Background: Organic solvents are widely used in cell biology experiments. Despite increasing the solubility, they have some moderate toxic effects. Therefore, selecting the appropriate solvent along with the use of suitable concentration insures the accuracy and reliability of experimental results. Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the cytotoxic effects of some organic solvents on various cell models including MCF-7, RAW-264.7 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Materials and Methods: To evaluate the cytotoxicity effect of common organic solvents on the MCF-7, RAW-264.7 and HUVEC cells, multi-table tournament (MTT) colorimetric assay, the widely used and validated cytotoxicity test was applied. For this purpose, the selected cells were treated with different concentrations (0, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 3% and5% v/v) of fourmostcommonlyused organic solvents (acetone, ethanol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and dimethylformamide (DMF) and then subjected to MTT experiment. Results: According to the obtained results, the cytotoxicity increased significantly with increasing the concentration of all four solvents compared to that of the control group. Studies with MCF-7, RAW-264.7 and HUVEC suggested that acetone, ethanol and DMSO at concentrations of 0.1% and 0.5%, had little or no toxicity, whereas higher concentrations inhibited the growth of all three cells. Compared with other three solvents, DMF displayed rather greater toxicity. Based on the results, proliferation of MCF-7, RAW- 264.7 and HUVEC cells were inhibited by all used organic solvents, dose dependently. Conclusions: Thus, the background experimental error can be reduced remarkably by maximal concentration of 0.5% ethanol, acetone and DMSO and 0.1% DMF in the final treatment medium.

Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of neurodegenerative diseases. Despite vast ongoing researches focusing on the area, little is known about novel treatments. In this study, we aimed to survey the effects of Capparis spinosa (C. spinosa) extract on amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ)-injected rat. Methods: For this purpose, hydroalcoholic extracts of caper leaf and fruit were prepared. Total phenolic content, DPPH, and FRAP assay were accomplished to determine antioxidant activity of C. spinosa. HPLC analysis was conducted to measure rutin and quercetin content of selected parts of the plant. Higher levels of flavonoids were observed in leaves of the plant. Twelve male Wistar Aβ-induced rats were randomly divided in four groups of (1) Aβ⁻/DW⁺: Sham-operated group (2) Aβ⁺/DW⁺: Aβ-injected group (3) Aβ⁺/RU⁺: Standard rutin treatment (4) Aβ⁺/CS⁺: C. spinosa extract treatment. After 6 weeks of oral administration, real-time qPCR were conducted to determine APP, BACE-1, PSEN-1, and PSEN-2 genes expression in the hippocampus of rats. Results: HPLC analysis showed high levels of rutin and quercetin in leaves of Capparis. Rutin was 16939.2 ± 0.01 and quercetin was 908.93 ± 0.01 µg/g fresh weight. In fruit, 1019.52 ± 0.01 rutin and 97.86 ± 0.01 µg/g FW quercetin were measured. Expression of BACE-1, APP, PSEN-1, and PSEN-2 genes in comparison with the control group showed significant down regulation. Discussion: Results of the study demonstrated that C. spinosa has the potential to down regulate inflammation-involved genes in AD, due to its high levels of flavonoids and could be beneficial as a dietary complement in AD patients. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Background: Artesunate has recently been used in some pharmacological preparation to induce tumor cell apoptosis. The drug is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, traditionally used for its antimalarial. However, up to now, its anticancer mechanism against different types of tumors is not known. Objectives: The most important purposes of the present research was firstly investigating induction of apoptosis on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells by the drug and, in the second place, introducing its possible mechanism of action. Materials and Methods: The MTT assay was used to investigate the inhibitory effect of artesunate on growth of breast cancer MCF-7 cells. For this aim, different concentrations of artesunate were used to treat the cells and flow cytometry assay was done followed by annexin V-FITC/PI staining. The activities of caspase-3, -8 and -9 were then determined by relative assay kits. Results: Based on the results from MTT assay, it was found that artesunate could significantly inhibit the growth of MCF-7 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. On the other hand, the flow cytometry findings showed that the anti-proliferative activity of artesunate on MCF-7 cells is due to apoptosis. Besides, caspase colorimetric assays revealed a significant rise in cellular levels of the initiators (caspase-8 and -9) and effector (caspase-3) in the cells treated by artesunate. Conclusions:According to our results, it could be concluded that artesunate could inhibit the growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells through induction of apoptosis by intrinsic and extrinsic caspase-dependent pathways. Therefore, we claim that artesunate could be introduced as a suitable candidate for the treatment of the breast cancer.