ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effects of Xiaojin Pill () in the treatment of Peyronie's disease (PD) in a rat model.@*METHODS@#Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups with 6 in each: sham operation, PD model, vehicle control and Xiaojin Pill groups. The rats in the sham operation group received penile tunica albsginea (TA) injection with 50 μL vehicle, while the rats in the other 3 groups received 50 μL penile TA injection of 50 μg transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Forty-two days after the injection, rats in the vehicle control and Xiaojin Pill groups received 0.5 mL water and Xiaojin Pill solution (107 mg/kg of body weight), respectively by gavage for 28 days, while those in the sham operation and PD model groups did not receive any intervention. After intervention, the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase 2/9 (MMP2/9), nitric oxidesynthase (NOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured.@*RESULTS@#Rats in the PD model and vehicle control groups presented obvious fibrosis in corpus cavernosum (CC) and demonstrated a significantly increased expressions of MMP2 and MMP9 in the CC compared with the sham operation group (all P<0.01). In contrast, the expressions of MMP2 and MMP9 in the Xiaojin Pill group were significantly down-regulated (both P<0.01). In addition, the levels of NOS and MDA in CC were significantly increased while the activity of SOD was decreased in the PD model and vehicle control groups compared with the sham operation group (all P<0.01). After Xiaojin Pill treatment, the levels of MDA, NOS and SOD appeared to be corrected (all P<0.01).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Xiaojin Pill could reduce fibrosis in the CC by decreasing the expressions of MMPs, NOS and MDA, and by increasing the activity of SOD. Therefore, Xiaojin Pill might be a therapeutic option for PD.
ABSTRACT
Scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) by antioxidants is the important therapy to cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) in stroke. The antioxidant with novel dual-antioxidant mechanism of directly scavenging ROS and indirectly through antioxidant pathway activation may be a promising CIRI therapeutic strategy. In our study, a series of chalcone analogues were designed and synthesized, and multiple potential chalcone analogues with dual antioxidant mechanisms were screened. Among these compounds, the most active not only conferred cytoprotection of HO-induced oxidative damage in PC12 cells through scavenging free radicals directly and activating NRF2/ARE antioxidant pathway at the same time, but also played an important role against ischemia/reperfusion-related brain injury in animals. More importantly, in comparison with mono-antioxidant mechanism compounds, exhibited higher cytoprotective and neuroprotective potential and Overall, our findings showed compound could emerge as a promising anti-ischemic stroke drug candidate and provided novel dual-antioxidant mechanism strategies and concepts for oxidative stress-related diseases treatment.
ABSTRACT
Green tea has been an important beverage for humans since ancient times, widely consumed and considered to have health benefits by traditional medicine in Asian countries. Green tea phenolic compounds are predominately composed of catechin de-rivatives, although other compounds such as flavonols and phenolic acids are also present in lower proportion. The bioactivity exerted by these compounds has been associated with reduced risk of severe illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Particularly, epigallocatechin gallate has been implicated in alteration mecha-nisms with protective effect in these diseases as indicated by several studies about the effect of green tea consumption and mechanistic explanation through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The biological activity of green tea phenolic compounds also promotes a protective effect by antioxidant mechanisms in biological and food systems, preventing the oxidative damage by acting over either precursors or reactive species. Extraction of phenolic compounds influences the antioxidant activity and promotes adequate separation from green tea leaves to enhance the yield and/or antioxidant activity. Application of green tea phenolic compounds is of great interest because the antioxidant status of the products is enhanced and provides the product with additional antioxidant activity or reduces the undesirable changes of oxidative reactions while processing or storing food. In this scenario, meat and meat products are greatly influenced by oxidative deterioration and microbial spoilage, leading to reduced shelf life. Green tea extracts rich in phenolic compounds have been applied to increase shelf life with comparable effect to synthetic compounds, commonly used by food industry. Green tea has great importance in general health in technological application, however more studies are necessary to elucidate the impact in pathways related to other diseases and food applications.
