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2012| May-August | Volume 19 | Issue 2
Online since
June 14, 2012
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REVIEW ARTICLES
Do herbal medicines have potential for managing snake bite envenomation?
YK Gupta, SS Peshin
May-August 2012, 19(2):89-99
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97194
PMID
:22778503
Snake envenomation is a global public health problem, with highest incidence in Southeast Asia. Inadequate health services, difficult transportation and consequent delay in antisnake venom administration are the main reasons for high mortality. Adverse drug reactions and inadequate storage conditions limit the use of antisnake venom. The medicinal plants, available locally and used widely by traditional healers, therefore need attention. A wide array of plants and their active principles have been evaluated for pharmacological properties. However, numerous unexplored plants claimed to be antidotes in folklore medicine need to be studied. The present article reviews the current status of various medicinal plants for the management of snake bite.
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ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Safety profile of a polyherbal formulation (
Gynocare
capsules) in female rats by subchronic oral toxicity study
Pratima A Tatke, I. S. R. Nidhiya, SG Deshpande
May-August 2012, 19(2):106-111
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97196
PMID
:22778505
Gynocare
capsules, is a polyherbal formulation, are used as uterine tonic and for treating gynaecological ailments like infertility, leucorrhea, and menstrual disorders. The formulation contains ingredients of herbal origin, such as, extracts of
Ashoka, Vasaka, Durva, Chandan, Musk
, and so on. It was evaluated for its safety at the therapeutic dose level by a repeated dose oral toxicity study in albino Wistar rats. The herbal formulation was administered orally at a therapeutic dose of 100 mg/kg/day, for 90 days. All animals were monitored daily for their health status and signs of abnormalities. The body weight, water consumption, and food intake were measured once weekly. At the end of the experimental period, various hematological and biochemical parameters were estimated and histopathologies of selected organs were conducted. The study resulted from the long-term oral administration of
Gynocare
capsules (100 mg/kg), did not cause any relevant signs of toxicity nor significant changes in the physical, hematological and biochemical parameters. However, statistically significant differences were seen in the relative organ weights of adrenal gland, ovary, and serum creatinine levels. The reduction in ovary weight revealed the possibility of the drug targeting the ovary. Moreover, no pathological features were identified in the treated group as monitored by the histopathological analysis of the internal organs. The study established that
Gynocare
capsules at the dose given (100 mg/kg) did not induce any remarkable or significant toxic effects, indicating that it was safe in rats following oral administration for 90 consecutive days.
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1,818
101
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REVIEW ARTICLES
The dental amalgam toxicity fear: A myth or actuality
Monika Rathore, Archana Singh, Vandana A Pant
May-August 2012, 19(2):81-88
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97191
PMID
:22778502
Amalgam has been used in dentistry since about 150 years and is still being used due to its low cost, ease of application, strength, durability, and bacteriostatic effect. When aesthetics is not a concern it can be used in individuals of all ages, in stress bearing areas, foundation for cast-metal and ceramic restorations and poor oral hygiene conditions. Besides all, it has other advantages like if placed under ideal conditions, it is more durable and long lasting and least technique sensitive of all restorative materials, but, concern has been raised that amalgam causes mercury toxicity. Mercury is found in the earth's crust and is ubiquitous in the environment, so even without amalgam restorations everyone is exposed to small but measurable amount of mercury in blood and urine. Dental amalgam restorations may raise these levels slightly, but this has no practical or clinical significance. The main exposure to mercury from dental amalgam occurs during placement or removal of restoration in the tooth. Once the reaction is complete less amount of mercury is released, and that is far below the current health standard. Though amalgam is capable of producing delayed hypersensitivity reactions in some individuals, if the recommended mercury hygiene procedures are followed the risks of adverse health effects could be minimized. For this review the electronic databases and PubMed were used as data sources and have been evaluated to produce the facts regarding amalgam's safety and toxicity.
