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Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among women, and a leading cause of death worldwide. Santolina chamaecyparissus L. is a plant with multiple health benefits, including anticancer and anti-diabetic properties. This study aimed to assess the chemopreventive effects of S. chamaecyparissus aqueous extract (SCE) in an animal model of mammary cancer. A total of 28 four-week-old female Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control, MNU-induced (IND), SCE-supplemented (SCE), and SCE+IND. SCE was added to drinking water (12.72 mg/kg body weight) ad libitum. MNU was administered via the intraperitoneal route at 50 days of age. Weekly monitoring of body weight, food/drink intake, humane endpoints, and number of mammary tumours were recorded. Twenty weeks after MNU administration, animals were sacrificed by anaesthetic overdose and a necropsy was performed. Blood samples were used to determine blood count and serum biochemistry analysis, while kidney and liver samples were analysed for oxidative stress. Tumour samples were collected for gene expression and histology studies. SCE chemical composition was analysed by LC-MS and contained 19 phenolic compounds, with the most abundant being myricetin-O-glucuronide and 1,3-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid. Two animals in the IND group were sacrificed due to exceeding the humane endpoint limits. SCE supplementation delayed mammary tumour development, reducing its volume and weight. SCE had a positive impact on haematological parameters, particularly the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (P=0.026). No significant differences were observed in serum biochemistry, except for creatinine kinase MB, or in oxidative stress markers. Gene expression analysis showed significantly reduced VEGF expression levels (P=0.0158) in tumours from SCE+IND. These findings suggest that SCE is deserving of further study to identify the individual compounds and to understand its influence on animal models during cancer development., Rak dojke najčešće je dijagnosticiran rak u žena i vodeći uzrok smrti na svijetu. Santolina chamaecyparissus L. je biljka s višestrukim blagotvornim učincima za zdravlje, uključujući antitumorska i antidijabetička svojstva. Cilj je ove studije bio procijeniti kemopreventivne učinke vodenog ekstrakta S. chamaecyparissus (SCE) na životinjama obeljelim od raka mliječnih žlijezda. Dvadeset i osam četiri ženki starih tjedna wistar štakora podijeljeno je u četiri skupine: kontrolnu, MNU-inducirano (IND), s dodatkom SCE (SCE) i SCE+IND. Skupini SCE je dodan vodi za piće (12,72 mg/kg tjelesne mase) ad libitum; MNU je primijenjen intraperitonealnim putem u 50. danu života. Tjedno je bilježeno praćenje tjelesne mase, unosa hrane/tekućine, humano usmrćivanje i broj tumora mliječnih žlijezda. Dvadeset tjedana nakon primjene MNU, životinje su žrtvovane predoziranjem anestetikom i obavljena je razudba. Uzorci krvi su rabljeni za određivanje krvne slike i analizu biokemije seruma, dok su uzeti uzorci bubrega i pluća rabljeni za analize oksidativnog stresa. Uzorci tumora su prikupljeni za studije ekspresije gena i histološke studije. Analiziran je kemijski sastav skupine SCE pomoću LC-MS i otkriveno je da sadrži 19 fenolnih spojeva od kojih su najobilniji bili miricetin-O-glukuronid i 1,3-O-dikafeoilkina kiselina. Dvije životinje iz IND skupini žrtvovane su zbog prekoračenja ograničenja za humano usmrćivanje. Skupini SCE dodatak je odgodio razvoj tumora mliječnih žlijezda, smanjujući njegov volumen i masu. Skupina SCE je imala pozitivni učinak na hematološke parametre, posebice na omjer neutrofila i limfocita (P=0,026). Nikakve značajne razlike nisu otkrivene u biokemiji seruma, osim kreatinin kinaze MB, niti u markerima oksidativnog stresa. Analiza ekspresije gena pokazala je značajno smanjene razina ekspresije VEGF (P=0,0158) u tumora iz skupine SCE+IND. Ovi nalazi ukazuju da bi skupinu SCE trebalo dodatno ispitati da bi se identificirali pojedinačni spojevi i razumio njegov utjecaj na životinjama oboljelih od raka mliječnih žlijezda.

