Alcohol stress on cardiac tissue - ameliorative effects of Thespesia populnea leaf extract.

BACKGROUND: Cells are naturally equipped with antioxidant defenses to counterbalance free radical production. Overproduction of free radicals is one of the reasons for a variety of diseases. The current investigation was planned to evaluate chronic alcohol- (for 30 days) induced oxidative stress in the cardiac tissue of rat and to explore the effectiveness of Thespesia populnea (TP)-induced cardio-protection in rat heart by utilizing an in vivo model of cardiac injury by alcohol. METHODS: Ten groups of rats were maintained and were divided into different groups. Alcohol 20% was administered and Thespesia leaf extracts (TPE) were administered at a dose of 250 mg/kg to chronic alcoholic rats for 30 days. The heart tissue was isolated and processed for further analysis, and also blood for estimation of blood alcohol level and serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK). The activities/levels of antioxidant enzymes, malondialdehyde (MDA), and protein carbonyls (PC) were estimated using established protocols. Histopathology was performed as evidence for the work and to establish the results. RESULTS: Activities of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and reduced glutathione content (GSH) showed a decrease, while glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity, MDA, and PC recorded an elevation due to alcohol treatment in the cardiac tissue compared to the control rats. Alcohol-induced myocardial injury was observed, indicated by a significant increase in serum CPK, a well-known biomarker of myocardial injury, and histopathological evidence supported these observations by revealing predominantly extensive edema with vacuolization and severe necrosis. CONCLUSION: Treatment with TPE confers protection on the heart tissue during alcohol-induced oxidative stress, and thereby minimizes oxidative damage to the cardiac tissue as clearly marked in histopathology.

Tramadol safety--cholinergic system of rat brain without nociception.

In the present investigation, changes in the levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, acetylcholine (ACh) content, and the activity levels of plasma (PChE) and erythrocyte (EChE) cholinesterases as representatives of pseudocholinesterases were examined in different areas of the rat brain during the administration of the synthetic opioid analgesic drug tramadol (Ultram) without induction of pain. Male adult Wistar rats weighing 150 +/- 20 g were used. Tramadol was injected subcutaneously (s.c.) into the rats at 0, 24 and 48 h, and the changes in the above cholinergic parameters were recorded after the completion of 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h. Following administration of single dose (for rats sacrificed at 24 h) and multiple doses (for rats sacrificed at 48 and 72 h) of tramadol, the ACh content showed an increase in all brain areas. Concurrently, the AChE activity was found to decrease in all the areas. PChE and EChE showed higher activity levels, with EChE showing a higher level of activity than PChE. The levels of all the parameters examined returned towards the control levels by about 24 h after the administration of single dose of tramadol. However, the ACh levels showed an elevation at 48 and 72 h (following double and triple doses, respectively). The AChE activity levels also showed a simultaneous increase at 48 and 72 h, presumably to balance the increase in ACh levels on longer treatment with tramadol. The observed changes in the cholinergic segment presumably do not cause any physiological lesion since they reverted to control levels after the time limit of change under tramadol influence. This observation indicates that tramadol can be administered safely both under nociceptive and non-nociceptive conditions.