| Description: |
Squalene, a naturally occurring substance found in plants, animals and humans, is a component of some adjuvants that is added to vaccines to enhance the immune response.Squalene shows several pharmacological properties such as hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antioxidant, and antitoxicant activity. Squalene can significantly suppress colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) formation and crypt multiplicity strengthens the hypothesis that squalene possesses chemopreventive activity against colon carcinogenesis. |
| In vivo: |
| Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Feb;59(2):284-92. | | Dietary squalene supplementation improves DSS-induced acute colitis by downregulating p38 MAPK and NFkB signaling pathways.[Pubmed: 25387687] | Squalene is a polyunsaturated triterpene, which has exhibited anticancer and antioxidant activities among others. We investigated dietary squalene supplementation effect on an acute colitis model induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in C57BL/6 mice.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
Mice were fed from weaning with squalene at 0.02% and 0.1%. After 4 weeks, mice were exposed to 3% DSS for 5 days developing acute colitis. After DSS removal (5 days), colons were histological and biochemically processed. Our results showed that dietary squalene treatment exerts anti-inflammatory action in DSS-induced acute colitis. Western blot revealed that squalene downregulated COX-2 (where COX is cyclooxygenase) and inducible nitric oxide synthase system by inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 and the nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathways, preventing an increase in the cytokines levels. Under our experimental conditions, STAT3 and FOXP3 (where FOXP3 is forkhead box P3) were not modified and the transcriptional regulation of antioxidant and/or detoxifying enzymes, Nrf2 (where Nrf2 is nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2), was reduced in DSS-induced colitis. However, any change could be observed after squalene supplementation.
CONCLUSIONS:
Squalene was able to improve the oxidative events and returned proinflammatory proteins expression to basal levels probably through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathways. However, supplementary studies are needed in order to provide a basis for developing a new dietary supplementation strategy. | | Clin Chim Acta. 2006 Feb;364(1-2):335-42. | | Effect of squalene on cyclophosphamide-induced toxicity.[Pubmed: 16150433] | Toxicity due to drugs used for neoplastic disorders is extensively documented. Cyclophosphamide (CYP) is a widely used antineoplastic drug, which could cause toxicity of normal cells due to its toxic metabolites. We evaluated the protective role of squalene (SQ) in the toxicity induced by cyclophosphamide.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
The activities of serum marker enzymes, clinical chemistry parameters and histopathology studies were done according to the standard procedures in the control and experimental groups of rats.
Toxicity of the organs like heart, kidney and liver was evidenced from significant (P<0.05) increases of CK, LDH, AST, ALT, ALP, urea, creatinine and total bilirubin in cyclophosphamide- (150 mg/kg for 2 days) administered rats. Abnormal activities of these enzymes in the organs and serum total protein and cholesterol were also observed. No significant changes were observed in triglycerides in serum. Squalene oral treatment exerted protection towards these organs at a dose of 0.4 ml/day/rat. Histopathological examinations also confirmed the protective efficacy of squalene.
CONCLUSIONS:
Squalene may be efficacious as a cytoprotectant in cyclophosphamide-induced toxicities. |
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