Oxidative stress

ABSTRACTFree radicals are molecules containing one or more unpaired electrons in their outmost atomic or molecular orbital have emerged as double edged swords. current investigation showed that they can be both beneficial (e.g. required for normal physiological functioning) or deleterious (e.g. produce oxidative stress and responsible for various disease). Thus, it is important to understand all the aspects of free radicals while working in the this field.  The present review provides a brief overview on free radicals and their role in normal physiology,  oxidative stress, antioxidants and their evaluation. Keywords:  Free radicals, Antioxidant, Oxidative stress

Diabetes mellitus, a prevalent health issue throughout the world, is characterized by abnormal insulin secretion caused by the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which affects the integrity of the lysosomal membrane affecting lysosomal enzymes. It is diagnosed by the presence of hyperglycemia. Natural products as antioxidants can constrict the effect of these ROS. Therefore, treatment of diabetic patients with antioxidant, such as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) may be of advantage in attenuating certain complications. This study aimed to evaluate the antidiabetic role of olive oil against hyperglycemia in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Thirty-six healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups (6 rats per group). Diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of STZ. Group 1 served as non-diabetic control (NC) and group 2 as diabetic control (DC). Animals in groups 3, 4 and 5 were treated with metformin, olive oil and combination of olive oil with metformin respectively. Rats in group 6 were given olive oil orally for 2 weeks daily before induction of diabetes and then throughout the study. All treatments were gavaged orally for six weeks. The effect of olive oil was assessed by measuring the changes in body weight of rats, determination of glycemic control and estimation of oxidative stress markers. The results showed the significant increase in blood glucose level, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. While as the body weight of rats and insulin were significantly reduced in DC rats. Moreover, MDA level remained higher in diabetic rats treated with metformin and/or olive oil. In contrast, pretreatment with olive oil significantly decreased blood glucose and HbA1c levels. Furthermore, treatment of olive oil with metformin decreased blood glucose and HbA1c levels but it increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) significantly. In conclusion, pretreatment with olive oil to protect against diabetes and the combined treatment of olive oil with metformin to animals might offer additional antidiabetic and antioxidant effect to metformin. Therefore, it could be a promising strategy for diabetes therapy. We recommend more investigations on humans to study the complementary effect of combination of olive oil and metformin on body tissues.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Our aim of the study was to evaluate the association of oxidative stress and antioxidant defence systems with preeclampsia during pregnancy and after delivery. The study comprises a total of 52 subjects including PE women (n=27) and uncomplicated pregnant women (n=25) matched by age. Serummalondialdehyde (MDA), phospholipid hydroperoxide (PHP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), vitamin C and total antioxidant status (TAS) were estimated by spectrophotometric methods. Serum levels of MDA and PHP were significantly higher (p

Medicinal plants are commonly used in treating or preventing specific ailments or diseases are considered to play a beneficial role in health care. Therefore, the study of plants as a resource of medicine has become more important in the present world for preventing the human beings from oxidative stress diseases and deaths. Objective of the present study is to evaluate the effects of acetone, methanol and aqueous extracts of Syzygium caryophyllatum roots for its antioxidant activity. Using different in vitro models like DPPH radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay in a concentration dependent manner (500, 400, 300, 200 and 100 mg/ml) and ABTS radical scavenging activity. The results showed that the methanol root extract had high DPPH radical scavenging activity (62.33%) and ferric reducing capacity than the other extracts. But the results were less when compared to the standard used. The results of this research work indicate the utilization of the root extract of S. caryophyllatum as a significant source of natural antioxidants.

Bioactive compounds in fruits have been associated  with improvement of markers of metabolic syndrome as well as the prevention of oxidative damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preventive effect of the extract of Dacryodes macrophylla against weight gain and oxidative stress in Wistar rats fed with a High Fat-High Sucrose (HFHS) diet. Changes in body weight, lipid profile, transaminases, creatinine, oxidative stress markers, catalase, nitric oxide, and total antioxidant capacity of plasma (TAC) were evaluated. To achieve this, the hydroethanolic of D. macrophylla fruits was prepared, by maceration in the water: ethanol(1:1v/v), for 48hrs. The obtained extract was used to evaluate its preventive effect against weight gain/obesity and oxidative stress in rats fed with HFHS diet for 45days. The HFHS diet was observed to increase body weight, plasma triglyceride (TG), Total Cholesterol (TC), Malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) levels and decrease thiol proteins and catalase activity. Treatment, especially with the 200mg/kg/bw dose of hydroethanolic extract of Dacryodes macrophylla (DMHE) reversed the effects of the diet on these parameters. From these results it can be concluded that the crude organic extract of Dacryodes macrophylla berries could have anti-obesity/overweight and antioxidant properties.Bioactive compounds in fruits have been associated  with improvement of markers of metabolic syndrome as well as the prevention of oxidative damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preventive effect of the extract of Dacryodes macrophylla against weight gain and oxidative stress in Wistar rats fed with a High Fat-High Sucrose (HFHS) diet. Changes in body weight, lipid profile, transaminases, creatinine, oxidative stress markers, catalase, nitric oxide, and total antioxidant capacity of plasma (TAC) were evaluated. To achieve this, the hydroethanolic of D. macrophylla fruits was prepared, by maceration in the water: ethanol(1:1v/v), for 48hrs. The obtained extract was used to evaluate its preventive effect against weight gain/obesity and oxidative stress in rats fed with HFHS diet for 45days. The HFHS diet was observed to increase body weight, plasma triglyceride (TG), Total Cholesterol (TC), Malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) levels and decrease thiol proteins and catalase activity. Treatment, especially with the 200mg/kg/bw dose of hydroethanolic extract of Dacryodes macrophylla (DMHE) reversed the effects of the diet on these parameters. From these results it can be concluded that the crude organic extract of Dacryodes macrophylla berries could have anti-obesity/overweight and antioxidant properties.