Context: To find bioactive medicinal herbs exerting anti-asthmatic activity, we investigated the effect of an aqueous extract of Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) leaves (UD), the closest extract to the Algerian traditional use. Objective: In this study, we investigated the in vivo anti-asthmatic and antioxidant activities of nettle extract. Materials and methods: Adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Group I: negative control; group II: Ovalbumin sensitized/challenged rats (positive control); group III: received UD extract (1.5 g/kg/day) orally along the experimental protocol; group IV: received UD extract (1.5 g/kg/day) orally along the experimental protocol and sensitized/challenged with ovalbumin. After 25 days, blood and tissue samples were collected for haematological and histopathological analysis, respectively. The oxidative stress parameters were evaluated in the lungs, liver and erythrocytes. Then, correlations between markers of airway inflammation and markers of oxidative stress were explored. Results: UD extract significantly (p < 0.01) inhibited eosinophilia increases in BALF (−60%) and the levels of leucocytes (−32.75%) and lymphocytes (−29.22%) in serum, and effectively suppressed inflammatory cells recruitment in the asthmatic rat model. Besides, the lipid peroxidation generated by allergen administration was significantly (p < 0.05) diminished by UD treatment in lung tissue (−48.58%). The nettle extract was also investigated for the total phenolic content (30.79 ± 0.96 mg gallic acid/g dry extract) and shows DPPH radical scavenging activity with 152.34 ± 0.37 μg/mL IC₅₀ value. Conclusions: The results confirmed that UD administration might be responsible for the protective effects of this extract against airway inflammation.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of vitamin E and/or curcumin against diazinon (DZN) (an organophosphorus insecticide)-induced toxicity of blood, liver and erythrocyte markers of male Wistar rats. The exposure of rats to DZN for 21 days provoked significant changes in red blood cell counts and hemoglobin. Results showed that lipid peroxidation increased significantly in DZN-treated rats, as evidenced by high liver and erythrocyte thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels. Alteration of the antioxidant system in DZN-treated rats was confirmed by the significant decrease in the activity of catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase, accompanied by a decline in reduced glutathione content in both tissues. On the other hand, a significant increase in the activities of plasma aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase was observed in the rats treated with DZN. However, the administration of vitamin E and curcumin has ameliorated the previous markers. In conclusion, our results indicate that the natural antioxidants like vitamin E and curcumin can effectively lower the erythrocytes and hepatic injuries induced by DZN as monitored by lipid peroxides, antioxidant enzyme activities and sensitive serum enzyme levels.

Wahiba Amraoui, Nesrine Adjabi, Fatiha Bououza, Mahieddine Boumendjel, Faiza Taibi, Amel Boumendjel, Cherif Abdennour and Mahfoud Messarah. ToxicolRes 2018;34:231-9. https://doi.org/10.5487/TR.2018.34.3.231