Role of Goldenberry (Fruits with Husk) Extract in Ameliorating the Architecture and Osmotic Fragility of Red Blood Cells in Obese Rats.

Goldenberry (GB) is a promising fruit that can be a constituent in many possible nourishments. No notifications were obtained regarding the impact of exposure to goldenberry extract in the viewpoint of blood rheological properties as well as erythrocyte osmotic fragility of red blood cells (RBCs) in obese rats. A substantial reduction in plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL, with a considerable increment in HDL levels relative to the obese group (p ≤ 0.05), was observed in rats receiving low and high doses of GB, accompanied by restoration of SOD activity and GSH levels. Rheological parameters of rats' blood have been studied over a wide range of shear rates (225-1875 s-1). A significant decrease in blood viscosity in rats who received low and high doses of GB extract was compatible with every shear rate compared to the control group. The shear stress values of the obese rats reduced appreciably (p ≤ 0.05) in all values of shear rate (from 75 to 500 s-1) proportional to the control group, while in the groups that received low and high doses of GB extract, shear stress was restored to the control values. Finally, administration of GB extract significantly decreased yield stress and indices of whole blood aggregation, with an extremely substantial increment in flow rate, in rats given low or high doses of GB compared to obese ones. The result also showed a decrease in both the average raised osmotic fragility and the hemolysis rate in rats after supplementation with low and high doses of GB extract.

Nano cerium oxide and cerium/zinc nanocomposites characterization and therapeutic role in combating obesity via controlling oxidative stress and insulin resistance in rat model.

BACKGROUND: CeO2NPs and ZnONPs can curb the increase of cholesterol and triglycerides observed in rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It was suggested that CeO2 NPs could potentially have an insulin-sensitizing effect, specifically on adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. It was reported that ZnONPs combat the increase of insulin resistance observed in obese rats and could be beneficial value in NAFLD. In our previous work, ZnO-NPs manifested valuable anti-obesity effects via lowering body weight gain, oxidative stress, BMI, lipids, and insulin resistance. METHODS: In the present study, cerium oxide nanoparticles (A-1) and cerium/zinc nanocomposites (A-2 and A-3) were synthesized by solgel to investigate their role on oxidative stress, adipocyte hormones, and insulin resistance in an obese rat model. X-ray diffraction, HRTEM, SEM, and XPS were carried out to confirm the crystal structure, the particle size, the morphology of the nanoparticles and the oxidation states. RESULTS: The Rietveld refinement has also been executed on A-1 (chi2 = 1.00; average Bragg = 2.92%; R-factor = 2.45%) and on A-2 (Rw = 9.87%, Rex= 9.68%, χ2 = 1.04, GoF = 1.02). The XPS spectra indicated the presence of Ce in + 4 and + 3 oxidation states and Zn as ZnO and ZnO.OH. Cerium oxide and ZnO crystal sizes lie in the range 40.53-45.01 and 40.53-45.01 nm, respectively. The results indicated that treating obese rats with any of the tested nano compounds (5 mg or 10 mg/Kg) lowered plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, insulin resistance, glucose, and BMI significantly relative to obese group values. On the other hand, HDL increased significantly in obese rats after treatment with either A-2 or A-3 compared to obese rats. The current investigation showed antioxidant activities for A-1, A-2, and A3 as evidenced by the significant increase in GSH level and a significant decrease in MDA. CONCLUSION: It was found that A-1, A-2, and A-3 have an efficient therapeutic role in treating of obesity-related hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress and insulin resistance. The results of A-2 and A-3 were more pronounced than those of A-1. The use of Zn/Ce nanocomposite (that have positive characteristics) in combating obesity and its complications could be become a new trend in therapeutic application for a management of obesity.

Nested ensemble selection: An effective hybrid feature selection method.

It has been shown that while feature selection algorithms are able to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant features, they fail to differentiate between relevant and redundant and correlated features. To address this issue, we propose a highly effective approach, called Nested Ensemble Selection (NES), that is based on a combination of filter and wrapper methods. The proposed feature selection algorithm differs from the existing filter-wrapper hybrid methods in its simplicity and efficiency as well as precision. The new algorithm is able to separate the relevant variables from the irrelevant as well as the redundant and correlated features. Furthermore, we provide a robust heuristic for identifying the optimal number of selected features which remains one of the greatest challenges in feature selection. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real-life data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The NES algorithm achieves perfect precision on the synthetic data and near optimal accuracy on the real-life data. The proposed method is compared against several popular algorithms including mRMR, Boruta, genetic, recursive feature elimination, Lasso, and Elastic Net. The results show that NES significantly outperforms the benchmarks algorithms especially on multi-class datasets.

