-
Brazilian Journal of Biology = Revista... 2023Consumption of wild mushrooms has increased in recent years; however, not all of them are edible and there is no precise information on those that may cause poisoning....
Consumption of wild mushrooms has increased in recent years; however, not all of them are edible and there is no precise information on those that may cause poisoning. Therefore, studies to obtain data about their toxicity are needed. For this purpose, we used the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana, a crustacean employed in toxicity tests and with wide application in the toxin detection, including mycotoxins. Mushrooms were collected in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, with which aqueous extracts were prepared. Dilutions of the stock solution of each extract were made to final concentrations of 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 µg/mL. Potassium dichromate (PD) was used as positive control and artificial seawater as negative control. The median lethal dose (LD50) of extracts on nauplii of A. franciscana was calculated. The aqueous extracts obtained from Amanita amerivirosa, A. muscaria, Chlorophyllum molybdites, and Leucopaxillus amarus showed a LD50 < 70 µg/mL, similar to PD (LD50 = 37 µg/mL). This is the first indication of the probable toxicity of Leucopaxillus amarus in humans. Cantharellus cibarius and Scleroderma texense caused the lower toxicity to the nauplii. The brine shrimp bioassay was effective in evaluating the toxicity of Basidiomycota. Scleroderma texense has been reported to be toxic, but it was not for this crustacean nauplii, and probably not to humans either, as recent literature has reported.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Artemia; Agaricales; Basidiomycota
PubMed: 38126634
DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.275156 -
Reproductive Toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) Apr 2022Environmental contamination with hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), has been increasing in the United States as well as in developing countries. Exposure to Cr(VI) predisposes...
Environmental contamination with hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), has been increasing in the United States as well as in developing countries. Exposure to Cr(VI) predisposes the human population to various diseases, including cancer, infertility, and developmental problems in children. Previous findings from our laboratory reported that prenatal exposure to Cr(VI) caused premature ovarian failure through p53-mediated mechanisms. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is an NAD+ -dependent histone deacetylase class III. SIRT1 deacetylates several histones and non-histone proteins such as p53 and NFkB. The current study determines a role for the SIRT1-p53 network in apoptosis induced by Cr(VI) in the ovary and establishes physical interaction between SIRT1 and p53. Adult pregnant dams were given regular drinking water or Cr(VI) (10 ppm potassium dichromate in drinking water, ad libitum), and treated with SIRT1 inhibitor, EX-527 (50 mg/kg body weight, i.p.,), during 9.5 - 14.5 days post-coitum. On postnatal day-1, ovaries from F1 offspring were collected for various analyses. Results indicated that Cr(VI) increased germ cell and somatic cell apoptosis, upregulated acetyl-p53, activated the apoptotic pathway, and inhibited cell survival pathways. Cr(VI) decreased acetyl-p53-SIRT1 co-localization in the ovary. In an immortalized rat granulosa cell line SIGC, Cr(VI) inhibited the physical interaction between SIRT1 and acetyl-p53 by altering the p53:SIRT1 ratio. EX-527 exacerbated Cr(VI)-induced mechanisms. The current study shows a novel mechanism for Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis in the ovary, mediated through the p53-SIRT1 network, suggesting that targeting the p53 pathway may be an ideal approach to rescue ovaries from Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis.
Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Chromium; Female; Ovary; Pregnancy; Rats; Sirtuin 1; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
PubMed: 35307491
DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2022.03.007 -
Journal of Analytical Methods in... 2022This work utilized the simplicity of a so-called membraneless vaporization (MBL-VP) unit as a gas separator for the colorimetric determination of ethanol in alcoholic...
This work utilized the simplicity of a so-called membraneless vaporization (MBL-VP) unit as a gas separator for the colorimetric determination of ethanol in alcoholic beverages. A beverage sample with a volume of 1 mL was directly injected into a small container which was hung from a lid inside a closed 40 mL reused glass bottle without pretreatment such as distillation. An acidified potassium dichromate (CrO ) acceptor solution, preadded to the glass bottle, was reduced to Chromium (III) ion by the diffusion of vaporized ethanol from the sample. After 5 min, the absorbing solution was collected for colorimetric detection at 590 nm. The unit manually quantifies ethanol in the range 1.0-90% (v/v) with satisfactory interday precision but without matrix effect (recovery 89-109%). The method was validated with the conventional distillation/pycnometer method which showed no significant difference of ethanol contents between those two methods and the declared values of 12 alcoholic beverages, indicating sufficient accuracy. Analyses of alcoholic beverages using this method were successful with benefits of simplicity, cheapness, and less energy consumption.
