Leaves of Lavender Protect Adult Mice from Hydrogen Peroxide-induced Injury: Evidence fromin vitro and in vivo Tests.

Medicinal plants and their secondary metabolites have long been a rich source of biologically active compounds that can prevent many diseases. In this context, we investigated the antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Lavandula officinalis and tested its potency against hepatic and renal toxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide in adult male mice based on measurements of biochemical parameters, oxidative stress, and tissue damage in both organs. We proved a remarkable antioxidant power of this plant (in vitro) by correcting the harmful effects of the prooxidant (in vivo). It can be concluded that lavender is an aromatic plant capable of reducing the stress caused by reactive oxygen species.

Brachychiton populneus as a novel source of bioactive ingredients with therapeutic effects: antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, anti-inflammatory properties and LC-ESI-MS profile.

Brachychiton populneus is one of the unexploited Tunisian plants, traditionally eaten as food and used for medicinal purposes. The present study aimed to investigate the phytochemical components of the seeds, leaves and flowers from B. populneus using three different solvents and to explore their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. Further, this study was focused on the identification of phenolic compounds from the most active extract. In vitro, all extracts showed strong antioxidant property by DPPH, ferrous ion chelating and lipid peroxidation-inhibiting assays, noticeable anti-inflammatory activity by protein denaturation and membrane stabilization methods and important neuroprotective effects by acetylcholinesterase inhibitory test. In vivo, B. populneus (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) showed significant dose-response anti-inflammatory effects against carrageenan-induced paw edema. With respect to the phenolic profile, the leaf methanol extract presented eight phenolic acids, one flavone and four flavonoids, with salvianolic acid B (820.3 mg/kg), caffeic acid (224.03 mg/kg), syringic acid (100.2 mg/kg) and trans-ferulic acid (60.02 mg/kg) as the major compounds. The results of the current study suggested that B. populneus could be a precious source of health-benefitting biomolecules and may be developed as new antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and AChE inhibitors.

HPLC-DAD identification of polyphenols from ethyl acetate extract of Amaranthus spinosus leaves and determination of their antioxidant and antinociceptive effects.

Amaranthus spinosus has been consumed traditionally to prevent various diseases including abdominal pain. In this study, the phytochemical composition, antioxidant and analgesic activities of an ethyl acetate extract of A. spinosus leaves (ASEA) were evaluated. The ASEA had the highest concentrations of total phenols (462.2 mg GAE/g DW), condensed tannin (5.01 mg CE/g DW) and total flavonoid contents (30.07 mg CE/g DW) compared to the chloroform, n-hexane, n-butanol and water extracts. Similarly, ASEA showed the most effective total antioxidant activity (45.45 µg/mL), DPPH scavenging activity (27.32 µg/mL) and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity (30.60 µg/mL). ASEA with the doses of 200-600 mg/kg (p.o.) clearly demonstrated antinociceptive effects by reducing acetic acid-induced abdominal contortions with a maximal inhibition of 79.57% at 600 mg/kg and increasing latencies of the hot-plate paw-licking response. The tested doses also significantly (p < 0.001) decreased the reaction time in the formalin test at the neurogenic and inflammatory phases. ASEA contained ten polyphenols with caffeic acid being the predominant polyphenol. Overall, this study gave evidence that A. spinosus is a new antioxidant and analgesic agent, and justified its traditional use for the treatment of pain.

Lycium europaeum Extract: A New Potential Antioxidant Source against Cisplatin-Induced Liver and Kidney Injuries in Mice.

This study was designed to assess the protective effects of Lycium europaeum methanol extract (LEM) on liver and kidney injuries induced by cisplatin. The phytochemical composition, the antioxidant activity, and hepatorenal injury biomarkers were investigated. Results revealed that LEM exhibited a significant antioxidant activity in vitro on DPPH radical and H2O2 scavenging assays. In the animal studies, treatment with LEM significantly reduced the effects of cisplatin intoxication on serum liver biomarkers and serum renal biomarkers. Meanwhile, LEM diminishes significantly the effect of cisplatin on the level of lipid peroxidation in liver and kidney tissues. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes (reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase) were increased in groups pretreated with LEM and quercetin. Additionally, the normal histological structures of the liver and kidney were restored after treatment with LEM. This work clearly demonstrated that L. europaeum may be useful as a drug with hepato-nephroprotective potentials.

Evaluation of nutritional values, phenolic profile, aroma compounds and biological properties of Pittosporum tobira seeds.

