Justyna Pyrzanowska

Medical University of Warsaw · Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology

The aim of the study was to optimize the seat for a personal vehicle equipped with a crankset mechanism, meant for everyday use. The inclination of the seat backrest was selected on the basis of theoretical considerations. Then dynamic tests were carried out on a group of young, healthy men in order to verify the ergonomic aspects of the seat posit...

Abundant in phenolic compounds, “fermented” rooibos herbal tea (FRHT) improves the cognitive performance and exploration of rats, as well as alters the content of monoamines and amino acids in some brain structures. Here, we aim to extend knowledge about the neurochemical and behavioral outcomes of long-term oral FRHT consumption by examining its i...

Obesity is considered a risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus, which has become one of the most important health problems, and is also linked with memory and executive function decline. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid that regulates cell death/survival and the inflammatory response via its specific receptors (S1PRs). Si...

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of protocatechuic acid (PCA) at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg on the development of unfavourable changes in cognitive processes in a pyrithiamine-induced thiamine deficiency (PTD) model of the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) in rats. The effects of PCA were assessed at the behavioural and bi...

The sigma-1 and sigma-2 (σ1 and σ2) receptors are found in high concentrations in the brain, and their altered expression leads to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. 3-di-tolylguanidine (DTG) stimulates the activity of both of these receptors. We assessed the effects of administering DTG to adult male Sprague Dawley rats on learning and memor...

Objectives: Rooibos tea, a very popular everyday beverage made of Aspalathus linearis plant material and containing multiple polyphenolic compounds, reveals an expectation to positively affect various processes observed in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases as in the case of consumption of other polyphenol-abundant food products. Meth...

Parasites may significantly affect the functioning of the host organism including immune response and gut-brain-axis ultimately leading to alteration of the host behavior. The impact of intestinal worms on the host central nervous system (CNS) remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of intestinal infection by the tapewo...

Rooibos tea is brewed using Aspalathus linearis plant material sensitive to environmental contamination. This review covers the safety data from preclinical experiments as well as human studies and delivers a report on its hepatic activity. In vitro tea investigation reveals antioxidative and anti-mutagenic features and ability to modulate microsom...

In this study, we investigated the effects of early paracetamol treatment on the testicular level of testosterone and expression of genes important for steroid biosynthesis and reproduction in male rats offspring. Rats were continuously exposed to paracetamol at doses of 5 or 15 mg/kg b.w. during pregnancy and the first two months of the postpartum...

Rooibos tea, brewed using Aspalathus linearis leaves, is a popular South African herbal infusion, but its everyday intake is not fully described in terms of the neuropsychopharmacological outcomes. The cell-protective activity of A. linearis is connected with the ability of reducing glycaemia, inflammation as well as oxidative stress. It was alread...

Objective : This study aimed to investigate the influence of protocatechuic acid (PCA) on learning, memory, and central nervous system (CNS) neuromodulators in healthy rats, to analyse whether the procognitive effects of PCA found in animal models of memory impairment and described in the literature occur in healthy individuals. Methods : PCA was...

Introduction: Dihydroergotamine (DHE) is a derivative of an ergot alkaloid used as an antimigraine medication. Nowadays, ergot alkaloids may still endanger the safety of humans and animals as food or medicine pollutants, but the outcomes of long-term DHE administration on the behaviour and neurotransmission remain undescribed. Material and method...

One of the reasons for using paracetamol during pregnancy is fever. The brain structure responsible for maintaining proper body temperature, but also for controlling some endocrine aspects is hypothalamus. In this study we examined the effect of early pretreatment of paracetamol on hypothalamic neurotransmission in rats’ offspring. We used two-mont...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Everyday use of the herbal tea rooibos, produced from Aspalathus linearis (Brum.f) Dahlg. (Fabaceae) is customary in South Africa, a continuation of its historical use by indigenous people. Although evidence of its traditional indications is anecdotal, rooibos tea is regarded as a general health tea. Aims of the st...

The biochemical and behavioral responses to prenatal and early postnatal exposure to paracetamol in rats are not well understood. The effect of daily maternal and early life administration of 5 mg/kg (group P5) or 15 mg/kg paracetamol (group P15) was evaluated in two-month old male rats, relative to control animals receiving tap water (Con). Social...

In the present study we examined the effect of prenatal and early life paracetamol exposure on neurotransmission and its behavioural manifestation in rat male pups. In order to assess the ability of spatial learning and memory consolidation and the level of physical and exploratory activity we conducted a series of behavioural tests: Staircase Test...

Ring shaped specimen is commonly used for determination of mechanical properties of artery in hoop direction. Such a method is very convenient due to easy preparation and fixing procedure of the sample. On the other hand the results obtained from that type of specimen might be inconclusive because of inappropriate strain calculation – it is hard to...

Background: The present study was designed to clarify the effect of prenatal and postnatal paracetamol administration on the neurotransmitter level and balance of amino acids in the cerebellum. Methods: Biochemical analysis to determine the concentration of neurotransmitters in this brain structure was performed on two-month-old Wistar male rats...