Tila platyphyllos Scop. is a popular broad-leave tree, native to central and southern Europe info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Castanea sativa Mill. flowers (CF) are reported by ancestral claims as having health benefits like mucolytic, antispasmodic and anti-dysenteric properties and, in vitro studies showed anticancer properties against breast, colon, cervical and hepatocellular carcinomas [1]. The aim of this work was to study the effect of chestnut flowers (CF) extract on rat’s physiological parameters. Fifteen male Wistar Unilever rats were randomly divided into two groups: untreated control, n=10, and CF group, n=5. Animals from CF group were exposed to the chestnut flowers extract in drinking water (20 mg/animal/day) for 49 weeks. Body weight, food and drink consumption were measured weekly. At necropsy, all organs were collected, weighed and liver and kidney were processed for histological analysis. Animals from CF group showed a mean final body weight and a food consumption higher than untreated animals (p>0.05). Animals from CF group showed lower consumption of water (p=0.000). Relative mean liver weight from animals treated with CF was higher than untreated animals (p=0.026) and presented more liver degeneration. However, liver inflammatory infiltrate was reduced (p=0.026) in animals exposed to CF extract. There were no significant differences in relative mean kidney weight among groups. Untreated animals developed 50% of discrete proteinuria and CF treated animals developed 20%. Serum levels of albumin, total protein, glucose and alanine aminotransferase did not show significant differences between experimental groups. These results suggest that chestnut flowers extract was well tolerated by the animals, did not cause hepatic and kidney toxicity and had no effect on biochemical profile. Further studies are necessary to evaluate in vivo, the effect of different CF doses and evaluate the respective potential use. This work was supported by European Investment Funds by FEDER/ COMPETE/POCI - Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme, under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER006958 and National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2013, UID/AGR/00690/2013, UID/AGR/0433/2019, UID/AGR/00690/2019, PTDC/DES/114122/2009 and the project PTDC/DTP-DES/6077/2014 and post-graduation grant SFRH/BD/136747/2018. Funding: Interreg Program for the financial support of the Project IBERPHENOL, Project Number 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_E, co-financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through POCTEP 2014-2020.” info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

O Papiloma Vírus Humano (HPV) é responsável pelo desenvolvimento do carcinoma do colo do útero, estando ainda associado a outros carcinomas. Para compreender melhor os mecanismos associados às infeções causadas por este vírus e estudar novas terapias foi desenvolvido um modelo transgénico de murganho: K14HPV16. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da administração oral do extrato hidroetanólico (80:20, v/v) de tília (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) em murganhos machos e fêmeas K14HPV16 e wild type. Utilizaram-se 43 animais divididos em grupos de machos e fêmeas. Cada um destes grupos foi ainda dividido em dois grupos de animais K14HPV16 com e sem exposição oral à tília (4,5 mg/animal, calculado com base em trabalhos prévios feitos in vitro) e dois grupos de animais wild type com e sem tratamento. O extrato hidroetanólico foi caracterizado por HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS quanto ao perfil em compostos fenólicos e a sua estabilidade foi estudada ao longo de 5 dias consecutivos. (-)-Epicatequina, quercetina-3-O-glucósido e ácido protocatéquico, foram os compostos fenólicos maioritários identificados no extrato, estáveis durante 5 dias. Durante o ensaio experimental, com duração de 33 dias, foi registado o consumo de água, e as massas corporais individuais e consumo de comida. No final do ensaio todos os animais foram sacrificados, tendo sido recolhido sangue, para estudo bioquímico e danos oxidativos pelo ensaio dos cometas. Observou-se que o extrato de tília não provocou alterações no aspeto dos animais nem na média da massa corporal. O consumo médio de alimento foi idêntico entre grupos, os murganhos K14HPV16 consumiram mais água. Os parâmetros bioquímicos avaliados (creatinina, ureia, alanina aminotransferase e aspartato aminotransferase) não apresentaram diferenças entre grupos. Através do ensaio dos cometas não foram registados danos oxidativos entre grupos. No geral, conclui-se que a concentração de tília utilizada não apresentou efeitos adversos neste modelo animal. Os autores agradecem a Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) e ao FEDER no ambito do programa PT2020 pelo apoio financeiro ao CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) e ao programa FEDER-Interreg Espafia-Portugal pelo apoio financeiro atrav6s do projeto 0377 lberphenoi_6_E. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion