The Effect of Ginger on Blood Lipid and Lipoproteins in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Controlled Trial

Background: Preliminary clinical trials showed that ginger improved lipid profile in type 2 diabetes patients (T2D). This trial was carried out to determine the effect of ginger on blood lipid and lipoproteins in T2D. Methods: this is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on 88 T2D conducted in. The patients were randomly divided into two groups of ginger (GG) and placebo (PG), the GG consumed daily 3 one-gram capsules containing ginger powder whereas the other group received capsules of the same color and number as GG but containing cellulose microcrystalline, both after taking meals and for eight weeks. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL-c, LDL-c, Apo B100 and Apo A1 were measured at the baseline and the end of trial. Results: Out of 88 patients who participated in the trial, 81 of them accomplished it. No significant changes were observed in mean of TC, TG, HDL-c, and Apo B100 within and between the groups. Serum LDL-c and LDL-c/HDL-c ratio were decreased significantly in the GG (P = 0.03, P = 0.028) at the end of trail but they were not significantly different between the two groups. Serum Apo A1 was increased significantly in the GG (P < 0.05) and PG (P < 0.05) at the end of trial but it was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions: This study indicated that daily consumption of 3 g of ginger powder in capsules for 8 weeks by T2D leads to lowering of LDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c ratio, and Apo A1. Therefore, consumption of this supplementation is appropriate for this patient

The Effect of ginger powder supplementation on Blood Pressure of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Controlled Trial

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic metabolic disorders. Nowadays there is an uprising trend toward new approaches in type 2 diabetes management. In this study the effect of Ginger supplementation on blood pressure in type 2 diabetic patients was examined. Methods: 81 patients with type 2 diabetes who were referred to Yazd Diabetes Research Center participated in this randomized clinical trial. Patients were randomly divided into two groups; Placebo (PG) and ginger supplemented (GG) groups. GG were supplemented with 3 ginger capsules (1 g ginger powder in each capsule) and PG received placebo. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), Pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured before the intervention, 2nd week, 4th week, 6th week, and at the end of the study (8th week). Results: The SBP, DBP, PP and MAP were decreased significantly in the GG (P = 0.001) group at the end of week 8 and significantly decreased at the end of the study compared to the beginning of the study. No significant changes were observed in the PG. However, its mean was statistically different between two groups at the end of intervention. Conclusion: This study indicated that daily consumption of 3 g of ginger powder in capsules for 8 weeks by patients with type 2 diabetes decreases SBP, DBP, PP and MAP

Optimal metaheuristic state-dependent parameter proportional-integral-plus control: Alternative to gain-scheduled controller for control of a nonlinear continuous stirred tank reactor

The continuous stirred-tank reactors have complex dynamic behavior. In the reactor, the residual concentration decreases during an exothermic chemical reaction. In this transition proper cooling is essential to stabilize the reaction, and to prevent reactor overheating. This paper presents the data-driven metaheuristic state-dependent parameter proportional-integration-plus (M-SDP-PIP) control as an alternative of gain-scheduled control for adjusting the coolant temperature of the reactor. In fact, the parameters of the discrete transfer function were identified in the non-minimal state space using state-dependent parameter which is a nonlinear method; and weighting matrixes of linear quadratic servomechanism cost function of the optimal controller were achieved by metaheuristic methods, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization, according to the minimization of the integral absolute error index and energy consumption. The proposed controller was compared to gain-scheduled and non-gain-scheduled controllers in the closed-loop condition in terms of tracking performance. The results show particle swarm optimization algorithm converge to the same optimal solution as genetic algorithm using fewer number of function evaluation, so that proposed controller has more effective offset-free servo-regulatory performance than other control schemes. In addition, it is simpler and more comprehensible because it requires no auxiliary equations and models to determine and manage the control gain, as opposed to the gain-scheduled structure

Effects of Cinnamon Consumption on Glycemic Indicators, Advanced Glycation End Products, and Antioxidant Status in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of a daily intake of three grams of cinnamon over eight weeks on glycemic indicators, advanced glycation end products, and antioxidant status in patients with type 2 diabetes. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial study, 44 patients with type 2 diabetes, aged 57 ± 8 years, were randomly assigned to take either a three g/day cinnamon supplement (n = 22) or a placebo (n = 22) for eight weeks. We measured the fasting blood glucose, insulin, hemoglobinbA1c, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), carboxymethyl lysine, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde levels at the beginning and the end of the study. Thirty-nine patients (20 in the intervention group and 19 in the control group) completed the study. After an eight-week intervention, changes in the level of fasting blood glucose, insulin, hemoglobinbA1c, HOMA-IR, carboxymethyl lysine, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde were not significant in either group, nor were any significant differences between groups observed in these glycemic and inflammatory indicators at the end of the intervention. Our study revealed that cinnamon supplementation had no significant effects on glycemic and inflammatory indicators in patients with type 2 diabetes