mahdi goudarzvand

Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by insulin deficiency or dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate the anti-diabetic effects of a mixture of extracts from "Trigonella foenum-graecum", "Vaccinium arctostaphylos", "Silybum marianum", "Urtica dioica", "Melissa officinalis", and "Citrullus colocynthis" in a diabetic rat model, as well as to evaluate potential liver complications associated with this extract.

In this experimental study, thirty male Wistar rats were rendered diabetic through intraperitoneal administration of alloxan (60 mg/kg). One week post-induction, diabetic rats were randomly assigned to five groups of six. The negative control group received distilled water via gavage, the positive control group received metformin (100 mg/kg), and three experimental groups received daily gavage of the plant extract mixture at doses of 150, 300, and 600 mg/kg, respectively. After 30 days of treatment, blood samples were collected from the tail to assess fasting blood sugar (FBS) and liver biomarkers. Subsequently, the rats were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine, and liver tissue was prepared for histopathological evaluation using hematoxylin-eosin staining and light microscopy.

The extract at doses of 300 and 600 mg/kg significantly reduced FBS and hpp2 levels. However, the 600 mg/kg dose resulted in a significant increase in liver enzymes and induced liver tissue damage.

The mixture of plant extracts demonstrated an anti-diabetic effect at a dosage of 300 mg/kg without toxic effects on the liver. These findings suggest potential therapeutic benefits of the extract in managing diabetes while highlighting the need for caution at higher dosages.

Prenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can lead to structural damage and CNS dysfunction. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects of prenatal administration of pycnogenol (PYC) against the negative effects of bacterial LPS on anxiety-like behavior, gonadotropin and sex hormone serum levels, and sperm quality and quantity in the adult male offspring of NMRI mice.

Pregnant mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10 per group): 1. Saline group: received a single dose of saline as solvent of pycnogenol by gavage for 3 days on gestation days 16-18. 2. LPS group: received a single dose of LPS (20 µg/kg, subcutaneously) on gestation day 20. 3. PYC: received 200 mg/kg/day of pycnogenol by gavage for 3 days, intraperitoneally, on gestation days 16-18. 4. LPS + PYC: received a single dose of LPS (20 μg/kg) on gestation day 20 and pycnogenol (200 mg/kg/day) by gavage for 3 days on gestation days 16-18. After maturity/puberty in male pups (60 days old), the anxiety-like behavior test was performed. After the behavioral test, serum levels of gonadotropins (luteinizing hormone, LH, follicle stimulating hormone, FSH), testosterone hormone and sperm quality were assessed.

LPS administration increased anxiety-like behaviors and decreased serum LH and testosterone levels; however, PYC treatment reversed the negative effects of LPS to normal levels.

PYC treatment improves anxiety-like behavior and gonadotropin and testosterone secretions. Therefore, this substance can be used as a protectant and an aphrodisiac agent.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease with mild memory loss that eventually leads to the loss of the ability to conduct conversation and react to the environment. Despite the proven role of the drugs used against the obvious causes of Alzheimer's disease, it still seems impossible to achieve an effective and permanent treatment for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. So, investigating different angles of GABAergic system signaling can be introduced as a promising target for the development of anti-Alzheimer drugs.

To induce Alzheimer's disease, the β-amyloid toxin at a dose of 5µg/µl was injected bilaterally into the hippocampus of Wistar male rats, and the rats were then treated with bilateral injection of GABA-A receptor agonist (muscimol) and antagonist (bicuculline), at a dose of 100 ng/µl/side in the hippocampus for 4 days. To assess the spatial memory of the animals, the parameters of the distance traveled by the animals, latency time to reach the hidden platform, and velocity of the animals were analyzed in Morris water maze test.

The distance traveled and the latency time to reach the hidden platform increased in the Morris water test following the injection of beta-amyloid, and the muscimol increased the amount of this memory impairment. The injection of bicuculline could not significantly change the spatial memory of the animals.

The results of this study indicate the destructive effect of beta-amyloid toxin on spatial memory, as well as the destructive role of muscimol in memory consolidation and retrieval.

Sequential word learning is a crucial aspect of memory research in cognitive neuroscience, emphasizing the importance of recalling words at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a sequence. This study aims to investigate the extent of primacy and recency effects in patients with neglect syndrome caused by right parietal lobe damage.

This case-control study involved 18 patients with parietal lobe tumors, divided into two groups: 9 patients with neglect syndrome and nine without. Patients referred to the neurosurgery department of Shahid Tajrish Hospital with right parietal lobe lesions underwent neurological and psychological evaluations, including the cancellation test, line bisection test, copying test, and the 5-point test. Those diagnosed with neglect syndrome formed the syndrome group, while the rest constituted the control group. Both groups participated in immediate recall (short-term memory) and delayed recall (long-term memory) tests for sequential word learning, with results analyzed for primacy and recency effects.

