Recurrent outbreaks of muscular sarcocystosis among tourists visiting islands in Malaysia have focused international attention on sarcocystosis, a disease once considered rare in humans. Sarcocystis species require two hosts, definitive and intermediate, to complete their life cycle. Humans can serve as definitive hosts, with intestinal sarcocystosis for two species acquired from eating undercooked meat: Sarcocystis hominis, from beef, and Sarcocystis suihominis, from pork. Symptoms such as nausea, stomachache, and diarrhea vary widely depending on the number of cysts ingested but appear more severe with pork than with beef. Humans serve as intermediate hosts for Sarcocystis nesbitti, a species with a reptilian definitive host, and possibly other unidentified species, acquired by ingesting sporocysts from feces-contaminated food or water and the environment; infections have an early phase of development in vascular endothelium, with illness that is difficult to diagnose; clinical signs include fever, headache, and myalgia. Subsequent development of intramuscular cysts is characterized by myositis. Presumptive diagnosis based on travel history to tropical regions, elevated serum enzyme levels, and eosinophilia is confirmed by finding sarcocysts in muscle biopsy specimens. There is no vaccine or confirmed effective antiparasitic drug for muscular sarcocystosis, but anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce symptoms. Prevention strategies are also discussed.
The aim of this study was to investigate the synergistic effects of quercetin (QE) and quinic acid (QA) on a STZ-induced diabetic rat model to determine their potential role in alleviating diabetes and its associated complications. In our study design, diabetic rats were treated with single and combined doses of QE and QA for 45days to analyse their effects on liver, kidney and pancreas tissues. The study result showed that QE and QA treated groups down-regulated hyperglycaemia and oxidative stress by up-regulating insulin and C-peptide levels. Moreover, histological observations of the liver, kidney and pancreas of diabetic rats treated with single and combined doses of QE and QA showed a significant improvement in the structural degeneration. Interestingly, the combination dose of QE and QA (50 mg/kg) exhibited maximum inhibition of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax expression and demonstrate enhancement of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 expression in the kidney tissues, suggesting a protective role in the kidneys of diabetic rats. Taken together, these results indicates the synergistic effects of QE and QA in ameliorating hyperglycaemia, hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance in diabetic rats and therefore, open a new window of research on the combinatorial therapy of flavonoids.
To assess the safety of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 in BALB/c mice that involves examination of bacterial translocation, changes in the internal organs and histology of the intestinal lining.
Melastoma malabathricum L. (Melastomaceae) is a small shrub with various medicinal uses. The present study was carried out to determine the hepatoprotective activity of methanol extract of M. malabathricum leaves (MEMM) against the paracetamol-induced liver toxicity in rats model.
Mutant lethal giant larvae (lgl) flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are known to develop epithelial tumors with invasive characteristics. The present study has been conducted to investigate the influence of melatonin (0.025 mM) on behavioral responses of lgl mutant flies as well as on biochemical indices (redox homeostasis, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, transaminases, and minerals) in hemolymph, and head and intestinal tissues. Behavioral abnormalities were quantitatively observed in lgl flies but were found normalized among melatonin-treated lgl flies. Significantly decreased levels of lipid peroxidation products and antioxidants involved in redox homeostasis were observed in hemolymph and tissues of lgl flies, but had restored close to normalcy in melatonin-treated flies. Carbohydrates including glucose, trehalose, and glycogen were decreased and increased in the hemolymph and tissues of lgl and melatonin-treated lgl flies, respectively. Key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism showed a significant increment in their levels in lgl mutants but had restored close to wild-type baseline levels in melatonin-treated flies. Variables of lipid metabolism showed significantly inverse levels in hemolymph and tissues of lgl flies, while normalization of most of these variables was observed in melatonin-treated mutants. Lipase, chitinase, transaminases, and alkaline phosphatase showed an increment in their activities and minerals exhibited decrement in lgl flies; reversal of changes was observed under melatonin treatment. The impairment of cognition, disturbance of redox homeostasis and metabolic reprogramming in lgl flies, and restoration of normalcy in all these cellular and behavioral processes indicate that melatonin could act as oncostatic and cytoprotective agents in Drosophila.