Zinc nanoparticles ameliorated obesity-induced cardiovascular disease: role of metabolic syndrome and iron overload.

Obesity is a complicated disease characterized by abundant fat accumulation. It is associated with cardiovascular disease. The current study aimed to appreciate the role of synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) (18.72 nm in size) in curbing cardiovascular disease in an obesity model of a high fat/sucrose diet in male rats. For 16 weeks, 24 rats were fed a high-fat diet and a 25% sucrose solution to develop obesity, and after that, the rats were randomly allocated into four groups of rats. Group 1 served as the control group and consisted of normal, non-obese rats. Group 2 comprised obese rats that were injected with an equivalent volume of a neutral substance, serving as vehicle control. In Group 3 or 4, obese rats were treated with an intraperitoneal injection of 5 or 10mg/kg of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) for eight weeks. The treatment of obese rats with ZnONPs decreased plasma levels of monocyte chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1), resistin, ENA78, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL6), and C reactive protein (CRP). Also, the remediation of obese rats with ZnONPs led to a significant decrease in body mass index (BMI), body weight gain, leptin, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL (Low-density lipoprotein), glucose, and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR). Moreover, ZnONPs treatment lowered troponin, creatine phosphokinase-MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), cardiac or adipose tissue iron content, and malondialdehyde (MDA) either in blood or heart tissue. Otherwise, treating obese rats with ZnONPs enhanced plasma adiponectin levels, cardiac-reduced glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). In addition, ZnONPs displayed a significant influence on the cardiovascular system since they combat the rise in blood pressure and the pathological changes of the heart and aorta besides maintaining plasma nitric oxide levels. The results showed a positive correlation between BMI and MDA, MPC-1, CK-MB, and LDH. ZnONPs are convenient in treating cardiovascular disease in obese rats via reduced blood pressure, oxidative stress, cardiac iron accumulation, insulin resistance, and inflammatory markers.

Potential effects of different natural antioxidants on inflammatory damage and oxidative-mediated hepatotoxicity induced by gold nanoparticles.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to verify and confirm the oxidative-mediated hepatotoxicity, inflammatory liver damage, and oxidative stress induced by intraperitoneal administration of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in vivo; characterize the effect of different natural antioxidants on these hazardous changes; and finally choose the most powerful antioxidant among these different natural antioxidants. METHODS: Ten-nanometer GNPs were dissolved in aqueous solution of 0.01% concentration. A dose of 50 µL of 10 nm GNPs was administered intraperitoneally for 7 days to the rats, whereas the antioxidants were orally administered for the same time period. The antioxidants used in the study were vitamin E (Vit E), α-lipoic acid (ALA), quercetin (Qur), arginine (Arg), and melanin. Forty Wistar-Kyoto male rats were used. Rats were arbitrarily divided into seven groups after acclimatization for 1 week. For serum separation, blood samples were obtained from each animal. Serum liver function markers and tissue oxidative stress and lipid proxidation biomarkers were assessed. RESULTS: The increase in the levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, total protein, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin in the serum of rats and the increase of malondialdehyde in the hepatic tissue and decrease in reduced glutathione when compared with the control in this study confirmed the ability of GNPs to cause hazardous effects. CONCLUSION: Treatment of rats with Vit E, ALA, Qur, Arg, and melanin along with GNPs significantly inhibited the inflammatory liver damage, lipid peroxidation, and the oxidative stress induced by GNPs in vivo, but with different responses due to their evaluated normalization values, and it has been confirmed that melanin is the most powerful antioxidant among these different natural antioxidants, ie, it has the most effective potential role against the hepatic inflammatory damage, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation.

Effect of melanin on gold nanoparticle-induced hepatotoxicity and lipid peroxidation in rats.

