Abstract
Exceeding iron levels in the body get accumulated in the liver and other vital organs that induce oxidative stress in the affected areas , which is clinically diagnosed as “iron overload”. Present study was undertaken to investigate the role of Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus Nees, an endemic species of North-east India, in ameliorating such diseased conditions. Our results indicate that the methanolic leaf extract of Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus (PTME) exhibits excellent iron chelation and antioxidant activities in dose dependent manner in vitro. To understand the in vivo conditions, thirty six mice were divided into six groups which were treated with differing doses of PTME. Levels of serum markers ALT and AST significantly elevates during diseased conditions but PTME treated mice have shown a marked decrease in the group (S200) by 39.24 and 17.24%. On the contrary lowering levels of liver antioxidant enzymes (GST, GSH, SOD and CAT) indicates stress. But 200mg/kg b.w of PTME treated groups restored the enzyme to optimum levels. Morphological changes were observed through histopathological analysis of liver tissues and we found significant differences in them . PTME was found to be completely nontoxic in the in vivo treatment, suggesting its feasibility as a safe oral drug. The above study suggests that PTME contributed to its free radical scavenging and iron chelation activity; however, further studies are required for the assessment of the phytoconstituents and the pathways through which it act to treat iron-overload diseases.
Highlights
Iron is one of the most common element by mass on earth which is a vital requirement for the human body
Iron Chelation Assay: Iron chelation assay was done to determine the efficiency of the plant extract in chelating out Fe2+ ions from the prepared solution in vitro
Results of our study demonstrate the high efficacy in iron chelation by 70% methanol extract of Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus Nees
Summary
Iron is one of the most common element by mass on earth which is a vital requirement for the human body. Its excessive low concentration defined by iron deficiency or in high levels known as iron overload are detrimental to human health and lead to different diseases. Iron injections, mutated genes, inappropriate diet, may lead to accumulation of excessive iron in the vital organs such as the liver, heart, pancreas and endocrine glands. This leads to the formation of hydroxyl or lipid radicals, which damages nucleic acids, cellular membranes, and cell death. Chronic iron overload leads to increase in risk of liver cirrhosis, cancer, hypogonadism, arthritis, cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure, retinal degeneration, diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative diseases and premature death [1]. Several synthetic iron chelating drugs have been proposed for alleviating iron level e.g. EDTA, deferiprone, deferasirox, deferromine, etc. but due to lack of specificity to bind only to iron along with its side effects like nephrotoxicity, dehydration, low blood calcium, allergy, it is important to search out some really effective drugs for iron chelation that possess least side effects [2,3,4]
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