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Attenuative effects of tamarixetin against polystyrene microplastics‐induced hepatotoxicity in rats by regulation of Nrf‐2/Keap‐1 pathway

Cell Biochemistry and Function 2023 10 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Muhammad Umar Ijaz, Mehrab Khalil, Ali Hamza, Aisha Khatoon

Summary

Researchers investigated whether tamarixetin, a naturally occurring flavonoid, could reduce liver damage caused by polystyrene microplastic exposure in rats. The study found that tamarixetin helped protect against microplastic-induced liver toxicity by activating antioxidant defense pathways, suggesting potential protective effects of certain plant-derived compounds against microplastic-related oxidative stress.

Polymers
Body Systems
Models

Polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) are environmental contaminants due to their potential to induce damages in multiple organs specifically liver. Tamarixetin (TMT) is a naturally occurring flavonoid present in Tamarix ramosissima plant that exhibits multiple pharmacological properties. Therefore, the present research was designed to evaluate the palliative role of TMT against PS-MPs instigated liver dysfunction in rats. The exposure to PS-MPs reduced the expressions of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and antioxidant genes, while increasing the expression of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1. PS-MPs exposed rats exhibited considerably (p < .05) higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) as well as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) contents. Additionally, PS-MPs treatment resulted in a notable decrease in anti-oxidants activity, that is, glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutathione reductase (GSR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) content, whereas upregulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. Moreover, PS-MPs intoxication noticeably increased (p < .05) the inflammatory indices (interleukin-1ß [IL-1ß], nuclear factor kappa B [NF-κB], interleukin-6 [IL-6], tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α] levels, and cyclooxygenase-2 [COX-2] activity). Besides, Caspase-3 and Bax expressions were upregulated and Bcl-2 expression was decreased after PS-MPs exposure. Additionally, the histomorphological examination revealed notable hepatic damage in PS-MPs treated group. However, TMT treatment substantially (p < .05) recovered all the PS-MPs-induced damages and histopathological changes. Taken together, it can be deduced that TMT might be used as a pharmacological agent to ameliorate hepatic damage.

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