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83
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ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Repeated topical application of
para
-phenylenediamine induces renal histopathological changes in rats
Manuj Kr. Bharali, Rajeev Basumatary, Taibur Rahman, Karabi Dutta
May-August 2012, 19(2):132-137
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97206
PMID
:22778510
Hemolytic anemia and rhabdomyolysis have been often reported to be an adverse effect of drug- and chemical-induced toxicity both in experimental and real-life scenario.
para
-Phenylenediamine (PPD) is a derivative of
para
-nitroaniline and has been found as an ingredient of almost all hair dye formulations in varying concentrations from 2% to 4% w/v. Earlier studies have reported that the accidental oral ingestion of PPD in humans can lead to acute renal failure because of rhabdomyolysis. In the present investigation, we have tested the chronic topical application of PPD and its effect on the renal histology of Sprague-Dawley rats. The experiment provides clear evidence that topically applied PPD induces hemolytic anemia as evident from the decrease in the total RBC count, packed cell volume, and hemoglobin content apart from rhabdomyolysis which subsequently causes acute renal failure in rats.
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Cardioprotective activity of methanol extract of fruit of
Trichosanthes cucumerina
on doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in Wistar rats
Sagar L Shah, Vishal R Mali, Girish N Zambare, Subhash L Bodhankar
May-August 2012, 19(2):167-172
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97218
PMID
:22778516
Aim and Objective:
The objective was to determine the activity of methanol extract of fruit of
Trichosanthes cucumerina
in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in rats.
Materials and Methods:
The methanol extract of fruit of
T. cucumerina
was prepared. Male Wistar rats were divided in four groups. Group I was vehicle control. Group II animals received doxorubicin 4 mg/kg i.p. on days 21, 28, 35, and 42. Group III and IV animals were treated with methanol extract of
T. cucumerina
(500 and 1000 mg/kg, respectively) for 49 days. Doxorubicin was administered on days 21, 28, 35, and 42 days. The parameters of study were body weight, serum biomarkers, ECG, blood pressure, and left ventricular function. At the end of the study, the histology of heart, liver, and kidney was carried out.
Results:
Cardiac toxicity by doxorubicin was manifested as body weight loss, elevated serum LDH and CK-MB, increased ST, QT and QRS complex, reduced blood pressure, and left ventricular function. The methanol extract of
T. cucumerina
significantly decreased LDH and CK-MB, reduced ST, QT interval and QRS complex, increased heart rate, restored blood pressure, and left ventricular function. Doxorubicin caused liver and kidney necrosis, cellular infiltration, and vascular changes that indicated injury.
Conclusion:
T. cucumerina
(1000 mg/kg) reduced the severity of doxorubicin-induced cardiac damage especially in heart. It is concluded that doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity is reduced by pretreatment with methanol extract of fruit of
T. cucumerina
.
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93
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Bio-efficacy of
Dioscorea pentaphylla
from Midmid-Western Ghats, India
G Prakash, BB Hosetti
May-August 2012, 19(2):100-105
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97195
PMID
:22778504
Antibacterial and antifungal activity of crude extracts of medicinally important and traditionally used yam plant,
Dioscorea pentaphylla
, from mid-Western Ghats was evaluated against 27 bacterial and 5 fungal clinical strains collected of the patients from infectious sources. The clinical strains belonging to their respective species showed concentration-dependent susceptibility toward crude petroleum ether extract, chloroform extract and methanol extract at 100 μg/100 μl. The extracts exhibited predominant antibacterial activity against
Staphylococcus aureus
(ATCC-20852),
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
(ATCC-29737) and
Klebsiella pneumoniae
(MTCC-618), respectively, and five clinically isolated pathogenic fungi,
Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum gypseum, Tricophyton tonsurans, Microsporum audouini,
and
Candida albicans
, with antibacterial drug ciprofloxacin and antifungal drug fluconozole (50 μg/100 μl) as standards. Out of the three extracts, ethanol extracts possessed better minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against all the bacterial strains. All the three extracts showed significant activity against all the five fungal pathogen strains. The results are promising and support the traditional use of
D.
pentaphylla
for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections.
