Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Sprouted Seed Extract: Its Chemical HPLC Analysis, Abortive Effect, and Neurodevelopmental Toxicity on Mice.

The Trigonella foenum-graecum L. seeds, in a dormant or sprouted state, have been largely investigated for their therapeutic activities such as being antidiabetic, antioxidant, cholesterol-lowering, and as a digestive enhancer too. Nevertheless, there are no studies evaluating the potential developmental toxicity of germinated grains despite the availability of numerous research studies demonstrating the teratogenicity effect of unsprouted seeds. Therefore, this research work was conducted to assess the impact of fenugreek sprouts on maternal and neurobehavioral developmental toxicities on mice. The lyophilized aqueous extract of germinated seeds was administered via oral gavage on a daily basis to five groups of mated female mice throughout pregnancy at doses of 200, 500, 800, and 1000 mg/kg/day and the control group was administered distilled water. Maternal reproductive toxicity was evaluated, and the surviving pups were assessed for their physical development, malformation, and neurobehavioral toxicity by using a battery of tests from birth to the 25th postnatal day. Additionally, the aqueous extract of germinated and ungerminated seeds was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for a comparison of their major compounds. For pregnant treated female mice, no death and no intoxication symptoms have been registered during the test. However, the sprouts' extract has provoked a significant decrease in fertility, spontaneous abortion, pup's mortality, and neurobehavioral disorder in offspring. HPLC analysis reveals an increase in total phenolic compound concentration by the process of sprouting.

Salvia officinalis, Rosmarinic and Caffeic Acids Attenuate Neuropathic Pain and Improve Function Recovery after Sciatic Nerve Chronic Constriction in Mice.

The leaves of Salvia officinalis L. have a traditional reputation for the management of pain in Morocco. This study was conducted to investigate the curative effects of Salvia officinalis (SO) and its major constituents Rosmarinic (ROS) and Caffeic acids (CAF) on peripheral neuropathic pain in mice. Chronic constriction injury (CCI) was induced in mice, and neuropathic pain behaviors tests were evaluated by mechanical, chemical, thermal sensation tests and functional recovery of the sciatic nerve at different time intervals, i.e., (day 0, 1, 7, 14, and 21). Ethanolic extract of SO (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.), ROS (10 and 20 mg/kg, i.p.), CAF (30 and 40 mg/kg, i.p.), and CLOM (5 mg/kg, i.p., a positive control) was given for 21 days after surgery. Hematological and biochemical parameters were also measured as well as histopathological analysis. CCI produced significant development in mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia, cold allodynia, and rise in the sciatic functional index in mice. Chronic treatments with SO extract, ROS, CAF, and CLOM for 3 weeks significantly increased mechanical sensibility, cold, and thermal withdrawal latency and enhanced functional recovery of the injured nerve. The same treatments remarkably ameliorated hematological parameters and did not alter biochemical levels. The histopathological findings had revealed the protective effect of SO, ROS, and CAF against the CCI-induced damage. Our data support the use of SO in folk medicine to alleviate pain. Their main phenolic constituents could be promising antineuropathic compounds, which may be attributed to their biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects. SO leaves may be a good candidate to treat neuropathic pain.

Effect of Artemisia herba-alba consumption during pregnancy on fertility, morphological and behaviors of mice offspring.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Pregnant women prefer herbal medicines more than pharmaceutical drugs due to the cultural belief that herbs are more suffer during pregnancy for an accurate foetus development. Artemisia herba-alba (Asteraceae) is one of the most used plants in the Mediterranean region to treat various diseases including diabetes, hypertension, spasmodic dysphonia and some bacterial infection. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Artemisia herba-alba consumption during pregnancy on fertility, physical and behavior developments of mice offspring from birth-to-weaning days. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Female pregnant mice were divided into three groups and orally administrated with 80 and 150 mg/kg/day of the methanol extract of Artemisia h.a respectively, during the entire period of gestation. At birth, total fertility rate was counted. Body development; neuromotor reflex and behavior were also examined in mice offspring RESULTS: Artemisia h.a (Aha) exposure significantly decreased the fertility ratio in both Aha-treated groups and increased the weight and length of mice offspring in 80 mg/kg/day Aha-exposed group. Moreover, Aha administration prolonged the time of completing the reflex response of surface righting, negative geotaxis, cliff avoidance and jumping test of mice offspring in Aha-exposed groups. CONCLUSION: The present study provides strong evidence that discourage the use of Artemisia h.a during gestation period.

Intracerebroventricular administration of cigarette smoke condensate induced generalized seizures reduced by muscarinic receptor antagonist in rats.

Tobacco smoking is considered the greatest risk factor for early death caused by noncommunicable diseases. Currently, there are more than one billion tobacco smokers in the world predisposed to many diseases including heart attack, stroke, cancer, and premature birth or birth defects related to the consumption of cigarettes. However, studies on the association between tobacco smoking and seizures or epilepsy are insufficient and not well documented. In the present study, the authors examined the convulsive effects of the intracerebroventricular administration of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC, 2µl/Rat) in rats and compared it with the intensity of seizures in the kainic acid (KA)-induced seizure model of epilepsy. The role of the cholinergic system was also investigated by testing the effect of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) antagonist atropine (2ml/kg) on CSC-induced seizures. The results indicate that a central injection of CSC produces an epileptic behavior similar to that induced by KA, the similarities include the following parameters: time latency of seizures, latency and duration of tonic-clonic seizures, duration of seizures, survival, and tonic-clonic rate. However, a pretreatment with atropine reduced seizures and all their parameters.