Background. Obesity is a significant public health problem that is characterized by an increase in oxidative stress and enhanced inflammatory responses associated with immune cell invasion of adipose tissues. This study assessed several biochemical abnormalities, apoptosis, oxidative stress status, and associated histological changes in the liver, duodenum, and heart brought on by high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats. It also assessed the mechanistic benefits of curcumin in reversing these inflammatory, metabolic, and histological impairments. Methods. Rats were assigned into three groups each including ten rats: the control group (CD), the high-fat diet group (HFD), and the high-fat diet + curcumin (HFDC) group. Serum glucose, insulin, and triglycerides (TAGs) were observed. In addition, apoptosis (indicated by hepatic DNA fragmentation) and oxidative stress status (indicated by hepatic MPO, GSH, and SOD) were assessed. Histopathological examinations included the GIT (liver and duodenum) and heart in addition to quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays of the adipose tissue genetic expressions for inflammatory signaling pathways (TLR4, IL-6, and TNF-α). Results. The overall findings showed that the HFD group exhibited significantly higher levels of glucose, TAGs, and insulin than the control group ( P < 0.01 ). The histological abnormalities of the studied organs in the HFD group were paralleled by these biochemical abnormalities, which were strongly associated with increased apoptosis, increased oxidative stress, and increased expression of the inflammatory signaling markers. There were significant improvements in the HFDC group in terms of biochemical, inflammatory, and histological investigations. Conclusions. This study’s findings concluded that obesity is significantly associated with biochemical and microscopic alterations in many organs. Curcumin exerted potent antitoxic, antioxidant, tissue-protective, and antiobesity effects. Curcumin is recommended to be added to various dietary regimens to prevent or delay the organs’ dysfunction among obese people.

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Endocrine disputer chemicals (EDCs) such as 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), are a class of exogenous pollutants that can interfere with normal physiological processes, resulting in a number of health issues. Therefore, the goal of the current study is to determine how well α -lipoic acid (LA) protects against DNA damage brought on by OP. Forty male albino rats were randomly assigned into four groups. Group I (control group) not received any material, group II (αLA-group) received α-lipoic acid (40 mg/kg/ day), group III (OP-group) received 4-tert-octylphenol (50 mg/kg/ day), and group IV(protective group) received 4-tert-octylphenol (50 mg/kg/ day) plus α-lipoic acid (40 mg\ kg/ day) for a period of 30 days. The DNA fragmentations were detected in tissues of hypothalamus, pituitary gland and testis using agarose gel electrophoresis and bands were visualized under UV light and the total DNA concentration in samples were also measured spectrophotometrically. Rats administered OP showed significant (p < 0.05) rising of DNA damage levels in pituitary gland and testis tissues and non-significantly (p >0.05) increase in hypothalamus tissue. On other hand, αLA treatment showed significant (p < 0.05) improvement in DNA damage levels.