Antioxidant effect of the pequi oil (Caryocar brasiliense) on the hepatic tissue of rats trained by exhaustive swimming exercises

Abstract

Increased oxygen consumption and activation of specific metabolic pathways during or after physical exercise lead to the formation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. An investigation was made into the effects of pequi oil supplementation in protecting liver cells against injury resulting from oxidative stress. The experiments involved 20 male adult Wistar rats ( Rattus norvegicus). The animals were divided into four experimental groups: Group 1: sedentary control group; Group 2: exercise control group; Group 3: supplemented sedentary group; and Group 4: supplemented exercise group. Supplementation consisted of pequi oil administered by oral gavage (400 mg). The animals of the exercised groups were subjected to 20 swimming sessions for 5 weeks (with progressive increase of 10 minutes until exhaustion). Samples were collected from the right hepatic lobe for histopathological analysis and determination of malondialdehyde levels. The histopathological analyses revealed that the animals of the exercised control group had moderate liver damage, while the animals of the supplemented exercised group had slight tissue damage, and the sedentary control and sedentary supplemented groups showed no tissue damage. The malondialdehyde levels showed higher and statistically significant in exercise control group when compared to the other evaluated groups (p<0.05). In conclusion the supplementation with pequi oil had a protective effect on liver cells against damage caused by oxygen free radicals during strenuous exercise, as demonstrated by the indicator of lipid peroxidation.

Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Cambess)-Loaded Nanoemulsion, Orally Delivered, Modulates Inflammation in LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice

“…Our results are according to studies showing promising pequi activity with respect to the inhibition of pre-formed free radicals in vitro analyzed by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate free radical scavenging method (DPPH assay) [5,19]. Moreover, pequi reduced lipid peroxidation in an in vivo aluminum-induced neurotoxicity and neuroinflammation model [46], in an exhaustive exercise-induced liver inflammation model [43], in liver in an atherosclerosis model [47], and in an urethane-induced lung tumor model [10].…”

“…It is known that pequi medicinal use is directly related with its rich natural antioxidant composition, including oleic acid, and represents an alternative therapy for oxidative stress conditions [38,43]. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense mechanisms, sometimes leading to tissue damage [44].…”

Therapeutic applications of Caryocar brasiliense: Systematic review

“…Another study, carried out by Vale et al (2018), verified the effect of C. brasiliense pulp extract, orally (400 mg, five times a week, for 4 weeks) on the liver of Wistar rats submitted to strenuous swimming sessions. It was observed that pequi oil acted as an antioxidant, reducing tissue damage caused by free radicals during strenuous exercise, acting as a liver protector, forming a barrier against other harmful metabolic processes, such as necrosis, fibrosis, steatosis, and cirrhosis.…”

Phytochemical characterization, and antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the hydroethanolic extract of Anadenanthera peregrina stem bark

“…In this context, in Brazil, there are several medicinal plants that are used as herbal medicines by the rural and urban populations (Dutra et al, 2016;Pio et al, 2019). A single species can produce numerous chemical compounds with diverse pharmacological activities (Mendonça et al, 2019), including antibacterial (Pandini et al, 2018;Emre et al, 2020;Pacheco et al, 2020), anti-inflammatory (Ribeiro et al, 2018;Almohawes and Alruhaimi, 2020), antioxidant (Barth et al, 2018;Pontes et al, 2019;Vale et al, 2019), wound-healing properties (Ribeiro Neto et al, 2020), antihyperglycemic effect (Silva et al, 2020), and cardiovascular activity (Moreira et al, 2019).…”