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899
52
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Toxicological evaluation of the methanol extract of
Gmelina
arborea
Roxb. bark in mice and rats
YA Kulkarni, A Veeranjaneyulu
May-August 2012, 19(2):125-131
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97203
PMID
:22778509
Objective:
The present study was designed to evaluate acute and repeated dose toxicity of the methanol extract (ME) of the
Gmelina arborea
stem bark.
Materials and Methods:
For the acute toxicity study, ME of
G. arborea
was orally administered to Swiss albino mice at a dose range of 300-5000 mg/kg. For the repeated dose toxicity study, the Wistar rats of either sex were orally administered with ME of
G. arborea
at the doses of 300, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg/day for a period of 28 days. The effects on body weight, food and water consumption, organ weight, hematology, clinical chemistry as well as histology were studied.
Results:
The administration of ME from the
G. arborea
bark at 300-5000 mg/kg did not produce mortality or significant changes in the clinical signs. The no-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of ME was 5000 mg/kg. There were no significant differences in the general condition, growth, organ weights, hematological parameters, clinical chemistry values, or gross and microscopic appearance of the organs from the treatment groups as compared to the control group.
Conclusion:
ME of
G. arborea
was found safe in acute and repeated dose toxicity studies when tested in mice and rats.
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865
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To study the effect of vitamin D and E on sodium-fluoride-induced toxicity in reproductive functions of male rabbits
Naresh Kumar, Sushma Sood, Brijbala Arora, Manjeet Singh, Beena , Prasanta Saha Roy
May-August 2012, 19(2):182-187
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97220
PMID
:22778518
Objectives:
Fluorosis is an endemic problem in many countries of world. This study was designed to see the effect of fluoride on the reproductive system and to see the role if any of vitamin D or E supplementation on it.
Materials and Methods:
Sixty rabbits were divided into six equal groups. Group I was fed on standard diet, Group II vehicle treated control, Group III on sodium fluoride (NaF) 20 mg/kg body weight, Group IV on NaF + Vitamin D, Group V on NaF + vitamin E, and Group VI on NaF + vitamin D + vitamin E.
Results:
In Group III (fed on sodium fluoride) significant decrease in sperm count (
P
<0.001), motility (
P
<0.001), progressive motility (
P
<0.01), and epididymal weight (
P
<0.05) compared to control was seen that was also evident on testicular histology. With vitamin D supplementation, there was a significant improvement in the sperm count (
P
<0.001), motility (
P
<0.01), and progressive motility (
P
<0.05) but remained significantly lower than the control values. With vitamin E supplementation there was significant improvement in the sperm count near normal. With vitamin D and E combined supplementation there was significant improvement in both sperm count and motility near to normal.
Conclusions:
We conclude that combined vitamin D and E treatment showed a significant improvement in reproductive functions affected by fluoride.
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882
38
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Rutin ameliorates cyclophosphamide-induced reproductive toxicity in male rats
SO Abarikwu, CA Otuechere, M Ekor, K Monwuba, D Osobu
May-August 2012, 19(2):207-214
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97224
PMID
:22778522
Cyclophosphamide (CYC) as an anticancer alkylating agent has been known as a male reproductive toxicant. This study was aimed to evaluate the protective effect of rutin (RUT) on CYC-induced reproductive toxicity. Sexually mature Wistar rats (weighing 199 ± 10 g with five animals in each group) were given CYC (15 mg/kg) and/or RUT (30 mg/kg) twice a week via gavage for 4 weeks. The sperm counts, sperm motility, sperm morphology, daily sperm production (DSP), testicular, and epididymal antioxidant systems: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), malondialdehyde (MDA), and testicular steroidogenic enzymes (3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17β-HSD and spermatogenesis marker enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), acid phosphatase (ACP) in the testes, epididymis and seminal vesicles were investigated at the end of the fourth week. By the end of the fourth week, RUT prevented lower sperm counts, sperm motility, DSP, and higher abnormal sperm numbers induced by CYC. In testes, RUT decreased SOD, LDH, and SDH and increased CAT, 3β-HSD, 17β-HSD, ALP, and ACP induced by CYC. In epididymis, RUT increased SOD, CAT, GSH, GSH-Px, GR, GST SDH, ALP and ACP and decreased MDA and LDH induced by CYC. In seminal vesicles, marker enzymes were unchanged in rats given CYC alone or in combination with RUT. It appears that RUT ameliorates CYC reproductive toxicity at the investigated dose.
