Cytokines are soluble extracellular small molecular weight protein or peptide. They are produced by virtually every nucleated cell type in response to injurious stimuli to control body metabolism, infection, inflammation and tissue or neuronal damage; therefore acting as messengers between tissues and the immune system; and participating in many physiological processes through their either anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory characteristics. Many cytokines have multiple cellular sources and targets, as well as many natural inducers and inhibitors. In pathophysiological conditions and during the early phase of chronic liver diseases, agent like virus, bacteria, parasites, ethanol, or toxins, induce secretion of cytokines at high levels. The presence of cytokine antagonists and soluble cytokine receptors, often released in concert with their respective cytokine agonist, presents additional complexity to interpretation.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cardioprotective ability of water (WE) and ethanolic (EE) papaya fruits extracts against cardiotoxicity induced by aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) in rats. Forty two female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six treatment groups and treated orally for 2 weeks as follow: control group, the group treated with WE (250 mg/kg b.w), the group treated with EE (250 mg/kg b.w), the group treated orally with AFB 1 (17 lg/kg b.w) and the groups treated orally with AFB 1 plus WE or EE. The results indicated that treatment with AFB 1 resulted in oxidative stress in the heart manifested by the marked increase in cardiac malondialdehyde and calcium levels accompanied with a significant decrease in cardiac total antioxidant capacity. Serum nitric oxide and sodium levels, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase isoenzyme activities were significantly increased, whereas, cardiac Na ? /K ? -ATPase activity and serum potassium were insignificantly affected. Supplementation with WE or EE effectively ameliorated most of the changes induced by AFB 1 . It could be concluded that both extracts attenuated the oxidative stress induced in heart tissue by AFB 1 and WE was more pronounced due to the higher total phenolic contents than in the EE.

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Fumonisin B (FB) and aflatoxin B (AFB) are fungal metabolites that frequently co-occur in foodstuffs and are responsible for mycotoxicosis and several primary cancers. Cinnamon essential oil (CEO) has a spacious range of benefit effects but also has some limitations owing to its strong taste or its interaction with some drugs. This study aimed to use the cinnamon oil emulsion droplets (COED) for the protection against oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity in male Sprague-Dawley rats sub-chronically exposed to FB and/or AFB. The composition of CEO was identified using GC-MS then was encapsulated using whey protein as wall material. Male rats were divided into eight groups and treated orally for 8 weeks as follows: control group, AFB-trreated group (80 μg/kg b.w), FB-treated group (100 mg/kg b.w), FB plus AFB-treated group, and the groups treated with COED plus FB and/or AFB. Blood and samples of the kidney, liver, and testis were collected for different analysis and histopathological examination. The GC-MS analysis revealed that cinnamaldehyde, α-copaene, trans-cinnamaldehyde, caryophyllene, and delta-cadinene were the main compounds in COE. The average size of COED was 235 ± 1.4 nm and the zeta potential was - 6.24 ± 0.56. Treatment with FB and/or AFB induced significant disturbances in the serum biochemical analysis, oxidative stress parameters, DNA fragmentation, gene expression, and testosterone and severe pathological changes in the tested organs. Moreover, treatment with both mycotoxins induced synergistic toxic effects. COED did not induce toxic effects and could normalize the majority of the tested parameters and improve the histological picture in rats treated with FB and/or AFB. It could be concluded that COED induce potential protective effects against the single or combined exposure to FB and AFB.

Aim: The present study was conducted to investigate the protective effect of chamomile fl owers methanolic extract (CFME) and fennel seeds methanolic extract (FSME) on azathioprine (AZA), an immunosuppressant drug, which induced a liver injury and oxidative stress in rats. Methods: Rats were divided into 6 groups (8 rats each) and treated orally for 28 consecutive days as follows. Group 1: rats were given normal saline and used as controls; group 2: rats treated with CFME (200 mg/kg); group 3: rats treated with FSME (200 mg/kg); group 4: rats treated with AZA (25 mg/kg); and groups 5 and 6: rats treated with CFME (200 mg/kg) or FSME (200 mg/kg) 15 min prior to AZA (25 mg/kg) treatment. At the end of experimental period, blood and liver samples were collected from all groups for biochemical analysis and histological examination. Results: The obtained data revealed that AZA-induced hepatic injury in the rats as evidenced by the signifi cant increase in serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol, and direct bilirubin as well as hepatic malondialdehyde level accompanied with signifi cant decrease in reduced glutathione content and total antioxidant capacity in the liver. Moreover, body weight gain showed the signifi cant decrease and relative liver weight showed the signifi cant increase on AZA treatment. The sequential signifi cant changes in biochemical parameters were accompanied by severe histological changes in the liver tissue, including hepatocytes disorganization with pyknotic nuclei, fatty degeneration, congestion, fi brosis, and bile duct necrosis around the portal tract. The areas of hemorrhages in blood vessels and in between hepatocytes were also seen. However, the results showed the potential hepatoprotective effects of CFME and FSME against AZA-induced liver injury and oxidative stress. They succeeded in restoring the biochemical parameters and improving the histological picture of the liver. This improvement was more pronounced in the rats pretreated with FSME. Conclusion: It could be concluded that CFME and FSME have hepatoprotective potentials against AZA probably due to their antioxidant properties and radical scavenging activity.Key words: Azathioprine; chamomile fl owers; fennel seeds; liver; oxidative stress Preventive role of chamomile fl owers and fennel seeds Preventive role of chamomile fl owers and fennel seeds extracts against liver injury and oxidative stress induced by an extracts against liver injury and oxidative stress induced by an immunosuppressant drug in rats immunosuppressant drug in rats This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.