Polydatin is one of main compounds in Polygonum cuspidatum, a plant with both medicinal and nutritional value. The possible hepatoprotective effects of polydatin on acute liver injury mice induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and the mechanisms involved were investigated. Intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 (50 µl/kg) resulted in a significant increase in the levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), also a marked enhancement in the expression of hepatic tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nuclearfactor-kappa B (NF-κB). On the other hand, decreased glutathione (GSH) content and activities of glutathione transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were observed following CCl4 exposure. Nevertheless, all of these phenotypes were evidently reversed by preadministration of polydatin for 5 continuous days. The mRNA and protein expression levels of hepatic growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) were enhanced further by polydatin. These results suggest that polydatin protects mice against CCl4-induced liver injury through antioxidant stress and antiinflammatory effects. Polydatin may be an effective hepatoprotective agent and a promising candidate for the treatment of oxidative stress- and inflammation-related diseases.
Althouh there are normal cognitive changes that take place when a person becomes older, aging in humans is generally associated with deterioration of cognitive performance and, in particular, of learning and memory. These cognitive deficits can cause debilitating consequences due to aging. There are a number of herbal medicines which are reported to improve brain function including intelligence. In the present study, ameliorating effects of essential oil (EO), extracted from Acori graminei rhizoma (AGR), on learning and memory in aged, dysmnesia rats and mice were determined by the use of step-down type passive avoidance test or Y type maze trial. Oral administration of EO (0.02, 0.04, 0.08 g/kg, in rats given for 30d and in mice for 15d) evidently improved the latency and number of errors in aged, dysmnesia rats and mice.The cerebral neurotransmitters in aged rats given EO (0.02, 0.04, 0.08 g/kg for 30d)were also investigated and, increased levels of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT) and decreased levels of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity were found. These results suggest that EO improves cognitive function of aged animals and may do so by relatively increasing NE, DA, 5-HT levels and by decreasing the activity of AChE in the cerebra.
Morphological and physiological changes in the vasculature have been described in the evolution and maintenance of hypertension. Hypertension-induced vascular dysfunction may present itself as a contributing, or consequential factor, to vascular remodeling caused by chronically elevated systemic arterial blood pressure. Changes in all vessel layers, from the endothelium to the perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), have been described. This mini-review focuses on the current knowledge of the structure and function of the vessel layers, specifically muscular arteries: intima, media, adventitia, PVAT, and the cell types harbored within each vessel layer. The contributions of each cell type to vessel homeostasis and pathophysiological development of hypertension will be highlighted.
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