orabase and Weight-Gain

This study assessed the potential of topical Calendula officinalis extract on the healing of oral mucositis induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in hamsters.. Oral mucositis was induced in 60 male hamsters by 5-FU (60 mg/kg) on days 0, 5, and 10 of the study. The cheek pouch was scratched with a sterile needle on days 1 and 2. On days 12-17, 5% and 10% C. officinalis gel and gel base groups were treated and then compared with a control group. Macroscopic and microscopic scores and weights were evaluated.. Microscopic and macroscopic scores of mucositis were lower in the 5% and 10% C. officinalis gel groups than in the gel base and control groups (P < .05). Weight gain was noted in the treatment groups compared with the gel base and control groups (P < .05).. Calendula officinalis extract accelerated the healing of oral mucositis in hamsters.

Topics: Abscess; Animals; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Calendula; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium; Cricetinae; Drug Carriers; Erythema; Fluorouracil; Gels; Hyperemia; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Male; Mesocricetus; Mouth Diseases; Mouth Mucosa; Oral Hemorrhage; Oral Ulcer; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Re-Epithelialization; Single-Blind Method; Stomatitis; Time Factors; Weight Gain; Wound Healing

The question addressed was whether the viscosity per se of dietary non-starch polysaccharides influences macronutrient digestion in broiler chickens. Water-soluble carboxymethylcellulose preparations of low (LCMC) or high viscosity (HCMC) were fed to broiler chickens (n = 10/group) from 21 to 35 d of age. The HCMC preparations reduced weight gain and raised water intake compared with LCMC. After the HCMC diet was fed, viscosity of the supernatant of small intestinal contents was significantly raised. The HCMC preparations raised the group mean ATP concentration in the digesta of duodenum plus jejunum, indicating that bacterial activity was increased. Consumption of HCMC depressed apparent fecal digestibility of lipids and nitrogen and also apparent ileal digestibility of starch. The dietary HCMC tended (P = 0.077) to reduce plasma triglyceride concentrations. After HCMC consumption, the weights of the small intestine and colon, without or with contents, were elevated. The data indicate that high viscosity of digesta in broiler chickens is associated with a reduced macronutrient digestion and impaired growth performance. Because the carboxymethylcellulose preparations were nonfermentable by fresh feces, we suggest that HCMC reduces macronutrient digestion by raising the viscosity of small intestinal contents, which is associated with enhanced bacterial fermentation due to accumulation of undigested material.

Topics: Animals; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium; Cecum; Chickens; Colon; Digestion; Drinking; Female; Gastrointestinal Contents; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Intestine, Small; Viscosity; Weight Gain

The antifibrotic effects of an interferon inducer, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid complexed with poly-L-lysine (poly ICLC), was evaluated in a bleomycin-hamster model of pulmonary fibrosis. Hamsters received three consecutive intratracheal doses of bleomycin (2.5, 2.0, and 1.5 U/kg/5 ml) or saline at weekly intervals. Poly ICLC at three doses (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg/kg body weight) or saline was injected intraperitoneally by daily and semiweekly regimens for four weeks, and animals were sacrificed at five weeks. In both the daily and semiweekly poly ICLC regimens, hamsters receiving bleomycin plus poly ICLC demonstrated increased mortality and decreased weight gain compared to the vehicle and bleomycin control groups. The groups receiving bleomycin plus daily poly ICLC demonstrated poly ICLC-dose related effects for weight changes, lung hydroxyproline and lung prolyl hydroxylase activity. Depending on the poly ICLC dose, bleomycin plus daily poly ICLC produced significantly decreased hydroxyproline or significantly increased hydroxyproline and prolyl hydroxylase activity compared to the bleomycin control group. In contrast, the groups receiving bleomycin plus semiweekly poly ICLC did not demonstrate poly ICLC-dose related effects or significant differences from the bleomycin control group for any of the biochemical assays performed. The results of this study indicate that, depending on dose and regimen, poly ICLC can reduce collagen accumulation or produce a synergistic toxicity when administered with multiple doses of bleomycin. The toxic effects may restrict the therapeutic potential of poly ICLC in combination with bleomycin for anticancer therapy.

Topics: Animals; Bleomycin; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium; Cricetinae; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Administration Schedule; Hydroxyproline; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Interferon Inducers; Lipid Peroxidation; Lung; Male; Mesocricetus; Poly I-C; Polylysine; Procollagen-Proline Dioxygenase; Pulmonary Fibrosis; Superoxide Dismutase; Weight Gain

1. The effects of an indigestible soluble polysaccharide (carboxy methyl cellulose: CMC) on broiler performance (body weight gain, food and water intake) and on chyme characteristics (moisture content, viscosity, pH, osmolality and retention time) in broilers were studied. 2. In semi-synthetic diets 0, 5.0 and 10.0 g/kg of cellulose was replaced by CMC on weight basis. These diets were fed to male broilers from 3 to 5 weeks of age. 3. When 10.0 g/kg CMC was included in the diet, food intake and body weight gain were reduced, compared to the 0, and 5.0 g/kg CMC diets. Food:gain ratio and water intake were increased at each CMC concentration. The significant quadratic response showed an increased response per 5.0 g/kg dietary CMC at the higher CMC concentration. 4. The viscosity in the supernatant of the chyme was linearly increased in all intestinal segments by CMC. A quadratic increase was observed in the crop. In the lower ileum, differences between the 5.0 and 10.0 g/kg CMC diets were not significant. 5. CMC increased the mean retention time of chromium in the duodenum and in the upper jejunum, and reduced the maximal rate of marker excretion. The transit time (first appearance of the marker in the excreta), however, was significantly reduced at the highest CMC concentration. 6. The osmolality of the intestinal fluid decreased less as the chyme moved from the duodenum into the lower ileum, with increasing concentrations of CMC. 7. The ileal pH was reduced linearly by the CMC content of the diet. 8. Based on a higher moisture content of the chyme in the CMC-fed birds, and the higher jejunal and ileal osmolarities in those birds, it was concluded that the efficiency of both digestion and absorption was reduced by CMC inclusion in broiler diets.

Topics: Animals; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium; Chickens; Digestive System; Gastrointestinal Contents; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Male; Osmolar Concentration; Viscosity; Weight Gain