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The aim of this work was to synthesize a diethyl phenylcarbamothioyl phosphonate (EThmP) and evaluate its biological activities. ThmP has been prepared with high yields and its conformation was determined. This phosphonothioamidate derivative was characterized by IR, and NMR Spectroscopy (1H, 13C, and 31P). On the component of EThmP, the Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the major contributions for the crystal packing are H···H (53.3%), H···O (12.9%) H···S (14.5%), and C···H (17.6%) interactions. An anti-nociceptive test (the formaline test) showed that the EThmP modulates the pain during the early and late phases proved by rat behavior characterized by absence of licking, biting and shaking of the affected paw. The modulation of pain by the EThmP may be due to its anti-inflammatory effect. The Hot Plate test showed that the pretreatment with the EThmP did not modulate the pain nociception induced by maintaining the rat at a fixed temperature of 48°C. The treated rats’ behavior was characterized by elevating, licking the paw, jumping and fleeing. EThmP did not affect the memory capacity and acetylcholinesterase activity. The morbidity of rats was normal with no mortality or sign of toxicity. The in vitro study showed that the EThmP has no antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities. The EThmP has an important dose dependent anti-inflammatory activity.

The current study was aimed to evaluate the protective and curative effect of aqueous extract of edible desert truffle specie (Terfezia boudieri) against rat’s liver and kidney injuries induced by ...

Hypericum genus is traditionally known for its medicinal use and its therapeutic and antioxidant effects. However, the toxic effect of this plant has not been much explored. Our study aimed at investigating the effect of Hypericum humifusum (Hh) leaf extracts on oxidative stress parameters in male rats. For it, we first focused on the phytochemical analysis of the aqueous and methanolic extracts of Hh leaves. Hence, Wistar rats were treated per gavage for 30 days and divided into Control (1 mL/rat, distilled water), A200 group (200 mg/kg body weight (bw) aqueous extract), A400 group (400 mg/kg bw aqueous extract), M10 group (10 mg/kg bw methanolic extract), M20 group (20 mg/kg bw methanolic extract). The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, steroids, carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds. Biochemical and histological investigations were performed in plasma and liver tissue. Liver tissue homogenates were used for the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. At the same time, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were assayed in plasma samples. Histological study was also conducted in liver. We showed that Hh extracts reduced relative liver weight and increased ALT, AST, LDH activities in treated groups compared to control group. These results were associated with an increase of MDA levels and a decrease of antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT and SOD) in liver tissues of treated rats. Histology of liver demonstrated several alterations showing necrosis, altered hepatocytes and lymphocyte migration mainly in A200 group and dilated sinusoids, foamy appearance of hepatocytes and lymphocyte accumulation in the other treated groups. This original work indicated that chronic consumption of Hh leaf extracts has no antioxidant effect but instead it induces oxidative stress and enhances markers of cell damage which was confirmed by histological study of liver rats.

Doxorubicin (DOX) exhibits a wide-ranging spectrum of antitumor activities which maintain its clinical use despite its devastating impact on highly proliferating cells. The present work was designed to develop a new approach which aims to protect male germ cells from DOX cytotoxicity. Thus, an assessment of the protective potential of a new thioamide analog (thiocyanoacetamide; TA) compared to selenium (Se) was performed in rat sperms exposed to DOX in vitro. Oxygen consumption rate (OCR) was measured after exposure to three different doses (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 μM) of DOX, Se or TA, and the suitable concentrations were selected for further studies afterwards. Motility, OCR in a time-dependent manner, glucose extracellular concentration and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were measured. Fatty acid (FA) content was assessed by gas chromatography (GC-FID). Cell death, superoxide anion (O2 −), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and DNA damage were evaluated by flow cytometry. TA association with DOX increased OCR and glucose uptake, improved cell survival and decreased DNA damage. The co-administration of DOX with Se increased OCR, significantly prevented O2 − overproduction, and decreased LPO. Collected data brought new insights regarding this transformed TA, which showed better efficiency than Se in reducing DOX cytotoxic stress in sperms.

