[Activity of the antioxidant system in patients with idiopathic proctocolitis and the effect of 5-aminosalicylic acid (Salofalk)]. / Aktivita antioxidacného systému pacientov s idiopatickou proktokolitídou a vplyv kyseliny 5-aminosalicylovej (Salofalk).

There is a close relationship between inflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Primary source of ROS are activated leucocytes. Antioxidant system protects organism against the deleterious effect of ROS. The aim of the present study was to follow the activity of antioxidant system in blood and colonic mucosa of 17 patients with idiopathic proctocolitis. All patients were treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid (Salofalk), 7 patients with a combination of prednison. The following biochemical parameters were ascertained: malondialdehyde (MDA) and ceruloplasmin in serum, glutathione (GSH) and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in erythrocytes and colonic mucosa. Before treatment there was found: an increase of MDA and all antioxidant enzyme activities, an a decrease of GSH. After 3 weeks of therapy in 59% of patients, initial clinical remission was observed without serious improvement of biochemical parameters. After 10 weeks of therapy the clinical course improved in all patients, a significant decrease of MDA and activities of all antioxidant enzymes as well as an increase of GSH were stated. The authors assume that IP was positively affected by 5-ASA, and in some patients by its combination with prednisom. The effect of 5-ASA is based on its known antiinflammatory impact and its functioning as a "scavanger" of free radicals (or ROS). (Tab. 1, Fig. 3, Ref. 23.)

The effect of dietary protein and sucrose on the diabetic rat kidney.

The effect of 3 months feeding with diets of different protein and sucrose content (9% casein + 70% sucrose vs. 18% casein + 61% sucrose) on the development of diabetic nephropathy and changes in serum lipid spectrum was investigated in rats with insulin-dependent diabetes (streptozotocin 45 mg.kg-1). Metabolism of diabetic animals (before the nutritional regimen) was characterized by hyperglycaemia, moderate hyperlipidemia, lipid accumulation in the liver and elevated creatinine concentration in the blood. Kidney weight and protein content were not significantly changed. Histological picture of kidneys showed initial changes of glomerular structure. After three months hyperlipoproteinaemia was more accentuated in animals given either of the two diets, the kidneys were hypertrophic with a higher protein content and displayed morphological changes of diabetic nephropathy. Animals given the low-protein diet developed smaller morphological changes both in glomeruli and tubuli. The study indicates that dietary protein and not hyperlipoproteinaemia is the major factor, which may significantly influence the progress of diabetic nephropathy.

Antioxidative state of the myocardium and kidneys in acute diabetic rats.

The influence of acute diabetes (8 days), induced by streptozotocin (45 mg.kg-1 body weight) on myocardial and renal antioxidative conditions was investigated. The animals were given subtherapeutical doses of insulin (Interdep 6 U. kg-1 body weight, s.c.). Considerably increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity were found in the myocardium of diabetic animals. The oxidized glutathione (GSSG) level and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity remained unchanged. The reduced glutathione (GSH) level as well as the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) were significantly lower. The activity of GSH-PX in the kidneys of diabetic rats increased by 60% and that of GST by 105%, respectively. CAT and SOD activity values were unchanged.

Effect of mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus and isolated fungal polysaccharide on serum and liver lipids in Syrian hamsters with hyperlipoproteinemia.

In Syrian hamsters, a diet with 44% of the calories being fat and containing 52 mg cholesterol (C)/100 g induced an accumulation of blood plasma and liver C and triacylglycerol (TG). In these animals, we studied the effect of dried whole mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus, 2% in the diet, 6-mo experiment) and ethanol-insoluble residue and structurally defined fungal polysaccharide, both isolated from the mushroom (in both cases, 4% in the diet, 2-mo experiments) on C and TG concentration in serum and liver. Whole mushroom effectively retarded the increase in C and TG in both serum and liver throughout the experiment. The mushroom also reduced the content of all lipids in lipoproteins with densities of less than 1.006 to less than 1.063 g/ml. Very-low-density lipoproteins played a substantial role in the decrease (65-80%) in serum lipids. As a result, the lipoprotein concentration of the specified density classes was reduced by 45-60%, and the concentration of the serum lipoprotein pool was reduced by 40%. Neither the chemical composition of high-density lipoproteins nor their serum concentration was affected by the mushroom. Ethanol-insoluble mushroom residue did not significantly affect serum lipid levels, but it reduced liver TG content. Fungal polysaccharide lowered the C content in serum and liver.

