The concentration of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co) and chromium (Cr) in three popular leafy vegetables such as spinach (Spinacia oleracea), red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) and amaranth (Amaranthus oleraseus) and that in the respective soils were assessed. These crops and soils

The study reports the phenolic profiles and hepatoprotective properties of mango peel powder against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatic damage in rats. It was found that the mango peel possesses high amount of polyphenols and flavonoids as analyzed by HPLC‐DAD. Supplementation of mango peel powder in CCl4 administered rats exhibit strong protective effects in vivo. The results suggest that mango peel powder supplementation antagonized the CCl4‐induced increase in serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase activities and hepatic malondialdehyde levels. Furthermore, mango peel powder supplementation prevented decrease in antioxidant catalase activity and glutathione concentration in CCl4‐administered rats. Mango peel powder supplementation also prevented the inflammatory cells infiltration and fibrosis in liver of CCl4 treated rats. This finding demonstrates that the polyphenol‐rich mango peel powder can be explored as a chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agent against oxidative‐stress‐related liver disorders. Practical applications Mango (Mangifera indica L.), the most important fruit in Anacardiaceae family, is a tropical fruit which possesses high nutritional and medicinal value. The research showed that mango peel possesses numerous phenolic antioxidants. The results also demonstrated that mango peel powder exerts a protective effect against carbon tetrachloride‐induced liver injury in rats. Every year, considerable amount of mango peel is produced in juice industries which are left as waste product. Thus, this project will provide a potential source of phenolic compounds and potential approach to prevent liver diseases.

Chemical or drug-induced kidney damage is increasing every year and the end-stage renal disease is becoming a burden for health care system of many countries. Oxidative stress may be a crucial pathway for the development of end-stage renal disease. Thus, natural antioxidant or plant-based therapy would be a better alternative to protect renal function against chemical-induced renal damage. To determine these aspects we evaluated renoprotective effects of M. charantia in carbon tetrachloride administered rats. A 10% w/w mixture of fresh fruits of M. charantia was given with the chow food every day to CCl4 treated rats. After fourteen days, all animals were sacrificed and the kidneys were examined to observe the possible protective effects of M. charantia against CCl4 induced toxicity. The CCl4 treated rats showed increased oxidative stress parameters and decreased antioxidant enzymes activities. Supplementation of 10% w/w M. charantia fruits in CCl4 administered rats prevented the oxidative stress and restored the antioxidant enzymes activities. M. charantia fruits supplementation also prevented the rise of uric acid and creatinine concentration in plasma of CCl4 treated rats. Furthermore, histological studies showed that supplementation of 10% w/w M. charantia fruits prevented the collagen deposition, immune cell migration and iron deposition in kidney sections of CCl4 treated rats. The results of this study revealed that the fruits of M. charantia may protect oxidative stress-mediated damage in kidneys due to CCl4 administration, which is mediated probably via the restoration of anti-oxidant enzyme functions.

The investigation was conducted to determine the effects of different edible oils in experimental animals. A total of 36 male Long Evans rats of one month age were randomly divided into four equal groups. Rats of Group A were kept as control by feeding rat pellet. Rats of Group B, C and D were fed rat pellet by mixing of palm, mustard and soybean oils respectively, at the dose of 15 % in feed for 6 months. The methods included determination of weight gains, lipid profiles and histopathological lesions in different organs: aorta, liver, heart and kidneys at 0 day, 3 months and 6 months interval. All experimental rats exhibited progressive weight gain during the research period and soybean oil treated group showed the highest significant (P<0.01) body weight gain (153 %) but mustard oil resulted significant (P<0.05) increased liver weight (4.557g) after 6 months. Soybean oil showed significant (P<0.01) increased total cholesterol (204.25 mg/dl), HDL (53.15 mg/dl) and LDL (113.06 mg/dl) than other groups. Triglyceride levels of all oil treated groups were significantly (P<0.05) lower than control group. Histopathology revealed that palm oil fed group had fatty liver, narrowed blood vessel and thickened aorta of heart. Soybean oil fed group also showed narrowed blood vessels but mustard oil fed group showed no noticeable change in the mentioned vital organs. After the investigation, mustard oil proved comparatively better than palm and soybean oil.