Effect of chromium- picolinat on biochemical and histopathological altrations in rats

Chromium III tris [picolinate] [Cr[pie][3]ps a popular nutritional supplement; however its safety has been questioned, especially with regard to its ability to act as a clastogen. The aim of the preset work was to evaluate the biochemical and moiph01gicd changes in the liver following oral administration of Cr-picolinate and the possible protective effect of ascorbic acid [vitamin C] in rats. Fifty male Sprague Dawly rats were divided into five groups included the control group, the rest four groups treated orally with picolinte [0.8 and 1.5 mg 7100 g b. w] alone or in combination with Vitamin C [0.5 mg 7100 g b. w] for 8 weeks. The results indicated that animals treated with Cr-picolinate alone at the high dose level [1.5 mg/100 g b.w] showed a significant decrease in reduced glutathione [GSH] level and activity of glutathione peroxidase [GPx] in liver homogenate or blood accompanied with a significant increase in serum sFas; 8-hydroxy-2 -deoxyguanosine and malondialdehyde [MDA] levels.The hepatocytes showed some degenerative changes in the form of swollen cells and degenerating nuclei, yet some cells showed regeneration by division of their nuclei The methyl green pyronin [MGP] stain showed less level of DNA in the nuclei, the cells appeared swollen and fused in some areas. It could be concluded that consumption of Cr-picolinate for a long time is contributing to health hazards and induced several hazards to liver. Supplementation with extra amounts of vitamin C may be useful to restrain the chromium-induced biochemical and morphological changes to the liver. It is believed that oxidative stress due to Cr- picolinate is a factor contributing to this health hazards

Relations between serum essential fatty acids, cytokines [Il-6 and IL-8], apoptotic marker [SFAS], and free radicals in egyptian patients with autoimmune diseases

Eicosanoids, lymphokines, free radicals and apoptotic marker are known to participate in the pathogenesis of inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relations between free radical generation, interleukins [IL-6 and IL-8], apoptotic marker soluble Fas [sFas], and the level of essential fatty acids and their metabolites in patients with autoimmune diseases. The study was conducted on 37 patients admitted to Rheumatology Unit Hospital of Ain Shams University, in addition there was 10 control subjects. The patients suffered from different types of autoimmune diseases according to their criteria, Rheumatoid arthritis [RA], systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], systemic sclerosis [SSC] and overlap syndrome. Serum levels of total glutathione [reduced; GSH and oxidized; GSSG] were estimated by HPLC; serum MDA, IL-6, IL-8 and sFas were also assayed. In addition serum fatty acids were determined by using GLC. The inflammations resulting from the studied autoimmune diseases induced significant decrease in serum level of GSH, and marked increase in the levels of GSSG, MDA, IL-6, IL-8 and sFas whereas serum fatty acid revealed that Linoleicacid [LA] and alpha linolenic acid [ALA] were significantly decreased in the studied cases. LA metabolite [arochidonic acid; AA] is markedly increase while ALA metabolite [eicosapentaenoic; EPA] and docosahexaenoic [DHA] were significantly increased. These results suggest that essential fatty acid metabolism is altered in autoimmune diseases. The interactions between essential fatty acids, eicosanoids, lymphokines and free radicals suggest that new therapeutic strategies can be devised to modify the course of these diseases

IgA/transferrin ratio for the early prediction of latent liver cirrhosis

The B.C of our study was to assess the level of IgA and transferrin of patients with liver cirrhosis to determine the relation between liver cirrhosis and IgA/transferrin ratio. The study involved 32 subjects classified into patients without liver cirrhosis [n=12], and patients with liver cirrhosis [n=10] as well as a group of normal healthy subjects [n=10] for comparison. In all of these subjects, serum alanine [ALT] and aspartate [AST] aminotransferase activity as well as serum IgA and transferrin level were determined. Our results revealed that the mean values of both ALT and AST activities were significantly high in both groups of patients without liver cirrhosis and with liver cirrhosis [P<0.05], although the activity of both enzymes was relatively higher in patients with liver cirrhosis than in those without liver cirrhosis. Furthermore, the amount of IgA immunoglobulin showed very highly significant decreased values in patients without liver cirrhosis while very highly significant increased values were obtained in cirrhotic patients as compared to their corresponding values in normal group. The concentration of serum transferrin showed insignificant values in cases without liver cirrhosis whereas these values showed moderately significant decreased level in cases of liver cirrhosis. It is of interest that the values of IgA/transferrin ratio, although showed insignificant values in patients without liver cirrhosis these values were significantly high in cirrhotic patients. In addition, it has been found that in liver cirrhotic patients the mean values of IgA/transferrin ratio were nearly 2.5 times as compared to the ratios in normal or non-cirrhotic patients. From the present study, the determination of IgA and transferrin in serum or plasma may open up a very simple and safe way for the early detection of latent cirrhosis. IgA/transferrin>2.5 ratio was found to be significantly increased in latent cirrhosis as compared to patients without cirrhosis or normal subjects. This value can be considered as an indicator of latent cirrhosis in children associated with liver diseases