There has been increasing interest in studying the various effects of organophosphate insecticides in humans and experimental animals. Only a few data are available on the effect of the organophosphate insecticide, diazinon, on lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of diazinon on plasma lipid constituents in mammalian animals. The plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), and phospholipids (PL) were measured in albino rats that were orally treated with a single dose of diazinon at a level of LD(50) or with repeated daily doses at the levels of 1/2, 1/8, and 1/32 LD(50) for 2, 8, and 32 days, respectively. After a 24 h post-treatment with a single LD(50) dose of diazinon, TC was not significantly changed, the HDL-C and PL levels were significantly decreased, but the LDL-C and TG levels were significantly increased. Separate daily oral administrations of diazinon at 1/2 LD(50), 1/8 LD(50), and 1/32 LD(50) doses resulted in a significant decrease in HDL-C and PL, with no significant change in TG. The LDL-C levels were significantly increased and TC showed no significant change with 1/2 LD(50) and 1/32 LD(50) doses of diazinon, whereas a significant decrease in the levels of TC, HDL-C, as well as LDL-C, was observed with the 1/8 LD(50) dose. These data suggest that diazinon may interfere with lipid metabolism in mammals.

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.

This study provides evidence of an association between high levels of serum E2 and T and increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Abnormalities in serum P and prolactin are probably associated with a breast cancer risk and ER may be considered as a biochemical marker for breast cancer development.

Abstract:The nigrostriatal pathway is a dopaminergic pathway that connects the substantia nigra with the dorsal striatum.Loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra is one of the main pathological features of Parkinson's disease, leading to a marked reduction in dopamine function in this pathway. This study aimed at evaluating the protective role of two antiinflammatory drugs, indomethacin and nimesulide separately or in combination with vitamin C against biochemical disturbances, brain damage and motor impairment in rotenone-induced mice model of Parkinson's disease. Animals were divided into 7 groups. 1 st received the vehicle (DEMSO); 2 nd received rotenone (1.5 mg/kg); 3 rd received rotenone then were left for two weeks recovery; 4 th rotenone + indomethacin (10 mg/kg); 5 th received rotenone + indomethacin in combination with vitamin C (25 mg/kg). 6 th received rotenone + nimesulide (10 mg/kg); group 7 received rotenone + nimesulide in combination with vitamin C. All treatments were given subcutaneously three times per week for one month. Rotenone treatment caused significant Increases in brain malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), but induced significant decreases in brain reduced glutathione (GSH) level, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) levels. These changes lasted for two weeks after the termination of rotenone treatment. Histologically, Rotenone caused degeneration of neurons in striatum, cellular infiltration, atrophy, pyknosis, necrosis, as well as focal gliosis in cerebral cortex and pyknosis of pyramidal cells in the hippocampus. Furthermore, rotenone treatment caused a significant impairment in the motor function of the mice (stair test). Co-administration of indomethacin or nimesulide separately or in combination with vitamin C to rotenone treated mice resulted in alleviation of biochemical and motor activity but not the histological disturbances caused by rotenone treatment alone.

Acetamiprid (AP) is a fairly new neonicotinoid insecticide. Its indiscriminate use both in agriculture and domestic areas against wide range of pests such as aphids and whiteflies is causing toxicity to man and animals. In recent years the effects of insecticides on immune response have received more attention. The present study was designed to evaluate the toxic effect of repeated oral (by gavage) administration of AP over six weeks on humoral immune response. Forty eight adult male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups (12 animals each). Animals of the 1 st group were untreated and served as control , rats of the 2 nd group were orally given 1/ 10 LD50 (83.18 mg/ kg b. wt.) , animals of the 3 rd group were administered orally vitamin C alone at a dose level of 200mg / kg b.wt, every other day for six weeks , rats of the 4 th group were given AP similar to those of the 2 nd group then administered orally with vitamin C similar to those of the 3 rd group 30 minutes after each AP administration. At day one after the end of experiment , eight rats were picked up randomly from each group , blood samples were collected from each animal under slight ether anaethesia through heart puncture into plain vaccutainer tubes and sera were separated. Data obtained revealed that oral AP administration into rats induced a non significant increase in IgM level ; significant decrease and Humoral Immun Response To Acetamiprid 2 increase in IgG and IL-6 levels respectively as compared to the control values. Supplementation with vitamin C potentiated significantly the effect of AP on IgM , WBCs count , monocytes and lymphocytes percentage , and reduced significantly its effects on IgG and IL-6. These data indicate that AP is capable of inducing changes in humoral immunity that could be selectively modulated by supplementation with vitamin C.