Effects of Sesame Seed Supplementation on Lipid Profile and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

Background: This study was designed to assess the effect of sesame seed on lipid profile and oxidative stress biomarkers in knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Methods: Fifty patients with knee OA were allocated into two groups receiving 40 g of sesame seed daily along with standard medical therapy (n=25) or standard treatment (n=25) for two months. Serum total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides) were measured. Results: After the intervention period two months of study, serum TC, LDL-cholesterol and MDA decreased significantly in the sesame group (P0.05). There was no significant difference in pre and post-treatment values of lipid profile and oxidative parameters between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Current study showed a positive effect of sesame seed in improving lipid profile and oxidative stress in patients with knee OA and indicated the fact that sesame seed might be of help to reduce oxidative stress in OA patients

Troxerutin affects the male fertility in prepubertal type 1 diabetic male rats

Objective(s): Diabetes can gradually cause damage to the function and structure of male gonads. This survey was conducted to investigate the effect of troxerutin on hormonal changes, serum oxidative stress indices, and testicular function and structure in prepubertal diabetic rats.Materials and Methods: Fifty prepubertal (6 weeks old) male Wistar rats were divided into five groups including Control, Troxerutin, Diabetic, Diabetic+Troxerutin, and Diabetic+Insulin. Type I diabetes was induced by 55 mg/kg of streptozotocin intraperitoneally. The groups were treated with 150 mg/kg/day troxerutin via oral gavage or 4-6 IU/day insulin via subcutaneous injection for 4 consecutive weeks. Blood sugar (BS) and serum levels of insulin, FSH, LH, testosterone, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were analyzed. Testis and epididymis were removed for histopathologic study and analysis of sperm parameters.Results: Troxerutin significantly reduced the BS in the diabetic group similar to insulin but could not affect insulin, FSH, or LH significantly. Troxerutin caused a significant increase in testosterone and GPX but had no significant effect on serum MDA, TAC, and SOD levels. In addition, troxerutin had a better effect than insulin on diabetes-induced testicular structural damage. Sperm analysis results also revealed that troxerutin and insulin could improve sperm number, motility, and viability in diabetic rats.Conclusion: According to these results, it can be derived that administration of troxerutin is a suitable protective strategy for side effects of diabetes in testis of prepubertal diabetic male rats

Correlation between the level of cholesteryl ester transfer protein in follicular fluid with fertilization rates in IVF/ ICSI cycles

Background: Follicular fluid (FF) plays an important role in oocytes and embryo development, which may contribute to IVF/ICSI success rate. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) level in FF and the success rate of IVF/ICSI.Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, FF samples, FF samples were obtained from 100 patients referred to Tabriz Alzahra Hospital. Seventy-nine subjects underwent IVF and the remaining 21 underwent ICSI. The levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein A-I and CETP were measured using enzymatic, turbidometric and ELISA methods respectively.Results: Analysis of the subgroups with different levels of CETP showed a significant lower level of CETP in the subgroup with the lowest number of mature oocytes (p70% of this ratio.Conclusion: While no association was found for pregnancy, the amount of CETP in FF was associated positively to the maturity and the percentage of oocyte fertilization

Voluntary Exercise Protects Heart from Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Rats

Purpose: Oxidative stress plays a key role in the onset and development of diabetes complications. In this study, we evaluated whether voluntary exercise could alleviate oxidative stress in the heart and blood of streptozotocin - induced diabetic rats. Methods: 28 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=7): control, exercise, diabetes and exercise + diabetes. Diabetes was induced by injection of streptozotocin in male rats. Rats in the trained groups were subjected to voluntary running wheel exercise for 6 weeks. At the end of six weeks blood and heart tissue samples were collected and used for determination of antioxidant enzymes (including SOD, GPX and CAT activities) and MDA level. Results: Exercise significantly reduced MDA levels both in the heart tissue (p<0.01) and blood samples (p<0.05). In addition, exercise significantly increased SOD (p<0.05), GPX (p<0.001) and CAT (p<0.05) in the heart tissue. Voluntary exercise also significantly increased SOD (p<0.01), GPX (p<0.05) and CAT (p<0.001) in the blood. Conclusion: Voluntary exercise diminishes the MDA level in blood and heart tissue of diabetic rats. It also accentuates activities of SOD, GPX and CAT. Therefore, it may be considered a useful tool for the reduction of oxidative stress in diabetes

