Evaluation of role of Glibenclamide and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae extract on Lymph Node and Spleen of Diabetic rats

Background: diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder in the endocrine system with a common biochemical manifestation, thus hyper-glycemia is a disturbed carbohydrate metabolism. This work aimed to evaluate the role of antidiabetic and hypoglycemic drug glibenclamide as a chemical agent and Aphanizomenon flos- aquae extract as a natural agent on lymphoid organs such as lymph nodes and spleen in the diabetic [type-2] white male albino rats

Material and methods: Fifty male albino rats were used and categorized into five groups; group 1: control [C], group 2: Alloxan induced diabetic rats [D] [150 mg/kg b .wt]; group 3: diabetic rats treated with daonil [D+Do][daonil 5 mg/kg b.wt/day]; group 4: Aphanizomenon flos-aquae extract [AFA][94.5mg/kg b.wt/day] and group 5: diabetic rats treated with Aphanizomenon flos -aquae extract[94.5mg/kg b.wt/day] [AFA+D]. All groups were dissected after 30 days of treatment. Lymph nodes and spleen samples were taken for histological and histochemical studies. Blood samples were taken for measurement of serum glucose and serum insulin level

Results: Diabetic male rats showed very highly significant increase in the serum glucose level, while non significant increase was recorded in the other treated groups in comparison with the control group.Diabetic male rats showed highly significant decrease in the serum insulin level as compared to the control group. Conversely, treatment of diabetic rats with daonil showed a significant increase in the levels of serum insulin. On the other hand non significant increase in the serum insulin was observed in AFA or AFA+D groups in comparison with the control group. Many histopathological and histochemical changes were observed in the lymph nodes and spleen of the diabetic rats, but using AFA extract succeeded to minimize the drastic changes which were observed in the lymph nodes and spleen of the diabetic rats more than that observed with glibenclamide

Conclusion: glibenclamide [daonil] as asynthetic drug and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae extract as a natural product ameliorated biochemical, histopathological and histochemical changes in the lymph nodes and splenic tissues of the diabetic rats.Aphanizomenon flos-aquae extract proved to be antidiabetic agent better than daonil drug and its antidiabetic action may be due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hypoglycemic action

Occurrence of toxin-producing cyanobacteria blooms in a Brazilian semiarid reservoir

Nós relatamos a ocorrência de florescimentos de cianobactérias e a presença de cianotoxinas em amostras de água do reservatório Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves (06º 08Æ S; 37º 07Æ W) situado no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, na região semi-árida do Brasil. Cianobactérias foram identificadas e quantificadas nos períodos seco e chuvoso do ano 2000. Cianotoxinas tais como, microcistinas, saxitoxinas e cilindrospermopsinas foram quantificadas por HPLC e ELISA. Florescimentos tóxicos mistos de Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Microcystis spp (M. panniformis, M. protocystis, M. novacekii) e Aphanizomenon ssp (Aphanizomenon gracile, A. cf. manguinii, A. cf. issastschenkoi) foram persistentes e representaram 90-100% da comunidade fitoplanctônica ao longo do período estudado. No período de chuvas, florescimentos tóxicos de Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii coincidiram com maiores valores de saxitoxinas (3,14 µg.L-1). Entre o período de chuva e estiagem, ocorreram florescimentos tóxicos de Microcytis spp, excedendo o valor mínimo aceitável para consumo humano (8,8 µg.L-1). Na estiagem, baixas concentrações de saxitoxinas foram detectadas em florescimentos menos intensos com co-dominância de Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Microcystis spp e Aphanizomenon spp. Nossos resultados revelaram a presença de microcistinas (8,8 µg.L-1) e saxitoxinas (3,14 µg.L-1) na água bruta, a partir da segunda quinzena de abril até o final de maio de 2000. A ocorrência de blooms tóxicos de cianobactérias no reservatório em estudo aponta um risco permanente de cianotoxinas em águas de abastecimento e indica a necessidade da implementação de medidas de controle das florações, visando à melhoria da qualidade da água. A exposição das populações locais às cianotoxinas, pela sua potencial acumulação em musculatura de peixes, também deve ser considerada.