Christian Cortes-Rojo

By Manjury Jatziry Hernández-Esparza, Claudia Guadalupe Flores-Ledesma, Rocío Montoya-Pérez, Elizabeth Calderón-Cortés, Alfredo Saavedra-Molina, Alain Raimundo Rodríguez-Orozco and Christian Cortés-Rojo

Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in diabetic liver disease development. Diabetes impairs complex I activity and increases ROS production in liver mitochondria. The complex I produces ROS in forward electron transfer (FET) or in reverse electron transfer (RET) modes depending on the site of electron transfer blocking and the availability of respiratory substrates. Complex I activity depends on the phospholipid cardiolipin and the redox state of reactive thiols in the enzyme. Neither the underlying factors leading to complex I dysfunction nor the mode of ROS production have been elucidated in liver mitochondria in diabetes. We tested in liver mitochondria from streptozotocin (STZ) -induced diabetic rats if the addition of cardiolipin or β-mercaptoethanol, a thiol reducing agent, recovers complex I activity and decreases ROS production with substrates inducing ROS production in FET or RET modes. Decreased complex I activity and enhanced ROS generation in FET mode was detected in mitochondria from diabetic rats. Complex I activity was fully restored with the combined treatment with cardiolipin plus β-mercaptoethanol, which also abated ROS generation in FET mode. This suggest that therapies restoring cardiolipin and reducing mitochondrial thiols might be useful to counteract impaired complex I activity and excessive ROS production in liver mitochondria in diabetes.

Part of the book: Antioxidants

By Alfredo Saavedra-Molina, Jenaro Lemus-de la Cruz, Cinthia Landa-Moreno, Marina Murillo-Villicaña, Claudia García-Berumen, Rocío Montoya-Pérez, Salvador Manzo-Avalos, Asdrubal Aguilera-Méndez, Rafael Salgado-Garciglia and Christian Cortés-Rojo

Ethnobotanical study is an important activity related to the research and development of drugs. The growing need to find alternatives for the treatment of chronic degenerative diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome, among others, justifies the study of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine. The therapeutic effects of plants are due to the content of different secondary metabolites such as essential oils, tannins, phenolic acids, sesquiterpenes, and flavonoids—for example, several reports about the beneficial effects of a wide range of plants to treat diabetes. In Mexico, most of the traditional knowledge about medicinal plants comes from pre-Hispanic times, and different ethnic groups still retain it.

Part of the book: The Power of Antioxidants - Unleashing Nature's Defense Against Oxidative Stress [Working title]