BACKGROUND Arsenic in groundwater and its accumulation in plants and animals have assumed a menacing proportion in a large part of West Bengal, India and adjoining areas of Bangladesh. Because of the tremendous magnitude of the problem, there seems to be no way to tackle the problem overnight. Efforts to provide arsenic free water to the millions of people living in these dreaded zones are bein...

The present study investigated the capacity of formulated Berberis vulgaris extract/β-cyclodextrin to protect liver against CCl(4)-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. Formulated and non-formulated extracts were given orally (50 mg/kg/day) to mice for 7 days and were then intra-peritoneally injected with 1.0 mL/kg CCl(4) on the 8th day. After 24 h of CCl(4) administration, an increase in the levels ...

To examine if a potentized homeopathic drug, Natrum Sulphuricum 200 (Nat Sulph-200) has protective potentials against hepatocarcinogenesis, liver tumors were induced in mice through chronic feeding of P-dimethylaminoazobenzene (p-DAB; initiator of hepatocarcinogenesis) and phenobarbital (PB; promoter). Mice were divided into five sub-groups: fed normal low protein diet (Gr. I, normal control); ...

A total of thirty-five mixed breed (35) rabbits of average weight of 700 g aged 5-6 weeks were allocated to seven treatments in a completely randomised design to investigate the effect of sweet orange fruit waste (SOFW) and acidomix acidifier on haematology and serum chemistry. The diets were 0% SOFW, 10% SOFW with 0.5% acidomix, 10% SOFW with 0.7 acidomix, 15% SOFW with 0.5% acidifier, 15% SOF...

Increased circulating levels of liver enzymes emerging during treatment with psychotropic drugs are frequently encountered and, in general, attributed to drug metabolism or toxic effects. Because obesity was shown to be associated with elevated liver enzyme levels in different non-psychiatric study samples, we hypothesized that drug-induced weight gain might be an additional causative factor. W...

BACKGROUND Flavonoid-rich aqueous fraction of methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx was evaluated for its anti-hepatotoxic activities in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. METHODS Diabetes Mellitus was induced in Wistar rats by a single i.p injection of 80 mg/kg b.w. streptozotocin (STZ) dissolved in 0.1 M citrate buffer (pH 6.3). RESULTS The ameliorative effects of the ...

Bryonia laciniosa Linn. (Cucurbitaceae) seed is used in traditional medicine for a number of ailments including metabolic disorders. This investigation was carried out to investigate the anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic potential of the ethanolic extract of seeds of B. laciniosa Linn. and its saponin fraction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The ethanolic extract (250 and 500 ...

BACKGROUND Currently, there is a global attempt to identify potential anti-cancer agents with low toxicity. Previous studies have found that glycyrrhizin exerts anti-cancer action with low toxicity through suppressing thromboxane A2 (TxA2) in lung cancer cell lines. However, these effects have not yet been determined in animal models of lung cancer. METHODS Human lung adenocarcinoma xenograft...

The chemoprotective effects of combined ebselen and allopurinol in breast (MTLn3) and ovarian (NuTu-19) cancer models using a repeated cisplatin dosing schedule (6 mg/kg i.p.x3 weeks) were studied. Otoprotection was evaluated using auditory evoked brainstem response (ABR) to determine threshold and latency shifts, and outer hair cell counts. Nephroprotection was analyzed by serological markers ...

Serum haematology and biochemical profile of weaner rabbits fed graded levels of yam peels replacing maize were evaluated. The experiment which lasted fifty-six days using 15 weaner rabbits was laid in a randomized complete block design using five dietary treatments with three replications each. The dietary treatments evaluated were 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 0% inclusion level of yam peels replacin...