Journal of Basic and Applied Zoology最新文献

This study specifically focuses to investigate whether N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) has potential ameliorative effects against aspartame-induced brain pathophysiology in rats. Thirty adult male Wistar rats weighing 200–220 g were randomly divided into three groups as follows: the first group was administered with distilled water and served as the control group; the second group was given aspartame at a dose of 75 mg/kg b.wt. and the third group was given both aspartame and N-acetyl cysteine at dose of 75 mg/kg b.wt. and 600 mg/kg b.wt. respectively. Oral administration was done in the morning daily for 90 days.

Long term consumption of the artificial sweetener aspartame (ASP) induced large increments in cortical inflammation and oxidative stress. Daily oral NAC administration can significantly reverse brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, blocked the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) production with selective attenuation in expression of proinflammatory cytokines of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the rat cerebral cortex. Also, NAC can significantly replenish and correct intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels, modulate the elevated levels of total nitric oxide (TNO) and lipid peroxidation (LPO). Conclusions: The present results amply support the concept that the brain oxidative stress and inflammation coexist in experimental animals chronically treated with aspartame and they represent two distinct therapeutic targets in ASP toxicity. The present data propose that NAC attenuated ASP neurotoxicity and improved neurological functions, suppressed brain inflammation, and oxidative stress responses and may be a useful strategy for treating ASP-induced neurotoxicity.

Nile Tilapia; Oreochromis niloticus are commonly used in the assessment of aquatic environment quality and also considered as useful bio-indicators during environmental pollution monitoring. The LC₅₀/96 h of copper oxide (bulk & nano) particles [CuO (BPs & NPs)] were 2205 & 150 mg/l, respectively. Two tested concentrations of CuO (BPs & NPs) were selected: the first concentration was equivalent to (¹/₁₀) (220.5 & 15 mg/l), and the second was equivalent to (¹/₂₀) (110.25 & 7.5 mg/l) LC₅₀/96 h·CuO (BPs & NPs), respectively. While serum glucose, liver function tests (AST, ALT and ALP) and kidney function tests (creatinine and uric acid) showed a significant increase, serum total proteins, albumin, globulin and total lipids showed a significant decrease. Both liver and gill tissues of the studied fish showed a reduction in GSH content and an elevation in MDA and GPx activities. The present study also showed an elevation in liver CAT & SOD activities when exposed to both concentrations of CuO BPs and in the case of gills when exposed to both concentrations of CuO (BPs & NPs), although activity of these enzymes showed an inhibition in the liver when exposed to both concentrations of CuO NPs. The present study investigated whether CuO NPs are more toxic than CuO BPs.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) and Cypermethrin (CPM) are toxic and subject to long-term in vivo accumulation in different aquatic species throughout the world. The purpose of the present study was to examine the combined CPF/CPM (Nurocombi) exposure on histology in various tissues of Paratelphusa jacquemontii. The crabs were exposed to combined CPF/CPM concentrations of 0.0187 ppm and 0.0374 ppm (sub lethal) for 28 days with parallel untreated control. The experimental gill tissue exhibited epithelial lifting, edema, necrosis, fusion of secondary lamellae and hemorrhage. The deceased hepatopancreas revealed infiltration, formation of large lumen and disappearance of haemocytes. The pathologic symptoms like atrophy, necrosis, wavy appearance, accumulation of granular material in between muscle fibers, fragmentation, loss of muscle structure, appearance of basophilic deposits were displayed in the muscle tissue. The vas deferens showed remarkable epithelial vacuolar degeneration, irregular appearance of spermatophore matrix associated with reduction in the number of spermatophores and dehiscence of most of the spermatophores. It is concluded that histological biomarkers provide reliable and discriminatory data to augment pesticide pollution and therefore, long-term monitoring is necessary to assess the eco-health of the mangrove system.