INTRODUCTION: Melanin pigments are produced by melanocytes and are believed to act as antioxidants based on the belief that melanin can suppress electronically stirred states and scavenge the free radicals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was aimed to verify and prove the toxicity induced by administration of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and to characterize the role of melanin as an antioxidant against inflammatory liver damage, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation induced intraperitoneally by GNPs in vivo. RESULTS: The findings from this study confirmed that administration of GNPs intraperitoneally caused liver damage in addition to producing oxidative stress and fatty acid peroxidation. The treatment of rats with melanin along with GNPs induced dramatic changes in all the measured biochemical parameters. Our data demonstrated that melanin completely inhibited inflammatory liver damage, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation, which was confirmed by the histological investigation of different liver sections stained by H&E. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the beneficial use of melanin together with GNPs for alleviating its toxicity. Other studies should be implemented taking into consideration the role of melanin in comparison with other natural antioxidants.

The protective role of quercetin and arginine on gold nanoparticles induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to confirm the hepatotoxicity induced by small-sized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and evaluate the role of quercetin (Qur) and arginine (Arg) against hepatotoxicity caused by GNPs. METHODS: Twenty-five healthy male Wistar-Kyoto rats were used. GNPs were administered intraperitoneally to these rats at the dose of 50 µL for seven consecutive days. The role of Qur and Arg antioxidants against toxicity induced by GNPs was detected through the measurement of serum liver function and oxidative stress biomarkers in the liver tissues. RESULTS: Coadministration of Qur and Arg along with GNPs significantly induced dramatic alterations in the biochemical parameters. Levels of malondialdehyde, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and total protein increased significantly in the GNPs injected group than in the control group, while reduced glutathione was greatly reduced in the GNPs group than in the control group. It also significantly decreased liver enzymes and the oxidative stress, therefore improving the liver damage and hepatotoxicity induced by GNPs. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that Qur and Arg antioxidants effectively improved the hepatic oxidative damage induced by GNPs. It also substantiates the application of Qur and Arg as protecting stand-in against GNPs' hepatotoxicity.

Potential effects of the combination of nicotinamide, vitamin B2 and vitamin C on oxidative-mediated hepatotoxicity induced by thioacetamide.

BACKGROUND: The liver disease is one of the most important traditional public health problems in Egypt. Oxidative stress is attributed to such pathological condition that further contributes to the initiation and progression of liver injury. In the present study, we have investigated if the strong antioxidant power of Nicotinamide (NA), Vitamin B2 (VB2), and Vitamin C (VC) can ameliorate TAA-induced oxidative stress-mediated liver injury in the rats. METHODS: Thirty-six albino rats were divided into six groups: Control group; TAA group (IP injection with TAA at a dosage of 200 mg/Kg three times a week for two months); TAA + NA group (rats administered with NA at a dosage of 200 mg/kg daily besides TAA as in the control); TAA + VB2 group (rats administered with vitamin B2 at a dosage of 30 mg/kg daily besides injection with TAA); TAA + VC group (rats administered with vitamin C at a dosage of 200 mg/kg daily along with injection of TAA). TAA + NA + VB + VC group (rats administered the with the three vitamins daily in TAA pre-injected at the respective doses described above). RESULTS: Treatment of rats with TAA led to a significant elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total bilirubin, cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the serum samples. Moreover, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydroxyproline and nitic oxide (NO) were also significantly increased in the TAA-treated rats, while reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were significantly compromised in the hepatic samples. Rats administered with NA, VB2, and VC as individually or in combination ameliorated the deleterious effects of TAA that was confirmed by histopathology. However, the combination of the three vitamins was found more effective as compared to each of the vitamins. CONCLUSION: Our work demonstrates that NA, VB2, and VC cross-talk with each other that act as a more potent biochemical chain of antioxidant defense against TAA-induced toxicities in vivo.

Role of zinc oxide nanoparticles in alleviating hepatic fibrosis and nephrotoxicity induced by thioacetamide in rats.

The present research studied the influence of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs; 5, 7.5, and 10 mg/kg, i.p.) on the liver and kidney injuries motivated by thioacetamide (TAA; 100 mg/kg, i.p.). Each treatment was carried out 3 times per week for 8 weeks. ZnO-NPs relieved the decrease of hepatic or renal reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) induced by TAA. Moreover, ZnO-NPs lowered tissue malondialdehyde (MDA, an indicator for lipid peroxidation). TAA treatment led to a significant increase in plasma inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6), liver enzymes (gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and kidney function parameters (creatinine, urea, uric acid). However, these parameters were reduced after treatment with ZnO-NPs. In addition, the hepatic fibrosis markers, hydroxyproline level, and α-smooth muscle actin immunopositive stain were lowered by ZnO-NPs. The protective effect of ZnO-NPs in respect to biochemical changes was also confirmed by histopathological and immunohistochemistry studies in the liver and kidney sections. Our results suggested that ZnO-NPs may attenuate TAA toxicity via suppression of oxidative stress.

