Currently, the number of imaging and interventional procedures that use contrast agents (CAs) is gradually increasing. Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is the most important CA-related complication. Oxidative stress plays a significant role in its pathophysiology. Lycopene (LPN) is a natural substance with strong antioxidant capacity. The present study aimed to investigate the potential preventive effects of LPN against CIN. In total, 28 male Wistar albino rats were divided into 4 groups with 7 rats in each group; the groups include normal control group, LPN only group at a dose of 4 mg/kg/day for 10 days, CIN group by administering 10 mg/kg furosemide IM + 10 mg/kg indomethacin IP + 10 ml/kg iomeprol IV following 24-h dehydration, and CIN + LPN group. There were statistically significant increase in urea, creatinine, and malondialdehyde levels ( p < 0.001, for all) but a significant decrease in glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase levels ( p < 0.001, for all) in the CIN group compared with the control group. On histological examination, a significant increase of infiltrated inflammatory cells and necrotic degenerative changes were observed in the CIN group and the immunohistochemical examination revealed a significant increase in inflammation (inducible nitric oxide synthase), autophagy (LC3/B), and apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3) in the CIN group compared with the control group ( p < 0.05, for all). Significant improvements in these unfavorable parameters were observed with CIN + LPN group compared with the CIN only group. In conclusion, the favorable effects of LPN as an anti-inflammatory, antiautophagic, and antiapoptotic agent in an experimental model of CIN have been demonstrated.

Chrysin (CH) or 5,7-dihydroxyflavone is a flavonoid present in various plants, bee propolis, and honey. Cyclophosphamide (CYP) is a chemotherapeutic drug, which is extensively used in the treatment of multiple human malignancies. In our study, we aimed to investigate the effects of CYP and CH on some metabolic enzymes including carbonic anhydrase, aldose reductase, paraoxonase-1, α-glycosidase, acetylcholinesterase, and butyrylcholinesterase enzyme activities in the brain, heart, testis, liver, and kidney tissues of rats. Thirty-five adult male Wistar rats were used.The animals were pretreated with CH (25 and 50 mg/kg b.w.) for seven days before administering a single dose of CYP (200 mg/kg b.w.) on the seventh day. In all the tissues, the treatment of CH significantly regulated these enzyme activities in CYP-induced rats. These results showed that CH exhibited an ameliorative effect against CYP-induced brain, heart, liver, testis, and kidney toxicity.chrysin, cyclophosphamide, enzyme activities, in vivo, metabolic enzymes, rats

The egg is one of the cheapest and most commonly consumed foods for human nutrition. The egg is rich in high-quality protein. Moreover, it is an almost complete vitamin and trace mineral source (Sparks 2006). The external and internal qualities of eggs are very important for consumer health and from a marketing perspective. The egg yield and quality are affected by a number of factors, such as the type of husbandry system (Ozbey & Esen 2007; RaduRusu et al. 2014). For instance, hens housed in large furnished cages had lower productivity and higher egg quality than those housed in small furnished and conventional cages (Meng et al. 2014).Different husbandry systems are available in laying hen breeding such as free-range, organic, cage, and furnished cage. The cage type is one of the most common husbandry systems, which is a controversial subject among advocates for animal welfare and animal rights. The European Union banned battery cage husbandry of chickens in January 2012 for welfare reasons (Leenstra et al. 2014). This experiment was carried out to compare morphological egg quality parameters as well as egg lipid and protein profiles of brown eggs collected from poultry farms with different production systems: cage, free-range, and family type. MATERIAL AND METHODSEgg samples. A total of 270 eggs, 90 from each of the three systems, were collected from (1) a poultry farm with cage system, (2) a free-range poultry farm with nest and 2 m 2 yard per bird, and (3) families possessing chickens in their yard in two villages. Eggs from the first two farms were collected from Lohmann Brown hybrid chickens at the age of 40 weeks that were fed conventional feed formulated to meet nutrient recommendations of the NRC (1994). Eggs collected from the family type units were variable in terms of breed, age, and dietary components of the chickens.All eggs were stored at room temperature for 3 days before performing morphological and biochemical analyses. Morphological characteristics were determined in individual eggs. For biochemical assays, fractions of three eggs were pooled in tubes. Thus, sample sizes per group were 90 and 30 for morphological data and biochemical data, respectively.Morphological measurements. The egg weight was measured with an electronic balance to the nearest 0.01 g. The egg shape index (%) was calculated by the normal method of (diameter/height) × 100. This experiment was carried out to compare morphological egg quality parameters, as well as lipid and protein profiles, of brown eggs laid by chickens reared under different production systems: cage, free-range, and family type. A total of 270 brown eggs were obtained from commercial poultry companies raising Lohmann Brown laying hens in a cage system and free-range unit as well as families possessing hens in their yards. The egg lipid and protein contents, as well as lipid and protein profile, varied among the production systems. However, eggs from the free-range system had similar characteristics to those from the cage system. Quality of eggs from the ...

Cypermethrin (CYP), a type II synthetic pyrethroid, is the most widely used insecticide worldwide. Inhalation of it may cause side effects. This study is aimed to examine potential protection of quercetin (QUE) which is a well-known antioxidant in CYPinduced lung toxicity. Accordingly, 35 Spraque Dawley male rats were divided into five equal groups as follows: I-Control group, II-QUE group (50 mg/kg/b.w. QUE), III-CYP group (25 mg/kg/b.w. CYP), IV-CYP + QUE 25 (25 mg/kg/b.w. CYP + 25 mg/ kg/b.w. QUE), V-CYP + QUE (25 mg/kg/b.w. CYP + 50 mg/kg/b.w. QUE) were treated with oral gavage throughout 28 days. CYP intoxication was associated with increased malondialdehyde level while glutathione concentration, activities of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase reduced. CYP adminisitration caused of apoptosis in the lung by up-regulating caspase-3 and Bax levels and down-regulating Bcl-2. CYP also caused of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress by increasing mRNA transcript levels of PERK, IRE1, ATF6, and GRP78. Additionally, it was observed that CYP administration activated IL-6/JAK2/STAT3/MAPK14 signaling pathway and levels of IL-1β, NF-κB, TNF-α, and iNOS in the lung tissue. Therefore, it was determined that CYP administration triggered autophagy by upregulating LC3A and LC3B mRNA transcript levels. Moreover, the protein levels of NF-κB, caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, and cytochorme-c were examined by Western blot analysis. However, cotreatment with QUE at a dose of 25 and 50 mg/kg considerably protective oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, ER stress, autophagy, and IL-6/JAK2/STAT3/MAPK14 signaling pathway in lung tissue. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that lung damage associated with CYP toxicity could be protected by QUE administration.

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