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In the present study we have investigated the anticarcinogenic property of diallyl disulphide (DADS) on hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and antioxidants such as reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in control, N-nitrosodiethylamine and diallyl disulphide treated rats. The levels of TBARS and activities of SOD and catalase were decreased in NDEA treated rats whereas GSH and GPx tended to increase in carcinogenic rats. Oral administration of DADS (60mg/kg body wt) tends to normalize these variables in liver. This clearly indicates that DADS could possess chemopreventive effects by modulating the oxidant-antioxidant status of the living system. However, the exact mechanism remains to be elucidated.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the antihyperammonemic efficacy of the leaf extract of Pongamia pinnata, an indigenous plant used in Ayurvedic Medicine in India (PPEt), on blood ammonia, plasma urea, uric acid, non-protein nitrogen and serum creatinine in control and ammonium chloride induced hyperammonemic rats. The levels of blood ammonia, circulatory urea, uric acid, non-protein nitrogen and creatinine increased significantly in rats treated with ammonium chloride and decreased significantly in rats treated with PPEt and ammonium chloride. There were no significant changes in the body weights of the experimental animals when compared to controls. The antihyperammonemic effect of PPEt could be attributed to (1) its nephroprotective effect by means of detoxifying excess urea and creatinine, (2) its free radical scavenging property, and (3) its antioxidant property. The exact mechanism of antihyperammonemic effect PPEt has still to be investigated and isolation of the active constituents is required.

The series of 4-(2',4'-difluorobiphenylyl)-2-methylbutyric acid (deoxoflobufen, 1) and its four amides and two salts were prepared and tested for anti-inflammatory activity in rats and mice, using as models carrageenan-induced paw oedema, pleuritis, and arachidonic acid-induced ear inflammation, and on leucotriene B₄ production in cells.

The experimental data reviewed herein is aimed at an evaluation of the circadian dynamics of neutrophil phagocytosis (basal phagocytosis, phagocytic response, and adherence) in mice and rats and attempts to establish whether the functional pinealectomy accomplished through constant light exposure affects the level and/or circadian oscillation of the parameters. In both species, basal phagocytic activity appears as a periodic function, peaking in the second half of the night (03:00-04:00). Adherence to nylon fibres displays a circadian oscillation with two maxima (10:00 and 22:00). Under constant light, the mean phagocytic activity is lowered by 40%, but its circadian amplitude increases, while the acrophase occurs earlier. Both the mean adherence level and its circadian variation are depressed, the latter to a larger extent. The amplitude and shape of the phagocytic response in non-immunised mice appears to depend on the time of the day when antigenic stimulation occurs, thus on the phase of the basal rhythm, drawing attention to the necessity for careful circadian scheduling of immunomodulatory interventions. The results suggest that rhythmic phagocytosis is part of the immune system's circadian oscillation, controlled by hypothalamic centres and susceptible to modulation under the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors, including melatonin and the light-dark cycle.