BACKGROUND: Plant essential oils and phenolic compounds are widely used for their medicinal properties. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the nutritional values, the chemical composition, antioxidant activity and anti-hemolytic effects of Pittosporum tobira seeds. METHODS: The aroma compounds were isolated using two methods (Headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and hydrodistillation (HD)) and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Bioactive phenolic compounds were identified by mean of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD). Reducing power, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays were used to investigate antioxidant activity. Anti-hemolytic activity was evaluated using H2O2-induced hemolysis of red blood cells (RBC). RESULTS: Oxygenated sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes were the most volatile fractions identified by HD and HS-SPME coupled to GC-MS but their quality and amount were quite different according to the extraction methodology. The main phenolic compounds identified by HPLC were caffeic acid, followed by cinnamic acid and gallic acid. P. tobira seeds essential oils showed significant antioxidant activity in DPPH (IC50 value = 1.5 mg/mL), H2O2 scavenging assay (IC50 value = 159.43 µg/mL) and reducing power test (IC50 value = 0.982 mg/mL) compared to methanolic extract. Moreover, the results revealed that the essential oil was able to protect RBC from hemolysis induced by H2O2. However, the methanolic extract had no effect on H2O2-induced hemolysis of RBC as compared to the essential oil and the standard vitamin C. CONCLUSIONS: P. tobira may be used as a new natural source of antioxidant with therapeutic application in diseases caused by reactive oxygen species. Phytochemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation of Pittosporum tobira seeds.

Phytochemical characterization and bioactivity of Lycium europaeum: A focus on antioxidant, antinociceptive, hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effects.

In this study, the antioxidant, antinociceptive, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective properties and the bioactive composition of Lycium europaeum were investigated. Polyphenols and total tannin contents were measured by colorimetric methods The antioxidant activity in vitro was evaluated using the reducing power, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical and phosphomolybdenum assays. The hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity effects were studied using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver and renal injuries in mice. The analgesic activity was explored using the hot-plate and acetic acid tests in mice. Results showed that the methanol fraction of L. europaeum (LEM) had the highest level of total phenolic, total tannin, and flavonoid. HPLC-DAD analysis revealed the presence of twelve compounds among them caffeic acid was the major compound (140.18µg/g of extract). This fraction also showed the best antioxidant activity in vitro in the three used assays. In vivo, in the mice studies, CCl4 administration induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity by a significant rise in the levels of serum liver biomarkers (gamma glutamyl transferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aminotransferases) and serum renal biomarkers (urea, creatinine, and uric acid). Similarly, levels of lipid peroxidation (MDA) in both tissues were found increased by CCl4 intoxication. Pretreatment with LEM and quercetin significantly restored the majority of these biological parameters to normal levels, as well as an improvement of histopathological changes. In addition, LEM showed an interesting analgesic activity. LEM decreased significantly the number of writhing induced by acetic acid and prolonged the reaction time in response to thermal stimulus in mice. Therefore, it was speculated that the obtained results highlighted the potential use of L. europaeum as a source of bioactive compounds with pharmacological advantages.

The xbp-1 gene is essential for development in Drosophila.

We report in this paper the characterization of Dxbp-1, the Drosophila homologue of the xpb-1 gene that encodes a "bZIP"-containing transcription factor that plays a key role in the unfolded protein response (UPR), an evolutionarily conserved signalling pathway activated by an overload of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Dxbp-1 is ubiquitously transcribed, and high levels are found in embryonic salivary glands and in the ovarian follicle cells committed to the synthesis of the respiratory appendages. Loss of function of Dxbp-1 induced a recessive larval lethality, thus, revealing an essential requirement for this gene. The Dxbp-1 transcript was submitted to an "unconventional" splicing that generated a processed Dxbp-1s transcript encoding a DXbp-1 protein isoform, as is the case for yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans and vertebrate hac1/xbp-1 transcripts after UPR activation. However, in the absence of exogenously induced ER stress, the Dxbp-1s transcript was also detectable not only throughout embryonic and larval development but also in adults with a high level of accumulation in the male sexual apparatus and, to a lesser extent, in the salivary glands of the third-instar larvae. Using a Dxbp-1:GFP transgene as an in vivo reporter for Dxbp-1 mRNA unconventional splicing, we confirmed that Dxbp-1 processing took place in the salivary glands of the third-instar larvae. The Dxbp-1 gene appears, thus, to play an essential role during the development of Drosophila, hypothetically by stimulating the folding capacities of the ER in cells committed to intense secretory activities.

Differential expression of the two Drosophila fos/kayak transcripts during oogenesis and embryogenesis.

The Dfos/kayak gene encodes a bZIP protein, DFos, required in a large variety of differentiation and morphogenetic processes throughout Drosophila development. The recent availability of an expressed sequence tag (EST) sequence led us to identify a novel kay mRNA encoding a deduced DFos isoform showing a specific NH(2)-terminal region. To gain further insight into the function and the regulation of this gene, we have investigated the expression pattern of the two kay mRNA isoforms, kay-RA and kay-RB, during oogenesis and embryogenesis by whole-mount in situ hybridization. Results show that, although the two kay RNA isoforms display fully distinct patterns of transcription during oogenesis, they show partially overlapping expression profiles in embryos. These data reveal a previously unsuspected level of complexity in the regulation of the expression of the kay gene. In addition, they suggest a possible requirement for this gene in the invagination processes during early gastrula stages.