Voluntary Exercise Protects Heart from Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Rats

Purpose: Oxidative stress plays a key role in the onset and development of diabetes complications. In this study, we evaluated whether voluntary exercise could alleviate oxidative stress in the heart and blood of streptozotocin - induced diabetic rats. Methods: 28 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=7): control, exercise, diabetes and exercise + diabetes. Diabetes was induced by injection of streptozotocin in male rats. Rats in the trained groups were subjected to voluntary running wheel exercise for 6 weeks. At the end of six weeks blood and heart tissue samples were collected and used for determination of antioxidant enzymes (including SOD, GPX and CAT activities) and MDA level. Results: Exercise significantly reduced MDA levels both in the heart tissue (p<0.01) and blood samples (p<0.05). In addition, exercise significantly increased SOD (p<0.05), GPX (p<0.001) and CAT (p<0.05) in the heart tissue. Voluntary exercise also significantly increased SOD (p<0.01), GPX (p<0.05) and CAT (p<0.001) in the blood. Conclusion: Voluntary exercise diminishes the MDA level in blood and heart tissue of diabetic rats. It also accentuates activities of SOD, GPX and CAT. Therefore, it may be considered a useful tool for the reduction of oxidative stress in diabetes

Correlation between the level of cholesteryl ester transfer protein in follicular fluid with fertilization rates in IVF/ICSI cycles

Background: Follicular fluid (FF) plays an important role in oocytes and embryo development, which may contribute to IVF/ICSI success rate. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) level in FF and the success rate of IVF/ICSI. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, FF samples, FF samples were obtained from 100 patients referred to Tabriz Alzahra Hospital. Seventy-nine subjects underwent IVF and the remaining 21 underwent ICSI. The levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein A-I and CETP were measured using enzymatic, turbidometric and ELISA methods respectively. Results: Analysis of the subgroups with different levels of CETP showed a significant lower level of CETP in the subgroup with the lowest number of mature oocytes (p<0.05). The level of CETP was also considerably lower (18%, p=0.05) in subjects with<50% oocytes fertilization ratio than subjects with >70% of this ratio. Conclusion: While no association was found for pregnancy, the amount of CETP in FF was associated positively to the maturity and the percentage of oocyte fertilization

The inclusion of <i>Alhagi maurorum</i> in growing camel diet:Effect on performance, liver-related blood metabolites and antioxidant status

This study determined the effect of dietary inclusion of camelthron [Alhagi maurorum (AM)] on the performance, blood metabolites, and antioxidant status of growing camels. A total of 18 Sindhi camel calves of 9–10 months of age and 115 ± 7 kg body weight (BW) were randomly assigned to three diets (with a forage:concentrate ratio of 50:50) that were formulated by partial and total substitution of alfalfa hay with AM as follows: (1) diet without AM (control), (2) diet containing 25% of AM (AM-25), and (3) diet containing 50% of AM (AM-50) (dry matter basis) for 150 days. Dry matter intake (DMI) was recorded daily. The camels were weighed individually on days 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 75, and 150. DMI was increased (p = 0.004) with AM-50 feeding followed by AM-25. Total weight gain (p = 0.048) and average daily gain (ADG) (p = 0.043) decreased with AM-50; however, no differences were observed between the AM-25 and CON groups. Feed cost per kg BW gain tended to decrease (p = 0.092) and return per kg BW gain tended to increase (p = 0.087) by AM feeding. The plasma triglycerides (TGs) (p = 0.046) and cholesterol (CHOL) (p = 0.025) concentration were reduced with AM inclusion. Additionally, the AM50-fed camels showed the lowest concentration of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (p = 0.008) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (p = 0.0036), followed by AM-25. The plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) was depressed (p = 0.037) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was enhanced (p = 0.016) with both the AM-25 and AM-50. Moreover, feeding the AM containing diets led to higher (p = 0.004) glutathione peroxidase (GPx) along with a tendency for superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p = 0.075) and catalase (CAT) (p = 0.094). Overall, feeding camels with AM for up to 25% of their dry matter (DM) diet positively influenced the antioxidant status without severe deleterious effects on performance

