Origanum vulgare L.leaf extract alleviates finasteride-induced oxidative stress in mouse liver and kidney

Objective:To investigate the hepatorenoprotective effects of Origanum vulgare L.against finasteride-induced oxidative injury in the liver and kidney of mice.Methods:Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-ESI/MS)analysis was utilized to yield a fingerprint of Origanum vulgare polyphenolic constituents.Thirty BALB/c mice received 0.5 mL/day distilled water,finasteride(25 mg/kg/day for 10 d),and 100,200,or 400 mg/kg/day finasteride+Origanum vulgare extract with 6 mice per group for five weeks.On day 36,liver and kidney function as well as pro-and antiinflammatory(IFN-γ,IL-12,IL-6,TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-10)cytokines were measured.The total antioxidant status,nitric oxide(NO),and malondialdehyde levels as well as the activities of NO synthase and catalase were also evaluated.Histopathological study was conducted to assess the effect of Origanum vulgare extract on finasteride-induced renal and hepatic toxicities.Results:Twenty-five major polyphenolic compounds were identified in the Origanum vulgare extract by LC-ESI/MS.Origanum vulgare extract,especially at 200 and 400 mg/kg/day doses,significantly improved liver and kidney biochemical indices,decreased inflammatory cytokines,increased total antioxidant status and NO synthase and catalase activities,as well as decreased plasma NO and malondialdehyde levels in a dose-dependent manner as compared to the finasteride group.Histopathological results further confirmed the protective effect of Origanum vulgare extract.Conclusions:Origanum vulgare extract ameliorates finasterideinduced hepatic and renal biochemical and histopathological alterations,and restores antioxidant/oxidant balance.

Influence of Abiotic Elicitors on Accumulation of Thymol in Callus Cultures of Origanum vulgare L.

Callus cultures of Origanum vulgare L. were established from leaf discus on Murashige and Skoog （MS） medium containing different levels of growth regulators, i.e., 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid （2,4-D）, Naphthalene acetic acid （NAA）, Benzyl Adenine （BA） and Kinetin （Kn） and incubated under dark condition. Callus tissues were employed to study the influence of abiotic elicitors on the production of thymol. Constant weights of callus （300 mg） were cultured on accumulation medium treated separately with each one of elicitors used （50 g/L sucrose, 200 mg/L NaC1 and 50 or 100 mg/L proline）. The fresh and dry weights of callus were recorded after six weeks. The result indicated that maximum production of fresh and dry callus weight were 1,014 mg and 46.20 mg respectively achieved at 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D and 3 mg/L BA adding to the medium. Dry callus tissues were extracted with 70% methanol and analyzed by HPLC to determine the concentrations of thymol. The addition of abiotic elicitors to MS medium caused significant reduction in fresh weight of callus compared with control treatment. The concentration of thymol in the callus cultured on control treatment was 146.6 ppm. The data showed that 50 or 100 mg/L proline produced the highest yield of thymol 181.48 ppm and 174.58 ppm respectively, followed by sucrose 162.9 ppm, whereas the treatment with NaCI caused reduction in thymol concentration to percentage of 50.56% compared with the control.

The Use of Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism and Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization to Investigate Microbiota of Piglets after Feeding Oregano

A total of 80 piglets (7.9 ± 1.0 kg) were used in a feeding experiment with dried oregano. The diets differed in their oregano content: 0 g, 2 g, 4 g and 8 g oregano/kg feed, corresponding to 0, 23.5, 46.9 and 93.9 mg carvacrol/kg DM. After the experimental period of 5 weeks, 20 piglets of both extreme feeding groups were slaughtered: 10 animals of the control group and 10 animals of the group that received 8 g oregano/kg. Ingesta samples of jejunum, caecum and colon were collected and analyzed by FISH and PCR RFLP to compare the diversity of microbiota. The results showed no significant changes in microbiota in response to oregano. The patterns of the PCR-RFLP showed a similarity of 61.8% - 91.8% in both feeding groups. In conclusion, an effect of oregano on the in- testinal microbiota could not be shown under the methods used.