RESUMO
Diabetes is the most common endocrine disorders and poses a serious challenge to healthcare worldwide. The pre-valence of diabetes varies in different parts of the world. During diabetes, metabolic remodeling precedes the cardiomyopathy, these changes may contribute to cardiac function. In the present study the effects of Cocos nucifera flower extract on cardiac dysfunction during diabetes were investigated
Methods: The aqueous flower extract of Cocos nucifera was administered for 30 days to the control and experimental rats. After the experimental period animals were sacrificed and the blood samples were used for the analysis of blood glucose, urea, creatinine, marker enzymes, lipid profiles and the histopathological analysis was also done for pancreatic tissue
Results: The results showed that the induction of diabetic cardiomyopathy with streptozotocin and doxorubicin increased the glucose level, cardiac marker enzyme activity and the lipid levels. Administration of aqueous extract of Cocos nucifera to experimental rats reduced the glucose and lipid levels and restored the enzyme activity to the normal level. The histopathological analysis showed the restoration by flower extract of pancreas ultra structure impaired by streptozotocin-doxorubicin. The athrogenic and coronary risk indices were significantly increased in doxorubicin-treated and streptozotocin-doxorubicin treated diabetic groups and this was reduced in Cocos nucifera treated as well as in aspirin treated group rats [p<0.05]. We conclude that feeding of the Cocos nucifera extract to rats with diabetic cardiomyopathy protect the heart tissue from the complication of diabetes
RESUMO
Zebra fish were exposed to environmentally relevant concentration of pesticides and metals for a period of 14 days. The individual and the combined toxicity of pesticides and metals were studied. Damage caused to the DNA and induction of mutation in the GADD45beta gene was investigated in this study. The present investigation revealed that exposure of zebra fish to pesticides and metals induced DNA damage and also mutation in the GADD45beta gene. The pesticides treated group [III] showed significantly higher damage followed by metals treated group [II]. The DNA damage was comparatively less in the pesticides and metals exposed group [IV]. GADD45beta gene which is considered to be one of the most important gene involved in G phase arrest, has been found to be mutated in zebra fish when exposed to metals and pesticides. The comparison of amplified gene sequence of GADD45beta gene with the sequence of the zebra fish retrieved from the NCBI confirmed the mutation in the gene sequence of zebra fish treated with pesticides and metals. The induction of DNA damage in fish due to contaminants may lead to mutations, which contribute towards the multistage carcinogenesis process