Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that lacks a cure. The use of plant-derived antioxidant molecules such as those contained in turmeric powder and resveratrol may produce short-term anticonvulsant effects. A total of 42 three-month-old male Wistar rats were divided into six groups (n = 7 in each group): Vehicle (purified water), turmeric (150 and 300 mg/kg, respectively), and resveratrol (30 and 60 mg/kg, respectively), administered per os (p.o.) every 24 h for 35 days. Carbamazepine (300 mg/kg/5 days) was used as a pharmacological control for anticonvulsant activity. At the end of the treatment, status epilepticus was induced using the lithium–pilocarpine model [3 mEq/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.) and 30 mg/kg subcutaneously (s.c.), respectively]. Seizures were evaluated using the Racine scale. The 300 mg/kg of turmeric and 60 mg/kg of resveratrol groups had an increased latency to the first generalized seizure. The groups treated with 150 and 300 mg/kg of turmeric and 60 mg/kg of resveratrol also had an increased latency to status epilepticus and a decreased number of generalized seizures compared to the vehicle group. The chronic administration of turmeric and resveratrol exerts anticonvulsant effects without producing kidney or liver damage. This suggests that both of these natural products of plant origin could work as adjuvants in the treatment of epilepsy.

Measurements of Morphometric Parameters of the Blood Cells (MPBC) are key for the diagnosis of both mental and metabolic diseases. Several manual approaches or computational methodologies are useful to provide reliable clinical diagnosis. The sample processing and data analysis is relevant, however the sample handling on the pre-analytical phase remains scarcely evaluated. The main goal of this study was to favor the preservation of blood smear using a histological resin. This strategy lead us two practical approaches, give a detailed morphometric description of white blood cells and establish reference intervals in male Wistar rats, which are scarcely reported. Blood smears from male Wistar rats (n = 120) and adult men were collected at room temperature. The integrity of Wright-stained cells was evaluated by an in silico image analysis from rat and human blood smear preserved with a toluene-based synthetic resin mounting medium. A single sample of human blood was used as a control of procedure. The reference intervals was established by cell counting. Based on the results of segmentation algorithm followed by an automatic thresholding analysis, the incorporation of resin favor the conservation of cell blood populations, and lead to identify morphologic features such as nucleus/cytoplasmic shape, granules presence and DNA appearance in nucleus of white blood cells. The use of a histological resin could favor a fast and efficient sample handling in silico MPBC measurements both in the species studied as in wild animals.

Computer vision and image processing have become relevant in recent years due to their capabilities to support different tasks in several areas. Image classification, segmentation, and estimation are relevant issues addressed using various techniques. Imaging estimation is very important and helpful in biological applications. This work proposes a new approach for estimating the damages in the livers of the Wistar rats, using high-resolution RGB images. Instead of using invasive methods to determine the level of damage, the proposal allows us to measure the damage in the livers. The proposal is based on Genetic Programming (GP), the paradigm of evolutionary computing, which has become relevant in recent years for image-processing tasks. It provides flexibility, which allows the use of image processing functions to extract meaningful information from raw images. Furthermore, it allows the configuration of the regression model by performing a hyperparameter tuning to improve estimation performance. The approach includes a new set of functions through which the regression model is configured. Additionally, a set of functions is included to change the color spaces of the images to extract meaningful features from them. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach when making the hyperparameter tuning and the efficiency in dealing with different color spaces, thus achieving the promised results when estimating according to the $R^2$, Mean Average Error (MAE), Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) indicators. The proposed method achieves values higher than 0.5 of $R^2$ and lower than 0.51 of MSE, using different regression models. Additionally, the approach demonstrates that image preprocessing is necessary for improving the model’s performance, which is better than only using raw data where the values of RMSE are greater than 1.5. The lowest MSE value of our proposed method was 0.51, outperforming the methods without preprocessing.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of chronic oral administration of commercial guava (Psidium guajava L.) leaf extract on biochemical markers and liver histology in a model of metabolic syndrome in rats. Methods: Thirty-five Wistar rats were assigned to five independent groups (n=7 per group): the control group (CG), which received a diet with standard rodent food (Nutri-Cubos ^® ) and water ad libitum ; the metabolic syndrome group (MS), MS + P . guajava (Pg) low-dose (PgL; 100 mg/kg), MS + Pg medium-dose (PgM; 200 mg/kg), and MS + Pg high-dose (PgH; 300 mg/kg) groups. MS was induced with a rich diet of fat and carbohydrates, in addition to the intake of a 30 % sucrose solution ad libitum for 14 weeks. From week 15 onward, guava leaf extract or vehicle was administered orally every 24 h for 30 consecutive days without changing the experimental diet. At the end of the treatment, biochemical tests, liver histopathological analysis and adipose tissue analysis were performed. Results: The MS group presented levels above the reference ranges for biochemical tests, weight gain, waist circumference gain, arterial hypertension, atypical liver cells and aberrant appearance in adipose rat tissue. The PgM and PgH groups presented opposite effects of MS on biochemical parameters, such as increased blood pressure and liver damage. Conclusions: Chronic treatment with Pg leaf extract attenuated MS in Wistar rats, restoring the levels of biochemical parameters and exerting hepatoprotective effects. These findings suggest that guajava extract could be used in the development of therapeutic agents to improve the biochemical and histological alterations induced by MS.

