Carob Seed Peels Effect on Cognitive Impairment and Oxidative Stress Status in Methionine-Induced Mice Models of Schizophrenia.

Background:Ceratonia siliqua L. (Carob tree) is a Mediterranean evergreen, well known for its medicinal properties. The different parts of Carob were proven to exert antidiabetic, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiproliferative effects. Hence, the present paper aims to validate the positive correlation between the high antioxidant activity of carob seed peels and the improvement of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Materials & Methods: The antioxidant activity was carried out using the ß-carotene test. Methionine and carob seed peels (CSP) extracts (50 and 100 mg/kg) were orally administrated to mice for a week. After administration, behavioral tests were assessed using the Y-maze, elevated plus maze, and forced swimming tests, as well as the novel object recognition task. Furthermore, the oxidative stress status was evaluated by analyzing the levels of the antioxidant enzymes: Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and malondialdehyde levels (MDA). Results: Both extracts exhibited remarkable antioxidant activity and showed antibacterial effect against Gram-positive bacteria tested (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative). Therefore, Escherichia coli was very resistant. The behavioral tests proved the efficacy of CSP in enhancing the cognitive impairment of animal models of schizophrenia. Hence, the stated correlation between oxidative stress and schizophrenia was confirmed by the increased SOD and GPx activities and the decreased MDA level. Conclusions: The present study gave further confirmation of the potential correlation between oxidative stress and the development of psychiatric disorders and highlighted the use of natural antioxidants, especially Ceratonia siliqua L. in the improvement of cognitive impairment in the dementia of schizophrenia.

Phytochemistry, bioactivity: suggestion of Ceratonia siliqua L. as neurodegenerative disease therapy.

Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is one of the most widespread medicinal plants in the Mediterranean area. Traditionally, it was cultivated for its ethnopharmacological benefits and, more especially, for the seeds, which served as unit of measurement of jewelers "carat." Hence, in the last half-century, numerous studies reported a wide range of phytoconstituents contained in all parts of Ceratonia siliqua such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, alkaloids, glycosides, proteins and minerals. This review article unveils the phytochemical constituents, bioactivity and pharmacological studies of Ceratonia siliqua. Recent studies have shown that the extracts of this plant exhibit an antioxidant, antidiarrheal, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic activities and also hepatoprotective and antiproliferative effects. In this review, we provide a summary of the most interesting data related to bioactivity and therapeutic potential of Ceratonia siliqua in a way to suggest possible future studies that may use Ceratonia siliqua as an undeniable natural alternative for neurodegenerative diseases treatment.

Centaurium erythrea (Gentianaceae) leaf extract alleviates streptozotocin-induced oxidative stress and ß-cell damage in rat pancreas.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Centaurium erytrea is used in traditional medicine for treat urine retention, abdominal colic and diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible protective effects of Centaurium erythrea leaf extract (CE) against pancreas ß-cells' damage and antioxidant defense systems in streptozotocin induced diabetes rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experimental diabetes was induced by a single dose of STZ (65 mg/kg) administered by intraperitoneal way. The oxidative stress was measured by tissue MDA levels, protein carbonyl (PCO) content, reduced glutathione (GSH) content and by enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in pancreas. Biochemical observations were further substantiated with histological examination of pancreas. RESULTS: The increase in blood glucose and MDA levels with the decrease in GSH content and in enzymatic activities were the salient features observed in diabetic rats. Administration of CE (200mg/kg bw/day, i.p) for 30 days caused a significant reduction in blood glucose and MDA levels in STZ treated rats when compared with diabetic rats. Furthermore, diabetic rats treated with CE leaf extract showed a significant increase in the activities of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants when compared to those of diabetic rats. Degenerative changes of pancreatic ß-cells in STZ treated rats were minimized to near normal morphology by administration of CE leaf extract as evidenced by histopathological examination. CONCLUSION: Results clearly indicate that Centaurium erythrea treatment exerts a therapeutic protective nature in diabetes by decreasing oxidative stress and pancreatic ß-cells' damage which may be attributed to its antioxidative potential.