Modified Procedure for Simple and Rapid Collection of Zebrafish Fluid Samples for Biochemical Analyses.

This study addresses the challenge of collecting blood samples from zebrafish for biochemical analysis. Traditional methods are cumbersome due to low blood flow and rapid coagulation. Based on a previously published technique, we simplified the process by applying an anticoagulant solution directly to the incision site. The modified protocol involves immersing the fish in an ice bath, making a cross-sectional incision, and immediately applying anticoagulant solution. Centrifugation of the specimens provides a streamlined and efficient approach to zebrafish fluid sample collection, compatible with classic biochemical marker analyses.

Hypolipidemic and reduced nitrergic effects of p-hydroxycinnamic diesters extracted from Copernicia prunifera in mice challenged by a high-fat diet.

Dyslipidemia is a chronic non-transmissible condition that has increased due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Statins have been used as the standard treatment to control hyperlipidemia. However, side effects and high costs may be associated with its prolonged treatment, so plants derivatives have been an attractive therapy to overcome these problems. Among the compounds extracted from plants, the p-hydroxycinnamic diesters (HCE), present in carnauba wax (CW), have been found with good pharmacological properties. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the potential anti-hypercholesterolemic and possible toxicological effects of HCE in C57BL/6J mice under a high-fat (HF) diet. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed during 60 days under the HF diet and therefore were either treated with HCE (200 and 400 mg/kg) or simvastatin (20 mg/kg) or received saline (controls) by gavage for 30 days under the same diet. HCE treatment was able to reduce serum total cholesterol and LDL levels. Besides, this compound increased liver X receptor (LXR) and but not significantly affected IL-1ß and TNF-α liver mRNA transcription activity. In conclusion, HCE treatment was found safe and may attenuate the deleterious effects of dyslipidemia due to chronic feeding with western diets.

p-Methoxycinnamic Acid Diesters Lower Dyslipidemia, Liver Oxidative Stress and Toxicity in High-Fat Diet Fed Mice and Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes.

The pursuit of cholesterol lowering natural products with less side effects is needed for controlling dyslipidemia and reducing the increasing toll of cardiovascular diseases that are associated with morbidity and mortality worldwide. The present study aimed at the examining effects of p-methoxycinnamic acid diesters (PCO-C) from carnauba (Copernicia prunifera)-derived wax on cytotoxic, genotoxic responses in vitro and on dyslipidemia and liver oxidative stress in vivo, utilizing high-fat diet (HFD) chronically fed Swiss mice. In addition, we evaluated the effect of PCO-C on the expression of key cholesterol metabolism-related genes, as well as the structural interactions between PCO-C and lecithin-cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT) in silico. Oral treatment with PCO-C was able to reduce total serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels following HFD. In addition, PCO-C reduced excessive weight gain and lipid peroxidation, and increased the gene expression of LCAT following HFD. Furthermore, the high affinity of the studied compound (ΔG: -8.78 Kcal/mol) towards the active sites of mutant LCAT owing to hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions was confirmed using bioinformatics. PCO-C showed no evidence of renal and hepatic toxicity, unlike simvastatin, that elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, a marker of liver dysfunction. Finally, PCO-C showed no cytotoxicity or genotoxicity towards human peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro. Our results suggest that PCO-C exerts hypocholesterolemic effects. The safety of PCO-C in the toxicological tests performed and the reports of its beneficial biological effects render this a promising compound for the development of new cholesterol-lowering therapeutics to control dyslipidemia. More work is needed for further elucidating PCO-C role on lipid metabolism to support future clinical studies.