The changes in serum and whole blood rheological properties of rabbits during the progression of atherosclerosis.

This study aimed to evaluate the role of zinc (Zn)-supplemented with high cholesterol diet (HCD) on the serum and whole blood rheological properties of rabbits fed a HCD. Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were divided into three groups. The HCD group was fed a diet with 1.0% cholesterol and 1.0% olive oil. The HCD + Zn group was fed a diet with 1.0% cholesterol, 1.0% olive oil, and Zn. Blood viscosity, shear stress, and torque (%) were measured at shear rates ranging from 225 to 1875 s-1 for serum and 75-900 s-1 for whole blood. Serum viscosity and shear stress in HCD rabbits were significantly higher at all shear rates compared to controls; while whole blood viscosity and shear stress in HCD rabbits were significantly lower at all shear rates compared to controls. Viscosity and shear stress in both serum and whole blood from rabbits in the HCD + Zn group returned to normal values at all shear rates. The Zn supplemented to HCD rabbits, delays the progression of atherosclerosis. Changes in blood serum viscosity could reflect changes in non-clotting proteins, glucose, nutrients and trace elements; while changes in whole blood viscosity could result from changes in hematocrit, hemoglobin, and erythrocyte count. One of the factors responsible for increasing the serum viscosity values of HCD rabbits might be attributed to increase in Fe and decrease in Zn levels in the blood serum.

Principles of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) for breast cancer patients receiving potentially cardiotoxic adjuvant treatments.

INTRODUCTION: The number of breast cancer long survivors has increased in the last few years. However, this increase in survival may be affected by the side effects of adjuvant breast cancer therapies. In this context cardiovascular toxicity is considered one of the most clinically important toxicities. AREAS COVERED: In this work we review the published clinical trials of adjuvant treatment on breast cancer, focusing on the trials which accurately mentioned the cardiotoxicity of the adjuvant treatments and those which underwent long term follow up of cardiac function. This article tries to summarize and evaluate the risk of cardiac toxicities associated with different adjuvant treatments for breast cancer (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy and trastuzumab). EXPERT OPINION: In our opinion, each individual breast cancer patient should be meticulously evaluated before starting adjuvant treatment in order to basically asses cardiac function and to manage any predisposing risk factor which may increase the probability of treatment induced cardiotoxicity. Rigorous and frequent reassessment of cardiac function along with providing different mitigation strategies that can prevent or decrease the risk of such cardiovascular toxicities are inevitable methods to protect the patient from cardiac events which can mask the survival benefit associated with different adjuvant treatments.

Short Communication: Rheological properties of blood serum of rats after irradiation with different gamma radiation doses in vivo.

The blood serum rheological properties open the door to find suitable radio-protectors and convenient therapy for many cases of radiation exposure. The present study aimed to investigate the rheological properties of rat blood serum at wide range of shear rates after whole body irradiation with different gamma radiation doses in vivo. Healthy male rats were divided into five groups; one control group and 4 irradiated groups. The irradiation process was carried out using Co60 source with dose rate of 0.883cG/sec. Several rheological parameters were measured using Brookfield LVDV-III Programmable rheometer. A significant increase in viscosity and shear stress was observed with 25 and 50Gy corresponding to each shear rate compared with the control; while a significant decrease observed with 75 and 100Gy. The viscosity exhibited a Non-Newtonian behaviour with the shear rate while shear stress values were linearly related with shear rate. The decrease in blood viscosity might be attributed to changes in molecular weight, pH sensitivity and protein structure. The changes in rheological properties of irradiated rats' blood serum might be attributed to destruction changes in the haematological and dimensional properties of rats' blood products.

The influence of zinc on the blood serum of cadmium-treated rats through the rheological properties.