Cholesterol-lowering effect of the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus in hereditary hypercholesterolemic rats.

We studied the effect of the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus (4% in diet containing 1% of cholesterol) on serum and liver lipids in female rats with hereditary enhanced sensitivity to alimentary cholesterol. We found that the consumption of the mushroom-containing diet prevented serum cholesterol increase which was manifested at the end of the 4th week of the experiment. At the end of the 7th week of the experiment the cholesterolemia was lowered by almost 40% as compared with control animals kept on the same diet but without the mushroom. The decrease in serum cholesterol levels is a consequence of the decreased cholesterol concentrations of very-low-density lipoproteins and of low-density lipoproteins.

Effect of oyster fungus (Pleurotus ostreatus) on serum and liver lipids of Syrian hamsters with a chronic alcohol intake.

The authors studied the effect of oyster fungus (Pleurotus ostreatus) (2% dried fruiting bodies in a standard diet) on the serum and liver lipids of growing male Syrian hamsters with a chronic alcohol intake (a 15% aqueous solution). After eight weeks' alcohol intake there was an increase in their serum cholesterol, triacylglycerol (TG) and phospholipid (PL) concentration, 40 - 60% of which was accounted for by an increase in the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) concentration. The proportion of VLDL in the lipoprotein pool rose by almost 15%, whereas the proportion of high density lipoproteins (HDL) fell. The simultaneous administration of the fungus in the diet reduced the cholesterol level below the value in the control animals not given any alcohol. Both the serum TG and the VLDL concentration fell by 30%, but neither the chemical composition and concentration of the HDL nor the cholesterol concentration were affected. The addition of the fungus to the diet completely abolished the increase induced in the liver cholesterol and TG concentration by the chronic intake of alcohol.

Effect of dehydrated apple products on the serum and liver lipids in Syrian hamsters.

The effect of two dehydrated apple products (10% in diet)--apple pulp (crude fibre 3.5%, pectin 1.4%) and apple pomaces (crude fibre 13.5%, pectin 7%)--on the serum and liver lipids of growing Syrian male hamsters were studied. The animals were fed a natural diet (38% of energy substituted by milk fat; the diet contains 53 mg of cholesterol (CH) per 100 g) which resulted in an accumulation of CH and triacylglycerols (TG) in the serum as well as in the liver, and CH-rich very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) in the circulation. After two months both apple products decreased the levels of CH and TG in serum (by 40-70%) and the content of CH in VLDL with similar efficiency. Both products reduced CH content in the liver, and the apple pulp also decreased TG content. Up to the 6th month the apple pulp studied suppresses accumulation of CH and TG in both the serum and the liver. A complete analysis of lipoproteins of main density class at the time showed that the decrease of serum CH and TG to a decisive extent is due to the decrease of their concentration in VLDL (by more than 50%). Therefore, the concentration of VLDL and the whole lipoprotein pool decreased by 50%. The apple pulp doubled the amount of CH transported by HDL. Three months after the replacement of butter in the diet by corn germ oil the CH and TG levels in the serum and TG also in the liver decreased to the physiological level.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Long-term hypolipaemic effect of apple pulp on golden hamsters with alimentary hyperlipoproteinaemia.

Golden hamsters with alimentary hyperlipoproteinaemia (fed on a diet in which 44% of the energy was accounted for by fats, 52 mg cholesterol (CH)/100 g) were given apple pulp (10% of the diet) for six months. From the end of the first month up to the end of the experiment, elevation of serum CH, triacylglycerol (TG) and phospholipid (PL) levels and CH and TG accumulation in the liver were effectively inhibited. At the close of the experiment, hyperlipoproteinaemia was characterized by an increase in the amount of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), which carried 60-80% of all circulating lipids, accounted for over 70% of the total lipoprotein pool and transported almost 60% of the serum CH (high density lipoproteins--HDL--only 16%). The apple diet markedly reduced (by 50-80%) the amount of all lipids in the lipoproteins within density limits of 1,006-1,063 kg/m3 and lowered the total lipid concentration in these density classes and in the lipoprotein pool as a whole (by 50%). The proportion of the individual lipoprotein classes in the lipoprotein pool was not significantly affected. The apple diet did not affect either the chemical composition of HDL or their participation in the lipoprotein pool, but raised the proportion of serum CH transported in this lipoprotein class. Neither the lipoprotein lipase activity of the adipose tissue nor lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase activity were influenced by the apple diet.