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BackgroundMentha piperita L. is a flowering plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. Mentha plants constitute one of the main valuable sources of essential oil used in foods and for medicinal purposes.MethodsThe present study aimed to investigate the composition and in vitro antioxidant activity of Mentha piperita leaf essential oil (MpEO). A single dose of CCl4 was used to induce oxidative stress in rats, which was demonstrated by a significant rise of serum enzyme markers. MpEO was administrated for 7 consecutive days (5, 15, 40 mg/kg body weight) to Wistar rats prior to CCl4 treatment and the effects on serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and γ -glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) levels, as well as the liver and kidney superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels were evaluated. In addition, histopathological examinations of livers and kidneys was performed.ResultsThe in vitro antioxidant activity of MpEO was lower than that of silymarin. Pretreatment of animals with MpEO at a dose of 5 mg/kg did not have a significant effect on ALT, AST, ALP, LDH, γGT, urea or creatinine levels in CCl4-induced stress. Whereas pretreatment with MpEO at doses of 15 and 40 mg/kg prior to CCl4, significantly reduced stress parameters (ALT, AST, ALP, LDH, γGT, urea and creatinine) compared to the CCl4-only group. Moreover, a significant reduction in hepatic and kidney lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and an increase in antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT and GPx was also observed after treatment with MpEO (40 mg/kg) compared to CCl4-treated rats. Furthermore, pretreatment with MpEO at 40 mg/kg can also markedly ameliorate the histopathological hepatic and kidney lesions induced by administration of CCl4.ConclusionsWe could demonstrate with this study that MpEO protects liver and kidney from CCl4-induced oxidative stress and thus substantiate the beneficial effects attributed traditionally to this plant.

Context: Kombucha (KT) is claimed to have various beneficial effects on human health, but there is very little scientific evidence available in the literature. Objective: The present study investigates the effects of Camellia sinensis (GT) Linn. (Theaceae) and KT, two natural drinks, on cholesterol and antioxidant status using a hypercholesterolemia rat model. Materials and methods: The present study compared the free-radical scavenging abilities and polyphenol levels of GT and KT. Wistar rats fed cholesterol-rich diets were given KT or GT (5 mL/kg body weight per day, po) for 16 weeks, then fasted overnight and sacrificed. The plasma lipid levels, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and g-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) serum levels, antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and creatinine and urea rats were examined. Results: KT had a phenolic compound of 955 ± 0.75 mg GAE/g) followed, by GT (788.92 ± 0.02 mg GAE/g). The free radical scavenging activity of KT was higher than GT. Compared with GT, KT induced lowered serum levels of TC, TG, VLDL-C, and LDL-C by 26, 27, 28, and 36%, respectively, and increased the serum level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). KT induced a 55% decrease of TBARS level in liver and 44% in kidney, compared with those of rats fed a cholesterol-rich diet alone. Moreover, CAT and SOD activities were reduced by 29 and 33%, respectively, in liver and 31 and 35%, respectively, in kidney, after oral administration of KT, compared with those of HCD-fed rats. Conclusion: The findings revealed that KT administration induced attractive curative effects on hypercholesterolemic, particularly in terms of liver-kidney functions in rats. Its effect on humans needs to be studied further.

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The present study investigates the growth of Dunaliella salina as influenced by cadmium (Cd) contamination. Growth was measured in terms of cell number and chlorophyll a content and was found to decrease with increasing Cd concentration. This metal, which was mainly removed by bioadsorption to cell surfaces (95.34± 3.04 % of total Cd removed), also drastically reduced the soluble and insoluble carbohydrate (0.41±0.01 and 0.81±0.07 pg cell −1 , respectively, for 150 mg Cd L −1 ) concentrations and increased the total metallothioneins protein content (from 0.11±0.02 for the control culture to 3.30±0.2 for 100 mg Cd L −1 ). In addition, the presence of this metal in the medium stimulated the synthesis of some secondary metabolites such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids. These compounds had an important role to protect D. salina against the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the presence of Cd in the medium as shown by the increase of the antioxidant capacity of D. salina exposed to Cd.