nsc-4347 and Necrosis

Piper longum L. fruits have been traditionally used against snakebites in north-eastern and southern region of India.. To examine the ability of ethanolic extract of fruits of Piper longum L., Piperaceae (PLE) and piperine, one of the main active principles of Piper longum, to inhibit the Russell's viper (Doboia russelii, Viperidae) snake venom activities.. Anti-snake venom activities of ethanolic extract of fruits of Piper longum L. (Piperaceae) and piperine against Russell's viper venom was studied in embryonated fertile chicken eggs, mice and rats by using various models as follows: inhibition of venom lethal action, inhibition of venom haemorrhagic action (in vitro), inhibition of venom haemorrhagic action (in vivo), inhibition of venom necrotizing action, inhibition of venom defibrinogenating action, inhibition of venom induced paw edema, inhibition of venom induced mast cell degranulation, creatine kinase assay and assay for catalase activity.. PLE was found to inhibit the venom induced haemorrhage in embryonated fertile chicken eggs. Administration of PLE and piperine significantly (p<0.01) inhibited venom induced lethality, haemorrhage, necrosis, defibrinogenation and inflammatory paw edema in mice in a dose dependent manner. PLE and piperine also significantly (p<0.01) reduced venom induced mast cell degranulation in rats. Venom induced decrease in catalase enzyme levels in mice kidney tissue and increase in creatine kinase enzyme levels in mice serum were significantly (p<0.01) reversed by administration of both PLE and piperine.. PLE possesses good anti-snake venom properties and piperine is one of the compounds responsible for the effective venom neutralizing ability of the plant.

Topics: Alkaloids; Animals; Antivenins; Benzodioxoles; Catalase; Cell Degranulation; Creatine Kinase; Daboia; Edema; Ethanol; Female; Fruit; Male; Mast Cells; Mice; Necrosis; Piper; Piperidines; Plant Extracts; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Solvents; Viper Venoms

Kabab chini (KC) (Piper cubeba) is an important drug in Unani Medicine, widely described to be effective in renal diseases, and physicians are using it as a protective and curative agent in various renal disorders from ancient times. The present study was designed to evaluate the nephroprotective effect of KC against gentamycin-induced nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats. This was studied in two different sets of tests, in which both the protective as well as the curative effects were evaluated in groups of albino rats. The powder of the test drug was administered orally in a dose of 810 mg/kg and 1220 mg/kg, in suspension form, in the pre- and post-treated models. The nephroprotective effect was assessed on the basis of biochemical estimation of serum urea and creatinine levels and histopathological examination of the treated kidney. The effect observed in the pre-treated and post-treated groups was compared with plain as well as negative control groups using one-way ANOVA with Dunnett's multiple pair comparison test. The findings of the two tests demonstrated that KC produced a significant nephroprotective effect in both pre-treated and post-treated groups. The results of our study indicate that KC possesses significant benefit against gentamycin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Creatinine; Fruit; Gentamicins; Kidney; Kidney Glomerulus; Kidney Tubules; Necrosis; Phytotherapy; Piper; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Urea

Piplartine {5,6-dihydro-1-[1-oxo-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-2-propenyl]-2(1H)pyridinone} is an alkaloid/amide component of Piper species. The purpose of the present study was to examine the antiproliferative effects of piplartine on human leukemia cell lines HL-60, K562, Jukart, and Molt-4 using the trypan blue exclusion method, as well as the effect of piplartine on DNA synthesis. The viability of all human leukemia cell lines were not affected by piplartine after 6 h, 9 h, and 12 h exposure, whereas a steady decline was seen after an exposure time of 24 h. The antiproliferative activity of piplartine seemed to be related to the inhibition of DNA synthesis, as revealed by the reduction of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation after 24h of incubation. Piplartine-mediated reduction in cell number was associated with an increasing number of dead cells at a concentration of 10 microg/ml. These findings were corroborated by morphologic analysis. However, at the lowest concentration (2.5 microg/ml), piplartine-treated cells exhibited typical apoptotic morphological changes. The increase in caspase-3 activity was also observed in lysates of piplartine-treated cells (2.5 microg/ml). Our findings suggest that piplartine can suppress leukemia growth and reduce cell survival, triggering both apoptosis and/or necrosis, depending on the concentration used.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Apoptosis; Caspase 3; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; DNA; DNA, Neoplasm; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme Activation; HL-60 Cells; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; K562 Cells; Leukemia; Leukemia, T-Cell; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Monocytes; Necrosis; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Piper; Piperidones; Signal Transduction