The objective of this study was to evaluate the Glycyrrhiza glabra effect on growth performance, blood parameters, antioxidant and lysosomal activity, histology and immunohistochemistry of liver and intestine, and the gene expression profile of broiler chickens. A total of 180 Cobb500 broiler chicks (one-week-old) were used in this study. Chicks were distributed randomly into three treatment groups; the first group received drinking water without any supplementation (control group). In contrast, birds in groups 2 and 3 received licorice supplementation in drinking water with 0.4 and 0.8 g licorice/liter, respectively. Results revealed that licorice at a 0.4 g/L of water level improved body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and FCR. Licorice also exhibits a broad range of biological activities such as hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, immunostimulant, and antioxidant effects. The morphometric analysis of different parameters of the intestine revealed a significant increase in the intestinal villi length, width, and villi length/crypt depth in the group supplemented with licorice 0.4 gm/L compared to other groups. The number of CD3 positive in both duodenum and ileum was increased in the licorice 0.4 gm/L group compared to other groups. The expression of growth-related genes was significantly increased with licorice supplementation and modulation of the lipid metabolism genes in the liver and upregulated to the mRNA expression of both superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and Catalase (CAT). Our results revealed that licorice supplementation increased the growth performance of broiler chickens and impacted the birds’ antioxidant activity through modulation of the growth-related genes, lipid metabolic markers, and antioxidant-related pathways.

Gastric ulceration is a multifactorial disease defined as a defect in the gastric wall that extends through the muscularis mucosae into the deeper layers of the wall. The most common cause of gastric ulceration is alcohol consumption. In the current study, rats were gavaged by ethanol to investigate the protective (before ethanol) and curative (after ethanol) ability of Commiphora myrrh (myrrh) oil and extract against gastric ulcer oxidative alterations induced by ethanol. Myrrh significantly improved ulcer index, histomorphology, and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) impaired by ethanol. In addition, myrrh improved the antioxidant potential of gastric mucosa through enhancement of nuclear factor related to erythroid 2 (Nrf2), total glutathione (GSH), reduced GSH, and oxidized glutathione (GSSG), along with significant reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Amelioration of gastric oxidative stress by myrrh enables gastric mucosa to counteract the ethanol’s inflammatory and apoptotic processes leading to improved gastric proliferation and healing. Interestingly, myrrh extract showed better protective and curative effects than myrrh oil against gastric ulceration.

This study aimed to investigate the oxidative neurotoxicity induced by silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and assess the neuroprotective effects of quercetin against this toxicity. Forty adult male rats were divided into four equal groups: control, AgNPs (50 mg/kg intraperitoneally), quercetin (50 mg/kg orally), and quercetin + AgNPs. After 30 days, blood and brain tissue samples were collected for further studies. AgNP exposure increased lipid peroxidation and decreased glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activities in brain tissue. AgNPs decreased serum acetylcholine esterase activity and γ-aminobutyric acid concentrations. AgNPs upregulated tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and Bax transcript levels. AgNPs reduced the transcripts of claudin-5, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, paraoxonase, nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2 (Nrf2), and Bcl-2. Histopathologically, AgNPs caused various degenerative changes and neuronal necrosis associated with glial cell reactions. AgNPs increased the immunohistochemical staining of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the cerebrum and cerebellum. Oral treatment with quercetin efficiently counteracted the opposing effects of AgNPs on brain tissue via modulation of tight junction proteins, Nrf2, and paraoxonase, and its positive mechanism in modulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and the downregulation of GFAP expression, and the apoptotic pathway. AgNPs also altered the severity of histopathological lesions and modulated GFAP immunostaining in the examined tissue.

Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional medicinal plant with diverse therapeutic properties largely attributed to its polysaccharides (APs). This study evaluated the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of APs and eugenol, both individually and in combination, against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and HepG2 liver cancer cells. Thirty bacterial and ten Candida isolates were recovered from skin abscesses, with five identified as MDR strains (Staphylococcus haemolyticus, S. aureus, E. coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Candida auris), confirmed by 16S rDNA and ITS sequencing. Both APs and eugenol exhibited marked antimicrobial activity, while their combination achieved the strongest inhibition (up to 27.3 ± 0.4 mm). C. auris was highly sensitive to APs alone (MIC: 2 ± 0.2 µg/mL). The combination also significantly downregulated IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α levels, and showed potent COX-2 inhibition (0.10 ± 0.01 µg/mL), surpassing celecoxib (0.9 ± 0.05 µg/mL). Antioxidant analysis (DPPH assay) revealed superior radical scavenging by the combination (57.5 ± 1.3 % %). Molecular docking confirmed the activity of eugenol, showing favorable binding to DNA gyrase B, sterol demethylase, COX-2, xanthine oxidase, and caspase-3, with the strongest affinity for xanthine oxidase (-5.25 kcal/mol). In anticancer assays, eugenol induced dose-dependent inhibition of HepG2 cell proliferation, while APs displayed limited cytotoxicity. Notably, the combination reduced cell viability to 3.77 ± 0.4 % % at 400 µg/mL, consistent with apoptotic changes. Collectively, these findings highlight the synergistic potential of APs and eugenol as a multi-target therapeutic approach against MDR infections, inflammation, oxidative stress, and liver cancer.