Background: In Egypt, liver diseases are one of the most prominent killers especially hepatitis virus infection, fibrosis and cirrhosis. Hepatitis has a serious health effects and alter the functions of the liver. D-galactosamine (D-GalN) and Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced hepatitis in rats are closely resembling human viral hepatitis. Propolis is honey bee product with a wide range of beneficial therapeutic effects. Objective: To evaluate the possible protective effect of propolis on experimentally induced hepatitis in adult male albino rats. Materials and methods: Forty adult male rats included and divided equally into 4 groups (10 rats each). group I (control group), group II (Propolis group): The rats received daily oral dose of the propolis (200mg/Kg) by gastric tube for 2 weeks, group III (Hepatitis model group): The rats received single intraperitoneally injection of D-GalN and LPS (300 mg/kg and 30 μg/kg) 18 hours before the end of experiment, group IV (Propolis and hepatitis model group): The rats received daily oral dose of propolis for 2 weeks and D-GalN and LPS 18 hours before the end of experiment. Liver specimens were taken and processed for histological and immunohistochemical study. Results: Group III showed signs of degeneration and necrosis as some swollen hepatocytes had finely granular cytoplasm, other hepatocytes had small hyperchromatic or karyolytic nuclei. Dilated congested, proliferation of endothelial cells of central vein were seen and its wall showed inflammatory cells. There were apparent increase of collagen fibers, significant increase of anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) positive nuclei among hepatocytes and strong immunoreaction for anti-Transforming growth factor (TGF-β1) in the wall of portal vein. Group IV showed improvement of histological and immunohistochemical changes described before. Conclusion: Propolis has potential protective effect against D-GalN/LPS induced hepatotoxicity in rats as it has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic activities.

Introduction: Gastric ulcers are the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders. Pomegranate fruits have many beneficial therapeutic effects. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are a novel approach with promising therapeutic potential for curing human diseases. Aim of the work: To evaluate the effect of pomegranate and BMSCs on experimentally induced gastric ulcer in adult male rats. Materials and Methods: Sixty adult male rats were divided into four groups. Group I kept as the control group. Group II (Gastric ulcer), rats received 100% ethanol orally by gastric tube. Group (III) subdivided into 3 subgroups. Subgroup IIIa included rats with gastric ulcer that treated with pomegranate only. Subgroup IIIb, rats with gastric ulcer treated with BMSCs alone. Subgroup IIIc; gastric ulcer rats treated with a combination of pomegranate and BMSCs. Group IV included the untreated gastric ulcer rats. Fundus of stomach specimens were prepared and examined using histological and immunohistochemical techniques. Results: Groups II and IV showed various changes as deep erosion, marked damage of most of the cells. The presence of the inflammatory cells in gastric mucosa were supported by a significant increase of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) expression and collagen fibers depositions (P<0.01). A significant decrease of Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) positive reaction and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was observed (P<0.01). Subgroup IIIa showed attenuation of some histological changes, while subgroups IIIb and IIIc revealed more improvement of the histological and immunohistochemical changes described before. Conclusion: BMSCs can ameliorate experimentally-induced gastric injury in rats and protect the gastric tissue. Addition of pomegranate to BMSCs can lead to better results.

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