Harmine is a harmal-derived alkaloid with antioxidant properties. The morphine produces free radicals and plays a key role in the pathogenesis of kidney disease. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of harmine against morphine- induced damage to the kidneys of rats. In this study, 64 male rats were randomly assigned to 8 groups: saline and morphine treated groups; harmine groups (5, ...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a molecule required for many physiological functions, produced from L-arginine by NO synthases (NOS). It is a free radical, producing many reactive intermediates that account for its bioactivity. Sustained induction of the inducible form of NOS (iNOS) in chronic inflammation may be mutagenic, through NO-mediated DNA damage or hindrance to DNA repair, and thus potentially ca...

Reduction of nitrite (NO(2)(-)) provides a major source of nitric oxide (NO) in the circulation, especially in hypoxemic conditions. Our previous studies suggest that xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) is an important nitrite reductase in the heart and kidney. Herein, we have demonstrated that conversion of nitrite to NO by blood vessels and RBCs was enhanced in the presence of the XOR substrate xan...

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY Recently, there has been growing interest in the role of salivary nitrate and nitrite in caries protection. Nitrate is a natural compound found in fruits and vegetables and when secreted in saliva, is reduced to nitrite through bacterial respiration and subsequently reduced to nitric oxide in acidic condition. Nitric oxide takes part in oral non-specific immune system and...

Nitrates, such as cardiac therapeutics and food additives, are common headache triggers, with nitric oxide playing an important role. Facultative anaerobic bacteria in the oral cavity may contribute migraine-triggering levels of nitric oxide through the salivary nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway. Using high-throughput sequencing technologies, we detected observable and significantly higher a...

Recent research suggests the vivid possibility of using nitrite therapy against various pathological conditions. Moreover, chronic nitrite therapy offers protection against ischemia and augments endothelial cell proliferation through unknown mechanisms. Nitrite-mediated augmentation in the number of circulating neutrophils has also been reported; however, the exact mechanism is not known. In th...

Recent research suggest that anoxia-tolerant fish transfer extracellular nitrite into the tissues, where it is used for nitric oxide (NO) generation, iron-nitrosylation, and S-nitrosation of proteins, as part of the cytoprotective response toward prolonged hypoxia and subsequent reoxygenation. We hypothesized that crucian carp take up ambient nitrite and use it as a source of cellular NO availa...

      Addition of n-butyl nitrite to isolated rat hepatocytes caused an immediate glutathione depletion followed by an inhibition of mitochondrial respiration, inhi- bition of glycolysis and ATP depletion. At cytotoxic butyl nitrite concentrations, lipid  peroxidation  occurred  before  the  plasma  membrane  was  disrupted. Cytochrome P-450 inhibitors inhibited peroxynitrite formation and prev...

We report on the contamination of commercial 15-nitrogen (15N) N2 gas stocks with 15N-enriched ammonium, nitrate and/or nitrite, and nitrous oxide. 15N2 gas is used to estimate N2 fixation rates from incubations of environmental samples by monitoring the incorporation of isotopically labeled 15N2 into organic matter. However, the microbial assimilation of bioavailable 15N-labeled N2 gas contami...

A rapid isocratic method of high performance liquid chromatography system (HPLC) with a glassy carbon working electrode of electrochemical detector is set up for quantitative detection of  trace amount of nitrite ion (NO2¯) in aqueous protein containing cell lysate, cell media, plasma, serum, urine and other body fluids. The solid extraction  reversed phase cartridges ...