The blood rheological properties serve as an important indicator for the early detection of many diseases. This study aimed to investigate the influence of zinc (Zn) on blood serum of cadmium (Cd) intoxication-treated male rats through the rheological properties. The rheological parameters were measured in serum of control, Cd, and Cd+Zn groups at wide range of shear rates (225-1875 s(-1)). The rat blood serum showed a non-significant change in cadmium-treated rats' %torque and shear stress at the lower shear rates (200-600 s(-1)) while a significant increase was observed at the higher shear rates (650-1875 s(-1)) compared with the control. The rat blood serum viscosity increased significantly in the Cd-treated group at each shear rate compared with the control. The viscosity and shear rate exhibited a non-Newtonian behavior for all groups. The increase in blood serum viscosity in Cd-treated male rats might be attributed to destruction or changes in the non-clotting proteins, and other blood serum components. In Cd+Zn-treated rats, the rat blood serum viscosity values returned nearer to the control values at each shear rate. Our results confirmed that Zn displaced Cd or compete with the binding sites for Cd uptake.

Ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy can be used as a diagnostic tool for gamma irradiation detection in vivo.

The spectroscopic properties can indicate important features about the nature and severity of the disease. However, no earlier studies have been used the spectroscopic properties as a diagnostic tool for radiation detection. This study was aimed to use ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool for gamma irradiation detection in rats in vivo. Adult male rats were exposed to 25, 50, 75 and 100 Gray as single dose, using Cobalt-60 (Co-60) source with a dose rate of 0.883 centi Gray/sec (cGy/s). Ultraviolet and fluorescence spectroscopy of rat's blood serum were measured. After gamma irradiation of rats in vivo, the blood serum absorbance peaks for 25, 50, 75 and 100 Gray (Gy) decreased and shifted towards the ultra violet wavelength. A maximal change in fluorescence intensity of blood serum at 350 nm was obtained when exciting light at 194 nm after irradiation. The fluorescence intensity also decreased with the dose. The highest radiation gamma dose might be accompanied with the highest oxidative stress. This study suggests that at the above mentioned gamma radiation doses, the blood is highly fragmented; with low aggregation at 25 Gy and with high aggregation at 50-100 Gy.

The effects of gamma-radiation on red blood cell corpuscles and dimensional properties in rats.

In an attempt to understand the toxicity and the potential role of gamma-radiation as a therapeutic tool, the effects of different Gamma-radiation doses on haematological and dimensional properties of rats' blood were investigated in vivo. 60 healthy male Wistar-Kyoto rats were used, which were randomly divided into five groups, 4 Gamma-radiated rat groups (1st group was radiated with five Gamma-radiation dose, 2nd group 25 Gy; 3rd group with 50 Gy, 4th group with 100 Gy, and 5th group was control). Different haematological and dimensional parameters were measured using the standard haematological technique. A significant decrease in red blood cells (RBCs) count, haemoglobin (HGB), and haematocrit (HCT) was observed compared with the control. While a significant increase in mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red distribution width (RDW) were observed compared with the control. This study suggested that low RBCs, HGB, and HCT might produce anemia and cessation of erythrocytes production in the bone marrow. Moreover, the RBCs size increase might be attributed to changes in the morphology and deformability of RBCs, which was confirmed by a slightly increase in RDW.

Determination of Human Hemoglobin Derivatives.

The levels of the inactive hemoglobin (Hb) pigments [such as methemoglobin (metHb), carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) and sulfohemoglobin (SHb)] and the active Hb [in the oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) form] as well as the blood Hb concentration in healthy non pregnant female volunteers were determined using a newly developed multi-component spectrophotometric method. The results of this method revealed values of SHb% in the range (0.0727-0.370%), metHb% (0.43-1.0%), HbCO% (0.4-1.52%) and oxyHb% (97.06-98.62%). Furthermore, the results of this method revealed values of blood Hb concentration in the range (12.608-15.777 g/dL). The method is highly sensitive, accurate and reproducible.

The effects of intraperitoneal administration of gold nanoparticles size and exposure duration on oxidative and antioxidants levels in various rat organs.

