Ayuob Nasra, Hawuit Etedal, Mohammedsaleh Zuhair M, Shaalan Dalia, Hawasah Maryam Mousa Hassn, Basheikh Khadija Abdulrhman Ahmed, Shaker Soad Ali
Department of Medical Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt.
Yousef Abdullatif Jameel, Chair of Prophetic Medical Applications (YAJCPMA), Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2022 Apr;39(2):286-297. doi: 10.5114/ada.2021.103459. Epub 2021 Feb 17.
The link between psychological stress and skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis is established. Pumpkin was proved to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and accelerating wound healing potential.
To assess the efficacy of pumpkin fruit (.) extract (PE) in relieving contact dermatitis (CD) in depressed rats compared to a standard treatment of CD and explore the mechanism behind this effect.
Thirty male albino rats were exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) for 4 weeks for induction of depression, then exposed to 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) for 2 weeks for induction of CD. The rats were then divided into 3 groups ( = 10 each); the positive control, Betamethasone-treated, and PE-treated groups. Depression was confirmed by the forced swim test and measuring the serum corticosterone level. Proinflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were measured in the skin and serum and their mRNA levels were assessed using qRT-PCR. Oxidant/antioxidant profile including levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and catalase (CAT) was assessed in the skin and serum. Histopathological assessment of skin samples was performed and CD4 and CD68 immunoexpression was assessed.
The used PE included a large amount of oleic acid (about 56%) and a small amount of linoleic acid (about 1%). The topical application of PE significantly attenuated inflammation and oxidative changes attributed to CD associated with chronic stress-induced depression comparable to the standard treatment of CD. PE significantly alleviated signs and histopathological score of CD ( < 0.001) through the significant down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the significant up-regulation of antioxidants in the skin. Significant down-regulation ( < 0.001) of TNF-α, IL-6, COX-2 and iNOS gene expression in the PE-treated group confirmed the anti-inflammatory action of PE.
The pumpkin extract, applied topically in CD associated with depression, could be an alternative as well as preventive approach in treating CD. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidants activity of pumpkin is a proposed mechanism behind this effect. Further studies to test this effect on volunteer patients of CD are recommended.
心理压力与诸如特应性皮炎等皮肤病之间的联系已被确立。南瓜被证明具有抗氧化、抗炎和促进伤口愈合的潜力。
与接触性皮炎（CD）的标准治疗相比，评估南瓜果实提取物（PE）对抑郁大鼠接触性皮炎的缓解效果，并探究其作用机制。
30只雄性白化大鼠接受4周的慢性不可预测轻度应激（CUMS）以诱导抑郁，然后接受2周的1-氟-2,4-二硝基氟苯（DNFB）以诱导CD。然后将大鼠分为3组（每组n = 10）；阳性对照组、倍他米松治疗组和PE治疗组。通过强迫游泳试验和测量血清皮质酮水平来确认抑郁。检测皮肤和血清中促炎细胞因子肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、环氧化酶-2（COX-2）和诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS），并使用qRT-PCR评估它们的mRNA水平。评估皮肤和血清中的氧化/抗氧化指标，包括丙二醛（MDA）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GPX）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）的水平。对皮肤样本进行组织病理学评估，并评估CD4和CD68免疫表达。
所使用的PE含有大量油酸（约56%）和少量亚油酸（约1%）。与CD的标准治疗相比，局部应用PE可显著减轻与慢性应激诱导的抑郁相关的CD所致的炎症和氧化变化。PE通过显著下调皮肤中的促炎细胞因子和显著上调抗氧化剂，显著减轻了CD的体征和组织病理学评分（P < 0.001）。PE治疗组中TNF-α、IL-6、COX-2和iNOS基因表达的显著下调（P < 0.001）证实了PE的抗炎作用。
局部应用于与抑郁相关的CD的南瓜提取物，可能是治疗CD的一种替代及预防方法。南瓜的抗炎和抗氧化活性是这种作用背后的一种推测机制。建议进一步研究以测试其对CD志愿者患者的这种效果。