Among the 18 patients, 61% were men and 39% were women. Analysis of immediate and short-term memory tests for sequential word learning revealed no significant differences in primacy and recency effects between the two groups.

The findings suggest that patients with right parietal lobe damage and neglect syndrome do not exhibit significant differences in primacy or recency effects in verbal memory during sequential word learning compared to the control group. Consequently, immediate and short-term memory appears relatively unaffected in these patients.

Prenatal bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) exposure causes damage of the brain and gonadal system.The aim of this study included determination of astaxanthin effect to ameliorate undesired effects of bacterial LPS during fetal period and improve maternal behavior, body weight and length and neural changes in adult male NMRI mice.

Pregnant female mice were divided into four groups. 1) Control: this group received only distill water in gavage route at day 11 of pregnancy. 2) LPS group: this group received subcutaneous 20 µg/kg of body weight LPS at the day 11 of pregnancy. 3) AST receiving females: pregnant mice received 5 mg/kg body weight AST in gavage route at days 11, 12 and 13 of pregnancy. 4) Females receiving LPS+AST: pregnant female received 5 mg/kg AST in form of gavage route at time intervals 11, 12 and 13 of pregnancy. At the day 11 of pregnancy, they received 20 µg/kg LPS 1.5 h after AST gavage. Then, maternal care behaviors were assessed for 3 days. After breeding of offspring, the body weight and height were measured. Moreover, after adult of offspring at the day 60, the neuronal changes of the hypothalamus were studied.

In this study, AST did not lead to significant improvement in maternal behaviors, body weight and height of offspring, however, AST conferred positive effect on neuronal cells of the hypothalamus.

AST has neuroprotective effects which it might ameliorate the deficits presumably through its antioxidant property.

Febrile seizure is one the most common pediatric disease. Diagnosis of this disease is usually based on the history and clinical signs and symptoms. Various factors have been suggested as pathogenesis of febrile seizure but the main cause is still unknown. Recent studies recommended a relationship between oxidative stress and febrile seizure. This study aimed to examine the relationship between febrile seizure and Malondialdehyde (MDA) serum level as an oxidant determinant and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) serum level as an antioxidant determinant.

In this case-control study, two groups of people including 46 patients with simple and complex febrile seizure, and 44 normal children were studied. There was no history of febrile seizures, afebrile seizures, epilepsy or any types of neurologic and metabolic disorders in patients. Thus, serum levels of MAD and SOD in the two groups of study were evaluated, separately.

The findings of this study showed a significant increase in malondialdehyde enzymes compared with healthy subjects. Also, the results of the measurement of the superoxide dismutase enzyme indicated a significant increase compared to the healthy group.

Significant increase in SOD and also a significant increase in MDA may be due to the stimulation of compensatory responses in the brain and subsequent the antioxidant system counteracting the oxidant system. These results also indicate the importance of time for enzyme measurements.

Considering the role of oxidants in the pathogenesis of this disease, in this study, the effect of pycnogenol as an antioxidant on the improvement of motor function and anxiety behavior in the experimental model of Parkinson’s disease were assessed. Forty male NMRI mice were randomly divided into five groups (n=8 in each group): The control (saline) unilaterally received 3 μl of normal saline solution containing 0.1% ascorbic acid, as a solvent of 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA), into the left strianum. The treatment group received 6-OHDA toxin containing 1% ascorbic acid at a rate of 3 µg/µl in the left striatum and then received the distilled water, as pycnogenol solvent, via gavage for 7 days (the lesion group). The pycnogenol-treated groups received pycnogenol at doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg via gavage for 7 days. The animals were stereotaxically operated to inject 6-OHDA toxin into the left striatum. Seven days after induction of Parkinson’s model, apomorphine was intraperitoneally used at dose of 0.5 mg/kg and the number of rotation of the animals was measured to confirm the damage to neurons in the striatum. Besides, the catalepsy or muscle stiffness by the bar test and the anxiety behavior by the plus maze test (EPM) were measured. The total number of rotations in apomorphine test showed a significant decrease in the groups receiving pycnogenol. Moreover, administration of pycnogenol significantly reduced catalepsy in pycnogenol-treated groups. The result of the anxiety behavior test demonstrated that the percentage of open arm time (OAT) and the number of open and close arm entries, as an indicator of the animal’s locomotor activity, significantly increased in the pycnogenol-treated groups. Pycnogenol with its antioxidant effect ameliorates movement deficit and reduces anxiety behavior in animal model of Parkinson’s disease..

