M. M. Noordin

Antihypertensive and cardiovascular effects of catechin-rich oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) leaf extract in nitric oxide-deficient rats.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) leaf extract (OPLE) possesses good ex vivo vasodilation and antioxidant properties. This study evaluated the catechin-rich OPLE antioxidant, antihypertensive, and cardiovascular effects in normal and nitric oxide (NO)-deficient hypertensive rats. OPLE was administered orally (500 mg/kg of body weight/day) to normotensive Wistar rats and N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)-induced NO-deficient hypertensive rats. OPLE significantly (P<.05) attenuated blood pressure increases, increased serum NO, reduced lipid peroxidation, and showed antioxidant effects in NO-deficient hypertensive rats. OPLE decreased the coronary arteriole wall-to-lumen ratio to near normal values under NO deficiency. Although OPLE showed good antihypertensive and antioxidant effects under NO deficiency, it was not hypotensive to normal rats and produced no chronic cardiovascular toxicity in any of the rats throughout the 12-week study. This is the first report on the in vivo antihypertensive properties of green tea catechins extracted from an alternative source, namely, oil palm leaf, for use as a medicinal food for hypertension and cardiovascular ailments.

Morphological study of the lingual papillae in the barking deer, Muntiacus muntjak.

With 4 figures

Morphological and histochemical observations of the red jungle fowl tongue Gallus gallus

Morphological and histochemical study of the tongue of ten adult red jungle fowl (RJF), Gallus gallus were carried out at macroscopic and microscopic levels. The tongue was triangular with a wide dorsal and ventrolateral surface with median groove at the rostral part. Between the body and the roots appears a transverse row of the lingual conical papillae which was directed backwards. Behind the laryngeal cleft, there was a single row of pharyngeal papillae. The lingual mucosa showed parakeratinization, while there was a clearly recognizable keratinized band on the ventrolateral surface and the conical papillae. The cell cytoplasm of the medial group (MG) of the anterior lingual glands and the posterior glands contained large amounts of mucin compared with the lateral group (LG). The mucin of the lingual glands contained vicinal diol groups. Moreover, the sulphate containing glycoconjugates indicated in the MG and the posterior glands with a strong acid mucin reaction. Meanwhile, the LG of the anterior lingual glands exhibited carboxylated mucin with weak acid mucin reaction. In conclusion, the differences in the arrangement of the lingual and pharyngeal papillae in the RJF than that in other birds particularly domestic chicken may reflects the changes which occurred for the latter during domestication. The contents of mucins in the medial and lateral groups of the anterior lingual gland were varied, however, no differences histochemistry between the medial group and the posterior lingual gland were observed. Key words : Lingual salivary glands, mucin reaction, red jungle, tongue.

Pulmonary modulation of benzo[a]pyrene-induced hemato- and hepatotoxicity in broilers

Aftermath in several air pollution episodes with high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons did not significantly affect health and performance of broilers despite its renowned sensitivity to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The aim of the study was to elucidate the previous lack of response in birds exposed to such severe episodes of air pollution. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) was used to simulate the influence of air pollution on hematology, selected organ function, and oxidative stress in broilers. One-day-old chicks were assigned to 5 equal groups composed of a control group, tricaprylin group, and 3 groups treated with BaP (at 1.5 microg, 150 microg, or 15 mg/kg of BW). The BaP was intratracheally administered to 1-d-old chicks for 5 consecutive days. The hematology, liver and kidney function, P450 activity, and malondialdehyde level especially in the group receiving 15 mg of BaP/kg of BW demonstrated evidence of hemato- and hepatoxicity via BaP-induced oxidative stress. The deleterious effect of exposure to high concentration of BaP in broiler chickens was probably due to the anatomy of this species and the half-life of BaP. Although the effect of BaP may be transient or irreversible, pathogen challenges faced during the period of suppression may prove fatal.

Histomorphology of the Stomach, Proventriculus and Ventriculus of the Red Jungle Fowl

With 11 figures

Experimental Brachiaria decumbens toxicity in cattle

Although Brachiaria decumbens was not toxic when fed to cattle, the infusion of rumen liquor from B. decumbens intoxicated sheep into the rumen of cattle produced evidence suggesting hepatic and renal dysfunction. Several biochemical changes were observed including increases in serum aspartate amino transferase, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen and a marked reduction in the plasma bromosulphthalein clearance.