PubMed: 35402059
DOI: 10.1155/2022/7346253 -
Indian Journal of Dermatology 2022Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a type IV hypersensitivity reaction, and The European Standard Series (ESS) Patch Test (PT) is widely used in determining the...
BACKGROUND
Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a type IV hypersensitivity reaction, and The European Standard Series (ESS) Patch Test (PT) is widely used in determining the possible responsible allergens causing ACD. The dynamic nature of the industrial products, socioeconomic and environmental factors cause the frequency of common allergens to change over the years and among different regions.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the results of ESS PT of our centre in the last decade, and determine the current spectrum of allergens and their clinical relevance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The data of patients who underwent ESS PT in our clinic between January 2010 and March 2020 were included in the study. The patient files were examined retrospectively. The clinical relevance was evaluated according to the COADEX system. Statistical analysis used: SPSS for Windows version 23.0 software program.
RESULTS
The data of 1037 patients [623 (60.1%) female, 414 (39.9%) male] were analysed. The mean age was 38.34 ± 14.55 years. The five most common allergens were nickel sulphate (23.1%), cobalt chloride (12%), potassium dichromate (9.5%), Fragrance mix II (7.3%) and balsam of Peru (5.7%). According to the COADEX coding system, current relevance was detected in 319 (49.3%) of 646 patients who had a positive reaction to any substance in the patch test.
CONCLUSION
Our study showed that with increasing awareness in society, the tendency to avoid some well-known allergenic substances and consumer products causes changes in common allergens. These results prove the value of long-term surveillance of contact allergy.
PubMed: 36386088
DOI: 10.4103/ijd.ijd_965_21 -
Molecular Medicine Reports Feb 2020Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], is a well‑known toxic form of the heavy metal chromium in the natural environment. Clinical evidence has indicated that exposure to...
Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], is a well‑known toxic form of the heavy metal chromium in the natural environment. Clinical evidence has indicated that exposure to Cr(VI) can cause severe renal damage. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to intracellular reduction of Cr(VI) is the main mechanism underlying the induction of cellular dysfunction and apoptosis. The present study aimed to investigate in detail the apoptotic pathways induced by Cr(VI)‑exposure in a human immortalized proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK‑2, in order to understand the mechanism involved therein. Exposure to 10 µM potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7), a toxic compound of Cr(VI), significantly decreased cell viability after 24 and 48 h of incubation and induced intracellular ROS generation. The expression levels of markers that activate the apoptotic pathway including cleaved caspase‑3 and poly (ADP‑ribose) polymerase were significantly upregulated in K2Cr2O7‑exposed HK‑2 cells. In addition, the induction of intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic markers was detected in K2Cr2O7‑exposed HK‑2 cells. In summary, the present study described for the first time the novel apoptotic mechanism of Cr(VI)‑toxicity in human renal cells which may be beneficial in designing optimal clinical treatment for renal damage caused by acute Cr(VI) toxicity.
Topics: Adult; Apoptosis; Caspases; Cell Line; Cell Shape; Cell Survival; Chromium; Humans; Intracellular Space; Kidney; Models, Biological; Reactive Oxygen Species
PubMed: 31974625
DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2019.10885 -
Frontiers in Bioengineering and... 2023Bioethanol is believed to be an influential revolutionary gift of biotechnology, owing to its elevating global demand and massive production. Pakistan is home to a rich...