Background: Tartrazine (TZ) has been linked to hyperactivity in children, as well as to kidney and liver damage. Furthermore, naringenin (NG) is a flavonoid with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may mitigate the damage caused by TZ. Methods: Four independent groups were used, each consisting of seven male Wistar rats—vehicle VEH (saline solution/DMSO, 0.600 mL; IP), TZ (150 mg/kg; IP), NG (100 mg/kg; IP), and TZ + NG (150 mg/kg; 100 mg/kg; IP). For 28 days, treatments were administered every 24 h, and the behavioral effects were evaluated via the open field and Rotarod tests. At the end of the behavioral tests, biochemical and histological analyses of the liver, kidney, and intestine were performed. Results: In the open field test, TZ decreased the number of crossings and rearing behaviors, which was attenuated in NG. The number of grooming behaviors was significantly reduced by TZ, while the duration of this behavior did not significantly differ between the treatment groups. In Rotarod, the TZ group presented less coordination than the other groups. In the TZ group, all parameters included in the liver and kidney function tests showed a significant increase compared to normal levels, reflecting a pathological condition in those organs. On the other hand, groups TZ + NG were within the reference intervals. Treatment with NG reduced the damage caused by TZ. Finally, in the histological analysis, damage to liver, kidney, and intestinal tissues was observed in the TZ groups, whereas treatment with NG mitigated the cellular damage caused by TZ. Conclusions: Naringenin exhibited a protective effect as it restored liver and kidney parameters to normal levels and demonstrated a predominant preservation of the histological architecture of the liver, kidney, and intestine. In this regard, the protective effect observed could be related to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties described for naringenin. However, further research is still needed to validate the use of naringenin as a potential candidate for improving renal and hepatic function, based on mechanistic studies.

Introduction: Spontaneous and recurrent epileptic seizures cause neuroinflammation, whereas the chronic administration of antiepileptic drugs may lead to hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Investigating natural compounds such as naringenin, which exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties, could mitigate these toxic effects. However, whether naringenin delays seizure onset through anti-inflammatory mechanisms remains unclear. Objective: We evaluated the anticonvulsant effect of subchronic naringenin administration and its impact on inflammatory biomarkers in rats. Methods: Thirty-two male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 8 each): vehicle (10% DMSO), naringenin (50 mg/kg), naringenin (100 mg/kg), and diazepam (4 mg/kg). Treatments were administered once daily for ten days through the intraperitoneal route. On day 11, status epilepticus (SE) was induced via the lithium-pilocarpine model. One hour after SE onset, cardiac blood was collected, and the serum was analyzed via ELISA to quantify the following inflammatory markers: superoxide dismutase (SOD), C-reactive protein (CRP), carbonyl protein, and nitrite/nitrate. Results: We found that 100 mg/kg naringenin increased the latency to SE and the first generalized seizure and shortened the duration of generalized seizures. Fifty percent of the rats in the 100 mg/kg naringenin group did not develop SE. The group treated with 100 mg/kg naringenin demonstrated reduced levels of CRP, protein carbonyls, and nitrates; conversely, the inhibition of SOD activity increased. Conclusions: Naringenin exerted anticonvulsant activity associated with a reduction in oxidative stress and inflammatory plasma biomarkers, suggesting its potential utility in the future development of alternative treatments to reduce epilepsy symptoms.