Recently, there has been increasing interest in Hypericum ( Hypericaceae ) genus. The first part of the present study focused on the phytochemical analysis of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of Hypericum humifusum leaves. The second part of the study investigated the effect of Hypericum humifusum leaf extracts on male reproductive parameters. 30 male rats were grouped into control (1 mL/rat, distilled water), treated by 200 mg/kg body weight (bw) aqueous extract (A200), 400 mg/kg bw aqueous extract (A400), 10 mg/kg bw methanolic extract (M10) and 20 mg/kg bw methanolic extract (M20) groups. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, steroids, carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds. After thirty-day treatment, body and reproductive organs were weighed. Testes in all rat groups were processed for biochemical assays and histopathological examinations. Epididymis sperm analyses were also performed. Testicular tissue homogenate samples were used for Malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) measurements. We showed that Hh extracts induced a severe seminiferous tubular damage with an increase in the percentage of empty seminiferous tubules. Epididymis sperm analysis revealed a significant reduction in density and viability of sperm with alteration of spermatozoa morphology. Also, we found that Hh leaf extracts decreased plasma total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides levels. These results were associated with an increase of MDA levels and a decrease of catalase and SOD activities in testis tissues. Our finding revealed that chronic consumption of Hh extracts induces disruption of normal spermatogenesis by alteration of sperm density, viability, and morphology. This action may be due to an inhibition of the antioxidant-defense system.

Despite its deleterious effect on healthy cells and highly regenerating cells such as spermatozoa, Doxorubicin (DOX) is still one of the most used anticancer drugs in the last decades. The present work aimed to investigate the ability of the selenium (Se) and the thiocyanoacetamide (T) to reduce DOX toxicity in gonad. Adult male rats were treated with DOX intravenously (i.v.) at 3.7mg/kg/week associated with Se intragastrically (i.g.) at 0.2mg/kg/day or with T at 10mg/kg/day i.g. After 47days of treatment, sperm quality, biochemical parameters, blood cell count and histological changes in liver, testis and epididymis were assessed. The results showed a poor sperm quality, a perturbation of ionic stability and a significant alteration of lipid metabolism and hematological parameters after the sub-chronic administration of DOX. In testis, DOX exerted serious epithelium damage and numerous seminiferous tubules did not present a normal spermatogenesis. In epididymis, epithelium was altered and mastocytes infiltrated the interstitium. DOX did not exert any significant change in liver except dilatations of sinusoid capillaries. DOX association with Se or T reduced its toxicity on some hematological and biochemical parameters. Both combined treatment improved sperm quality and partially restored spermatogenesis as well as testis and epididymis' normal aspect. These findings brought new sights regarding the effect of Se and a new derivative of T in a combined treatment with DOX on germ cells, gonad and liver. The support of these relevant outcomes with further in vitro studies is necessary to highlight the accurate process involved in Se or T protection against DOX induced damages.

Summary Aims The objective of this study was to compare the protein expression profile between well-differentiated (papillary) and undifferentiated (anaplastic) thyroid carcinoma in Tunisian patients. Methods This first Tunisian retrospective study concerned data of 38 thyroid cancer cases (19 papillary carcinoma PTC and 19 anaplastic carcinoma ATC) collected at Salah Azaiez Institute of Tunisia. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate tumor expression of different molecular markers (p53, Ki67, E-cadherin, cyclin D1, bcl2, S100 and Her-2). The molecular expression was correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics of the tumors. Results There were 6 differentially expressed markers when comparing anaplastic thyroid carcinoma ATC with papillary thyroid carcinoma PTC. Expression of p53 and Ki67 were significantly increased in 16 and 18 ATC cases respectively, the Ki67 expression was lost in PTC. Cyclin D1, E-cadherin, bcl2 and S100 were overexpressed in PTC tumors; however, they were significantly decreased in ATC. The last marker, Her-2 was expressed in one case of PTC only. Conclusion Our results, similar with findings of other ethnic groups, showed alteration in expression of molecular markers associated with tumor dedifferentiation, indicating loss of cell cycle control with increased proliferative activity in ATC carcinoma. These data support the hypothesis that ATC may derive from dedifferentiation of preexisting PTC tumor.