Bioethanol is believed to be an influential revolutionary gift of biotechnology, owing to its elevating global demand and massive production. Pakistan is home to a rich diversity of halophytic flora, convertible into bounteous volumes of bioethanol. On the other hand, the accessibility to the cellulosic part of biomass is a major bottleneck in the successful application of biorefinery processes. The most common pre-treatment procedures existent include physicochemical and chemical approaches, which are not environmentally benign. To overcome these problems, biological pre-treatment has gained importance but the drawback is the low yield of the extracted monosaccharides. The current research was aimed at exploring the best pre-treatment method for the bioconversion of halophyte into saccharides using three thermostable cellulases. was subjected to acid, alkali and microwave pre-treatments, followed by compositional analysis of the pre-treated substrates. Maximum delignification i.e. 56.6% was observed in the substrate pre-treated using 3% HCl. Enzymatic saccharification using thermostable cellulases also validated the results where the highest saccharification yield i.e. 39.5% was observed for the sample pre-treated using same. Maximum enzymatic hydrolysis of 52.7% was obtained for 0.40 g of the pre-treated halophyte where Endo-1,4- -glucanase (300U), Exo-1,4- -glucanase (400U) and -1,4-glucosidase (1000U) were simultaneously added and incubated for 6 h at 75°C. The reducing sugar slurry obtained after optimization of saccharification was utilized as glucose in submerged fermentation for bioethanol production. The fermentation medium was inoculated with incubated at 30°C and 180 rpm for 96 h. Ethanol production was estimated using potassium dichromate method. Maximum production of bioethanol i.e. 16.33% was noted at 72 h. It can be concluded from the study that owing to its high cellulosic content after pre-treatment using dilute acid method, yields substantial amount of reducing sugars and high saccharification rates when subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis using thermostable cellulases, under optimized reaction conditions. Hence, the halophyte is a beneficial substrate that can be utilized to extract fermentable saccharides for bioethanol production.
PubMed: 36896009
DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1135424 -
Contact Dermatitis Sep 2022Contact allergy and atopic dermatitis (AD) are both common inflammatory T cell-mediated diseases and many factors may influence the prevalence of contact allergy in AD...
BACKGROUND
Contact allergy and atopic dermatitis (AD) are both common inflammatory T cell-mediated diseases and many factors may influence the prevalence of contact allergy in AD patients. In children, their possible correlation was debated with conflicting results.
OBJECTIVES
The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of contact sensitivity in children and to investigate the association with AD.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective multicentre study on children aged from 0 to 14 years patch tested between January 2017 and December 2018 was performed. Children were consecutively patch tested with the SIDAPA (Società Italiana Dermatologia Allergologica Professionale Ambientale) baseline series.
RESULTS
Among the 432 children investigated for contact allergy, 125 (28.9%) showed a positive reaction to at least one of the allergens tested, with a higher prevalence of positive patch test reactions in girls (32.3%) than in boys (25.0%). The most frequent contact allergens were nickel sulphate (10.2%), cobalt chloride (6.7%), methylisothiazolinone (3.7%), fragrance mix-2 (3.2%), potassium dichromate (2.8%), fragrance mix-1 (2.1%) and methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (2.1%). One-hundred-three children (23.8%) suffered from AD showing a higher prevalence of positive patch test (36.9%) compared to children without AD (26.4%).
CONCLUSIONS
Despite the topic being still controversial, the present study suggests a consistent prevalence of contact allergy among children with higher sensitivity rate among children with AD than without AD.
Topics: Allergens; Child; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact; Dermatitis, Atopic; Female; Humans; Male; Patch Tests; Potassium Dichromate; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 35451136
DOI: 10.1111/cod.14130 -
Annals of Dermatology Aug 2023There has been debate regarding whether patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have an altered frequency of contact allergen sensitization. Increased exposure to topical...
BACKGROUND
There has been debate regarding whether patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have an altered frequency of contact allergen sensitization. Increased exposure to topical medications and moisturizers as well as impaired skin barrier function increase the risk of contact sensitization, whereas the Th2-skewed inflammatory pathway of AD is associated with a reduced risk.
OBJECTIVE
This retrospective study was performed to determine the characteristics of contact sensitization in allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) patients with a current or past history of AD.
METHODS
A clinical record review was conducted for patients referred to Ewha Womans University Medical Center, for patch tests between March 2017 and March 2021. We compared the rates of contact sensitization between ACD patients with and without AD.
RESULTS
In total, 515 patch test results were reviewed and divided into the AD group (n=53) and non-AD group (n=462). The AD group showed decreased any-allergen positivity (1+, 2+, or 3+) (56.6%) compared to the non-AD group (72.9%) (=0.013). The positivity rate for budesonide was significantly higher in the AD group (=0.011), while the prevalence of a positive result for balsam of Peru was higher in the non-AD group (=0.036). Nickel sulfate, cobalt chloride, and potassium dichromate were the most common sensitized allergens in both groups.