ABSTRACT
Green tea has been an important beverage for humans since ancient times, widely consumed and considered to have health benefits by traditional medicine in Asian countries. Green tea phenolic compounds are predominately composed of catechin derivatives, although other compounds such as flavonols and phenolic acids are also present in lower proportion. The bioactivity exerted by these compounds has been associated with reduced risk of severe illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Particularly, epigallocatechin gallate has been implicated in alteration mechanisms with protective effect in these diseases as indicated by several studies about the effect of green tea consumption and mechanistic explanation through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The biological activity of green tea phenolic compounds also promotes a protective effect by antioxidant mechanisms in biological and food systems, preventing the oxidative damage by acting over either precursors or reactive species. Extraction of phenolic compounds influences the antioxidant activity and promotes adequate separation from green tea leaves to enhance the yield and/or antioxidant activity. Application of green tea phenolic compounds is of great interest because the antioxidant status of the products is enhanced and provides the product with additional antioxidant activity or reduces the undesirable changes of oxidative reactions while processing or storing food. In this scenario, meat and meat products are greatly influenced by oxidative deterioration and microbial spoilage, leading to reduced shelf life. Green tea extracts rich in phenolic compounds have been applied to increase shelf life with comparable effect to synthetic compounds, commonly used by food industry. Green tea has great importance in general health in technological application, however more studies are necessary to elucidate the impact in pathways related to other diseases and food applications.
ABSTRACT
Introducción: la capacidad antioxidante presente en las plantas ha despertado gran interés debido al potencial aprovechamiento en la alimentación para la prevención de enfermedades asociadas a estrés oxidativo. Objetivo: evaluar el efecto de la inducción con CuCl2 y Paraquat® (dicloruro de 1,1'-dimetil-4,4'-bipiridilo) sobre protoplastos y plántulas de las especies relacionadas de tomate, Lycopersicon hirsutum Dunal y Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Métodos: la producción de especies reactivas de oxígeno se evaluó mediante citometría de flujo en protoplastos de las 2 especies de tomate, inducidos con CuCl2 y Paraquat® (dicloruro de 1,1'-dimetil-4,4'-bipiridilo). Adicionalmente, sobre las plántulas se evaluó el contenido de polifenoles totales y la capacidad atrapadora de radicales libres. Resultados: la inducción con Paraquat® durante eventos tempranos mostró un aumento en la producción de especies reactivas de oxígeno en 17,4 veces en protoplastos de Lycopersicon hirsutum y de 12,4 veces en Lycopersicon esculentum con respecto a sus respectivos controles no tratados. La especie Lycopersicon esculentum presentó velocidades de producción significativas de contenido de polifenoles totales y capacidad atrapadora de radicales libres con valores de 1,81 Eq ácido gálico hora-1 y 5,3 % de decoloración del DPPH hora-1, respectivamente. Durante la inducción con Paraquat® se observó una correlación entre contenido de polifenoles totales y capacidad atrapadora de radicales libres cercana a 1 y altamente significativa, en respuesta a los 2 tipos de inducción durante los eventos tempranos. Conclusiones: los resultados sugieren que la biosíntesis de compuestos fenólicos y la correlación con la capacidad atrapadora de radicales libres, no necesariamente se encuentra relacionada con una actividad antioxidante como un mecanismo de defensa a nivel celular.
Introduction: the antioxidant capacity in plants has aroused great interest due to their potential use in food for the prevention of oxidative stress-associated diseases. Objectives: to evaluate the effect of CuCl2 and Paraquat® induction on protoplasts and tomato seedlings belonging to Lycopersicon hirsutum Dunal and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. species. Methods: the production of reactive oxygen species in protoplasts of tomato both species after exposure to CuCl2 and Paraquat® (1.1'-dimethyl-4.4'-bipiridyl dichloride) was evaluated by flow cytometry. Tomato seedlings were evaluated for total polyphenol content and free radical scavenging. Results: Paraquat® induction showed a 17.4 fold increase in reactive oxygen species production for L. hirsutum protoplasts and a 12.4 fold for L. esculentum during early events with respect to their respective untreated controls. L. esculentum showed significant slopes for free radical scavenging and total polyphenol content: 1.81 galic acid eq per hour and 5.3 % DPPH discoloration per hour, respectively. In addition, in response to the two kinds of induction, positive slopes and a correlation between total polyphenol content and free radical scavenging were observed with copper induction (correlation close to 1 and highly significant), but not significant models during Paraquat® induction. Conclusions: these results suggest that the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds and the correlation with the free radical scavenging are not necessarily related to antioxidant activity as a cellular defense mechanism.