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861
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Safety evaluation of alcoholic extract of
Boswellia ovalifoliolata
stem-bark in rats
PR Sakuntala Devi, K Adilaxmamma, G Srinivasa Rao, Ch. Srilatha , M Alpha Raj
May-August 2012, 19(2):115-120
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97198
PMID
:22778507
The safety profile of alcoholic extract of stem-bark of
B. ovalifoliolata
was investigated in male Wistar albino rats as per OECD guidelines 407. A total of 24 male Wistar rats were divided into four groups of six rats each. Group 1 served as control and was given 0.3% carboxymethylcellulose, groups 2, 3 and 4 were given alcoholic extract of
B. ovalifoliolata
@ 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg respectively in 0.3% carboxymethylcellulose orally for 28 days. The animals were observed daily for clinical signs, mortality, physiological and behavioral changes. Body weights were measured at weekly intervals and various hematological parameters like Hb, PCV, TEC, TLC and serum biochemical profile which included AST, ALT, creatine phosphokinase, creatinine, total protein and antioxidant parameters like TBARS and GSH in liver were estimated at the end of experimental period. There were no clinical signs of abnormality. The weekly body weights, organ weights and hematological parameters did not vary significantly amongst the groups. The mean activity of AST, ALT and CPK, and the concentration of serum creatinine, total protein, TBARS and GSH did not differ significantly among the groups. Histological abnormalities of toxicological significance were not detected in groups 2 and 3. However, mild histopathological alterations were observed in higher dose group 4. In conclusion, the present study revealed that the alcoholic extract of stem-bark of
B. ovalifoliolata
is safe at lower doses of 100 and 500 mg/kg. Hence, alcoholic extract of stem bark of
B. ovalifoliolata
is safe and no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) is found to be 500 mg/kg following repeated oral administration for 28 days in rats.
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814
73
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Arsenic hyper-tolerance in four
Microbacterium
species isolated from soil contaminated with textile effluent
Pallavi Kaushik, Neha Rawat, Megha Mathur, Priyanka Raghuvanshi, Pradeep Bhatnagar, Harimohan Swarnkar, Swaran Flora
May-August 2012, 19(2):188-194
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97221
PMID
:22778519
Arsenic-contaminated areas of Sanganer, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India were surveyed for the presence of metal resistant bacteria contaminated with textile effluent. Samples were collected from soil receiving regular effluent from the textile industries located at Sanganer area. The properties like pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, organic matter, exchangeable calcium, water holding capacity and metals like arsenic, iron, magnesium, lead and zinc were estimated in the contaminated soil. In total, nine bacterial strains were isolated which exhibited minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of arsenic ranging between 23.09 and 69.2mM. Four out of nine arsenic contaminated soil samples exhibited the presence of arsenite hyper-tolerant bacteria. Four high arsenite tolerant bacteria were characterized by 16S rDNA gene sequencing which revealed their similarity to
Microbacterium paraoxydans
strain 3109,
Microbacterium paraoxydans
strain CF36,
Microbacterium
sp. CQ0110Y,
Microbacterium
sp. GE1017. The above results were confirmed as per Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. All the four
Microbacterium
strains were found to be resistant to 100μg/ml concentration of cobalt, nickel, zinc, chromium selenium and stannous and also exhibited variable sensitivity to mercury, cadmium, lead and antimony. These results indicate that the arsenic polluted soil harbors arsenite hyper-tolerant bacteria like
Microbacterium
which might play a role in bioremediation of the soil.
