male albino rats

Background: food additives are substances used in food industry in order to improve the food's taste, appearance by preserving its flavor and preventing it from souring. Food additives are added to the most junk and fast foods, especially food for kids

Aim of the work: this work was aimed to investigate the adverse effects of some food additives on the biochemical parameters in addition to study the side effects of these food additives in male albino rats

Materials and Methods: this study was performed on twenty four young male albino rats with an average 120-145 g body weight. Animals were divided into four groups [6 /cage]; Group I [Control untreated group], Group II [administered orally with sodium nitrite [0.1 mg/kg b.wt./day] and annatto [0.065 mg/kg b.wt./day]], Group III [administered orally with sodium nitrite [0.1 mg/kg b.wt./day] and monosodium glutamate [MSG] [15 mg/kg b.wt./day]] and Group IV [administered orally with annatto [0.065 mg/kg b.wt./day] and monosodium glutamate [15 mg/kg b.wt./day]]. Blood samples were collected on the last day of experiment, for biochemical estimations which included levels of serum glucose, total protein [TP], albumin, creatinine, urea, testosterone , thyroid hormones [T3 and T4], activities of AST and ALT in addition to lipid profile

Results: showed marked elevation in levels of fasting glucose, activities of AST, ALT, urea, creatinine, total cholesterol [TC], triglycerides [TG] and high density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], VLDL and ratios of TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C [risk factors] as well as albumin / globulin ratio and serum thyroid hormones [T3 and T4] accompanied with marked decline in levels of serum total proteins, albumin, globulin, albumin/ creatinine ratio, testosterone and HDL-C in all treated groups in comparison to the control group. There was a significant reduction in the body weight in groups that received [NaNO2 with annatto] and [MSG with NaNO2] while treated rats with [MSG and annatto] showed a significant increase in body weight as compared to control rats

Conclusion: Due to the harmful effects of food additives, the use of these compounds must be limited as it resulted in a vehement disturbance in the biochemical and physiological parameters that was grievously pronounced on many hormones

therapeutic effects of stem cell enhancer on changes of some physiological parameters in male albino rats treated with mixture of food additives [food preservative, food coloring agent, and flavor enhancer]

Background: food additives are substances intentionally added to food to change its characteristics, to maintain and improve safety, to improve or maintain the nutrient value and to improve taste, texture, and appearance. Sodium nitrite is an inorganic salt with widespread applications in the food industry as a food preservative in meat and fish. However, Annatto is used as a dyeing agent in the food industry in coloring butter, cheese, and ice-cream whereas Monosodium Glutamate [MSG] is one of the most used flavorenhancers which is ingested as part of commercially processed foods. Stem cell enhancer is a natural stem cell mobilizer that can trigger the release of millions of adult stem cells from bone marrow into the circulation, and its considerable safety allows for a sustained oral daily intake over long periods of time

Aim of the work: this study was aimed to determine the therapeutic effects of Stem Cell Enhancer [SCE] against the hazardous effects of sodium nitrite, annatto and monosodium glutamate on some physiological parameters in male albino rats

Materials and methods: this study had been done on thirty male albino rats with an average body weight 120-140 g. The animals were divided into three groups; Group 1: control [untreated group], Group 2:rats treated with food additives mixture [sodium nitrite, annatto, and monosodium glutamate]; Group 3: rats treated with food additives mixture, in addition to Stem Cell Enhancer. Blood samples were collected, and the separated sera were used for estimation of some biochemical parameters [liver enzymes, kidney functions, glucose, protein profile and lipid profile] and hormonal levels [testosterone,triiodothyronine [T3] and thyroxine [T4]

Results: the biochemical results showed an increase in the activities of liver enzymes [aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT]], and the levels of glucose, kidney functions [urea, and creatinine], lipid profile [total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein [LDL-c], high-density lipoprotein [HDL-c] and risk factors 1and 2] and thyroid hormones [T3 and T4]in the mixture accompanied by a significant decrease in protein profile [total protein, albumin and globulin], HDL-and testosterone hormone levels as compared to the control rats. On the other hand, these results turned back to nearly to the normal values after receiving the Stem cell Enhancer

Conclusion: the present study clearly revealed thetherapeutic capability of SCE to fight the grievous effects of food additives mixture on major physiological parameters

Effects of some food additives on some biochemical parameters in young male albino rats and the ameliorative role of royal jelly

Background: the use of food additives is one of the most important problems in the human health nutrition field. Food additives are widely used for various purposes; including preservation, coloring, and sweetening, however, the physiological and biochemical changes may be produced

