Objective This study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) such as arsenic (As),cadmium (Cd),mercury (Hg),and lead (Pb) in fruit samples collected from Markazi Province,Iran.A probabilistic health risk assessment due to ingestion of PTEs through the consumption of these fruits was also conducted.Methods The concentration of PTEs in 90 samples of five types of fruits (n =3) collected from six geographic regions in Markazi Province was measured.The potential health risk was evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation model.Results A significant difference was observed in the concentration of PTEs between fruits as well as soil and water samples collected from different regions in Markazi Province.The order of PTE concentration in the soil and water samples was as follows:Pb ＞ As ＞ Hg ＞ Cd.Furthermore,the highest level of transfer factor for Cd and Hg correlated with the grape.The estimated daily intake for adults and children was lower than the recommended tolerable daily intake.Conclusion The population in Markazi Province,Iran,is not at considerable noncarcinogenic or carcinogenic risk due to the ingestion of PTEs through the consumption of the examined fruits.

Background: Auraptene is a simple coumarin that exhibits multiple protective activities in the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is a complex, multifactorial, and progressive neurodegenerative disease. Microinjection of the β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) into the hippocampus of rat has been recognized as a reliable and stable animal model of Alzheimer’s disease, which mimics the memory deficits. In the present study, the memory enhancing effects of auraptene were studied in rats that Aβ was injected into their hippocampus to create a model of Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: Different doses of auraptene (5, 10 and 25 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally to male Wistar rats. The spatial memory performance was tested by Morris water maze after Alzheimer`s induction. The hippocampal expression of pro-apoptotic Bax and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins were calculated for evaluating the neuroprotective and anti-apoptotic effects of Auraptene in the brain tissue. Results: In comparison with the control group, auraptene significantly decreased the escape latency time in the treated rats. In addition, auraptene increased the percentage of time spent and traveled pathway in the target quadrant. Molecular data showed that auraptene attenuated the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in the hippocampus of rats. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the memory enhancing effect of Aur after Aβ injection, which could be through inhibiting the apoptotic pathways in the hippocampus of rats.