Background/Objectives: optimization of the therapeutic efficacy of antidiabetic agents is still a great challenge in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and attention is becoming more and more focused on the use of adjunctive agents that help target the drug action beyond the classic glycemic target. This study examined the effect of co-administration of an Artemisia herba-alba Asso (Asteraceae) aqueous extract on the glucose-lowering effect of dapagliflozin, a sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. Methods: qualitative phytochemical screening and total phenolic and total flavonoid content were used to characterize the aqueous preparation. Male Wistar albino rats were divided into eight groups (10 rats each): four healthy and four diabetic rats induced with streptozotocin (STZ). Vehicle control, oral administration of an aqueous A. herba-alba preparation (0.39 g/kg twice daily), dapagliflozin (0.143 mg/kg/day), or a combination of both was given for 30 days. At baseline and days 7, 14, 21, and 30, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was measured by nephelometry. Parallel fasting blood glucose (FBG) was monitored. Results: the diabetic animals treated with the combination regimen showed the greatest and most sustained decrease in HbA1c (from 4.42 ± 0.40% at baseline to 3.44 ± 0.17% at day 30; p < 0.001) and the greatest decrease in FBG (from 186.0 to 122.2 mg/dL). A. herba-alba monotherapy had little effect on HbA1c and had minimal effect on FBG (214.9 to 217.6 mg/dL); dapagliflozin monotherapy had a modest effect on HbA1c. The untreated diabetic controls (n = 10) showed a progressive increase in HbA1c from 4.45 ± 0.60% at 72 h post-induction to 11.90 ± 0.99% by day 30 (p < 0.001), consistent with delayed hemoglobin glycation relative to the rise in blood glucose. The repeated-measures ANOVA showed a highly significant interaction between time and treatment (p < 0.001). Conclusions: this study showed that the phytochemically defined aqueous A. herba-alba preparation is a beneficial adjunct to SGLT2 inhibitor therapy, an effect not observed with either treatment alone.
The nephrotoxicity induced by methotrexate is a severe condition that greatly affects its therapeutic potential and has a significant inflammatory component. Fimasartan is an angiotensin receptor blocker that offers organ-protective effects and may be useful in mitigating renal injury. The present study explored the anti-inflammatory potential of two doses of fimasartan against methotrexate-mediated nephrotoxicity. Albino rats were intraperitoneally administered a single methotrexate (20 mg/kg). Intraperitoneal treatment with fimasartan (5 or 10 mg/kg/day) was initiated on day two after methotrexate injection and continued for seven consecutive days. Methotrexate significantly increased serum urea, creatinine, and NGAL concentrations. It al
... Show MoreSpinach, Spinacia oleracea L is a popular vegetable belonging to the family Chenopodiaceae. This study was concerned with extraction of compounds in Iraqi spinach leaves, preliminary phytochemical evaluation, identification of two biological important flavonols, quercetin and kaempferol in spinach leaves and evaluation of the protective effect of aqueous spinach extract on methotrexate (MTX) induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The percentage yield of extraction procedure, identification of spinach by chemical tests and identification of flavonols by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were fully described in this study. The results indicate that the percentage of quarce
... Show More5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a is Pyrimidine analogue widely used in the treatment of various malignancies It belongs to the antimetabolites family that acts during the S-phase of the cell cycle thus it prevents DNA synthesis.N-acetylcysteine is nutritional complement acts as antioxidant.The purpose of the current study is to investigate whether there is a protective role of N-acetylcystein against intestinal toxicity induced by 5-fluorouracil in albino rats.18 healthy adult rats were distributed into 3 groups of 6 rats for each. Group A as a control group.Group B injected with 5-FU (20 mgs dissolved in 2ml normal saline per kilogram body weight intraperitoneally for 7 successive days while Group C received N-acetylcy
... Show MoreDoxorubicin (DOX) is an efficient antineoplastic agent with a broad antitumor spectrum; however, doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxic adverse effect through oxidative damage and apoptosis limits its clinical application. Cafestol (Caf) is a naturally occurring diterpene in unfiltered coffee with unique antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anti-inflammatory activities by activating the Nrf2 pathway. The present study aimed to investigate the potential chemoprotective effect of cafestol on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Wistar albino rats of both sexes were administered cafestol (5 mg/kg/day) for 14 consecutive days by oral gavage alone or with doxorubicin which was injected as a single dose (15 mg/kg intraperitoneally at day 14) to i
... Show MoreToday, the five Caspian riparian states on the shores of the Caspian Sea (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran) have become a front for ambitions and international and regional competition, especially in light of the features and characteristics that natural geography has endowed them with and their enjoyment of a group of economic and mineral wealth that are not optimally exploited so far which made it a strategic attraction area for international trends and interventions, especially Western ones. It is a battleground for major international companies aiming to monopolize promising industrial investments in order to impose control and influence on the region’s resources and economic wealth and thus impose their forei
... Show MoreMetalloendo peptidase is a neutral endopeptidase that cleaves peptides at the amino side of hydrophobic residues and inactivates several peptide hormones, including atrial natriuretic factor, giucagon, enkephalin, substance p, neurotensin, oxytocin, and bradykinin. It is also a major enzyme for the degradation of beta-amyloid. This study aimed to measure enzyme activity and compare it with other biochemical changes in sera patients with diabetic nephropathy. The study included 35 pathological samples of people with diabetic nephropathy, 24 samples from males and 11 samples from females, as well as the same number of healthy people as a comparison group of 15 males, 20 females, with the ages of both groups of patients with diabetic nephropat
... Show MoreIn this research local wheat peel was used as an adsorbent surface for removal of Azure B (AB) dye from the aqueous solution. The adsorption process was performed at different experimental parameters, equilibrium time, temperature, ionic strength and solution pH. The isotherms of adsorption are of H-type as compared with Giles curves and the adsorption data were coincide with Freundlich equation. The adsorption kinetic data were analyzed using pseudo- first and second order kinetic models. The effect of temperature was studied and the amount of dye adsorbed was found to increase with the increasing of temperature from 25 to 50 oC. The values of thermodynamic functions like enthalpy and entropy have been estimated. The quantity of adso
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