Liver injury is among the adverse effects of the chemotherapeutic agent cyclophosphamide (CP). This study investigated the protective role of the flavone apigenin (API) against CP-induced liver damage, pointing to the involvement of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling. Rats were treated with API (20 and 40 mg/kg) for 15 days and received CP (150 mg/kg) on day 16. CP caused liver damage manifested by an elevation of transaminases, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and histological alterations, including granular vacuolation, mononuclear cell infiltration, and hydropic changes. Hepatic reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide (NO) were increased and glutathione (GSH) and antioxidant enzymes were decreased in CP-administered rats. CP upregulated the inflammatory markers NF-κB p65, TNF-α, IL-6, and iNOS, along with the pro-apoptotic Bax and caspase-3. Pre-treatment with API ameliorated circulating transaminases, ALP, and LDH, and prevented histopathological changes in CP-intoxicated rats. API suppressed ROS, MDA, NO, NF-κB p65, iNOS, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative DNA damage, Bax, and caspase-3 in CP-intoxicated rats. In addition, API enhanced hepatic antioxidants and Bcl-2 and boosted the Nrf2 and HO-1 mRNA abundance and protein. In conclusion, API is effective in preventing CP hepatotoxicity by attenuating oxidative stress, the inflammatory response, and apoptosis. The hepatoprotective efficacy of API was associated with the upregulation of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling.

Cisplatin (CIS) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent against different cancers. The use of CIS is associated with acute lung injury (ALI) and other adverse effects, and oxidative stress and inflammation were implicated in its toxic effects. Candesartan (CAN), an angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor blocker, showed beneficial effects against oxidative stress and inflammation. Therefore, this study investigated the potential of CAN to prevent CIS-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and lung injury in rats, pointing to the involvement of TLR4/NF-κB, JAK1/STAT3, PPARγ, and Nrf2/HO-1 signaling. The rats received CAN (5 mg/kg) for 10 days and were challenged with a single dose of CIS (7 mg/kg) on day 7. CIS caused injury to the alveoli and the bronchial tree, increased lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, myeloperoxidase, TLR-4, NF-κB p65, iNOS, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and caspase-3, and decreased cellular antioxidants and IL-6 in the lungs of rats. CAN effectively prevented tissue injury, suppressed TLR-4/ NF-κB signaling, and ameliorated oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and caspase-3 in CIS-administered rats. CAN enhanced antioxidants and IL-10, decreased Ang II, increased Ang (1–7), suppressed the phosphorylation of JAK1 and STAT3, and upregulated SOCS3 in CIS-administered rats. These effects were associated with the downregulation of Keap1 and enhanced Nrf2, GCLC, HO-1, and PPARγ. In conclusion, CAN prevented CIS-induced lung injury by attenuating oxidative stress, suppressing TLR-4/NF-κB and JAK1/STAT3 signaling, Ang II, and pro-inflammatory mediators, and upregulating PPARγ, and Nrf2/HO-1 signaling.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) on growth, intestinal morphometric characteristics, blood indices, redox balance, expression of immune-related genes, and their involvement in disease resistance in sea bream (Sparus aurata). Three hundred healthy sea bream fingerlings were allocated into equal four groups (15 fish per hapa). The first group was served as a control and received a basal diet, while the other three groups were fed diets containing 1, 2, and 4 g/kg diet SC, respectively. At the end of week 16, the daily weight gain, specific growth rate, and feed utilization were significantly higher in the SC2 and SC4 groups than the control (p < 0.05). SC dose-dependently improved intestinal morphology, and the 4 g/kg diet significantly increased dry matter, crude fat, and crude protein percentage of body composition when compared with the control group. The 4 g/kg SC boosted innate immune response and phagocytic activity, and all SC-supplemented diets improved total protein, glucose, triglycerides, and urea concentrations, as well as intestinal digestive enzymatic activities. All estimated oxidative markers were significantly enhanced in the group that received 4 g/kg SC when compared with the control and other SC groups (p < 0.05). Feeding the fish a diet supplemented with 4 g/kg SC markedly regulated the expression of HSP70, IGF1, and IL-1β genes. In addition, the 4 g/kg SC-supplemented diet was the most effective in protecting the fish against Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge. In conclusion, SC-enriched diet improved growth performance, intestinal morphology, redox homeostasis, and immune response of S. aurata with the 4 g/kg concentration as the most effective.

Green magnetite/carbonized spent coffee (MG/CFC) composite was synthesized from natural pyrite and characterized as an adsorbent and catalyst in photo-Fenton’s oxidation system of Congo red dye (C.R). The absorption behavior was illustrated based on the steric and energetic parameters of the advanced Monolayer equilibrium model of one energetic site (R² > 0.99). The structure exhibits 855 mg/g as effective site density which induces its C.R saturation adsorption capacity to 436.1 mg/g. The change in the number of absorbed C.R per site with temperature (n = 1.53 (293) to 0.51 (313 K)) suggests changes in the mechanism from multimolecular (up to 2 molecules per site) to multianchorage (one molecule per more than one site) processes. The energetic studies (ΔE = 6.2–8.2 kJ/mol) validate the physical uptake of C.R by MG/CFC which might be included van der Waals forces, electrostatic attractions, and hydrogen bonding. As a catalyst, MG/CFC exhibits significant activity during the photo-Fenton’s oxidation of C.R under visible light. The complete oxidation of C.R was detected after 105 min (5 mg/L), 120 min (10 mg/L), 135 min (15 mg/L), 180 min (20 mg/L), and 240 min (25 mg/L) using MG/CFC at 0.2 g/L dosage and 0.1 mL of H₂O₂. Increasing the dosage up to 0.5 g/L reduce the complete oxidation interval of C.R (5 mg/L) down to 30 min while the complete mineralization was detected after 120 min. The acute and chronic toxicities of the treated samples demonstrate significant safe products of no toxic effects on aquatic organisms as compared to the parent C.R solution.