Piperine as the main alkaloid of black pepper has antioxidant and neuroprotective properties, so, it is an appropriate candidate to be studied in animal models of multiple sclerosis. This research aimed at investigating the effect of pretreatment with piperine on spatial memory, oxidative stress, and myelin repair gene markers in local demyelination model.

Adult male Wistar rats (200–220 g) were studied in four experimental groups (n=8 per group). Demyelination was induced by bilateral injection of lysolecithin (LPC) into the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Piperine was injected intraperitoneally at 5 mg/kg for two weeks before induction of demyelination until the end of the experiment. The effect of piperine on spatial memory was assessed by Morris water maze. The gene expression analysis on iNOS, Nrf2, HO1, and MBP was done using qPCR. Total antioxidant capacity in the hippocampal tissue was measured by FRAP biochemical assay.

Pretreatment with piperine significantly reduced escape latency and swimming distance and increased time spent in target quadrant in Morris water maze test (P<0.0001) . In the Piperine pretreatment group, the expression level of iNOS was significantly lower than that in the LPC group. But the expression levels of Nrf2, Hmox-1 and MBP significantly increased in piperine pretreated group compared to LPC and control groups (P<0.001). Total antioxidant capacity of tissue in piperine pretreated group was more than that in the LPC group and controls (P<0.0001).

Piperine improved spatial memory impairment induced by hippocampal demyelination through enhancing antioxidant defense and myelin repair.

 Prenatal maternal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure causes behavioral deficits in adulthood. LPS-exposure cause oxidative damage and cytokines production. In contrast, astaxanthin (Ast) is a carotenoid antioxidant that shows protective effects through its antioxidant capacity.

 This study investigates the effect of prenatal treatment with astaxanthin on the behavioral deficit (including sexual, depressive, and anxiety-like behavior) caused by prenatal maternal LPS in adult male offspring.

 Pregnant mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: (1) control, (2) LPS: injecting with LPS (20 µg/kg, sc.) on gestation day 11, (3) Ast: receiving astaxanthin (4 mg/kg for 3 days, i.p.) on 11 - 13th gestation day, (4) LPS+Ast: injecting with LPS (20 µg/kg, sc.) on gestation day 11 and receiving astaxanthin (4 mg/kg for 3 days, i.p.) on 11 - 13th gestation day. Then in each group, 23 day old male offspring (3 and 12 male children from each mother and group, respectively) were separated from mothers and then the sexual, depressive and anxiety-like behaviors were examined in adult male mice.

 Findings showed that prenatal LPS-exposed mice had more anxiety and spent less time in open arms of the elevated plus-maze test (P < 0.05). In addition, it decreased sexual behaviors, the amount of which was significant in the number of sniffing, following behaviors (P < 0.01). Also, there was no significant difference between different groups in the forced swimming test (P < 0.05). On the other hand, prenatal treatment with astaxanthin significantly elevated the percentage of open arm time and open arm entry, without altering in locomotor activity (P < 0.05). Also, it significantly increased sexual behavior in Ast and LPS+Ast groups (P < 0.01).

 The obtained results suggest that prenatal maternal exposure to LPS impaired several aspects of male sexual behavior and resulted in behavioral deficits in adulthood, while astaxanthin has an antianxiety effect and improves the deficits of sexual behavior presumably via its antioxidant property.

Scrophularia megalantha is a native Iranian plant. In folk remedies, the species of the genus are used to treat stomach ulcers, goiter, eczema, cancer, psoriasis, and gall; however, there is not much research about S. megalantha. The current study aimed at evaluating the therapeutic effect of Scrophularia megalantha, a medicinal plant of Iran, on myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 35-55 (MOG)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as a model of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The ethanol 80% extract of S. megalantha aerial parts was prepared by maceration method. The extract (100 mg/kg/day) was administered to C57BL/6 mice immunized with MOG (35-55) for 7 days, 3 weeks after EAE induction. The mice brain was removed and Hematoxylin-Eosin (H&E) was used to stain the sections. Moreover, spleen mononuclear cells from extract-treated or non-treated of EAE model mice were stimulated with MOG peptide and then culture supernatants were evaluated for IFN-ɣ, IL-17 and IL-10 cytokines using Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) kits.

Based on the obtained results, treatment with Scrophularia megalantha areal part extract significantly reduced inflammatory cells infiltration in the central nervous system (CNS) and also the disease severity in the experimental model of MS. Also, findings of the current study indicated that treatment with this medicinal plant in EAE mice model significantly decreased inflammatory cytokines including IFN-ɣ and IL-17 and vice versa significantly increased IL-10 as anti-inflammatory cytokine compared with non-treated of EAE model mice group.

Scrophularia megalantha attenuated EAE by suppressing IFN-ɣ and IL-17 production and also increasing IL-10 cytokine. These findings suggested that this medicinal plant has the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.