Effects of cinnamon supplementation on antioxidant status and serum lipids in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background The objectives of study were to investigate the effects of cinnamon supplementation on antioxidant status and serum lipids in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods This double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 84 overweight or obese PCOS patients; aged 20�38 years. Subjects in cinnamon (n = 42) and placebo (n = 42) groups were given 3 cinnamon capsules (each one contained 500 mg cinnamon) or placebo daily for 8 weeks. Fasting blood samples, anthropometric measurements and dietary intake data were gathered at the beginning and at the end of the study. Independent t test, paired t test and analysis of covariance were used to analyze of data. Results Cinnamon significantly increased serum total antioxidant capacity (P = 0.005). Malondialdehyde was significantly decreased compared with placebo (P = 0.014). Cinnamon supplementation significantly improved serum level of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (all P < 0.05). No significant effect was detected on serum triglyceride level. Conclusions Cinnamon supplementation improved antioxidant status and serum lipid profile in women with PCOS and may be applicable for reducing PCOS risk factors. © 2017 Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan Universit

Effects of cinnamon supplementation on antioxidant status and serum lipids in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background The objectives of study were to investigate the effects of cinnamon supplementation on antioxidant status and serum lipids in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods This double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 84 overweight or obese PCOS patients; aged 20�38 years. Subjects in cinnamon (n = 42) and placebo (n = 42) groups were given 3 cinnamon capsules (each one contained 500 mg cinnamon) or placebo daily for 8 weeks. Fasting blood samples, anthropometric measurements and dietary intake data were gathered at the beginning and at the end of the study. Independent t test, paired t test and analysis of covariance were used to analyze of data. Results Cinnamon significantly increased serum total antioxidant capacity (P = 0.005). Malondialdehyde was significantly decreased compared with placebo (P = 0.014). Cinnamon supplementation significantly improved serum level of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (all P < 0.05). No significant effect was detected on serum triglyceride level. Conclusions Cinnamon supplementation improved antioxidant status and serum lipid profile in women with PCOS and may be applicable for reducing PCOS risk factors. © 2017 Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan Universit

The proximate composition of three marine pelagic fish: blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), boarfish (Capros aper) and Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus)

peer reviewedThis study presents data from an in-depth proximate compositional analysis of three marine fish species: blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), boarfish (Capros aper) and Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). These fish contained significant amounts of protein (16–17%), lipids (4–11%) and minerals (2–6% ash). The proteins, particularly from boarfish, had close to optimum amino acid profiles for human and fish nutrition. They compared favourably with other fish species in terms of total lipids and relative concentration of the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid (11.8–13.3% and 5.9–8.1% in triacylglycerols [TG] and 24.6–35.4% and 5.8–12.0% in phospholipids [PL]). Atlantic herring had the highest lipid content among the three fish and was found to contain high levels of PL poly-unsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 fatty acids. Minerals detected in the fish included calcium (272–1,520 mg/100 g), phosphorus (363–789 mg/100 g), iron (1.07–2.83 mg/100 g), magnesium (40.70–62.10 mg/100 g), potassium (112.00–267.00 mg/100 g), selenium (0.04–0.06 mg/100 g), sodium (218.00–282.00 mg/100 g) and zinc (1.29–5.57 mg/100 g). Boarfish had the highest ash fraction and also the highest levels of all the minerals, except potassium. Atlantic herring had considerably lower mineral content compared with the other two species and, levels detected were also lower than those reported in previously published studies. Heavy metals contents were quantified, and levels were significantly below the maximum allowable limits for all elements except arsenic, which ranged from 1.34 to 2.44 mg/kg in the three fish species. Data outlined here will be useful for guiding product development. Future studies would benefit from considering catch season, sex and developmental stage of the fish

Mineral chemistry and thermobarometry of plutonic, metamorphic and anatectic rocks from the Tueyserkan area (Hamedan, Iran)

