Objectives:The present study was undertaken to determine the modulatory effect of taurine on the liver mitochondrial enzyme system with reference to mitochondrial lipid peroxidation (LPO), antioxidants, major tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes, and electron transport chain enzymes during 7,12-dimethyl benz[a]anthracene (DMBA) induced breast cancer in Sprague-Dawley rats.Methods:Animals in which breast cancer had been induced by using DMBA (25 mg/kg body weight) showed an increase in mitochondrial LPO together with decreases in enzymic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST)), non-enzymic antioxidants (reduced glutathione (GSH), vitamin C, and vitamin E), in citric acid cycle enzymes (isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), alpha ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (alpha KDH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH)), and in electron transport chain (ETC) complexes.Results:Taurine (100 mg/kg body weight) treatment decreased liver mitochondrial LPO and augmented the activities/levels of enzymic, and non-enzymic antioxidants, tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes and ETC complexes.Conclusion:The results of our present study demonstrated the chemotherapeutic efficacy of taurine treatment for DMBA-induced breast carcinomas.

This paper reports the result of identification of pigments and binders used in wall painting fragments in Bezeklik Grottoes (5th-14th ce), now housed in the Central Asian collection of National Museum, New Delhi. The tiny pigment samples (100-200 m in size) extracted from some of the artworks have been analyzed to gain information on the art materials and painting techniques. Analysis by Micro-Raman spectroscopy, complemented with Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and Wavelength Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) allowed identification of lamp black, azurite, atacamite, gypsum, red lead and haematite as pigments and gypsum as a ground layer. The unsaturated and saturated fatty acids and terpineol extracted from the micro sample were identified as organic binders by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometer (GC-MS) analysis. The multi-analytical studies have allowed material characterization in terms of the elemental composition of pigments.

The modulatory effect of taurine on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in rats was studied. DMBA (25 mg/kg body weight) was administered to induce breast cancer in rats. Protein carbonyl levels, activities of membrane bound enzymes (Na(+) /K(+) ATPase, Ca(2+) ATPase, and Mg(2+) ATPase), phase I drug metabolizing enzymes (cytochrome P450, cytochrome b5, NADPH cytochrome c reductase), phase II drug metabolizing enzymes (glutathione-S-transferase and UDP-glucuronyl transferase), glycoprotein levels, and proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were studied. DMBA-induced breast tumor bearing rats showed abnormal alterations in the levels of protein carbonyls, activities of membrane bound enzymes, drug metabolizing enzymes, glycoprotein levels, and PCNA protein expression levels. Taurine treatment (100 mg/kg body weight) appreciably counteracted all the above changes induced by DMBA. Histological examination of breast tissue further supported our biochemical findings. The results of the present study clearly demonstrated the chemotherapeutic effect of taurine in DMBA-induced breast cancer.

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