Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from dietary spice turmeric, possesses diverse pharmacologic effects including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activities. Phase I clinical trials have shown that curcumin is safe even at high doses (12 g/day) in humans but exhibit poor bioavailability. Major reasons contributing to the low plasma and tissue levels of curcumin appear to be due to poor absorption, rapid metabolism, and rapid systemic elimination. To improve the bioavailability of curcumin, numerous approaches have been undertaken. These approaches involve, first, the use of adjuvant like piperine that interferes with glucuronidation; second, the use of liposomal curcumin; third, curcumin nanoparticles; fourth, the use of curcumin phospholipid complex; and fifth, the use of structural analogues of curcumin (e.g., EF-24). The latter has been reported to have a rapid absorption with a peak plasma half-life. Despite the lower bioavailability, therapeutic efficacy of...

Bioavailability of curcumin: problems and promises.

Lipid peroxidation can be described generally as a process under which oxidants such as free radicals attack lipids containing carbon-carbon double bond(s), especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Over the last four decades, an extensive body of literature regarding lipid peroxidation has shown its important role in cell biology and human health. Since the early 1970s, the total published research articles on the topic of lipid peroxidation was 98 (1970–1974) and has been increasing at almost 135-fold, by up to 13165 in last 4 years (2010–2013). New discoveries about the involvement in cellular physiology and pathology, as well as the control of lipid peroxidation, continue to emerge every day. Given the enormity of this field, this review focuses on biochemical concepts of lipid peroxidation, production, metabolism, and signaling mechanisms of two main omega-6 fatty acids lipid peroxidation products: malondialdehyde (MDA) and, in particular, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), summarizing not only its physiological and protective function as signaling molecule stimulating gene expression and cell survival, but also its cytotoxic role inhibiting gene expression and promoting cell death. Finally, overviews of in vivo mammalian model systems used to study the lipid peroxidation process, and common pathological processes linked to MDA and 4-HNE are shown.

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Lipid peroxidation: production, metabolism, and signaling mechanisms of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal.

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-np) are being used increasingly in wound dressings, catheters, and various household products due to their antimicrobial activity. The toxicity of starch-coated silver nanoparticles was studied using normal human lung fibroblast cells (IMR-90) and human glioblastoma cells (U251). The toxicity was evaluated using changes in cell morphology, cell viability, metabolic activity, and oxidative stress. Ag-np reduced ATP content of the cell caused damage to mitochondria and increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a dose-dependent manner. DNA damage, as measured by single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) and cytokinesis blocked micronucleus assay (CBMN), was also dose-dependent and more prominent in the cancer cells. The nanoparticle treatment caused cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase possibly due to repair of damaged DNA. Annexin-V propidium iodide (PI) staining showed no massive apoptosis or necrosis. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis indicated the presen...

Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Silver Nanoparticles in Human Cells

I read this book the same weekend that the Packers took on the Rams, and the experience of the latter event, obviously, colored my judgment. Although I abhor anything that smacks of being a handbook (like, \"How to Earn a Merit Badge in Neurosurgery\") because too many volumes in biomedical science already evince a boyscout-like approach, I must confess that parts of this volume are fast, scholarly, and significant, with certain reservations. I like parts of this well-illustrated book because Dr. Sj6strand, without so stating, develops certain subjects on technique in relation to the acquisition of judgment and sophistication. And this is important! So, given that the author (like all of us) is somewhat deficient in some areas, and biased in others, the book is still valuable if the uninitiated reader swallows it in a general fashion, realizing full well that what will be required from the reader is a modulation to fit his vision, propreception, adaptation and response, and the kind of problem he is undertaking. A major deficiency of this book is revealed by comparison of its use of physics and of chemistry to provide understanding and background for the application of high resolution electron microscopy to problems in biology. Since the volume is keyed to high resolution electron microscopy, which is a sophisticated form of structural analysis, but really morphology in a modern guise, the physical and mechanical background of The instrument and its ancillary tools are simply and well presented. The potential use of chemical or cytochemical information as it relates to biological fine structure , however, is quite deficient. I wonder when even sophisticated morphol-ogists will consider fixation a reaction and not a technique; only then will the fundamentals become self-evident and predictable and this sine qua flon will become less mystical. Staining reactions (the most inadequate chapter) ought to be something more than a technique to selectively enhance contrast of morphological elements; it ought to give the structural addresses of some of the chemical residents of cell components. Is it pertinent that auto-radiography gets singled out for more complete coverage than other significant aspects of cytochemistry by a high resolution microscopist, when it has a built-in minimal error of 1,000 A in standard practice? I don't mean to blind-side (in strict football terminology) Dr. Sj6strand's efforts for what is \"routinely used in our laboratory\"; what is done is usually well done. It's just that …

Methods in Enzymology.

The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics A Textbook of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics for Physicians and Medical Students. By Prof. Louis Goodman and Prof. Alfred Gilman. Pp. xiii + 1383. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941.) 50s. net.

The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics

Antihyperglycemic effect of diosmin on hepatic key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats

Effect of Coccinia indica leaves on antioxidant status in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Oxidative damage has been suggested to be a contributory factor in the development and complications of diabetes. The antioxidant effect of an aqueous extract of Scoparia dulcis, an indigenous plant used in Ayurvedic medicine in India was studied in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Oral administration of Scoparia dulcis plant extract (SPEt) (200 mg/kg body weight) for 3 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose and an increase in plasma insulin. The aqueous extract also resulted in decreased free radical formation in tissues (liver and kidney) studied. The decrease in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and hydroperoxides (HPX) and increase in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) clearly show the antioxidant properties of SPEt in addition to its antidiabetic effect. The effect of SPEt at 200 mg/kg body weight was better than glibenclamide, a reference drug.

Antidiabetic effect of Scoparia dulcis: effect on lipid peroxidation in streptozotocin diabetes.

1. In experimental diabetes, enzymes of glucose and fatty acid metabolism are markedly altered. Persistent hyperglycaemia is a major contributor to such metabolic alterations, which lead to the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. To our knowledge, there are no available reports on the enzymes of hepatic glucose metabolism of Cassia auriculata flower against diabetes. The present study was designed to study the effect of Cassia auriculata flower extract (CFEt) on hepatic glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes. 2. Streptozotocin diabetic rats were given CFEt (0.15, 0.30 and 0.45 g/kg) or 600 microg/kg glibenclamide for 30 days. At the end of 30 days, blood glucose, plasma insulin, haemoglobin, glycosylated haemoglobin, glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes were assessed. 3. Administration of CFEt at 0.45 g/kg significantly decreased blood glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin and gluconeogenic enzymes and increased plasma insulin, haemoglobin and hexokinase activity. Similarly, administration of glibenclamide showed a significant effect; however, CFEt at 0.15 and 0.30 g/kg did not show any significant effect. 4. In conclusion, the observations show that the aqueous extract of CFEt possesses an antihyperglycaemic effect and suggest that enhanced gluconeogenesis during diabetes is shifted towards normal and that the extract enhances the utilization of glucose through increased glycolysis. The effect of CFEt was more prominent than that of glibenclamide.

Leelavinothan Pari

Papers

Antihyperglycemic effect of diosmin on hepatic key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats

Effect of Coccinia indica leaves on antioxidant status in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Antidiabetic effect of Scoparia dulcis: effect on lipid peroxidation in streptozotocin diabetes.

Antihyperglycaemic effect of Cassia auriculata in experimental diabetes and its effects on key metabolic enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism.

Insulin-secretagogue activity and cytoprotective role of the traditional antidiabetic plant Scoparia dulcis (Sweet Broomweed)