This record study aimed to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) profiles regarding sex, age, and obesity for the riskier factor of cardiovascular diseases in a general population in Saudi Arabia. Laboratory and anthropometric measurements were performed on non-specific participants with variant ages and BMI in either sex. Serobiochemical changes were measured for metabolic profiles, i.e., A1C/FSG, TC, TGC, HDLC/LDLC, Vit.D, TSH/T4, Hb, and Cr. The study was applied in a Polyclinic, Abha, Saudi Arabia in 2020 G. The general population showed variable incidences of MetS profiles, such as 69.4% diabetes, 85.5% hypothyroidism, and 92.2% obesity. Hypothyroidism showed a higher incidence in women rather than in men, but men were more dyslipidemic, with higher TGC and LDLC but low HDLC, compared to women. Men <40 Y. showed diabetes and hypothyroidism, but elders were dyslipidemic. Women <40 Y. showed anemia and hypovitaminosis-D but were suffering from hypothyroidism at all ages. Diabetes, hypothyroidism, hypovitaminosis-D, and dyslipidemia were the main MetS components in both overweight and obese participants, and an incidence of more than 50% in each profile was recorded. Diabetes with hypertension was characteristic of obese participants rather than those overweight. About 66.1% of the mixed-hypercholesterolemic cases were diabetic, but 18.9% of the mixed-diabetic participants were hypercholesterolemic. Castelli’s risk factors, CRI-I and CRI-II, and atherogenic indices, AIP and AC, were measured for evaluating the cardiac risk in different populations based on the AUC–ROC and cut-off values. Insulin-resistance marker (TyG) was also measured, showing considerable cut-off values for diabetic susceptibility in the lipidemic participants with higher TGC and TC rather than HDLC or LDLC. In conclusion, MetS showed higher susceptibility to sex and age with increased incidence in women rather than men. However, the cardiac risk was more susceptible to men of higher TGC and low HDLC than women. Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was more prominent in both elders (≥40 Y.) than younger ages of either sex. Anemia and deficiency of Vit. D was characteristic of young women (<40 Y.). Hypothyroidism affects young men <40 Y. but was recorded in women of all ages. Both dyslipidemia and diabetes could trigger CVD, showing higher cardiac risk in mixed-hypercholesterolemic men rather than women. Our study strongly suggests that the consumption of unhealthy junk food, tobacco smoking, lack of exercise, and physical inactivity could be conclusive evidence of MetS in the Saudi population.

Phormidesmis communis strain AB_11_10 was isolated and identified using microscopy and 16s rRNA sequencing, and its phytochemical constituents were determined using liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The isolate had a segmented filamentous shape with a blue-green color. Many biomolecules, including organic compounds, amino acids, and fatty acids, were detected. P. communis strain AB_11_10 was used to synthesize gold nanoparticles (Ph-AuNPs) by adjusting the optimum reaction conditions. The concentration, algal/precursor ratio, temperature, reaction time, and pH significantly influenced the synthesis of the Ph-AuNPs. Mixing 1 mL of 0.5 mM of HAuCl₄ with 1 mL of algal extract and exposing the mixture to 100 °C for 30 min at pH 5.6 were the optimum conditions for the biosynthesis of Ph-AuNPs at a wavelength of 524.5 nm. The Ph-AuNPs were characterized using TEM, SEM, EDX, and mapping Zeta sizer and FTIR. The Ph-AuNPs had quasi-spherical to triangular shapes with an average diameter of 9.6 ± 4.3 nm. Ph-AuNPs composed of 76.10 ± 3.14% of Au and trace amounts of carbon and oxygen were detected, indicating that the P. communis strain AB_11_10 successfully synthesized Ph-AuNPs. The hydrodynamic diameter of the Ph-AuNPs was 28.5 nm, and their potential charge was −17.7 mV. O-H, N-H, C=C, N-O, C-H, and C-O were coated onto the surfaces of the Ph-AuNPs. These groups correspond to algal phytochemicals, which may have been the main reducing and stabilizing substances during the Ph-AuNP synthesis. The therapeutic activity of the Ph-AuNPs against osteosarcoma cancers was examined in MG-63 and SAOS-2 cell lines, while their biocompatibility was tested against Vero cell lines using a sulforhodamine B assay. The Ph-AuNPs had potent antitumor activity against the MG-63 and SAOS-2 cells, with a low toxicity toward Vero cells. Flow cytometry and cell cycle arrest analyses revealed that the Ph-AuNPs enhanced the apoptotic pathway and arrested the cell cycle in the MG-63 and SAOS-2 cells. P. communis strain AB_11_10 provides a new source to synthesize small, stable, and biocompatible AuNPs that act as apoptotic enhancers in osteosarcoma.