Abdel-Majeed Safer

Kuwait University | KU · Department of Biological Sciences

Antioxidant effects of Chitosan nano-green tea on hepatic fibrosis was studies ultrastrucutrally with detailed quantification comparing the percentage differences between the damaged done by CCl 4 and ethanol effects and the rehabilitation by the use of Chitosan nano-green tea's antioxidant effect. Especially in demolishing the damaging effects of...

We made a histological and ultrastructural studies using ImageJ freeware and Origin pro statistical analysis of the site of lipid accumulations and ECM pertinacious collagen fibers in a rat model of hepatic fibrosis using CCl4 and ethanol dual effect and using nano GTE as the main factor to diminishes both hepatic lipid and ECM fibers. This imageJ...

Chitosan has been investigated in several biological fields, including drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering antiviral and immunological adjuvant methods. It's a cationic copolymer of N-acetyl glucosamine and D-glucosamine with different molecular chain lengths, compositions, and sequences than N-acetyl glucosamine and D-glucosamine. It is bio...

Purpose: Chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs) have been used as a good vehicle for nano-drug delivery due to their good physicochemical properties. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), one of the major active ingredients of green tea, is a natural antioxidant that helps in reducing and preventing cell damage and fighting cancer, plus providing other bene...

Tea and coffee are the most commonly used beverages throughout the world. Both decoctions are rich in small organic molecules such as phenolics/polyphenolics, purine alkaloids, many methylxanthines, substituted benzoic and cinnamic acids. Many of these molecules are physiologically chemopreventive and chemoprotective agents against many severe cond...

Green tea or green tea extract (GTE), pomegranate extract, and papaya extract and natural active ingredients like carotene, curcumin, epigallocatechingallate, genistein, resveratrol, gingerol, and capsaicin are those of natural products have been widely used to treat and prevent various diseases. Green tea is rich in small molecules that are phenol...

Green tea extract exhibits several beneficial activities for the human body. In the present work, we explored the healing effect of a novel bio-nano particle named ‘Chitosan nano-encapsulated green tea extract’ at the ultrastructural level by performing experiments on rat hepatocytes. A fixed volume of Chitosan nano-encapsulated green tea extract s...

The present study examined the effect of Green Tea Extract (GTE) encapsulated into Chitosan Nanoparticles (CS-NPs) on hepatic fibrosis in rat model as determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The bioactive compounds in GTE encapsulated into CS-NPs were determined using LCMS/MS method. Additionally, the uptake of GTE-CS NPs in HepG2 cells showed...

There is a growing body of evidence that plant polyphenols such as resveratrol, anthocyanins, catechins, and terpenes like taxol are effectively used in the treatment of chronic conditions including cancer, Alzheimer, Parkinsonism, diabetes, aging, etc. The link between oxidative stress and inflammation is well accepted. Thus, the mechanism of acti...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of green tea extract (GTE) against the hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), ethanol, and dual exposure to CCl4 plus ethanol in rats. In particular, an investigation of the three-dimensional architecture was conducted using scanning electron microscopy. V...

Hepatic fibrosis constitutes a serious insult to the liver, with a substantial negative impact on the quality of life of such patients worldwide. It is a consequence of severe liver damage and occurs as the result of several factors. Chronic alcoholism is the most common cause. Fibrosis also results from chronic viral hepatitis and autoimmune hepat...

This study was conducted to measure the antibacterial activity of grape (Vitis vinifera L; Vitaceae) seed extract against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Grape seed and skin extracts were tested for antibacterial activity against forty-three strains of MRSA by gel diffusion, growth and respirometric studies. All MRSA strains wer...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of green tea in inhibiting and reversing the nephrotoxicity of reserpine--a potent oxidative stress inducer--which induced cellular kidney damage. Serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant enzyme levels, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and serum transaminases (glutamic oxaloacetic tra...

Reserpine, a natural product extracted from Rauwolfia serpintina or Rauwolfia vomitoria, is a known dopamine depleter that inhibits several neurotransmitters. Reserpine has been used clinically to control hypertension, schizophrenia, insomnia and insanity. The use of this drug, however, has been limited because of its side effects which include oxi...

A comparison of crude curcuminoid extract and purified curcumin was made to evaluate hepato- and immunoprotective effect of Curcuma longa (turmeric) Zingiberaceae. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced cellular hepatic damage was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, hepatic enzymes and thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBAR) values. A s...

Comparative oceanographic, chemical, biochemical and microbiological analyses of coastal water samples from six stations along Kuwaiti coasts through 2001, the year of grey mullet kill, and 2002 indicated that oxygen depletion in the water most probably resulted in the August 2001 mullet kill. Water samples collected in 2001 revealed higher levels...

Green tea (Camellia sinensis), and CoQ(9 )when given to Wistar rats produced a partial reversal on reserpine induced oxidative stress and liver damage. Green tea, with its abundant polyphenol (-)Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (ECGC) and other catechins, is known for its antioxidative characteristics influencing lipid metabolism. Ubiquinone, abundant in...

