Effect of Boric Acid on Metabolic Peptides and Some Biochemical Parameters in Experimental Diabetic Rats.

Boron (B) is an element that has recently been wondered and researched in many fields, especially due to its effects on energy metabolism. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of boric acid (BA) on newly discovered energy metabolism peptides that have not been studied before. In this study, the effects of 15 mg/kg of BA were evaluated in 24 Wistar rats. Groups were named as control group, 15 mg/kg BA group, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced experimental diabetic group, and STZ-induced experimental diabetic + 15 mg/kg BA administered group (STZ+15 mg/kg BA). Serum asprosin, nesfatin-1, preptin, insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and glucose analyses were performed. In this study, the increase in glucose, TG, TC, LDL-C levels, and AST, ALT activities in STZ-induced groups were reduced with BA administration. While HDL-C level significantly decreased in the STZ group, the level approached the control group values after BA administration (p<0.001). As for peptides, although there was a statistically significant increase after 15 mg/kg BA administration, these levels did not approach the control group values (p<0.001). According to the findings, STZ-induced diabetes mellitus and the biochemical processes that develop accordingly change correlatively. This study showed that BA is effective in energy metabolism.

The Effect of Royal Jelly on Telomere Length and Some Biochemical Parameters in Wistar Albino Rats with Liver Damage Caused by Carbon Tetrachloride.

Royal jelly (RJ) is a natural bee product that has been used for therapeutic purposes since ancient times. The therapeutic properties of this product, which has rich biological content, are still being investigated with new approaches. In this study, the effect of RJ on telomere length, some antioxidant parameters, and lipid profile was examined. This study will contribute to the literature as it is the first to evaluate the effect of RJ on the length of telomeres in damaged liver tissues. In the study, the levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), telomerase, 8'-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and paraoxonase-1 (PON1) were investigated with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method and telomere lengths were investigated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The increased TC, LDL-C levels, and AST and ALT activities in the serum after carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration approached the control level after RJ administration. PON1 activity decreased in groups with CCl4. PON1 activity increased after RJ administration. The level of 8-OHdG, which increased groups with CCl4, decreased after RJ administration. According to the results of telomere length analysis in liver tissues, telomere lengths in damaged tissues were significantly shortened with CCl4 application and increased with RJ application. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that RJ may have therapeutic effects on telomere lengths and some biochemistry parameters.

The Effect of Boron on Some Biochemical Parameters in Experimental Diabetic Rats.

In this study, we evaluated the effect of boron (B) as boric acid (BA) on body weight (b.w.); blood glucose; plasma insulin; lipase and paraoxonase (PON1) activities; and serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, lipid peroxidation (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced experimental diabetes in rats. Sixty Wistar albino rats (200-250 g) were divided into six groups of ten. The groups received the following treatment: group 1, control group; group 2, 50 mg/kg (b.w.) i.p. STZ-induced diabetes; group 3, 5 mg/kg (b.w.) B; group 4, 10 mg/kg (b.w.) B; group 5, diabetes + 5 mg/kg (b.w.) B; and group 6, diabetes + 10 mg/kg (b.w.) B. The experiment lasted 4 weeks. Increased serum MDA levels with diabetes were significantly reduced and although it is not statistically significant, serum TAC levels approached to values of control group; also, insignificant increases were observed in HDL cholesterol levels in experimental diabetic rats with treatment 5 and 10 mg/kg B. Furthermore, body weight, plasma insulin, and lipase activities increased insignificantly, blood glucose and serum LDL cholesterol decreased significantly, and total cholesterol levels decreased insignificantly in the diabetes + 10 mg/kg B group. There was no difference between the groups in terms of plasma PON1 activities and serum triglyceride levels. In conclusion, B may have beneficial effects on some biochemical parameters changes in experimental diabetes, and in order to determine the full effect of this element on the metabolism, further studies are required which use various dosages and compounds of B.

The effects of Se phytotoxicity on the antioxidant systems of leaf tissues in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings.

A hydroponic experiment was carried out in a growth chamber to investigate the impact of Selenium (Se) levels on physiological and biochemical characteristics of a barley cultivar. Membrane lipid peroxidation (LPO), proline accumulation and antioxidant activities of some enzymes of barley seedlings under Se toxicity were investigated. Significant increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) content, and a stimulation of catalase (CAT, 1.11.1.6), ascorbate peroxidase (APX, 1.11.1.11), glutathione reductase (GR, 1.6.4.2), and glutathione S-transferase (GST, 2.5.1.18) activities were recorded in barley seedlings subjected to 2, 4, 8, 16 ppm Se. Superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) activity was not altered significantly. Plant height and chlorophyll content of the seedlings were also affected significantly in a dose dependent manner by Se treatment. Considerable amount of proline accumulation was also observed in response to Se treatment. The results indicated that increases in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes were not sufficient to protect cell membrane against Se toxicity.