The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer property of grape seed extract (GSE) during early stages of developing liver cancer using a two-stage carcinogenic model combining diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and 2-Acetyl Aminofluorene (2-AAF). Administration of GSE at doses 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg per day started at the beginning of promotion periods and continued for 14 weeks. GSE dramatically inhibited pre-neoplastic foci formation as well as significantly decreased the number and the area of placental glutathione-S-transferase in livers of DEN-2AAF-treated rats by approximately 4 & 10 fold deductions, respectively. GSE's effects were associated with induced apoptosis, reduced cell proliferation, decreased oxidative stress and down regulation of histone deacetylase activity and inflammation makers, such as cyclooxygenase 2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, nuclear factor-kappa B-p65 and p-phosphorylated tumor necrosis factor receptor expressions in liver. GSE treatment also decreased the viability of HepG2 cells and induced early and late apoptosis through activating caspase-3 and Bax. Furthermore, GSE induced G2/M and G1/S cell cycle arrest. The present study provides evidence that the GSE's anticancer effect is mediated through the inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, modulating oxidative damage and suppressing inflammatory response.Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related death both in developed and under-developed countries 1 . Chronic infection with hepatitis B and C are the main causes of HCC 2 . Other factors that contribute to the formation of HCC include fatty liver disease, iron overload, alcoholism and exposure to environmental carcinogens 3 . One of the most common carcinogens is diethylnitrosamine (DEN), which is widely used in the surrounding of everyday life, in tobacco, smoke, processed food, gasoline, and cosmetics 4 .Chemoprevention of cancer especially by natural compounds is a promising strategy to protect against various stages of cancer development [5][6][7] . Total plant extracts have been of a particular interest mainly because of the synergistic effects of the cocktail of plant metabolites and their multiple points of intervention during chemoprevention 7,8 . The development of pre-neoplastic foci of altered hepatocytes (FAH) was exploited as short-term bioassays to assess the chemopreventive potential of natural products against cancer formation 9 . Thus, inhibiting or suppressing the development of pre-neoplastic FAH by natural products may lead to diminishing the subsequent progression to liver cancer. One particular plant product that has gained much attention is grape seed extract (GSE). Grapes (Vitis vinifera) are rich in polyphenols, with 60-70% of grape polyphenols being found in the seeds, which are available as a nutraceutical agent. The consumer's interest in GSE has been primarily due to its high content of antioxidants in the form of flavonoids, polyphenols and proanthocyanidins 10,11 . GSE has been shown to posses...

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Leptadenia pyrotechnica Forssk is a traditional medicinal herb used for treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer. In this research, the aqueous ethanolic crude extract of Leptadenia pyrotechnica aerial parts, along with its ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water partitioning fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant capacity, polyphenolic content, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The total antioxidant capacity was estimated by the FRAP, DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching assays.The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest polyphenolic content (252.27 mg gallic acid/g) and the best antioxidant activity (1.2, 0.57, 0.45 mmol ascorbic acid equivalent/g in the FRAP, ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively). Furthermore, the same extract showed appreciable anti-inflammatory via lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory activity (IC50 = 1.41 µg/mL). Moreover, the ethyl acetate fraction also showed the strongest cytotoxic effect (IC50 = 43.16 µg/mL) against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. These results suggest that this plant may be considered an interesting source of compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties for therapeutic, nutraceutical and functional food applications.

Cisplatin (CIS) provides oxidative stress and inflammations in testicular tissues. Fenugreek seed extract (FSE) is a widely used herbal medicine with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammation properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects and the possible mechanisms of FSE against CIS-induced testicular damage in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were given vehicle, single dose of CIS alone (10 mg kg(-1)), single dose of FSE alone or single dose of CIS followed by FSE (50, 100 or 200 mg kg(-1)) every day for 5 days. On day 6, oxidative stress and apoptotic testicular toxicity were evaluated. FSE attenuated both germ cell degenerations and apoptosis in seminiferous tubules in CIS-treated rats. Furthermore, FSE counteracted CIS-induced oxidative stress in rats as assessed by the restoration of superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and reduction in the myeloperoxidase activity and malondialdehyde levels in testes. CIS increased expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase and nuclear factor-kappa B in testicular tissues. Importantly, treatment with FSE at all doses effectively alleviated all of these inflammatory parameters in testes. Based on these results, we concluded that FSE reduces CIS-induced reproductive toxicity in rats by the suppression of testicular oxidative stress, apoptosis and inflammations.

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A simple and highly sensitive sensor has been used for the determination of oxomemazine hydrochloride (OXO) in presence of paracetamol (PAR) and guaifenesin (GU). Carbon paste electrode was modified with multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), alizarine red S (AZ) and chitosan (CH). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were used to characterize the nanostructure and performance of the sensor. Under the optimized experimental conditions OXO gave linear response over the range of 2.00×10−6–1.00×10−4 mol L−1. The detection limit was found to be 4.35×10−7 mol L−1. The practical application of the modified electrode was demonstrated by measuring the concentration of OXO in pharmaceutical samples and urine. This revealed that suggested sensor shows excellent analytical performance for the determination of OXO in terms of a very low detection limit, high sensitivity and selectivity.

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