Protective role of lipoic acid on methotrexate induced intestinal damage in rabbit model

Abstract Methotrexate (MTX), a folate antagonist agent, is mainly used in treatment of malignant tumors and auto immune diseases and affects not only tumor cells, but also gastrointestinal mucosa. The present study was undertaken to determine whether lipoic acid (LA) could ameliorate methotrexate-induced oxidative intestine injury in rabbits. Twenty-one rabbits were randomly assigned into three groups: Group 1 (control group), Group 2 (received 20 mg/kg MTX), Group 3 (received MTX plus LA 75 mg/kg orally). On the 6th day rabbits were anesthetized and intestinal tissue sampled for pathologic and biochemical assessment. The intestinal tissue injury index and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were lower in MTX+LA group as compared to the MTX group, and tissue glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were higher in MTX+LA group than in the MTX group (p&lt;0.05). These findings suggest that coadministration of LA with MTX is associated with reduction in oxidative injury and tissue damage in the intestine. We suggest that lipoic acid may have a protective role in the MTX-induced oxidative injury

Effect of treatment with Omega-3 fatty acids on C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-alfa in hemodialysis patients

C-reactive protein (CRP), a strong independent risk marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and tumor necrosis factor-alfa (TNF-α), a known pro-inflammatory cytokine, are elevated and have damaging effects in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Omega-3 fatty acids play an important modulatory role in inflammatory responses. The aim of this study is to review the alterations in serum levels of TNF-α, CRP and other parameters caused by omega-3 supplementation in dialysis patients. The clinical trial was performed in 37 patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing dialysis in hemodialysis centers of three university hospitals in Tabriz. Blood samples were obtained from the study patients for hemoglobin, albumin, ferritin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, TNF-α and high specific-CRP (hs-CRP) measurement. The patients received 3 g omega-3 per day for 2 months. The side-effects noticed were nausea, diarrhea and dyspepsia and undesired drug smell. The difference noted in hemoglobin, albumin, ferritin, CRP, triglyceride, total, LDL and HDL-cholesterol before and after supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, the use of omega-3 decreased the serum levels of TNF-α significantly. We conclude that the use of 3 g of omega-3 per day caused significant decrease in serum levels of TNF-α in the dialysis population, and its use is recommended in such patients

Protective role of lipoic acid on methotrexate induced intestinal damage in rabbit model

Abstract Methotrexate (MTX), a folate antagonist agent, is mainly used in treatment of malignant tumors and auto immune diseases and affects not only tumor cells, but also gastrointestinal mucosa. The present study was undertaken to determine whether lipoic acid (LA) could ameliorate methotrexate-induced oxidative intestine injury in rabbits. Twenty-one rabbits were randomly assigned into three groups: Group 1 (control group), Group 2 (received 20 mg/kg MTX), Group 3 (received MTX plus LA 75 mg/kg orally). On the 6th day rabbits were anesthetized and intestinal tissue sampled for pathologic and biochemical assessment. The intestinal tissue injury index and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were lower in MTX+LA group as compared to the MTX group, and tissue glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were higher in MTX+LA group than in the MTX group (p&lt;0.05). These findings suggest that coadministration of LA with MTX is associated with reduction in oxidative injury and tissue damage in the intestine. We suggest that lipoic acid may have a protective role in the MTX-induced oxidative injury