As one of the toxic mechanism of nanoparticles (NPs), the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation which has been widely studied. Nevertheless, the link between GNPs and antioxidant and oxidative stress markers has not been well established. The effects of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) size and exposure duration on antioxidant and oxidative stress markers including reduced glutathione (GSH), super oxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated in different rat organs. Adult male Wistar-Kyoto rats were randomly divided into 6 groups of 5 animals each. One group served as control and received vehicle only. The 10 nm GNPs were used in this study. The GNPs electron density and homogeneity in shape and size was evaluated. Dose of 50 µl of 10 nm GNPs in aqueous solution were administered to animals via intraperitoneal administration daily for exposure duration of 3 or 7 days. The rats were sacrificed 24 h after the last injection of GNPs. The specimens of liver, lung, kidney and heart were collected for biochemical analyses. The GPx, total antioxidant capacity, GSH and MDA levels significantly increased after administration of 10 nm GNPs for exposure duration of 3 and 7 days in the organs of rats compared with the control while the GR and SOD levels significantly decreased. The GNPs have the potential to interact with the biological system and cause undesirable effects. One of these damaging effects could be the disturbance in the natural balance between oxidative stress and antioxidant defense indices, which in turn can lead to various pathological effects. The changes in antioxidant and oxidative stress markers might be attributed to the production of ROS.

Ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques are important diagnostic tools during the progression of atherosclerosis: diet zinc supplementation retarded or delayed atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we examined whether UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques detect the progression of atherosclerosis in serum of rabbits fed on high-cholesterol diet (HCD) and HCD supplemented with zinc (HCD + Zn) compared with the control. METHODS: The control rabbits group was fed on 100 g/day of normal diet. The HCD group was fed on Purina Certified Rabbit Chow supplemented with 1.0% cholesterol plus 1.0% olive oil (100 g/day) for the same period. The HCD + Zn group was fed on normal Purina Certified Rabbit Chow plus 1.0% cholesterol and 1.0% olive oil supplemented with 470 ppm Zn for the same feeding period. UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy and biochemistry in Rabbit's blood serum and blood hematology were measured in Rabbit's blood. RESULTS: We found that the fluorescent peak of HCD shifted toward UV-visible wavelength compared with the control using fluorescent excitation of serum at 192 nm. In addition, they showed that supplementation of zinc (350 ppm) restored the fluorescent peak closely to the control. By using UV-visible spectroscopy approach, we found that the peak absorbance of HCD (about 280 nm) was higher than that of control and that zinc supplementation seemed to decrease the absorbance. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques can be applied as noninvasive techniques on a sample blood serum for diagnosing or detecting the progression of atherosclerosis. The Zn supplementation to rabbits fed on HCD delays or retards the progression of atherosclerosis. Inducing anemia in rabbits fed on HCD delays the progression of atherosclerosis.

The gold nanoparticle size and exposure duration effect on the liver and kidney function of rats: In vivo.

UNLABELLED: Nanoparticles (NPs) offer a great possibility for biomedical application, not only to deliver pharmaceutics, but also to be used as novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Currently, there are no data available regarding to what extent the degree of the toxicity and the accumulation of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are present in in vivo administration. This study aimed to address the GNP size and exposure duration effect on the liver and kidney function of rats: in vivo. METHODS: A total of 30 healthy male Wistar-Kyoto rats of the same age (12 weeks old) and weighing 220-240 g of King Saud University colony were used. Animals were randomly divided into groups, two GNP-treated rat groups and one control group (CG). The 50 µl of 10 and 50 nm GNPs was intraperitoneally administered in rats for exposure duration of 3 days. Then, several biochemical parameters such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea (UREA) and creatinine (CREA) were evaluated. RESULTS: In this study, the AST values increased with the administration of 10 and 50 nm GNPs compared with the control. The AST values significantly increased with 10 nm GNPs compared with 50 nm GNPs and control. The GGT and ALT values decreased with the administration of 10 and 50 nm GNPs compared with the control. The GGT and ALT values significantly decreased with 50 nm GNPs compared with 10 nm GNPs and control. The ALP values significantly decreased with the administration of 10 and 50 nm GNPs compared with the control. The decrease in ALP values with 10 nm GNPs was higher than those compared with 50 nm GNPs. In this study, the levels of UREA and CREA values increased in a non significant manner after the administration of 10 and 50 nm GNPs compared with the control. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the increase in the enzymes AST and the decrease in ALP are smaller GNPs (10 nm) size-dependent for exposure duration of 3 days; while the decrease in the enzymes GGT and ALT are bigger GNPs (50 nm) size-dependent. The levels of UREA and CREA values indicated no significant changes with the administration of 10 and 50 nm GNPs for exposure duration of 3 days compared with the control. The administration of 10 and 50 nm GNPs for short exposure duration of 3 days induced only significant variations with some liver enzymes while kidney showed no significant variations. This study suggests that synthesis and metabolism of GNPs as well as the protection of the liver will be more important issues for medical applications of gold-based nanomaterials in future.