Background:Few articles have linked the consumption of green tea to certain liver diseases but several articles have disputed these assertions and the consumption of green tea has been on the increase.Aims:The effects of oral administration of green tea on the liver of Wistar rats were studied in order to compare biochemical findings with histological findings.Materials and Methods:36 male and female Wistar albino rats were grouped into 6, consisting of 6 rats in each group. They were given 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% concentration of green tea in tap water for 42 days. The 6th group was on normal diet and received 0% of the tea. Their blood samples were analyzed for total and conjugated bilirubin, total protein, albumin, globulin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase. The liver tissues were also processed for histological examination.Results:The liver tissues were essentially normal and similar to the control tissues. The biochemical parameters studied were also normal and similar to the results obtained from the control animals.Conclusion:Sub chronic consumption of green tea has no injurious effects on the liver of Wistar rats.

The absolute number of parvicellular and magnocellular neurons in the red nucleus was estimated using design-based stereological counting methods and systematic random sampling techniques. Six young adult male rats, and a complete set of serial 40-μm glycolmethacrylate sections for each rat, were used to quantify neuronal numbers. After a random start, a systematic subset (i.e. every third) of the serial sections was used to estimate the total volume of the red nucleus using Cavalieri's method. The same set of sampled sections was used to estimate the number of neurons in a known subvolume (i.e. the numerical density Nv ) by the optical disector method. Multiplication of the total volume by Nv yielded the absolute number of neurons. It was found that the right red nucleus consisted, on average, of 8400 parvicellular neurons (with a coefficient of variation of 0.16) and 7000 magnocellular neurons (0.12). These total neuronal numbers provide important data for the transfer of information through these nuclei and for species comparisons.

Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is a major cause of striatal injury. Delayed post-treatment with adult-sourced bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) increased the absolute number of striatal medium-spiny neurons (MSNs) following perinatal HI-induced brain injury. Yet extraction of BMSCs is more invasive and difficult compared to extraction of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs), which are easily sourced from subcutaneous tissue. Adult-sourced AD-MSCs are also superior to BMSCs in the treatment of adult ischemic stroke. Therefore, we investigated whether delayed post-treatment with adult-sourced AD-MSCs increased the absolute number of striatal MSNs following perinatal HI-induced brain injury. This included investigation of the location of injected AD-MSCs within the brain, which were widespread in the dorsolateral subventricular zone (dlSVZ) at 1 day after their injection. Cells extracted from adult rat tissue were verified to be stem cells by their adherence to tissue culture plastic and their expression of specific ‘cluster of differentiation’ (CD) markers. They were verified to be AD-MSCs by their ability to differentiate into adipocytes and osteocytes in vitro. Postnatal day (PN) 7/8, male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to either HI right-sided brain injury or no HI injury. The HI rats were either untreated (HI + Diluent), single stem cell-treated (HI + MSCs×1), or double stem cell-treated (HI + MSCs×2). Control rats that were matched-for-weight and litter had no HI injury and were treated with diluent (Uninjured + Diluent). Treatment with AD-MSCs or diluent occurred either 7 days, or 7 and 9 days, after HI. There was a significant increase in the absolute number of striatal dopamine and cyclic AMP-regulated phosphoprotein (DARPP-32)-positive MSNs in the double stem cell-treated (HI + MSCs×2) group and the normal control group compared to the HI + Diluent group at PN21. We therefore investigated two potential mechanisms for this effect of double-treatment with AD-MSCs. Specifically, did AD-MSCs: (i) increase the proliferation of cells within the dlSVZ, and (ii) decrease the microglial response in the dlSVZ and striatum? It was found that a primary repair mechanism triggered by double treatment with AD-MSCs involved significantly decreased striatal inflammation. The results may lead to the development of clinically effective and less invasive stem cell therapies for neonatal HI brain injury.

Measurement of long-term functional and anatomical outcomes in the same animal is considered a powerful strategy for correlating structure with function. In a neonatal animal model of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury that is relevant to cerebral palsy, long-term functional deficits on the staircase test and long-term anatomical deficits in the absolute number of medium-spiny projection neurons in the caudate-putamen were reported in different animals due to logistical constraints. Here, we investigated if these functional and anatomical measures were correlated when measured in the same animals. The medium-spiny projection neurons were investigated because (1) they comprise the vast majority (>97%) of all neurons in the caudate-putamen and (2) motor deficits observed during staircase testing are likely to involve these striatal medium-spiny projection neurons through their connections. We found that long-term skilled forepaw capability on the staircase test was correlated with the absolute number of DARPP-32-positive medium-spiny projection neurons in the caudate-putamen. Specifically, deficits in skilled forepaw ability for the number of sugar pellets eaten and retrieved, and for the maximum staircase level reached, were significantly correlated with a lower absolute neuronal number. We also found that skilled forepaw ability on the staircase test was not correlated with the neuronal density (i.e., number per unit volume) of DARPP-32-positive medium-spiny projection neurons. Since neuronal density is an indirect measure of neuronal survival that is used in the literature, and absolute neuronal number is a direct measure, the results also highlight the scientific value of measuring absolute neuronal number.

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