Dina Mansour

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is the decline in brain functions due to liver insufficiency. A high mortality rate was reported due to the rapid progression of HE from covert to overt, leading to detrimental consequences. This study aims to assess the progression of HE and the potential hepatoprotective and neuroprotective effect of apigenin (APG) in bile duct ligation (BDL) versus thioacetamide (TAA)-induced HE models in rats. Wistar albino rats were divided into eight groups; four groups for the BDL model and the other four groups for the TAA model (100 mg/kg, i.p., thrice weekly for five consecutive weeks). APG (20 mg/kg/day) or lactulose (LAC) (8 ml/kg/day), as the standard, was administered orally for three consecutive weeks starting from day 14 of the experiment. Liver enzymes, total bilirubin, serum ammonia, brain and liver glutathione and malondialdehyde, brain dopamine, hepatic interleukin-6, and nuclear factor kappa B were assessed, as well as the beam walking test and histop...

4 Abstract: Considerable efforts and resources have been dedicating to the development of anti-inflammatory products; of particular interest are functional foods capable of modulating the expression of this activity. -lactoglobulin ( -lag) is the major whey protein of ruminant species and is also present in the milks of many, but not all, other species. This study was designed to evaluate the analgesic and the anti-inflammatory effects of -lactoglobulin. The antinociceptive effect of Tramadol and -lag was evaluated either alone or in combination using the hot plate method. Mice received Tramadol alone (20 mg/kg, i.p.), -lag alone (150, 300 mg/kg, orally), or in combination. The combined treatment was divided into two phases; phase 1(5-60min), showed significant antinociception of combined treatment compared to Tramadol alone. In phase 2 (120-180min.), the antinociceptive effect decreased with time suggesting that combined treatments resulted in synergistic effect in phase 1 and anta...

Ficus deltoideavar.deltoideaJack (FD) is a well-known plant used in Malay folklore medicine to lower blood glucose in diabetic patients. For further research of the antihyperglycemic mechanisms, the protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B)-inhibitory effect of FD was analysed bothin vitroandin vivo.To optimise a method for FD extraction, water, 50, 70, 80, 90 and 95 % ethanol extracts were prepared and determined for their total phenolic and triterpene contents, and PTP1B-inhibition capacity. Among the tested extracts, 70 % ethanol FD extract showed a significant PTP1B inhibition (92·0 % inhibition at 200 µg/ml) and high phenolic and triterpene contents. A bioassay-guided fractionation of the 70 % ethanol extract led to the isolation of a new triterpene (3β,11β-dihydroxyolean-12-en-23-oic acid; F3) along with six known compounds.In vivo, 4 weeks’ administration of 70 % ethanol FD extract (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg/d) to streptozotocin–nicotinamide-induced type 2 diabetic rats reversed t...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance the theoretical development of the content marketing concept and its integration into high-tech marketing theory, in entrepreneurial contexts and from a business model innovation perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a conceptual overview of content marketing and business model innovation concerning high-tech entrepreneurs. Findings The high-tech entrepreneurial content marketing (HIT-ECM) framework has five delineating elements with a small high-tech firm as the focal point: adapting content marketing in the business model, customizing content and customer profiling, organizational learning and experimenting with the business model, building strategic networks and content marketing and the small high-tech firm’s business model innovation. The HIT-ECM framework considers how high-tech entrepreneurs capitalize on their capabilities and use innovative marketing strategies to sell their high-tech solutions under unpr...

Cyclophosphamide (CP), the commonly used chemotherapeutic agent in cancer treatment, is proven to cause ovarian toxicity and infertility in women. In the present study, we investigated the protective effect of genistein (GEN), a phytoestrogen found in the soy protein, against CP-induced ovarian toxicity in rats. Forty female adult rats were allocated into five groups. A normal control group received the vehicle; another group was injected with a single acute intraperitoneal dose of CP (200mg/kg). Three other groups were pretreated with GEN (0.5, 1 or 2mg/kg; s.c.) for 14 days. Sera and ovaries were obtained 48h after CP treatment. Serum levels of anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) and oestradiol (E2) were detected as well as the ovarian level of reduced glutathione (GSH), activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) were evaluated. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical detection of inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) were conducted. Results of the present study revealed that CP-induced severe ovarian toxicity via decreasing serum levels of AMH and E2 and elevating oxidative stress and inflammation in ovarian tissues. Histologically, CP caused increase in primordial follicles with less graafian follicles and corpora lutea in ovarian tissues as well as severe induction of iNOS. GEN inhibited the severe decrease in serum AMH and E2 with alleviation of oxidative stress and inflammation significantly compared to CP-treated group. GEN improved ovarian histology and immunostaining of ovarian iNOS disrupted by CP. Finally, it can be concluded that GEN exerted protective effects against CP-induced ovarian toxicity.

The present study investigated the protective effect of the phytoestrogen, genistein (GEN), against (CP)-induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats. Male adult rats were randomly assigned into five groups. Normal control group received the vehicles; CP group received a single dose of CP (200 mg/kg, i.p). The other three groups received subcutaneous GEN at doses of 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/kg/day, respectively, for 15 consecutive days prior CP injection. Sera and liver tissues were collected forty-eight hours after CP injection for assessment of liver function enzymes (ALT and AST) in rat sera, the hepatic oxidative/nitrosative biomarkers (GSH, MDA and NOx), hepatic interleukin-1β, and myeloperoxidase activity. Immunohistochemistry of cyclooxygenase-2 and histopathological examination of liver tissues were also conducted. The CP-induced acute liver damage was evidenced by elevated serum ALT and AST accompanied by increased hepatic oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers. Immunohistochemical ou...

Hexavalent chromium (CrVI) is a heavy metal widely used in more than 50 industries. Nephrotoxicity is a major adverse effect of chromium poisoning. The present study investigated the potential renoprotective effect of lactoferrin (Lf) against potassium dichromate (PDC)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) in rats. Beside, because previous studies suggest that interlukin-18 (IL-18) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) play important roles in promoting kidney damage, the present work aimed to evaluate the involvement of these two cytokines in PDC model of AKI and in the potential renoprotective effect of lactoferrin. Adult male albino Wistar rats were pretreated with Lf (200mg/kg/day, p.o.) or (300mg/kg/day, p.o.); the doses that are usually used in the experiment studies, for 14 days followed by a single dose of PDC (15mg/kg, s.c.). PDC caused significant increase in serum urea, creatinine, and total protein levels. This was accompanied with decreased renal glutathione content, and ...