Aim of the work: was to investigate the protective role of royal jelly [RJ] against abnormalities in metabolic biochemical parameters that induced by these food additives in male albino rats

Materials and Methods: thirty young male albino rats with an average body weight 120-140 g were divided into three groups [10/cage]; Group I: served as normal control group, Group II: rats orally administrated with the mixture which consists of sodium nitrite [NaNO2 0.1 mg/kg b.wt./ day], annatto [0.065 mg/kg b.wt./day] and monosodium glutamate [MSG 15 mg/kg b.wt./day] and Group III: rats orally administrated with the previous mixture and then orally administrated with royal jelly [14.28 mg/kg b.wt./day soluble in maize oil]. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for biochemical estimations which including levels of serum glucose, creatinine, urea, testosterone, thyroid hormones [T3 and T4], activities of AST and ALT, total protein [TP], albumin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein [HDL-c] and low-density lipoprotein [LDL-c]

Results: the present study showed marked elevation in levels of fasting blood glucose, activities of AST, ALT, levels of serum urea, creatinine, TC, TG, LDL-c, VLDLand ratios of TC/HDL-c and LDL-c/HDL-c [risk factors] as well as albumin /globulin ratio and serum thyroid hormones [T3andT4] accompanied with significant reduction in the body weight, serum total proteins, albumin, globulin, albumin/creatinine, testosterone and HDL-C concentrations in the group that administrated with the mixture which consists of [NaNO2, MSG and annatto] as compared to control rats. While administration with royal jelly significantly ameliorated the disturbed biochemical parameters and showed significant improvement in most of these parameters

Conclusion: it could be concluded that royal jelly offers a therapeutic advantage that minimizes the metabolic abnormalities and biochemical changes which induced by these food additives

Ranitidine versus omeprazole as a prophylaxis of upper gastro intestinal tract bleeding in ventilated and in critically III non-ventilated children

Stress-related mucosal disease [SRMD] refers to superficial erosions or ulceration of the proximal gastrointestinal mucosa in acuto illness. The contributory rolo of stross induced high gastric activity was documontod and sovoral medications were triod to provont SHMD in high risk pationls in PICU The aim of this work was to compare the efficacy of ranitidine versus omeprazole for prophylaxis of UGITB in mechanicaily ventilated and in critically ill non-ventilated pediatric patients admitted to PICU. Design: 9-months prospective controlled study. Setting: Pediatric ICU, Pediatric Department, Tanta University Hospital Patients and Methods: 60 critically ill children were included [30 males and 30 females]. Every patient was subjected to SOFA scoring. Gastric juice aspirate samples were examined for occult blood by chromatographic immunoassay and aspirate pH by pH meter. In 40 patients either IV ranitidine or omeprazole was started by 3[rd] day of admission and continued for 4 days. No UGITB prophylactic therapy was given to 20 patients [controls]. In patients receiving IV ranitidine, IV omeprazole and controls the prevalence of UGITB by day 6 in unventilated cases was 40%, 10% and 70% and In in ventilated cases was 50%, 20%, and 70% respectively. In patients receiving IV ranitidine successful control of average gastric pH to >/= 4 occurred in 70% of cases by day 3, and in 40%, 30% and 20% by days 4, 5 and 6 respectively. In patients receiving IV omeprazole the relative values were 90% by day 3 and 100% later on. Conclusions: IV omeprazole and IV ranitidine prophylactic therapy decreased the incidence of SRMD and increased the gastric pH to >/= 4.0 which was more obvious and sustained in those receiving omeprazole. IV omeprazole is preferred for SUP in PICU patients

Development of safe chemical and biological formulations for control of nematodes in cucumber

Afield study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a chemical mixture, biological suspension and synthetic nematicide [oxamyl] on the fruit yield and development of a natural polyspecific microorganism community on cucumber plants. This community included the fungi Aspergillus niger, A. ochracious, A. terreus, Fusarium solani, Penicillium spp., Rhizoctonia solani, and Trichoderma spp.; the dominant bacteria Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. and the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. Changes in the density and structure of the community were presented and discussed. Plots treated with the mixture, consisted of red molasses [50 liter], milk [1 liter], smashed garlic cloves [5 kg] and water [45 liter], had the highest fruit yield and lowest M incognita population. Moreover, cucumber yield was significantly [P

role of free to total prostate specific antigen [PSA] and PSA density in improving the specificty of prostate cancer screening