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825
49
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Hematoxicity of amodiaquine in sprague-dawley rats
WA Saka, RE Akhigbe, AO Akinola, OM Azeez
May-August 2012, 19(2):112-114
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97197
PMID
:22778506
Objective:
The use of amodiaquine (AQ) and its associated toxic effect has been a major public health concern since cases of life-threatening agranulocytosis and hepatic toxicity were reported during its prophylactic use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hematological safety profile of AQ therapy.
Materials and Methods:
Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed into four groups (
n
=5). Group 1 was the control, while groups 2, 3, and 4 received AQ treatment for 14 days at varying doses of 5 mg/kgBW, 10 mg/kgBW, and 15 mg/kgBW daily, respectively.
Results:
Following treatment, hematological variables were comparable in all groups (
P
>0.05).
Conclusion:
This study provides evidence to support the use of AQ in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. However, to prevent emergence of local drug resistance, it should be used as part of a combination therapy. Monitoring for adverse effects is suggested.
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812
48
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Evaluation of protective effect of vitamin E on acrylamide induced testicular toxicity in Wister rats
Santosh Rahangadale, Babu Lal Jangir, Manoj Patil, Trupti Verma, Arun Bhandarkar, Prashant Sonkusale, Nitin Kurkure
May-August 2012, 19(2):158-161
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97216
PMID
:22778514
Male wistar rats (weighting 160-180 g) were divided in six groups of 6 animals per group. Group A and F served as control. Groups B, C, D and E received acrylamide at 20 mg/kg body weight for 28 days and groups C and E received additionally vitamin E (50 IU/kg body weight) for 1 to 28 days and 29 - 42
nd
days of experiment, respectively. The animals from groups A, B, and C were sacrificed on day 28
th
of experiment and from groups D, E, and F on 42
nd
day of experiment, respectively. There was significant decrease in the total sperm count and significant increase in the dead sperm count on day 28
th
of study due to acrylamide toxicity. At recovery period, there was significant increase in the total sperm count of vitamin-E-treated group of animals as compared to untreated toxicated rats. But, values were significantly lower than control animals. Microscopically, the lesions in the testes of acrylamide intoxicated rats at 28
th
day revealed destruction of seminiferous tubules at periphery. No spermatid and spermatocytes were seen in the seminiferous tubules. Detachment of spermatogonial cells started at periphery of seminiferous tubules. Atrophy of seminiferous tubules was a constant finding. Some tubules showed vacuolar degenerative changes in germinal epithelium. During the recovery period, destruction of seminiferous tubules, detachment of spermatogonial cells, and atrophy of seminiferous tubules were observed in group D and E. Few sections revealed only spermatogonial cells. At recovery period vitamin-E-treated rats revealed somewhat better architecture of the seminiferous tubules. Late spermatids were seen in few seminiferous tubules and other revealed starting of spermatogenesis. Thus, it appears that Vitamin E is not able to protect testes from acrylamide toxicity during active feeding, but after cessation of acrylamide feeding treatment with vitamin E revealed faster recovery as compare to not treated group.
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743
43
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Studies on apoptotic changes in combined toxicity of citrinin and endosulfan in pregnant Wistar rats and their fetuses
ND Singh, AK Sharma, P Dwivedi, AG Telang, M Kumar, RD Patil
May-August 2012, 19(2):138-143
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97207
PMID
:22778511
Background:
Citrinin (mycotoxin) and endosulfan (pesticide) both environmental contaminants easily enter the food chain and are caoomon causes of various toxicities.
Materials and Methods:
In the present investigation, citrinin (CIT) (10 mg/kg feed) and endosulfan (1 mg/kg body weight) were administered orally alone and in combination to pregnant Wistar rats from gestational day 6 to 20 to study their effect to cause apoptosis in the pregnant Wistar rats and their fetuses. Apoptosis was assessed in dams by agarose gel electrophoresis, flow cytometry and electron microscopy, while in the fetuses it was assessed by flow cytometry only.
Result:
Citrinin and endosulfan in the combination group caused apoptosis in an additive manner as there was increased number of apoptotic cells as compared to the individual toxin and control groups. The fetuses also showed increased number of apoptotic cells in the combination groups, which also indicated that both the toxins crossed the placental barrier.