The study area is a part of the NW to SE striking Sanandaj–Sirjan metamorphic belt in western Iran. The Alvand Pluton, consisting of rocks that range in composition from gabbro to granite, is the major magmatic rock complex of this area. Gabbroic rocks include olivine gabbro, gabbro norite, norite and gabbro. Rocks around the Alvand Pluton were subjected to different P–T conditions due to polymetamorphism. Common metamorphic rocks are meta-pelites, but some meta-psammites, meta-basites and meta-carbonates also occur. Slates, phyllites, schists, migmatites and hornfelses are major rock units of meta-pelites in the metamorphic sequence. Based on mineral chemistry, the highest temperature of crystallisation (1300°C) was determined for the olivine gabbros, and the lowest temperature (950°C) was calculated for the hornblende-bearing gabbros. Clinopyroxene–plagioclase barometry suggests that pressures near 5 to 6 kbars prevailed during the crystallisation of the various mafic rocks. P–T estimates yield maximum temperatures of 700–750°C at 5–6 kbars for the high-grade metamorphic rocks from the metamorphic aureole around the pluton. These results indicate that the heat released from the Alvand Pluton (T = 950–1300°C), which intruded the metamorphic rocks at middle and upper crustal levels, was sufficient to cause partial melting leading to formation of the metatexites, diatexites and restite-rich S-type granites. During this process, part of the deep-seated gabbro-dioritic rocks were transported to higher crustal levels by viscous, enclave- and crystal-rich granitic magmas of the partial melting zone

Evaluating the salt tolerance in fifth generation (M5) of bread wheat lines using the biplot and factor analysis methods

Introduction Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting crop growth and productivity. Effective screening techniques for salinity tolerance would be beneficial in developing yielding wheat varieties. Knowledge of the interrelationships between traits will improve the efficiency of breeding programs especially under saline conditions through appropriate selection criteria. Improving the seed yield of wheat is always the final and major target in plant breeding.. On other hands, Yield is a complex quantitative trait, with low heritability. Some morphophysiological traits and related characters with seed yield due to easy measurement and high heritability can be used as criteria for distinguish salinity tolerant plants and for improvement of seed yield in wheat genotypes. Therefore, there is necessary to examine the relationships between various traits, especially between seed yield and other traits. Biplot is a graphical tool for breeders and is a plot that simultaneously displays the effects of traits and genotypes. The GGE biplot is the most commonly used and most useful type of biplot. The first objective of this study was to describe a genotype by trait (GT) biplot, which is an application of the GGE biplot technique to study of the genotype by trait data and to examine its usefulness in visualizing wheat trait relationships, and its application in M5 lines evaluation, comparison, and selection. The second objective of this study was to evaluating salt tolerance of M5 bread wheat lines clarify the association among some morphophysiological traits of M5 bread wheat using correlation and factor analysis, which provide valuable information for breeding new high yielding wheat lines. Mehtods and Material In this study, 15 bread wheat line selective of 4 generation (M4) lines with 2 parents genotype of them (Arg and Bam) and 2 genotype yazd (Sivand and Narin) were evaluated under two non-stress )2 dSm-1) and stress conditions )10 dSm-1) in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications research field of the National Salinity Research Center (NSRC) in Yazd provinc. Each plot consisted two rows 20 cm apart and 1 m in length. for the purpose of determining the salinity of soil during growth season, sampling have been done from the depth to 90. The average of salinity rate in non-stress and salinty condition was 2.3 and 9.7 dS.m-1 respectively.The traits were Yield (Y), Chlorophyll content (CH), Number of Grain per Spike (NG), Number of fertile tillers (NT), Hundred Kernel Weight (KW), Biological Yield (BY), Peduncle Length (PL), Spike Length (SL), Plant Height (PH), Flag Leaf Length (FL), Number of Spikelet per Spike (NS), Awn Length (AL), Peduncle Weight (PL), Harvest Index (HI), Spike Weight (SW), Days to Heading (DH), Days to Physiological Maturity (DM), Grain Weight/Spike (GW), Fluorescence Maximum (FM), Variable Fluorescence (FV), Variable Fluorescence/ Variable Fluorescence (FV/FM), NA+, K+ and K+/NA+. Tolerance indices of stress tolerance index (STI) were calculated in this investigation for salinity. The Fluorescence chlorophyll and chlorophyll content was measured in the reproductive stage using a Chlorophyll Fluorimeter-PEA Plus and SPAD- CL-01 chlorophyll meter, Respectively. All biplots presented in this paper were generated by using the “GGEbiplot” and SAS9.01 software. Also, Person Correlation and Factor analysis carried out using by SAS9.01 and SPSS18 softwares. Results and discussion This study demonstrated that GT biplot was an excellent tool for visual evaluation of superior lines, traits and grouping of them with other statistical techniques. The obtained data were analyzed using factor analysis and genotype trait (GT) biplot method based on site regression model .The biplot vector view indicate that there was a strong positive association between BY (Biological Yield) with seed yield in non-saline and CH (Chlorophyll content ) with seed yield saline conditions. Factor analysis confirmed this results. It seems that CH and BY traits can be used as selection criterion for improving of seed yield in wheat breeding programs, especially under stress conditions in the field. Also, the three-dimensional diagrams derived from STI index and grain yield in non-stress and salt stress conditions confirmed that the number 1, 2 and 8 lines had the highest grain yield in non-stress and salinity conditions and were the most tolerant lines to salinity stress. Conclusions the lack of identification of appropriate morphophysiological traits has been one major factor preventing improvement of yield in salinity environments, as well as the reason why plant breeders have not adopted more analytical approaches to selection. Moreover, any desirable morphophysiological trait should be simple, rapid and more economical than yield to assess. Generally, we conclude that tolerance to salt conditions in bread wheat lines seems to be related to its ability to production of Chlorophyll content. These findings will be useful in selection material for M6 breeding programs. Also, its was confirmed that the number 1, 2 and 8 lines had the highest grain yield in non-stress and salinity conditions and were the most tolerant lines to salinity stres