The diagnostic value of serum prostate specific antigen [PSA] is limited by its lack of specificity. Measurement of the free to total PSA ratio [f/t PSA] and determination of PSA density [PSAD] has been used to improve the diagnostic accuracy of PSA. A total of 122 patients above the age of 50 years with a total serum PSA ranging between 4.1 - 10.0 ng/ml were screened for prostate cancer detection. All patients were subjected to total and free serum PSA concentrations with calculation of the f/t PSA ratio, digital rectal examination [DRE], transrectal ultrasound [TRUS], determination of PSAD and TURS- guided prostatic biopsy. Prostate cancer was diagnosed in 38 patients [31.15%] while benign prostatic hyperplasia [BPH] was confirmed in 84 patients [68.85%]. Mean f/t PSA ratio was significantly lower in patients with prostate cancer compared to those wih BPH [12.89 versus 23.18, p = 0.001]. At f/t PSA cutoff point of

Some predictors of variceal bleeding in patients with bilharzial hepatic fibrosis

This work was conducted on 35 patients with schistosomal periportal fibrosis and portal hypertension compared with 10 healthy controls to search for some risk factors associated with variceal bleeding such as endoscopic findings, some vasodilator humoral agents in addition to echo-Doppler flowmetry findings. Full clinical examination and routine laboratory investigations were done. Humoral vasodilators included glucagon, enkephalin and prostaglandin E2 [PGE2]. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and echo-Doppler duplex study were done to all cases for evaluation of portal venous hemodynamics, superior mesenteric artery dilatation and coronary vein visualization and/or dilatation. Results showed a biochemical profile of hyperglucagonemia is usually associated with a higher portal pressure, larger variceal diameter and a hyperdynamic splanchnic state and if associated with high enkephalin level, there will be a higher chance of bleeding

Bacterial and non-bacterial prostatitis: detection of chlamydia trachomatis, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus

Eighty-six patients with persistent symptoms of chronic prostatitis were screened for possible aetiological organisms affecting the prostate. Our study entailed a culture of expressed prostatic secretion [EPS] for bacteria. A positive culture was obtained in 40 [46.5%] patients with chronic bacterial prostatitis [CBP]. Forty-six patients [53.5%] were negative for a bacterial culture of EPS and therefore categorized as having non-bacterial prostatitis [NBP]. Immunofluorescence study of the EPS revealed that 12 [26%] out of these 46 patients with non-bacterial prostatitis were positive for Chlamydia trachomatis. Prostatic specimens taken by perineal needle biopsy from all patients with non-bacterial prostatitis were tested for vira antigens by immunoperoxidase study [15.2%] of these prostatic biopsies gave positive results for Cytomegalovirus [CMV] antigen, while 3 [6.5%] showed a positive immunoperoxidase reaction for Herpes Simplex virus type II [HSV-2]. In the remaining 24 [27.8%] patients, no definite organism could be isolated. The results demonstrate that chlamydial and viral prostatitis cover a reasonable group of patients with non-bacterial disease in whom the effort should be directed to eradicating these organisms from the prostate

Comparative study of combined therapy in simple obesity

Drug combinations used in small doses are as effective as full doses of individual drugs and produce less side effects. In term of potency, combination of fenfluramine and metformin in the most potent, but in term of absence of tolerance combination of diethyl propion and metformin is the least one to produce tolerance and is the best one to maintain the reduction in body weight. Fenfluramine and metformin combination is the best to be used in android obesity as it produces a significant reduction in W/H ratio which is also well correlated with the reduction in body mass index. Furthermore, it produces a significant reduction in subcutaneous fat [as measured by triceps skin fold and mid arm thickness]. So, a homogenous body fat redistribution can be achieved. The improvement in health indices [blood sugar, serum cholesterol, triglycerides and exercise tolerance] is well correlated with the reduction in body weight. Fenfluramine and metformin combination produces a highly significant improvement in blood sugar so this combination is good for diabetic obese, while fenfluramine and thyroid hormone combination produces significant improvement in serum cholesterol and triglycerides

Viral and bacterial infection among children with acute otitis media

Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 38 children suffering from acute otitis media by tympanocentesis, the samples were cultured for bacterial and viral isolation, neat samples were used for the detection of respiratory SV adenovirus antigen by ELISA test beside the culture. Bacterial culture was positive in 28 out of 38 cases, were isolated in percentages of Depthehroid 28.75%, Proteus 21.42%, Microcous 17.86%, then Streptopyogen, Pneenococcus, Pseudomonas, and Staph., each of them was 7.14%. Viral isolates in tissue culture were positive in 12 out of 35 cases, were isolated by value of 25% RSV, 16.7% adenovirus, 16.7% entervois and 41.66% undiagnosis. The ELISA test from the neat serum were positive in 8 cases for adenovirus and 5 RSV cases. No relationships between bacterial and viral infection in AOM of children

