Effect of honey on bacterial translocation and intestinal morphology in obstructive jaundice

AIM:To evaluate the effects of honey on bacterial translocation and intestinal villus histopathology in experimental obstructive jaundice.METHODS:Thirty Wistar-Albino rats were randomly divided into three groups each including 10 animals:group Ⅰ,sham-operated;group Ⅱ,ligation and section of the common bile duct(BDL);group Ⅲ,bile duct ligation followed by oral supplementation of honey(BDL+honey) 10 g/kg per day.Liver,blood,spleen,mesenteric lymph nodes,and ileal samples were taken for microbiological,light and transmission electrone microscopic examination.RESULTS:Although the number of villi per centimeter and the height of the mucosa were higher in sham group,there was no statistically significant difference between sham and BDL + honey groups(P>0.05).On the other hand,there was a statistically significant difference between BDL group and other groups(P<0.05).The electron microscopic changes werealso different between these groups.Sham and honey groups had similar incidence of bacterial translocation(P>0.05).BDL group had significantly higher rates of bacterial translocation as compared with sham and honey groups.Bacterial translocation was predominantly detected in mesenteric lymph nodes.CONCLUSION:Supplementation of honey in presence of obstructive jaundice ameliorates bacterial translocation and improves ileal morphology.

Ultrastructural view of colon anastomosis under propolis effect by transmission electron microscopy

AIM： To evaluate the effect of propolis administration on the healing of colon anastomosis with light and transmission electron microscopes. METHODS： Forty-eight Wistar-AIbino female rats were divided into two groups and had colon resection and anastomosis. In group Ⅰ, rats were fed with standard rat chow pre- and postoperatively. The rats in group Ⅱ were fed with standard rat chow and began receiving oral supplementation of propolis 100 mg/kg per day beginning 7 d before the operation and continued until they were sacrificed. Rats were sacrificed 1, 3, 7 and 14 d after operation, and anastomotic bursting pressures measured. After the resection of anastomotic segments, histopathological examination was performed with light and transmission electron microscopes by two blinded histologists and photographed. RESULTS： The colonic bursting pressures of the propolis group were statistically significantly better than the control group. UItrastructural histopathological analysis of the colon anastomosis revealed that propotis accelerated the phases of the healing process and stimulated mature granulation tissue formation and collagen synthesis of fibroblasts. CONCLUSION： Bursting pressure measurements and ultra structural histopathological evaluation showed that administration of propolis accelerated the healing of colon anastomosis following surgical excision.

Effects of honey as a scolicidal agent on the hepatobiliary system

AIM： To examine the effects of 10% diluted honey, which has been shown to be scolicidal, on the liver and biliary system and determine whether it could be used as a scolicidal agent in the presence of biliary-cystic communication. METHODS： Thirty Wistar-Albino rats were divided into two groups. Honey with 10% dilution in the study group and 0.9% saline （NaCI） in the control group were injected into the common bile ducts of rats through a 3-mm duodenotomy. The animals were sacrificed 6 mo alter the procedure. Histopathological, biochemical, and radiological examinations were performed for evaluation of side effects. RESULTS： At the end of the sixth month, liver function tests were found to be normal in both groups. The tissue samples of liver and ductus choledochus of the honey group showed no histomorphologic difference from the control group. No stricture on the biliary tree was detected on the retrograde cholangiograms. CONCLUSION： According to these results, we concluded that 10% diluted honey could be used as scolicidal agent safely in the presence of biliary-cystic communication.

Propolis reduces bacterial translocation and intestinal villus atrophy in experimental obstructive jaundice

AIM： To investigate the effects of propolis on bacterial translocation and ultrastructure of intestinal morphology in experimental obstructive jaundice. METHODS： Thirty Wistar-Albino male rats were randomly divided into three groups, each including 10 animals： group Ⅰ, sham-operated; group Ⅱ, ligation and division of the common bile duct （BDL）; group Ⅲ, BDL followed by oral supplementation of propolis 100 mg/kg per day. Liver, blood, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, and ileal samples were taken for microbiological, light and transmission electron microscopic examination on postoperative 7^th d after sacrification. RESULTS： The mean number of villi per centimeter and mean mucosal height of the propolis group were significantly different in the BDL group （P = 0.001 and 0.012, respectively）. The electron microscopic changes were also different between these groups. Sham and BDL＋propolis groups had similar incidence of bacterial translocation （BT）. The BDL group had significantly higher rates of BT as compared with sham and BDL ＋ propolis groups. BT was predominantly detected in MLNs and the most commonly isolated bacteria was Escherichia coil CONCLUSION： Propolis showed a significant protective effect on ileal mucosa and reduced bacterial translocation in the experimental obstructive jaundice model. Further studies should be carried out to explain the mechanisms of these effects,

Investigation of stem cells in adult and prepubertal mouse ovaries

The possible presence of oocyte and granulosa cells originated from stem cells in the adult mammalian ovaries was claimed by some studies which will lead to major changes in reproductive biology and infertility treatments. Purpose of this research is to investigate the possible existence and the location of the potential stem cells in mouse ovaries. In this study, the ovaries from 2-week (pre-puberty) and 8-week (adult) old BALB-C mice were used. For the investigation of the presence of possible stem cells, the expression profiles of three well known stem cell markers, Oct-4, Nanog and Sox2 were determined in the ovaries of two different age groups by real time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Protein expression levels and their localization in the ovary cells were immunohistochemically evaluated on fresh-frozen ovary tissue sections by using monoclonal antibodies specific to Sox2, Nanog and Oct-4. The gene expression levels of Oct-4 and Nanog were found to be significantly differentiated between 2-week old and 8-week old mice whereas no significant difference was observed in the expression level of Sox2 between two age groups. Immunohistochemistry results showed the presence of both Sox2 and Oct-4 protein in the cytoplasm of ovarian epithelial cells, granulosa cells, oocytes and theca cells. Nanog protein was observed only in the nucleus of the oocytes and furthermore the expression of Nanog was higher in eight weeks old samples compared to two weeks old ones according to qRT-PCR results. These results suggest for the first time that Nanog protein is expressed both in adult and pre-puberty mouse ovaries and locate at the nucleus of the oocytes and to the best of our knowledge this is the first study that shows the differential expression of Oct-4, Nanog and Sox2 in pre-puberty and adult mouse ovaries by qRT-PCR. Collectively, our results may suggest that both pre-puberty and adult mice ovaries accommodate cells carrying stem cell features.