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Context Cypermethrin (CYP) is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide used worldwide in agriculture, home pest control. The toxicity of CYP is well studied in many organisms. Objective The aim of present study was to investigate the protective effect of Zizyphus lotus (Zizyp) fruit against neurotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by CYP in mice. Materials and methods Mice were divided into four groups of six each: groups I and II were used as control and CYP control (20 mg/kg body weight). While, groups III was orally treated with Zizyphus lotus fruit (5 g/kg body weight) plus CYP (20 mg/kg body weight) for 18 days. Furthermore, HPLC-ESI-MS-MS (Q-Tof) and GC-MS were used to identify the compounds fraction. Results Antioxidant enzyme catalase (CAT), neurotoxicity enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined in the liver, kidney and heart. CYP caused decreased CAT activity, inhibition of AChE activity and increased the levels of H2O2 and MDA in heart, liver and kidney. Conclusion Our results indicate that Zizyp fruit is markedly effective in protecting mice against CYP-induced biochemical changes. This protection may be due to its antioxidant property and scavenging ability against active free radicals.

Mediterranean mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis is among the most widely used bioindicators, and anthracene (AN) is one of the most commonly found hydrocarbons in the aquatic environment. M. galloprovincialis were exposed to nominal concentrations of 0.05, 0.15 and 0.4 μg/L AN. Chemical analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography revealed the uptake of AN in the whole soft body and digestive gland at different amounts. After a short exposure (2, 4 and 8 days), the results revealed that AN induced malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in digestive gland. Our findings demonstrated also that AN reduced the filtration rates in a concentration-dependent manner. Increase in lipid peroxidation (MDA content) in digestive gland (p