From the Faculty of Pharmacy & pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R. Iran.
Abstract: (4369 Views)
Alkaloids of the aerial parts of chelidonium were extracted in the salt
form, and their aqueous solutions were prepared in different concentrations.
Rat hepatocytes were obtained by liver perfusion. The alkaloidal solutions
were added to suspensions of hepatocytes in petri dishes and the mixtures
were incubated. Two types of controls have been used in one type. no
alkaloidal extract was added to the media, and in the other, alkaloidal extract
of datura which has no cytotoxic activity was added to the hepatocytes.
Intracellular LOH activity as well as the activity of leaked LOH into the
media, the glucose uptake by the cells, and the glycogen contents of the cells
were determined after incubation.
The results indicate that 0.05 ml of the alkaloidal solution of chelidonium
has no detectable effect on LOH activity during a 240 minute incubation
period. With n.1 ml doses, detectable changes were observed only after 240
minutes of incubation. When 0.2 ml doses were used, the intracellular LOH
activity was lowered by 3.23,n.71) and 30.XI) percent after nO,120 and 240
minutes of incubation respectively, as compared with the controls. The activity
of leaked LOH into the media duration of incubation was increased. Determination of glucose in different
media showed that the uptake of this sugar by the hepatocytes incubated with
chelidonium decreased as the dose and incubation periods increased. On the
other hand, as the glycogen content of the hepatocytes incubated with
chelidonium was the same as that of the controls, we believe that the hepatocytes
lost their viability in the presence of chelidonium-derived cytotoxic
alkaloids.