Morphological study of pancreatic duct in red jungle fowl

Although the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin reaction to tuberculin is used worldwide for tuberculosis (TB) detection, it has poor diagnostic specificity due to the presence of common antigens in tuberculin shared by many mycobacterial species. The problem is noticed, especially in countries where the Bacillus Calmette-Gue´rin (BCG) vaccination is widely practiced. Thus, a new skin test antigen specific for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection is urgently needed. CFP-10, a mycobacterial secretary protein that is absent in Mycobacterium bovis BCG and most other mycobacterial species including Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare, has been shown to elicit cellular immune responses in MTB infected individuals and can be a good candidate for MTB specific diagnosis. We prepared recombinant MTB CFP-10, rCFP-10, and its utility as specific antigen for TB diagnosis was evaluated by skin testing in guinea pigs sensitized with M . tuberculosis, M. bovis, and M. bovis BCG. Our results show that the purified MTB rCFP-10 antigen elicits a positive skin response only in the guinea pigs sensitized with M. tuberculosis and M. bovis , and not in the animals sensitized with M. bovis BCG vaccine. The data presented in this study supports further testing of the use rCFP-10 as the specific antigen in the skin test for the diagnosis of MTB infection in humans. Key words : Recombinant CFP-10 protein, skin test, delayed-type hypersensitivity, tuberculosis infection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, Bacillus Calmette-Gue´rin.

Activities of amylase, trypsin and chymotrypsin of pancreas and small intestinal contents in the red jungle fowl and broiler breed

In order to reduce the cost and time of in vitro raised plants of Trichosanthes dioica Roxb., a minimal medium has been formulated by substituting costly growth regulators from the medium with a cost effective constituent, the coconut milk. A semisolid Murashige and Skoogs’s medium supplemented exclusively with 15% coconut milk showed the highest percentage of plantlet regeneration (99%) in the explants. When nodal, shoot-tip and immature leaf explants were cultured on this medium, rhizogenesis was observed in about 5 to 6 days of inoculation, followed by shoot formation in about 8 to 10 days. The fully developed plantlets, 10 to 12 cm in length with professed roots were obtained in about 20 days of inoculation in a single step without adding/changing growth regulators. After transplantation in the potted soil, these plantlets showed similar growth patterns as compared to the plants obtained from a conventional three-four step method of tissue culture experiments. Keywords: Coconut milk, tissue culture, Trichosanthes dioica Roxb

Histological Study of the Parotid and Mandibular Glands of Barking Deer (Muntiacus muntjak) with Special Reference to the Distribution of Carbohydrate Content

With 1 figure and 1 table

Histomorphometric evaluation of small intestinal mucosa of red jungle fowl and commercial broiler from one day to four months of age

Histomorphometry of the small intestinal mucosa of the red jungle fowl (RJF) and commercial broiler breed (CBC) from day one to four months post-hatch were investigated. For the sake of comparison between these two breeds, the following parameters were included: the number of villi, villus surface area and the intestinal surface area for each small intestinal segment. New procedure for enumerating the intestinal villi was performed by using the standard paraffin sections, whereby the villi were counted through their cross sections using an image analyzer. The numbers of villi were significantly higher in the RJF than the CBC for all the intestinal segments from the day one to four months posthatch. The villi numbers showed a decreased with age. The villus surface area was significantly higher in the CBC than the RJF for all intestinal segments for all the ages. For the duodenal surface area, the RJF showed a higher value than the CBC at one day old chick, but data was reversed on day 20 posthatch; the data in the remaining days showed no significant differences. While for the jejunal and ileal surface areas, the CBC exhibited significantly higher values except day 10 where both breeds showed no difference for the jejunum and day 120 for the ileum, the RJF showed higher value.The selection for high body weight decreased the villi number of the small intestine, but in the same time increased the villus surface area for all the intestinal segments which reflects the increase in mucosal surface area particularly the jejunum and ileum. Key words : Intestinal villi, villi number, surface area, red jungle fowl.