Enzymatic Effectiveness of Alcoholic and Aqueous Extract of Salvia Officinalis in Mice Poisoned with Tetrachloride.

Regarding the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects of Salvia officnalis (S. officinalis) extracts and the use of medicinal herbs as an alternative to chemical drugs, this study aimed to evaluate the enzymatic changes and reduction of hepatocyte damage in mice poisoned with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) after treatment with aqueous and alcoholic extract of Salvia officnalis. A total of 40 adult male mice were divided into eight groups including six experimental, one negative, and one positive control group, which were exposed to CCl4 at the concentration of 2.3 mg/kg. The active compounds in the alcoholic and aqueous extracts of S. officinalis were obtained using high-performance liquid chromatography. Subsequently, S. officinalis extract in 100, 200, and 300 mg /kg doses were fed orally to mice for six days. The enzymes (GST, ALP, ALT, AST, and MDA) were determined in mice serum. The study results showed that enzyme activity was significantly decreased in the group treated with S. officinalis extract, and the concentration of 300mg/kg proved to be most effective. In addition, it was indicated that the alcoholic extract had a higher effect than the aqueous extract, which might be due to the greater amount of active compounds in the alcoholic extract. The improving effects of S. officinalis can be attributed to the bioactive components with antioxidant properties that inhibit the damaging effects of free radicals, chemical drugs, and tissue damage.

In vivo measurement of platinum in the kidneys using X-ray fluorescence.

A noninvasive in vivo method has been developed and optimized for measuring platinum concentrations in the kidneys of patients receiving chemotherapy. The method is based on polarizing the X-ray beam from an orthovoltage radiotherapy treatment unit, the Pantak DXT-300, and using the beam to produce emission of the characteristic platinum X-rays from the kidney. The platinum is derived from platinum-based chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin and its analogues (carboplatin and iproplatin), used to treat cancer patients. The clinical motivation for measuring the platinum concentration in both the kidneys and the tumor is to optimize the treatment by establishing the relationships between the accumulation of the drug at those sites. Such clinical information could be valuable in maximizing the therapeutic ratio toward the tumor tissue and limiting the hazards to the kidney. The performance of the system was experimentally optimized with respect to the applied X-ray tube voltage, filter material, and polarizer. Additionally, the MCNP-4B Monte-Carlo computer code was used to estimate the optimum shielding materials, the thickness surrounding the X-ray tube, and the arrangement of collimators, to protect patients from the hazards of the scattering radiation. Clinical measurements can be made with a combination of a bilayer of copper and silicon as polarizer, a 0.25-mm tin filter introduced in the path between the X-ray beam and the polarizer, and an operating voltage of 220 kV. The minimum detection limit achieved with this arrangement is 16 ppm, for a kidney depth of 3 x 3 cm, with a skin dose of 1.6 mGy and measurement time of 2,000 seconds.