Conclusion:
So it was concluded that apoptosis played a significant role in the pathogenesis of endosulfan and citrinin toxicity.
[ABSTRACT]
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722
42
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Lithium affects histogenesis of embryonic chick retina
H Ramchandran, Medha S Rajadhyaksha
May-August 2012, 19(2):153-157
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97215
PMID
:22778513
Background:
Lithium, a drug used extensively for treatment of bipolar disorders, has also been shown to be neuroprotective
in vivo
and
in vitro.
While gross teratogenic effects of lithium at higher doses have been reported, in view of its potential wider use, it is necessary to investigate its effects on tissue formation at relatively low doses of lithium where no apparent teratogenic effects on morphology are observed.
Materials and Methods:
We have used retina of chick embryo to investigate its effects during neural histogenesis. Three major cellular events involved in retinal histogenesis have been monitored: Proliferation as measured by expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA); initiation of differentiation as observed by expression of p27/Kip1 expression; apoptosis as monitored by TdT-mediated dUTPX-nick end labeling.
Result:
We demonstrate that lithium at a dose of 60 mM has no effect on gross eye morphology; it disrupts histogenesis of chick retina by blocking proliferation, inducing apoptosis, and generating post mitotic cells prematurely.
[ABSTRACT]
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692
19
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Postnatal exposure to sodium arsenite (NaAsO
2
) induces long lasting effects in rat testes
Parul Kaushal, Pushpa Dhar, Somesh Meludurga Shivaprasad, Raj D Mehra
May-August 2012, 19(2):215-222
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97225
PMID
:22778523
Objective:
The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of early postnatal exposure to sodium arsenite (NaAsO
2
) on rat testis.
Materials and Methods:
Wistar rat pups were administered aqueous solution of NaAsO
2,
1.5 mg/kg body weight (bw) (experimental) and distilled water (control), respectively, by intraperitoneal route (i.p.) from postnatal day (PND) 1 to 14. Testes were collected after 1, 7 and 36 days (at PND 15, 21 and 50) after the treatment period (PND1-14) from the animals and immersion fixed in Bouin's fluid followed by paraffin embedding. Seven micrometer thick serial sections were cut and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for light microscopic observations. At PND 50, morphological features of sperms and their counting was carried out besides processing the perfusion-fixed testes for electron microscopy (EM).
Results and Conclusions:
The observations revealed an altered morphology of the seminiferous tubules (ST) along with degeneration and dissociation of spermatogenic cells in the experimental animals at PND 15, 21 and 50. Also, increased number of sperms with abnormal morphology and decreased sperm count was noted in the experimental animals. These features together with electron microscopic observations of abnormal mitochondria and apoptotic nuclei of spermatogonia and spermatocytes could be indicative of long-lasting adverse effects on the rat testis induced by exposure to
As
during early postnatal period.
[ABSTRACT]
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673
28
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Vitamin C attenuates chronic chlorpyrifos-induced alteration of neurobehavioral parameters in Wistar rats
Suleiman F Ambali, Joseph O Ayo
May-August 2012, 19(2):144-152
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97211
PMID
:22778512
Background:
Oxidative stress is one of the molecular mechanisms in chlorpyrifos toxicity. The present study was designed to evaluate the attenuating effect of vitamin C on chlorpyrifos-induced alteration of neurobehavioral performance and the role of muscle acetylchloinesterase (AChE), glycogen and lipoperoxidation in the accomplishment of this task.
Materials and Methods
: Male rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups with the following regimens: soya oil (S/oil), vitamin C (VC), chlorpyrifos (CPF) and vitamin C+CPF (VC+CPF). The regimens were administered by gavage once daily for a period of 17 weeks. Neurobehavioral parameters measuring efficiency of locomotion, motor strength, righting reflex and excitability were evaluated at day 0 (pretreatment value), weeks 8 and 16. The rats were sacrificed at week 17 and evaluated for muscle glycogen and malonaldehyde (MDA) concentrations and AChE activity.