CONCLUSION
Our study shows a decreased prevalence of contact sensitization in AD patients compared to non-AD patients. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of corticosteroid allergies in ACD patients with history of AD.
PubMed: 37550231
DOI: 10.5021/ad.23.001 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... May 2020Several studies have investigated the effects of nano- and microplastics on daphnids as key freshwater species. However, while information is abundant on the acute...
Several studies have investigated the effects of nano- and microplastics on daphnids as key freshwater species. However, while information is abundant on the acute toxicity of plastic beads, little is known regarding the multigenerational effects of irregular microplastics. In addition, a comparison of microplastics to naturally occurring particles is missing. Therefore, we investigated the effects of irregular, secondary polystyrene microplastics (<63 μm) and kaolin as natural reference particle on the survival, reproduction, and growth of Daphnia magna over four generations under food-limited conditions. Additionally, we tested the sensitivity of the neonates in each generation to a reference compound as a proxy for offspring fitness. Exposure to high concentrations of microplastics (10,000 and 2000 particles mL) reduced daphnid survival, resulting in extinction within one and four generations, respectively. Microplastics also affected reproduction and growth. Importantly, an exposure to kaolin at similar concentrations did not induce negative effects. The sensitivity of neonates to potassium dichromate was not affected by maternal exposure to particles. Taken together, our study demonstrates that irregular PS particles are more toxic than natural kaolin in daphnids exposed over multiple generations under food limitation. Thus, our work builds towards more realistic exposure scenarios needed to better understand the impacts of microplastics on zooplankton.
Topics: Animals; Daphnia; Female; Fresh Water; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Microplastics; Plastics; Reproduction; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 32369893
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113904 -
Metabolites Jun 2023Plants belonging to the genus have been extensively utilized ethnopharmacologically to treat a variety of diseases, including kidney disorders. Chromium is a common...
Protective Action Mechanisms of Extract and Its Nano-Formulation against Nephrotoxicity in Rats as Revealed via Biochemical, Histopathological, and UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS Analyses.
Plants belonging to the genus have been extensively utilized ethnopharmacologically to treat a variety of diseases, including kidney disorders. Chromium is a common industrial pollutant that has been linked to kidney disease. The present work was designed for the investigation of the UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS metabolite profile of the ethanolic extract (LME), along with assessing the mechanistic protective actions of LME and its nano-silver formulation (LMNS) against KCrO-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. LMNE was successfully biosynthesized and confirmed using UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nephroprotective effects of LME and LMNE was assessed in rats exposed to potassium dichromate (KCrO, 15 mg/kg BW) to cause nephrotoxicity. LME and LMNS, separately, were administered twice daily for 14 days at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg BW, respectively. The kidney function, catalase, UGT, Nrf2, PGE2, Cox-2, ERK, and MAPK levels in renal tissue were all assessed, along with histopathological examinations for exploring their ameliorative effects. Forty-five bioactive metabolites were annotated belonging to flavonoids, phenolic and organic acids, coumarins, and fatty acids. Metabolite profiling revealed that chlorogenic acid, apigenin, and luteolin glycosides were the main phenolics, with chlorogenic acid--hexoside reported for the first time in LME. The findings revealed that the serum kidney function indicators (urea and creatinine) were markedly elevated in KCrO-intoxicated rats. Furthermore, inflammatory indicators (COX-2 and PGE2), MAPK, and ERK were all markedly elevated in kidney tissue, whereas catalase, UGT, and Nrf2 levels were downregulated. Histological and immunohistochemical assays confirmed the toxic effects of KCrO in the kidneys. In contrast, the administration of LME and LMNS prior to KCrO considerably improved the architecture of the renal tissue, while also restoring levels of most biochemical markers. Functioning via the inhibition of the MAPK/ERK pathway, activating Nrf2, and modifying the antioxidant and metabolic enzymes, LME and LMNS exerted their nephroprotective effects against KCrO-induced toxicity.
PubMed: 37512493
DOI: 10.3390/metabo13070786