Effects of sera taken from women with recurrent spontaneous abortion on sperm motility and apoptosis

Background: Recurrent spontaneous abortion impacts almost 1% of couples. The sera from women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) have toxic effects on embryos that grow in the uterus. Therefore, the abnormal condition of the uterus may also affect sperm qualities. Objective: The objectives of this study were to search if these sera could induce DNA denaturation in sperm nuclei and also it could reduce sperm motility. Materials and Methods: Sera of 20 women with URSA history and sera from 20 women with at least two healthy children were added to the sperms samples from 20 healthy men for 2 hours. The sperm motility was assessed after incubation with sera. The samples were stained with Tdt mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay for DNA fragmentation. The samples were analyzed with flow cytometry and the percentage of the TUNEL positive sperms were calculated. The data were analyzed by t-test. Results: The incubation of the sperm samples in sera with URSA lead to a decrease in the percentage of the motile sperm from 55% in control to 41% in the treated group, significantly (p=0.038). The percentage of the sperm with abnormal fragmented DNA increased after incubation with URSA (26.6%) compare to the control (21.2%); however, it was not significant. Conclusion: It seems that sera from URSA patients could not induce a significant increase in the percentage of the sperms with nuclei contain DNA fragmentation. However, the sera of women with URSA could affect the fertility rate by reduction of the sperm motilit

Effects of L-carnitine and L-acetyl-carnitine on testicular sperm motility and chromatin quality

Background: Sperm cells extracted from testes (TESE) have poor chromatin quality and motility. Various substances are used in the laboratory to increase sperm motility and improve the ART outcomes; however, there are few research which considered improving both sperm motility and chromatin quality. Objective: The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the improvement of the testicular sperm motility and chromatin quality exposed to L-carnitine (LC) and L-acetyl-carnitine (LAC), which are normally concentrated in testis and epididymis, compared with Pentoxifylline (PF), which used for sperm motility enhancement in IVF procedures. Materials and Methods: TESE samples from 30 male mice divided into four parts. The sperm samples were added to Ham' F10 (control) or the media contained 1.76mM of LC, LAC or PF), then, the samples were kept in the room temperature for 30, 90 and 180 min. At each time step, sperm motility and chromatin quality were assessed. Chromatin quality was evaluated by chromomycin A3 and aniline blue. Statistical analysis was performed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A p-value less than 0.05 were accepted as a statistically significant difference. Results: The results showed LC, LAC and PF significantly increased the sperm motility. However, sperm chromatin quality only improved significantly by administration of LC and LAC. Conclusion: Administration of LC and LAC to the testicular sperm samples can lead to improve both sperm motility and chromatin quality. It may be because they can mimic in vivo sperm condition during late spermatogenesis