Results:
The result showed that deficits in locomotion efficiency, motor strength, righting reflex and excitability score induced by chronic CPF were mitigated but not completely abolished by vitamin C. The reduced muscle AChE activity and concentrations of glycogen and MDA evoked by chronic CPF were ameliorated by vitamin C.
Conclusion:
The study therefore showed that improvement in muscle AChE activity, glycogen concentration and reduced lipoperoxidation by vitamin C may be partly responsible for the mitigation of the chronic CPF-induced sensorimotor performance.
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658
30
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A dynamic human health risk assessment system
Umesh Prasad, Gurmit Singh, AB Pant
May-August 2012, 19(2):195-200
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97222
PMID
:22778520
An online human health risk assessment system (OHHRAS) has been designed and developed in the form of a prototype database-driven system and made available for the population of India through a website - www.healthriskindia.in. OHHRAS provide the three utilities, that is, health survey, health status, and bio-calculators. The first utility health survey is functional on the basis of database being developed dynamically and gives the desired output to the user on the basis of input criteria entered into the system; the second utility health status is providing the output on the basis of dynamic questionnaire and ticked (selected) answers and generates the health status reports based on multiple matches set as per advise of medical experts and the third utility bio-calculators are very useful for the scientists/researchers as online statistical analysis tool that gives more accuracy and save the time of user. The whole system and database-driven website has been designed and developed by using the software (mainly are PHP, My-SQL, Deamweaver, C++ etc.) and made available publically through a database-driven website (www.healthriskindia.in), which are very useful for researchers, academia, students, and general masses of all sectors.
[ABSTRACT]
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650
24
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Ameliorative potential of
Psidium
guajava
on hemato-biochemical alterations in arsenic-exposed Wistar rats
Neeraj Tandan, Manju Roy, Sushovan Roy
May-August 2012, 19(2):121-124
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97199
PMID
:22778508
The present study attempts to investigate the effects of
Psidium guajava
(
P. guajava
) when administered in combination with sodium arsenite @ 20 ppm in drinking water with the aim of achieving normalization of altered biochemical, hematological parameters suggestive of hepatic damage and depletion of inorganic arsenic following chronic arsenic exposure. Thirty adult Wistar rats were given 20 ppm arsenic for eight weeks along with hydro alcoholic leaf extract of
P. guajava
at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight wt. (orally) (once daily for eight weeks). Arsenic exposure led to significant depletion of hemoglobin, red blood cells (RBC) and packed cell volume (PCV) but elevated leucocyte count (TLC). There was a significant increase (
P
<0.01/
P
<0.05) in serum aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), alkaline phosphotase (ALP), acid phosphotase (ACP) and blood glucose whereas decrease in total protein level in arsenic-exposed untreated animals. The changes were accompanied by a significant elevation in blood and soft-tissue arsenic concentration. Co-administration of
P. guajava
was most effective not only in reducing arsenic-induced hematological and biochemical alterations but also in depleting arsenic from blood and soft tissues following arsenic exposure. We thus recommend combined leaf extract of
P. guajava
for achieving optimum effects of chelation therapy.
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612
53
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Hematological and immunological changes due to short-term oral administration of acephate
Laxmi N Sankhala, Syamantak M Tripathi, SK Bhavsar, Aswin M Thaker, Pramod Sharma
May-August 2012, 19(2):162-166
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97217
PMID
:22778515
To evaluate immunotoxicological effects of environmental chemical, subacute toxicity of repeated (28 day) oral administration of acephate (Ace) in BALB/c mice was assessed. Thirty two (sixteen male and sixteen female) mice were divided into four different groups with each group containing eight (four male and four female) mice. Mice of Group C1 were administered normal saline only and served as control. Group T1 was given 1/40
th
of apparent LD
50
(ALD
50
) (8.78 mg/kg), and group T2 was put on 1/30
th
of ALD
50
[11.7 mg/kg], while group T3 received 1/20
th
of ALD
50
[17.55 mg/kg] of Ace suspended in normal saline. The blood samples were collected from mice after 28 days of oral administration and analyzed for hematological, biochemical, and immunological parameters. The study showed that hematological parameters (monocytes and granulocytes) remained unaffected except total leukocyte count and lymphocyte which were decreased highly significantly [
P
≤0.01] in mice of group T3 on the 28
th
day of experiment. Serum total protein (TP) and serum globulin decreased significantly in mice of treatment groups dose dependently; however, no significant change was seen in serum albumin. Progressive increase in live body weight of mice decreased significantly in extremely toxic group only while spleen:body weight ratio decreased significantly in dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, Ace produced suppressed humoral immune response and the delayed-type hypersensitivity response to Sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) was altered nonsignificantly. The results of this study describe the suppression of immune responses following exposure to Ace at low concentrations in experimental mice.
