Antioxidant effect of Morus nigra on Chagas disease progression

Abstract

Considering the widespread popular use of Morus nigra and the amount of scientific information on its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, the effectiveness of this phytotherapeutic compound in the parasitemia progression during the acute phase of Chagas disease and its role in the development of the inflammatory process as well as its effects on the oxidative damage in the chronic phase of infection were evaluated. Thus, 96 male Swiss mice were randomly divided into eight groups, four groups were uninfected controls, and four groups were intraperitoneally infected with 5.0 x 104 blood trypomastigotes forms of T. cruzi QM2 strain. Four batches composed of one uninfected and one infected group were respectively treated with 70% alcohol solution and 25 μL, 50 μL and 75 μL of the phytotherapeutic compound. Levels of antioxidant elements (TBARS, FRAP, GSH and Sulfhydryl groups) were measured in plasma samples. The phytotherapeutic compound’s antioxidant activity was measured by polyphenol and total flavonoid quantification, DPPH, NO, and FRAP method. Our results showed that the vehicle influenced some of the results that may have physiological relevance in Chagas disease. However, an important action of M. nigra tincture was observed in the progression of Chagas disease, since our results demonstrated a reduction in parasitemia of treated groups when compared to controls, especially in the group receiving 25 µL. However, in the chronic phase, the 50-µL dosage presented a better activity on some antioxidant defenses and minimized the tissue inflammatory process. Results indicated an important action of M. nigra tincture on the Chagas disease progression.

Comprehensive Analysis of Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Properties of Morus nigra L.

“…The total content of phenolic compounds in examined extracts, determined both by Folin-Ciocalteu and HPLC method, showed a linear correlation with the antioxidant capacity (Pearson's r = 0.776; p < 0.01), confirming that antioxidant activity was dependent on the TP content. Similar results regarding leaf and bark antioxidant activity were published by other study groups using DPPH [20,49,50] or FRAP assay [42,51,52]. The antioxidant activity of MBEE was likely based on the rich content of phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid, gallic acid), which are known to possess antioxidant activity [53][54][55], while flavonoids (hyperoside, isoquercetin) also being recognized for their antioxidant effect [56][57][58], contributed to the antioxidant activity of MLEE.…”

Pharmacological Properties of Morus nigra L. (Black Mulberry) as A Promising Nutraceutical Resource

“…Numerous researches have proven antioxidant properties of M. nigra with different in vitro methods, including DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay [ 15 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 61 , 70 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 ], ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging assay [ 15 , 91 , 94 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 107 , 110 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ], reducing power assay [ 15 , 99 , 113 , 118 , 119 ], superoxide anion radical (O2 − ) scavenging assay [ 15 …”

Hydroethanolic Extract of Morus nigra L. Leaves: A Dual PPAR-α/γ Agonist with Anti-Inflammatory Properties in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated RAW 264.7

“…The intracellular ROS reduction in LPS-stimulated cells, caused by the treatment with HEMNL, confirms the anti-oxidant potential of M. nigra leaves, being the first study to evaluate this activity using the DCF method in this model. The anti-oxidant activity of M. nigra leaves has already been evidenced in other studies by different methods and different situations, such as in vitro, by the uptake of the DPPH and ABTS radical; in vivo by the evaluation of the activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase enzymes; by reactive substances to thiobarbituric acid; and by the recovery of reduced glutathione levels [30,31,[53][54][55].…”