Amino Acids as taxonomic markers in nitrogen fixing bacteria

Analysis by TLC of the free amino acids of several nitrogen -fixing bacteria revealed the presence of several unusual amino acids of various distribution in different species. These included acetylornithine, cystathionine, hydroxyglutamic acid, ethylasparagine, dihydroxyproline and the dipeptide, gamma-glutamyl S-methyl cysteine. The results indicate close similarities between the studied rhizobia. The results suggested that both R. trifolii 112; R. phaseoli; and R. sesbaru have a common ancestor. The presence of cystathionine, an unusual non - protein amino acid, in Azotobacter cHroococcutn and Rhizobium phaseoli possibly suggested a phylogenetic relationships between both species. The data obtained indicate the possible use of unusual amino acids for taxonomic revision of the nitrogen fixing bacteria

Incorporation of copper and lead into proteins in nitrogen fixing bacteria: Azotobacter chroococcus, Rhizobium sesbani and R lupini 282

A zotobacter chroococcum, Rhizobium sesbani and Rhizo bium lupini 282 were cultivated on modified Vincent medium supplemented with varying- concentrations of cooper and lead. The results indicate some disorder in the bacterial metabolic activities as a result of the presence of both elements. Several heavy metal containing proteins were detected in Rhizobium sesbani and Azotobacter chroococcum. The results suggested that both organisms were unable to regulate the incorporation heavy metals into proteins. However, R. lupini [282] was able to channel copper and lead via its metabolic activities. The results indicate that newly reclaimed soil should be cultivated with metal tolerant bacteria such as R. lupini [282] with nitrogen fixers host plans

Production of lipase by rhizobium japonicum

Corn oil was the best lipid substrate for lipase activity, dry weight of cell and total cell nitrogen of R. japonicum 61 A 76, whereas olive oil gave maximum lipase production for R. japonicum 311 b 136. The optimum concentration of corn and olive oils added to the production medium was 0.2% [V/V] for R. japonicum 61 A 76 and 311 b 136. DL- Aspartic acid and L-glutamic acid were the best nitrogen sources for biosynthesis of lipase, dry biomass and total nitrogen content of both J. Japonicum strains. Addition of glycine, L-cystine and DL-serine to the production medium caused a decrease in the above traits for R. japonicum 61 A 76, whereas other amino acids such as DL-serine, L- histidine HCL, DL-alaninen and L-tyrosine exhibited an inhibitory effect on lipase production and other characters for R. Japonicum 311 b 136. However, organic nitrogen sources [urea and peptone] are generally more available than inorganic nitrogen sources [ammonium nitrate and calcium nitrate] for production of lipase by both strains of R. Japonicum. The paper throws some light on R. Japonicum not only for N2 fixation but also for lipase production

Effect of cadmium compounds on growth of rhizobium sesbani and on growth and dinitrogen fixation of sesban

The present investigation was made to study the capacity of some cadmium resistant colonies [isolated from the parent culture of R. sesbani in presence of some cadmium compounds; cadmium sulfate and cadmium chloride] on growth, total amount of chlorophyll, nodulation and nitrogen fixation in Sesbania sesban plants. Results showed that the sensitivity of the parent strain of R. sesbani to Cd was more or less the same for both CaSo4 and CdCl2. In addition, the treatment with CaSo4 or CdCl2 at dose 50 mug/ml was suitable to isolate certain cadmium resistant colonies from the parent culture, whereas the higher doses of both cadmium compounds over 50 mug/ml seemed to inhibit completely growth of the parent strain. Moreover, results indicated that all Cd resistant colonies gave significant decrease in nodulation and nitrogen fixation in Sesbania plants compared with the parent strain. On the other hand, results manifested also that most Cd resistant colonies isolated caused significant decrease in dry weight of shoots, while no appreciable change was observed in both dry weight of roots and total amount of chlorophylls in Sesbania plants inoculated with the majority of Cd resistant colonies. It can be concluded that the inhibitory effect of Cd takes place through its effect on nitrogenase enzyme of R. sesbani and photosynthetic process [reduction of shoots] in Sesbania sesban plants