Naringenin (NGN), a flavonoid widely utilized in agricultural and pharmaceutical applications, has increasingly become a source of environmental concern. This study systematically evaluated the develo Show more
Naringenin (NGN), a flavonoid widely utilized in agricultural and pharmaceutical applications, has increasingly become a source of environmental concern. This study systematically evaluated the developmental toxicity of NGN in zebrafish embryos. Our results showed that NGN exposure caused dose-dependent increases in embryonic mortality and induced a range of developmental malformations, including reduced body length, impaired eye and ear development, and cardiac dysfunction. Behavioral analyses revealed significant deficits in locomotor activity and sensory responses at concentrations of 5 and 10 mg/L. Molecular assessments via RT-qPCR demonstrated that NGN disrupted the expression of multiple genes critical for cardiac (kcnh2a, kcnh2b, hand2, has2, myh7, tnnt2a), otic (col2a1a, sox9a, sox9b), liver (hhex, leg1.1), visual (gnat1, gnat2), apoptotic (bax, casp9, casp3), and neurodevelopmental (pomca, bdnf, gfap, mbpa, s100b) pathways. Notably, NGN at 10 mg/L inhibited apoptosis and altered liver function, whereas a concentration of 15 mg/L promoted apoptosis, and these results suggest that NGN may interfere with the developmental processes of zebrafish embryos through different mechanisms at low and high concentrations, exhibiting a non-monotonic dose-response relationship. These findings highlight the potential ecological hazards of NGN contamination in aquatic environments, emphasizing the need for stricter management and further research into its long-term and combined effects with other pollutants. Our research offers new perspectives into the molecular and phenotypic mechanisms of NGN toxicity and underscores the importance of comprehensive risk assessment for emerging environmental contaminants. Show less
Dementia involves progressive cognitive decline, impairing daily and social activities. As no current drugs can reverse this decline, preventive strategies using functional compounds are gaining atten Show more
Dementia involves progressive cognitive decline, impairing daily and social activities. As no current drugs can reverse this decline, preventive strategies using functional compounds are gaining attention. Rutin, a flavonoid with neuroprotective and vascular benefits, has limited bioavailability due to poor water solubility. Although enzymatic glycosylation improves its solubility, it contains multiple compounds with differing numbers of sugar units and is not a single compound. To address this, EubioQuercetin®, a novel water-soluble rutin (wsRutin) formulation, was developed using L-arginine and ascorbic acid, without enzymatic processing. Here, we evaluated the neuroprotective effects of quercetin and isorhamnetin, the major metabolites of rutin, and compared the cognitive effects of rutin suspension and wsRutin solution in mice. Quercetin and isorhamnetin suppressed glutamate-, menadione- and H Show less