Low dose of carvacrol prevents rat pancreas tissue damage after L-arginine application, while higher doses cause pancreatic tissue impairment.

Carvacrol (5-isopropyl-2-methylphenol) is a biologically active monoterpene phenol abundantly present in the essential oils of many Lamiaceae aromatic/ethnomedicinal plants. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the damaging effect of carvacrol to rat pancreatic tissue, but also to assess its possible ameliorative impact on pancreatic damage induced by L-arginine. The toxic and beneficial (in a dose of 10 mg/kg) properties of carvacrol were assessed by measuring serum α-amylase and lipase activities, tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and pathohistological changes in pancreatic tissue.

Pre- vs. post-treatment with melatonin in CCl-induced liver damage: Oxidative stress inferred from biochemical and pathohistological studies.

Aims: The present study was designed to compare the ameliorating potential of pre- and post-treatments with melatonin, a potent natural antioxidant, in the carbon tetrachloride-induced rat liver damage model by tracking changes in enzymatic and non-enzymatic liver tissue defense parameters, as well as in the occurring pathohistological changes.

Main Methods: Rats from two experimental groups were treated with melatonin before and after CCl administration, while the controls, negative and positive, received vehicle/melatonin and CCl, respectively. Serum levels of transaminases, alkaline phosphates, γ-GT, bilirubin, and albumin, as well as a wide panel of oxidative stress-related parameters in liver tissue, were determined in all experimental animals.