Beneficial effects of nontoxic ozone on H2O2-induced stress and inflammation.

In this study, the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory efficacy of ozone oxidative preconditioning (OOP) were investigated on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced human lung alveolar cells. In MTT and trypan blue viability tests, while 100 µmol/L H2O2 caused a 17.3% and 21.9% decrease in the number of living cells, respectively, ozone at 20 µmol/L regenerated cell proliferation and prevented 9.6% and 11.0% of cell loss, respectively. In addition, H2O2 decreased the transcription levels of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) 5.43-, 2.89-, and 5.33-fold, respectively, while it increased Bax, NF-κß, TNF-α, and iNOS expression 1.57-, 1.32-, 1.40-, and 1.41-fold, respectively. Ozone pretreatment, however, increased CAT, GPx, and SOD transcription levels 7.08-, 5.17-, and 6.49-fold and decreased Bax, NF-κß, TNF-α, and iNOS transcriptions by 1.25-, 0.76-, 3.63-, and 7.91-fold, respectively. Moreover, intracellular glutathione (GSH) level and SOD activity were decreased by 46.2% and 45.0% in the H2O2 treatment group, and OOP recovered 58.5% and 20.1% of the decreases caused by H2O2. H2O2 also increased nitrite levels 7.84-fold, and OOP reduced this increase by half. Consequently, OOP demonstrated potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on in vitro model of oxidative stress-induced lung injury.

Protective effect of thymoquinone in experimental testicular torsion.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the protective role of thymoquinone (TQ) on unilateral testicular ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experiments were performed on male C57BL/6 mice (8 weeks old, 20-25 g). The animals were divided into 3 groups including 6 mice in each group: control (sham), torsion/detorsion (TD) and TD+TQ. Mice, except the sham-operated group, were subjected to left unilateral torsion (720° rotation in the clockwise direction). The experiments were finished after sham operation time for controls, 120 min torsion and 240 min detorsion for the other groups. In the TD+TQ group 10 mg TQ was injected intraperitoneally 30 min before detorsion. RESULTS: In the TD group total oxidative stress (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were higher than in the controls. TQ treatment decreased MDA, TOS and OSI values, but did not affect the total antioxidant capacity and myeloperoxidase activity in the TD+TQ group. Upon histological examination, mice in the TD group displayed moderate-to-severe disruption of the seminiferous epithelium. Treatment with TQ resulted in significantly reduced histological damage associated with I/R injury. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that TQ treatment may have a protective effect on testicular I/R injury.

Effect of propolis on healing in experimental colon anastomosis in rats.

INTRODUCTION: Propolis is the generic name for the resinous substance collected by honeybees, which is known to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, apoptosis-inducible effects. Anastomotic dehiscence after colorectal surgery is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to assess the effect of propolis on healing in an experimental colon anastomosis in rats. METHODS: Forty adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly assigned into 5 treatment groups with 8 rats in each: Group I, anastomosis+no treatment; Group II, anastomosis+oral propolis (600 mg/kg/d); Group III, anastomosis+oral ethyl alcohol (1 cc/d); Group IV, anastomosis+rectal propolis (600 mg/kg/d); Group V, anastomosis+rectal ethyl alcohol (1 cc/d). The bursting pressures, hydroxiproline levels and histopathological changes in each group were measured. RESULTS: When bursting pressures were compared between groups, we observed that they were increased in the groups treated with propolis in contrast to all other groups. Hydroxiproline levels in the propolis groups were also significantly increased in contrast to the other groups. There was also a statistically significant difference in histopathological changes between the treatment types. When propolis administration methods were compared, we did not observe a statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: Propolis has a significantly favourable effect on healing in experimental colon anastomosis, independent from the method of administration.