The morphological changes induced by sodium nitrite (NaNO2) in rat hepatocytes were studied by light and electron microscopy and the image analytical method. The experimental animals were divided into six groups, three of which were subjected to orally-administered NaNO2 in drinking water for 24 weeks at 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.2% concentrations. For com...

The anti-oxidant food additive, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), was fed to Sprague-Dawley rats at three concentrations: 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8% for periods of 6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks, and the results were compared with corresponding groups treated with a potent carcinogen, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) groups, with olive oil, and with untreated...

In the present study, the cytotoxic effects of Kuwaiti weathered crude oil and a potent carcinogen (DMBA) on rat liver cells were examined by light and electron microscopy at each of 4 sampling periods after the start of low dosing (0.5 and 0.2 mg/kg) of feed. Such effects were compared with those of olive oil and uncontaminated food-exposed contro...

This study shows the development of two major deformities in the non-stenosed kidney of the 2K-1C Goldblatt model; namely the widening of the LIS and the enlargement of the basilar interdigitations of the proximal tubule cells. These deformities were much less in the 2K-1C animals treated with the angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitor (AICEI) c...

Phosphatase cytochemical activity in the normal glomerulus of the desert gerbil Meriones crassus was demonstrated using cerium ions as capturing agents. Three major enzymes have been recognized: sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase), alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) and acid phosphatase (ACPase). However, cytochemical staining for...

The present work describes the cytochemical localization of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in the proximal convoluted tubule cells of the gerbil Meriones crassus. By using CeCl3 as capture agent, a fine, uniform reaction product was distributed mainly across the basolateral membranes and at the apical surface. This study provides evidence that the ATPase enzyme...

Histochemical activity of alkaline phosphatase in the proximal convoluted tubule of the gerbil Meriones crassus has been detected. The reaction product was strongly marked at both the apical surface and the basal part of the cells comprising the basal infoldings with their extended tips and the profiles of the membrane-bound bodies that were easily...

The aims of the present study were to characterize by electron microscopy the morphological features of the erythrocytes of normal adult and young camels Camelus dromedarius in a renal blood vessel and in a smear. These cells are thin and elliptical, with a slight central elevation. They are slightly larger, but thinner than those reported by other...

The renal haemopoietic tissue of the mudskipper Periophthalmus koelreuteri was examined by light and electron microscopy. Leukopoietic zone surrounding melanomacrophage center and erythropoietic zone were differentiated. The ultrastructural features of the cellular components of the haemopoietic compartments are similar to those described in other...

The ultrastructural findings on the kidney cells of the gerbil Meriones crassus have shown the presence of finger-like projections emerging from the basal part of the epithelial cells of the proximal convoluted tubules into the matrix of the thick basal laminae and that structure like membrane-bound bodies are commonly seen in continuity with these...

The present study was undertaken to compare the ultrastructure of the kidney of young camels (Camelus dromedarius) with that of adult kidneys, described previously (Safer et al., '88). Young kidneys are known to produce a urine that is only about half as concentrated as that of adult kidneys (Maloiy, '72; Abo-Salem, '88). While possessing most of t...

Kidney samples of the camel Camelus dromedarius were aldehyde fixed and glycerol impregnated for ultrathin-section and freeze-fracture studies of the basal lamina. Results obtained show the presence of extracellular membrane-bound bodies within the thick basal lamina of the tubular portion of the nephron. The 10- to 500-nm bodies appear isolated an...

Kidney samples of the camel Camelus dromedarius were aldehyde fixed and glycerol impregnated for ultrathin-section and freeze-fracture studies of the basal lamina. Results obtained show the presence of extracellular membrane-bound bodies within the thick basal lamina of the tubular portion of the nephron. The 10- to 500-nm bodies appear isolated an...

Kidney samples of the adult gerbil Meriones crassus were aldehyde fixed and Epon embedded for studies of the general features of various parts of the nephrons, with particular attention to their basal laminae in all regions. Results obtained showed the presence of thick basal laminae (2-6 microns) in the parietal layer of Bowman's capsule, proximal...

The nephron of the one-humped camel Camelus dromedarius was investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy. Besides the many features common to other mammalian kidneys, the nephron of the camel is unique in having an unusually thick basal lamina underlying the epithelial cells of the nephron, the thickest being found in part of the pari...

Wandering cells that infiltrate between the principal cells of the nephron of the mudskipper Periophthalmus koelreuteri were examined by transmission electron microscope. These cells were found at various levels between the tubule cells and were more abundant in the proximal and collecting segments. These cells have cytoplasmic processes and large...

Ultrastructural examination of the head kidney of Periophthalmus koelreuteri (Pallas) (Teleostei, Gobiidae) revealed that the nephronic tubule cells are bound by tight junctions and desmosomes with little intercellular space. The first proximal segment (PI) consists of low columnar cells with well developed brush borders, indented nuclei, and numer...

The head kidneys of adult Periophthalamus koelreuteri contain many functional glomerular nephorns which on the basis of this histochemical study, are indistinguishable from those of the typical opistonephros of marine teleosts. The anterior lobes resemble, in location and in the presence of intertubular erythropoeitic tissue, the pronephros in othe...