Genotoxicity and maternal-fetal safety of the dried extract of leaves of Azadirachta indica A. Juss (Meliaceae) in Wistar rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Azadirachta indica A. Juss (Meliaceae), popularly known as "neem", is used for the treatment of rheumatism, cancer, ulcers, diabetes, respiratory problems, among others. This species is present on six continents and contains more than 400 bioactive compounds.

Cytotoxicity and maternal toxicity attributed to exposure to L. (Cucurbitaceae) dry leaf extract.

L. (Cucurbitaceae), popularly known as "bitter melon" or "bitter gourd," is a climbing plant well-adapted to tropical countries. This plant is used traditionally to treat several conditions including diabetes mellitus, inflammation, liver dysfunctions, and cancer.

Phytochemical Composition and Protective Effect of Leaf against In Vivo Doxorubicin-Mediated Toxicity.

(Spreng.) A.J.

Effects of N-acetylcysteine treatment on ethanol's rewarding properties and dopaminergic alterations in mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal pathways.

Recent reports have shown that N-acetylcysteine (N-AC) has beneficial effects in the treatment of cocaine and nicotine abuse. Considering the similar neurobiologic mechanisms involved in the development of addiction to different drugs, N-AC treatment could be useful in the treatment of ethanol abuse. The rewarding properties of the drugs of abuse plays an important role in the development of addiction and can be studied using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm.

Assessing the safety of using the dry extract of Justicia pectoralis Jacq. (Acanthaceae) during pregnancy of Wistar rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Justicia pectoralis Jacq. (Acanthaceae), popularly known as tilo, chambá and anador, is widely used in folk medicine in Latin American countries as a sedative, anti-anxiety, reducing menopause symptoms and in the treatment of pathologies of the respiratory tract. Although J.

Susceptibility to extinction and reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference is related to differences in astrocyte cystine-glutamate antiporter content.

Individual susceptibility to alcohol effects plays an important role in the development of alcohol addiction and studies have shown that glutamate release is altered after chronic ethanol consumption. The cystine-glutamate antiporter (xCT) is a protein that regulates glutamate release. However, little is known about the relationship between xCT levels and this individual susceptibility.

Short and prolonged maternal separation impacts on ethanol-related behaviors in rats: sex and age differences.

Maternal separation (MS) is an animal model widely used to evaluate the influence of early-life stress exposure on ethanol consumption and dependence. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of brief and prolonged MS on the pattern of consumption and ethanol conditioned place preference (CPP) in male and female rats during adolescence and adulthood. Wistar rat pups were separated daily from their dams for 15 or 180 minutes during the 2 to 10 postnatal days (PND).

[The use of phytotherapy during pregnancy: a global overview].

The scope of this study is to present an integrative review of the prevalence of the use of phytotherapy during pregnancy. A review of the topic was made by research in the Scielo, Medline and Science Direct databases using the following key words: "herbs and pregnancy," "plant and gestation," with their respective terms in Portuguese. Forty-six articles published between 2000 and 2015 met the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in this review.

Developmental toxicity evaluation of Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) Landrum, (E)-methyl isoeugenol chemotype, in Wistar rats.

Background: Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) Landrum (Myrtaceae) has been traditionally used in Brazilian folk medicine. Studies have established the botanical characterization, phytochemistry profile, and pharmacological potential of this species, including antibiotic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, antioxidant, antinociceptive, and anti-inflammatory properties. Despite its widespread use, no previous study has been conducted regarding its toxicological profile, especially during pregnancy.

Ethopharmacological evaluation of the rat exposure test: a prey-predator interaction test.

The rat exposure test (RET) is a prey (mouse)-predator (rat) situation that activates brain defensive areas and elicits hormonal and defensive behavior in the mouse. Here, we investigated possible correlations between the spatiotemporal [time spent in protected (home chamber and tunnel) and unprotected (surface) compartments and frequency of entries into the three compartments] and ethological [e.g.

Corticosterone does not change open elevated plus maze-induced antinociception in mice.

It has been demonstrated that the exposure of rodents to the standard elevated plus-maze (sEPM: 2 open and 2 enclosed arms) elicits defensive behavioral reactions and antinociception and also activates the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We have recently reported that EPM-induced antinociception is particularly observed when rats and mice are exposed to a totally open EPM (oEPM: 4 open arms). Given that the oEPM seems to be a more aversive situation than the sEPM, we hypothesized that oEPM exposure would induce higher plasma levels of corticosterone than sEPM exposure in mice.

Ventrolateral periaqueductal gray lesion attenuates nociception but does not change anxiety-like indices or fear-induced antinociception in mice.

The exposure of rodents to an open elevated plus-maze (oEPM: four open arms raised from the floor) elicits naloxone-insensitive antinociception. Midazolam infusion into the dorsal portion of the periaqueductal gray (dPAG), a structure of the descending inhibitory system of pain, failed to alter oEPM-induced antinociception. Chemical lesion of dorsomedial and dorsolateral PAG attenuated defensive behavior in the standard EPM (sEPM), an animal model of anxiety, but failed to change oEPM-induced antinociception.

Increased corticosterone levels in mice subjected to the rat exposure test.

In recent years, there has been a notable interest in studying prey-predator relationships to develop rodent-based models for the neurobehavioral aspects of stress and emotion. However, despite the growing use of transgenic mice and results showing important differences in the behavioral responses of rats and mice, little research has been conducted regarding the responses of mice to predators. The rat exposure test (RET), a recently developed and behaviorally validated prey-predator (mouse-rat)-based model, has proven to be a useful tool in evaluating the defensive responses of mice facing rats.

Prednisone reduces ketoconazole-induced skeletal defects in rat fetuses.

Ketoconazole (KT) is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent whose pharmacological activity is based on the capability to interfere with steroid biosynthesis through an interaction with fungal cytochrome P-450 enzymes and thereby avoiding the formation of fungal walls. As the inhibition of fungal cytochrome P-450 by KT is not specific, the mammalian cytochrome P-450 species, which play an important role in the biosynthesis of steroidogenesis, are also affected. The reproductive and developmental toxicity of KT have been assessed.