No abstract

Aflatoxins (AF), a group of closely related, extremely toxic mycotoxins, produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus can occur as natural contaminants of foods and feeds. Aflatoxins have been shown to be hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic to different animal species. Zizyphus spina-christi L. extract was investigated for its antifungal and antimicrobial activities. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of Z. spina-christi L. leaves against the oxidative stress of aflatoxin in rats. Fourty male Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into four groups including the control group, the group fed aflatoxin-contaminated diet (3 mg /kg diet) and the groups treated with Zizyphus extract (5 mg /kg b.w) alone or in combination with AF for 15 days. Biochemical analysis reveled that treatment with AF resulted in a significant increase in ALT, AST, cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, TNFa, LPO, NO and CEA, whereas it decrease significantly GPX and SOD. The histopatholgical examination of the liver, kidney and testis showed sever histological changes typical to those reported for aflatoxicosis. Animals treated with Zizyphus extract alone or plus AF showed a significant improvement in all biochemical parameters and histological picture of liver, kidney and testis. It could be concluded that Zizyphus extract have a power protective role against aflatoxicosis.

No abstract

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cardioprotective ability of water (WE) and ethanolic (EE) papaya fruits extracts against cardiotoxicity induced by aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) in rats. Forty two female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six treatment groups and treated orally for 2 weeks as follow: control group, the group treated with WE (250 mg/kg b.w), the group treated with EE (250 mg/kg b.w), the group treated orally with AFB 1 (17 lg/kg b.w) and the groups treated orally with AFB 1 plus WE or EE. The results indicated that treatment with AFB 1 resulted in oxidative stress in the heart manifested by the marked increase in cardiac malondialdehyde and calcium levels accompanied with a significant decrease in cardiac total antioxidant capacity. Serum nitric oxide and sodium levels, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase isoenzyme activities were significantly increased, whereas, cardiac Na ? /K ? -ATPase activity and serum potassium were insignificantly affected. Supplementation with WE or EE effectively ameliorated most of the changes induced by AFB 1 . It could be concluded that both extracts attenuated the oxidative stress induced in heart tissue by AFB 1 and WE was more pronounced due to the higher total phenolic contents than in the EE.

Fumonisin B (FB) and aflatoxin B (AFB) are fungal metabolites that frequently co-occur in foodstuffs and are responsible for mycotoxicosis and several primary cancers. Cinnamon essential oil (CEO) has a spacious range of benefit effects but also has some limitations owing to its strong taste or its interaction with some drugs. This study aimed to use the cinnamon oil emulsion droplets (COED) for the protection against oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity in male Sprague-Dawley rats sub-chronically exposed to FB and/or AFB. The composition of CEO was identified using GC-MS then was encapsulated using whey protein as wall material. Male rats were divided into eight groups and treated orally for 8 weeks as follows: control group, AFB-trreated group (80 μg/kg b.w), FB-treated group (100 mg/kg b.w), FB plus AFB-treated group, and the groups treated with COED plus FB and/or AFB. Blood and samples of the kidney, liver, and testis were collected for different analysis and histopathological examination. The GC-MS analysis revealed that cinnamaldehyde, α-copaene, trans-cinnamaldehyde, caryophyllene, and delta-cadinene were the main compounds in COE. The average size of COED was 235 ± 1.4 nm and the zeta potential was - 6.24 ± 0.56. Treatment with FB and/or AFB induced significant disturbances in the serum biochemical analysis, oxidative stress parameters, DNA fragmentation, gene expression, and testosterone and severe pathological changes in the tested organs. Moreover, treatment with both mycotoxins induced synergistic toxic effects. COED did not induce toxic effects and could normalize the majority of the tested parameters and improve the histological picture in rats treated with FB and/or AFB. It could be concluded that COED induce potential protective effects against the single or combined exposure to FB and AFB.