Objective: This study was conducted to assess the hazardous effects of high fructose administration on kidney, heart and aorta in rats. Materials and methods: Twenty adult healthy male albino rats weighing about 200-220 gm each were used in this study. The rats were divided into 2 duplicate groups; control group and fructose group. Fructose was administered to rats in fresh drinking water daily for 8 weeks (the whole experimental period). Serum urea, creatinine and sodium concentration were determined by using ready-made kits. Spectrophotometric and colorimetric methods were also used for the detection of other serum components. Histopathological examination of the tissues was done by staining with H&E, PAS and Masson trichrome stains. Results: Nephropathy was achieved in fructose group after one month as indicated by biochemical assay. Pathological observation showed that high fructose administration decreased size of cardio-myocytes, increased cardiac interstitial fibrosis score and aortic wall thickness. In kidneys, high fructose administration decreased glomerular tuft area and corpuscular area, increased percentage in the rats affected with interstitial renal fibrosis score 1 and percentage of rats had glomerular sclerosis score 2. Conclusion: High fructose in diet should be avoided because it can damage kidney, heart and aorta in rats.

Since lactoferrin is acute phase protein and has an exceptional role in defense mechanism of mammary gland, it is considered a candidate gene for mastitis susceptibility in dairy cattle. In this study, blood samples were collected for DNA extraction from fifty Holstein dairy cows in the third lactation season reared under Egyptian conditions assigned into three groups mastitis (n=15), subclinical mastitis (n=20) and healthy (n=15) based on California mastitis test. Moreover biochemical markers for inflammation were determined to detect severity. PCR amplification of a segment of 6th intron of lactoferrin gene yielded a fragment of 301-bp in all animals under study. For revealing polymorphism, DNA sequencing was done for PCR products of lactoferrin gene (301-bp) in only five healthy (resistant) and five affected animals. Results indicated that, association between biochemical data and affections. The PCR-DNA sequencing genetic assessment identified twelve SNPs in the bovine lactoferrin gene and there was association between these identified SNPs and mastitis susceptibility, where ten nucleotide sequence variations for one of the healthy animals were obtained with A166T, T185A, T200C, G230C, A239G, T251G, A254C, A272C, T273C and A296G SNPs (submitted to GenBank with accession number gb|KT159457|. On the other hand, two nucleotide sequence variations for two of the affected animals were obtained with A100G and T275A SNPs. Consequently, the identified SNPs in the bovine lactoferrin gene can be used as marker-assisted selection (MAS) to predict, improve mastitis resistance and minimize incidence of mastitis infection in Holstein dairy cows.

In this study, the possible protective effects of oral administration of wheat germ oil (WGO) at 2 doses (300 and 500 mg kgG 1 b.wt.) in normal, non-diabetic and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Six groups of male Sprague Dawely rats were used; group 1: control negative, group 2: control negative treated with 300 mg kgG 1 b.wt., WGO, group 3: control negative treated with 500 mg kgG 1 b.wt., WGO, group 4: STZ diabetic rats, group 5: STZ diabetic rats treated with 300 mg kgG 1 b.wt., WGO and group 6: STZ diabetic rats treated with 500 mg kgG 1 b.wt., WGO. Blood and Serum analyses were carried out after 6 weeks (end of the experimental period) to determine the serum insulin hormone, fasting blood glucose levels (FBG), glycated hemoglobin percent (HbA1c), serum levels of Total Cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), TGs/HDL-C ratio and TC /HDL-C ratio. Liver tissue homogenate was used for evaluation of malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Microscopic examination of liver and pancreas, besides, estimation of caspase enzyme immunolabeling in both organs were made in all groups. Oral administration of 500 mg kgG 1 b.wt., WGO to non-diabetic rats significantly decreased HbA1c%, serum lipid profile, Atherogenic Index (AI), liver MDA and significantly (p>0.05) increased HDL-C level when compared to control negative group. In STZ induced diabetic rats, high dose of WGO was more effective than lower dose in correcting the significantly (p>0.05) elevated FBG, HbA1c, serum lipid profile, MDA levels and the significantly reduced levels of insulin hormone and HDL-C. The histopathological and immunohistochemical examination confirmed the biochemical results. About 500 mg kgG 1 b.wt., WGO has anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hyperlipidemic and has an antioxidant activity.