Animal brain contains a significant amount of zinc, which is a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes. Moreover, it provides the basis for functioning of more than 2000 transcription factors, and it is necessary for memory formation and learning processes in the brain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of zinc supplementation on behav...

Passiflora incarnata L. has been used as a medicinal plant in South America and Europe since the 16th century. Previous pharmacological studies focused mainly on the plant's sedative, anxiolytic, and anticonvulsant effects on the central nervous system and its supporting role in the treatment of addiction. The aim of the present study was to evalua...

Introduction. Royal Jelly (RJ) is a popular bee-derived product used widely in European and Asian traditional medicine. RJ has some pharmacological activities to support health and longevity as well as prevent ageing. Objectives. To evaluate whether a short-term 6-day Royal Jelly administration is able to induce behavioural and neurochemical effect...

The present study has examined the influence of the prenatal and early life administration of paracetamol on the level of neurotransmitters in the spinal cord of rat pups. The effect of the drug was evaluated in 2‐month old Wistar male rats exposed to paracetamol in doses of 5 (P5, n = 9) or 15 mg/kg (P15, n = 9) p.o. during the prenatal period and...

Ring-shaped specimen is commonly used in tests for determination of mechanical properties for arteries in hoop direction, especially for small mammals such as rats or mice. Although ring test is a lot more convenient than the tests concerning strip specimens, interpretation of the experimental data might be inconclusive – it is difficult distinguis...

The effect and safety of prenatal and early life administration of paracetamol - routinely used over-the-counter antipyretic and analgesic medication on monoamines content and balance of amino acids in the medulla oblongata is still unknown. In this study we have determined the level of neurotransmitters in this structure in two-month old Wistar ma...

The present study was aimed to investigate the influence of multigenerational selection in the direction of low or high body weight on spatial learning and memory in mice. Light and heavy lines of rodents were selected from an outbred stock constructed from inbred strains; A/St, BN/a, BALB/c and C57BL/6J. Male mice selected at weaning for the low (...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Royal Jelly (RJ) is a bee-derived product that has been traditionally used in the European and Asian systems of medicine for longevity. RJ has various pharmacological activities that may prevent aging e.g., anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-hypercholesterolemic and anti-hyperglycemic properties. Aim of the st...

In our experiment we investigated the effect of subcutaneous administration of paracetamol on the levels of amino acids in the brain structures. Male Wistar rats received for eight weeks paracetamol at two doses: 10mg/kg b.w. (group P10, n=9) and 50mg/kg b.w. per day s.c. (group P50, n=9). The regional brain concentrations of amino acids were deter...

The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of subcutaneous (s.c.) paracetamol administration on spatial learning, memory and neurotransmission. Three-month old male Wistar rats received for eight weeks paracetamol at two doses: 10mg/kg b.w. (group P10, n=9) or 50mg/kg b.w. per day s.c. (group P50, n=9). Control (Con, n=9) and paracetam...

The effect of intranasal manganese chloride (MnCl(2)·4H(2)O) exposure on spatial learning, memory and motor activity was estimated in Morris water maze task in adult rats. Three-month-old male Wistar rats received for 2weeks MnCl(2)·4H(2)O at two doses the following: 0.2mg/kg b.w. (Mn0.2) or 0.8mg/kg b.w. (Mn0.8) per day. Control (Con) and manganes...

Background: The present study was designed to investigate the behavioral and neurochemical effects of long-term oral rutin administration to old male WAG rats (100 and 200 mg/kg b.w./day). Rutin is a well-known dietary flavonol glycoside with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Methods: First, spatial memory was assessed in the water m...

A large body of evidence supports an opinion that adequate dietary zinc is essential for prenatal and postnatal brain development. Behavioural effects of maternal supplementation with ZnSO(4) were analysed in rat pups with the Morris water task performance, a hole board and a T-maze. Wistar females during pregnancy and lactation received a drinking...

Curcumin is a yellow pigment extracted from the rhizome of Curcuma Longa. It has been used in Asia for several thousand years as a spice, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and digestive agent. Current research reports that curcumin exhibits antioxidative, anticancer and neuroprotective properties. The aim of this study was to compare the activity of...

The effects of long-term administration of a standardised extract of Curcuma longa on the explorative activity in aged 24-month-old male Wistar rats were estimated in a hole-board test. The animals received the extract orally for two months in rodent chow at doses of 10 and 50 mg/kg/day. The correlations between concentration of some neurotransmitt...

The effects of chronic pre-treatment with a standardised extract of Curcuma longa on learning and spatial memory in aged 24-month old male Wistar rats were estimated in a Morris water maze paradigm. Animals received the extract orally for two months in prepared rodent chow to obtain the doses 10 and 50mg/kg/day. At the end of behavioural trials the...

Effect of administration of the standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves (EGb 761) on learning, memory and exploratory behavior was estimated in water maze and hole-board tests. Rats (18-month old) received for three months EGb 761 at doses: 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg b.w. per day. After completion of the behavioral experiment, concentrations of neu...

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a yellow poliphenol pigment isolated from rhizome of Curcuma longa, has been used throughout Asia for several thousands of years. Beside giving curry dishes their color, curcumin has been reported as an agent used in the treatment of various disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of chronic curcum...