Ajuga iva water extract antihypertensive effect on stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats, vasorelaxant effects ex vivo and in vitro activity of fractions.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ajuga iva (L.) Schreb. (Labiatae) (AI) is used in folk medicine for a variety of ailments, including diabetes mellitus and hypertension. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this work, we aimed to investigate the antihypertensive and vasorelaxant effects of AI aqueous extract in stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-SP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Male SHR-SP rats were orally force-fed AI aqueous extract (500 mg/kg body weight) daily for one week. Systolic blood pressure and urine output were recorded in vivo by non-invasive methods. AI vasoactive effects on noradrenaline contractile response and acetylcholine-evoked relaxation were assessed ex vivo on aorta rings of treated and untreated SHR-SP rats. AI extract was then subjected to bio-guided fractionation using solvents of increasing polarity. For each fraction, in vitro vasorelaxation assay was performed on noradrenaline-precontracted aorta of Wistar rats, in the absence/presence of N-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA). HPLC analysis of AI total extract, and the most in vitro active AI residual aqueous extract fraction (A1) was performed using naringin, naringenin, apigenin, apigenin 7-O-glucoside as marker compounds. RESULTS: AI aqueous extract (500 mg/kg) significantly (P < 0.05) decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) in SHR-SP rats, while not affecting the urine output. In ex vivo experiments, the total extract decreased contractile response to noradrenaline of aortic rings isolated from AI-treated SHR-SP rats with or without addition of N-nitro-L-arginine, but endothelium dependent relaxation evoked by acetylcholine in noradrenaline-contracted aortic rings was not affected by the extract treatment. In vitro experiments on AI aqueous extract fractions showed that its polar fraction was the only one affecting in vitro noradrenaline induced contractions, but only in an endothelium dependent manner. This fraction was shown by HPLC-UV to contain flavonoid glycosides among other polar compounds whose activity and mode of action may be modified in vivo by metabolization. CONCLUSION: These results support the use of AI as antihypertensive treatment in folk medicine. The systolic blood pressure decrease may be attributed at least in part to vasorelaxant glycosylated/polar phenolic compounds as flavonoids and/or their metabolites

Effects of nutrition education on Metabolic profiles of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to improve glycated hemoglobin and body mass index

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a lifelong condition, in which patient self-management is one of the key aspects of treatment.Therapeutic education is an integral part of the therapeutic strategy for diabetic patients. Changing patients' lifestyles by modifying their diets through nutrition therapeutic education programs can reduce their body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and control type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a proposed nutrition therapeutic education program on BMI and HbA1c in patients with T2DM. Methods: The target population was T2DM patients from the Fez-Meknes region of Morocco, consulting at Al Amal diabetic association in Fez, Morocco, from February 2021 to July 2021. Before and after 3 months of the educational session, patients' glycemic profile, BMI and HbA1c were measured. Results: A total of 160 diabetic patients with an average age of 56.8 ± 10.2 years were included in the study. Most participants lived in urban areas (86.3 %), were illiterate (39.4 %), and overweight (49.0 %). The results demonstrated that nutrition therapeutic education sessions reduced BMI and HbA1c of patients. A mean decrease of 0.8 kg/m2 from 28.9 ± 5.2 to 28.1 ± 4.9 was observed for BMI. On average, HbA1c decreased 1.1 % from 8.6 ± 1.7 to 7.5 ± 1.0 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results suggest that the therapeutic education nutrition program was effective in decreasing the BMI and HbA1c of diabetic patients. Implementing such programs in all regions of Morocco is an urgent need