A feed trail was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of Streptocephalus simplex as a live feed in freshwater ornamental fish culture. The efficiency of live feed was compared with that of artificial/pellet diet to determine the growth rate biochemical parameters and carotenoid concentration of Carassius auratus for a period of 45 days. As a result the proximate composition on the S. simplex indicates that they are rich in protein, lipids, essential amino acids and fatty acids. Availability of these growth factors was perfectly reflected on the successful growth rate of C. auratus. Moreover, presence of carotenoids viz., astaxanthin (36.4 ± 2.4), canthaxanthin (23.6 ± 1.7), and β-carotene (1.7 ± 0.6) has improved the intensity of the skin color of commercially important ornamental fish C. auratus after feeding with S. simplex.

The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of erythropoietin (EPO) and/or spirulina to treat alloxanized-diabetic rats. Eighty male albino rats were equally divided into eight groups; Group I: Normal control rats, Group II: Non-diabetic rats treated with EPO (40 U/kg) injected subcutaneously three times weekly for 3 weeks, Group III: Non-diabetic rats administered orally with spirulina (2 g/kg/d) for 21 days, Group IV: Non-diabetic rats treated by EPO (40 U/kg) together with spirulina (2 g/kg/d) as mentioned in groups II & III, Group V: Alloxanized-diabetic rats. Group VI: Diabetic rats treated with EPO (40 U/kg) as in group II, Group VII: Diabetic rats administered with spirulina (2 g/kg/d) as in group III, Group VIII: Diabetic rats were given with EPO (40 U/kg) and spirulina (2 g/kg/d) as in group IV. Diabetic rat group showed a significant increase in glucose and NO; and a significant decrease in insulin, SOD and CAT levels. Diabetic rats treated with EPO or/and spirulina recorded a significant decrease in the glucose and NO levels; and a significant increase in insulin, SOD and CAT levels when compared with the diabetic group. Histopathologically, diabetic rats treated with EPO or spirulina showed a slight improvement of pancreatic islets and acinar cells, diabetic rats treated with EPO & spirulina together showed an obvious recovery to approximately normal status. IHC, the expression of insulin producing cells (β-cells) of diabetic rats was improved in the three treatment groups with a lesser affinity for EPO than spirulina while with both together showed marked recovery into normal status. In conclusion, all the changes were minimized in spirulina administered group more than EPO group, however, the co-treatment of EPO and spirulina exerted stronger anti-hyperglycemic effects than treatment with each agent alone.

Lead is a poison that affects virtually every system in the body. The current study was planned to examine the toxic effects of lead acetate on the histological picture of testes, and the protective roles of DMSA, combined vitamins C and E, and DMSA combined with vitamin C plus vitamin E against the histopathological changes in the testes of albino rats induced by lead acetate. Oral administration of lead acetate caused necrosis of spermatogenic cells in the seminiferous tubules, congestion of interstitial blood vessels, severe interstitial edema and complete necrosis in the seminiferous tubules. Co-administration of DMSA with lead acetate minimized the histopathological changes exhibited by lead acetate in the affected organ compared with lead acetate-intoxicated rats. Lead acetate combined with vitamin C plus vitamin E supplemented rats showed mild congestion of the interstitial blood vessels and the seminiferous tubules with its components appeared normal compared to DMSA treated rats. Treatment with DMSA combined with vitamin C plus vitamin E showed more or less normal histological appearance of the testes in lead acetate induced histopathological changes in the affected organ. These results show that DMSA, as a chelating agent for lead, and the combination of vitamins C and E as antioxidants reduced the toxic effects of lead on the histological structure of testes in albino rats but did not provide complete protection. Whereas, the supplementation of DMSA combined with both vitamins C and E provide complete protection against toxicity induced by lead in the testes of albino rats.

