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BACKGROUND: Biological activities of Pistacia atlantica have been investigated for few decades. The fruit oil of the plant has been used for treatment of wounds, inflammation, and other ailments in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM). OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of this study were to analyze the chemical composition of Pistacia atlantica fruit oil and to study wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects of oil-absorbed bacterial cellulose in an in vivo burn wound model. METHOD: Bacterial cellulose membrane was prepared from Kombucha culture and Fourier-transform infrared was used to characterize the bacterial cellulose. Cold press technique was used to obtain Pistacia atlantica fruit oil and the chemical composition was analyzed by gas chromatography. Bacterial cellulose membrane was impregnated with the Pistacia atlantica fruit oil. Pistacia atlantica hydrogel was prepared using specific Carbopol. Burn wound model was used to evaluate in vivo wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects of the wound dressings containing either silver sulfadiazine as positive control, Pistacia atlantica hydrogel or bacterial cellulose membrane coated with the Pistacia atlantica fruit oil. Blank dressing was used as negative control. RESULTS: FT-IR analysis showed that the structure of the bacterial cellulose corresponded with the standard FT-IR spectrum. The major components of Pistacia atlantica fruit oil constituted linoleic acid (38.1%), oleic acid (36.9%) and stearic acid (3.8%). Histological analysis showed that bacterial cellulose coated with fruit oil significantly decreased the number of neutrophils as a measure of inflammation compared to either negative control or positive control (p

Background Aluminum phosphide (AlP) toxicity is associated with a high risk of death due to heart, liver, and kidney failure as the target organs. Phosphine gas released due to the ingestion is the main factor involved in the multi-organ failure with various mechanisms. Levosimendan (LEV) is a calcium sensitizer with a pleiotropic effect on multiple organs. This study aimed to investigate whether LEV can alleviate AlP-induced nephrotoxicity in the rat model. Method Six groups included control group (almond oil only), sole LEV group (48 µg/kg), AlP group (LD50=10 µg/kg), and the poisoned groups treated with LEV at doses of 12, 24, and 48 µg/kg 30 min after AlP gavage. After 24 hours of treatment, serum and kidney samples were taken for biochemical and histopathological analyses. Result Biochemical analysis of the AlP group showed that the activity of complexes I, II, and IV was significantly reduced, while the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), lactate, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity significantly increased. Also, AlP reduced live renal cells and elevated necrosis. However, the levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were not affected by the poisoning. LEV co-treatment could increase mitochondrial complex activity and reduce MPO activity, LPO, ROS, and lactate levels. Additionally, the histopathological analysis showed the detrimental effects of AlP on kidney tissue, which was mitigated by LEV administration. Conclusion Our findings showed that LEV can potentially improve oxidative stress, imbalance in the redox status, necrosis, and pathological injuries in kidney tissue following AlP-poisoning.

Regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) is a promising candidate for skin repair due to its wound healing properties. RSF films have some drawbacks such as weak mechanical property, low porosity and poor absorption which limits their application as an ideal wound healing dressing. In this study, a novel RSF-based nanohybrid bearing carnosine (Car) intercalated bentonite (CarBen) nanosheets was prepared using solvent casting method and was applied in a second-degree burn wound model. RSF bearing different amounts of CarBen nanosheets (0, 1, 3 and 5 wt%) was prepared and fully characterized. RSF having 5 wt% of the modified Ben (RSF-CarBen5) showed superior mechanical property (ultimate stress of 8.36 ± 01 MPa and ultimate strain of 1501.33 ± 1.24%), and higher absorption capacity (1653.57 ± 0.05%) with favorable porosity (80.27%). RSF-CarBen5 was employed as dressing for healing of second-degree burn wound in rats. Histological evaluation showed considerable inflammation reduction in wound sites compared to the control groups. The wound treated with the nanohybrid showed significant epithelialization and angiogenesis on day 14 post-treatment, compared to the other groups (P