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600
29
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Imidacloprid and thiamethoxam induced mutations in internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of
Anopheles stephensi
Preety Bhinder, Asha Chaudhry, Bhupinder Barna, Satvinderjeet Kaur
May-August 2012, 19(2):201-206
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97223
PMID
:22778521
The present article deals with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotoxicity evaluation of neonicotinoid pesticides, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, by using the genome of a mosquito
Anopheles
stephensi
taken as an experimental model. After treatment of the second instar larvae with LC
20
of the pesticides for 24 h, the induced nucleotide sequence variations in the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of freshly hatched unfed control and treated individuals was studied from the sequence alignment data and the mutations in the form of insertion, deletion and substitution of bases were recorded. Measurable differences, indicative of the genetic damage due to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam were observed when ITS2 sequences of control and treated individuals were compared. It was found that imidacloprid-treated individual had 8 deletions, 29 insertions, 18 transitions and 33 transversions, whereas thiamethoxam-treated individual had 10 deletions, 8 insertions, 47 transitions and 68 transversions.
[ABSTRACT]
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[PubMed]
579
21
-
Cold stress offered modulation on chlorpyrifos toxicity in aging rat central nervous system
Mahaboob Basha, Annappa Poojary
May-August 2012, 19(2):173-181
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97219
PMID
:22778517
The adverse effects produced by chlorpyrifos (CPF) or cold stress alone in humans and animals are well documented, but there is no information available relating to the consequences of their co- exposure in an age-related manner. In this study, effects of sublethal doses of CPF were carried out
in vivo,
for 48 h to assess the biochemical perturbations in relation to interactions with cold stress (15°C and 20°C) in different age group rat CNS. A positive interaction of CPF with age of animal and cold exposure was observed resulting in marked decrease in the activity levels of AChE (
P
<0.05), ChAT (
P
<0.05), Na
+
, K
+
-ATPase (
P
<0.05), Ca
2+
-ATPase (
P
<0.05), and Mg
2+
-ATPase (
P
<0.05). The ANOVA and posthoc analysis showed that regulatory enzymes decreased significantly (
P
<0.05) on CPF exposure. Overall, the effect of co-exposure was appreciably different from either of the exposures. Synergistic interaction of CPF and cold stress at 15°C showed higher inhibition in comparison with CPF and cold stress alone and together at 20°C. Further, this study reveals that young animals are significantly vulnerable and sensitive than adults.
[ABSTRACT]
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[PubMed]
549
29
-
CASE REPORT
A case of acute pancreatitis with occupational exposure to organophosphorus compound
Manjunatha Goud, Bhavna Nayal, K Deepa, O Sarsina Devi, RN Devaki, M Anitha
May-August 2012, 19(2):223-224
DOI
:10.4103/0971-6580.97226
PMID
:22778524
Pesticides have contributed to dramatic increase in the quality and quantity in crop yields. Organophosphates are commonly used as insecticides in agriculture and are potent toxicants. Patients with organophosphorus poisoning may present with subclinical features of acute pancreatitis. Proper biochemical investigation and clinical correlation helps in diagnosis.
[ABSTRACT]
[FULL TEXT]
[PDF]
[Mobile Full text]
[EPub]
[PubMed]
515
30
-
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© Toxicology International | Published by
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Online since 5
th
June, 2010