Recently, vaccination against sexually transmitted diseases as well as tumor therapy using new systems such as nanomaterials is a promising strategy. For successful usefulness of magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) in medical applications through the vaginal route, it is essential to understand their biological fate and cellular toxicity in the animal tissues. This study aims to investigate the biodistribution, histopathological and immunological impacts of MNPs on in the liver, spleen and genital tract tissues of female mice after the intravaginal instillation. MNPs were observed within spleen and liver parenchyma as well as vaginal stroma after 3 days and 2 weeks of the instillation, and completely cleared from the vaginal stroma tissue after 6 weeks. Splenic lymphocytes of treated spleen were characterized with anisokaryosis; anisochromia. Quantitatively, the number of megakaryocyte and lymphocyte nuclei size in the spleen were highly increased after instillation of MNPs. MNPs caused acute inflammation in the liver and tarsal joints dermal. Immunologically, MNPs induced the vaginal secretion IgA and Bcl-2 reactivity in the hepatocytes, the expression of fucose residues and number of BM8⁺ cells in the genital tract tissues after instillation. Our data indicated that MNPs could influence the splenic lymphocytes and hepatocytes as well as the cellular and humoral immune responses in the mice genital tract tissues after 2 weeks of intravaginal instillation. This information could be useful for avoiding the side effects of MNPs when used in medical applications. Further investigations about the safety and toxicity of MNPs should be achieved before their use in the medical field.

The oxidative damage and histological changes of liver of rats exposed to cadmium and the ameliorative effect of rosemary extract against cadmium hepatotoxicity were studied. The results showed that exposure to Cd (30 mg/kg b.w., 5 consecutive days/week for 8 weeks) led to an increase in the MDA levels and a decrease in activity of SOD, CAT and the concentration of GSH versus controls. In contrast, administration of rosemary aqueous extract restored the changes in these parameters to nearly the normal levels. Treating animals with Cd led to different histopathological changes such as loss of the normal structure of hepatic cells, blood congestion, leukocytic infiltrations and fatty degeneration. Ultra structure results revealed abnormality in the nucleus, swelling of mitochondria, degeneration of endoplasmic reticulum, and increase of lysosomes and appearance of fat droplets. On the other hand, animals treated with Cd and rosemary showed an improvement in these changes and the tissue appears with normal structures. The results suggested that the ameliorative effect of rosemary extract may be due to its antioxidant properties in combating free radical-induced oxidative stress and tissue injury resulting from cadmium chloride.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting compound widely spread in our living environment. It is a contaminant with increasing exposure to it and exerts both toxic and estrogenic effects on mammalian cells. Due to the limited information concerning the effect of BPA on the liver, the present study was designed to assess hepatic tissue injury induced by early life exposure to BPA in female rat offspring. Rat dams (n = 9) were gavaged with 0.5 and 50 mg of BPA/kg b.w./day throughout lactation until weaning. The sham group received olive oil for the same duration while the control group did not receive any injection. The liver tissue was collected from female pups at different pubertal periods (PND50, 90 and 110) to evaluate oxidative stress biomarkers, extent of DNA damage and histopathological changes. Our results indicated that early life exposure to BPA significantly increased oxidative/nitrosative stress, decreased antioxidant enzyme activities, induced DNA damage and chronic severe inflammation in the hepatic tissue in a time dependent manner. These data suggested that BPA causes long-term adverse effects on the liver, which leads to deleterious effects in the liver of female rat offspring.

Aflatoxin is a common contaminant of foods, particularly in the staple diets of many developing countries. To evaluate adverse effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) toxicity on health status in the Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, fish were fed diet contaminated with either 20 or 100 ppb AFB1 for 6 or 12 weeks. Growth indices, survival rate and hepatosomatic index (HSI) were assessed. Blood samples were collected for hematological profiles (e.g. RBCs and WBC count, Hb content). Liver enzyme activity; aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) as well as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), were evaluated and toxin residues in the liver and musculature were detected. Liver histopathological investigations were carried out, whereas antioxidant glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene expression were determined in this tissue by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Furthermore, to test the fish immune status, challenge against Aeromonas hydrophila was conducted. Results indicated that 100 ppb AFB1 negatively impacted O. niloticus weight gain, feed efficiency, hematological profiles, HSI as well as liver histopathology, while increase in AST, ALT, ALP liver enzymes activity was evidenced. Further, the expression of liver GPx and GST down-regulated and AFB1 residues were always detected in the liver and only in the musculature in fish fed 100 ppb AFB1 for 12 weeks. The ability of fish to withstand A. hydrophila infection was remarkably lowered. Overall, the results herein demonstrate the toxic effects of AFB1 in O. niloticus. The observed alterations in fish status, especially in the liver coincide well with the expected oxidative stress resulting from the AFB1 toxicity.