Effects of Ramadan fasting on match-related changes in skill performance in elite Muslim badminton players

We examined the extent to which Ramadan fasting affects badminton skill performance under simulated (i.e., competitive) match play conditions. Ten male Muslim national-level badminton players performed a 40-minute (2 sets × 20 minutes per set in each match) badminton single-matches in a non-fasted (CON) and in Ramadan-fasted (RAM) state on separate occasions. Skills assessment involved performing eight low-serves and eight overhead smashes at baseline, at the end of set 1 and set 2 (mid- and end-match, respectively). Players’ pre-match diet was standardised between conditions and consumed either at ∼12:00 or at ∼05:00 for CON and RAM, respectively. There were no differences in the accuracy, consistency and speed of the low-serve between CON and RAM at the three match play time-points (all P > 0.05). Likewise, accuracy and consistency of the overhead smash were not affected by RAM (P > 0.05), but overhead smash velocity was slower in RAM than CON at the mid- (−7.3 ± 7.1%; P = 0.016) and end-match (−5.3 ± 4.4%; P = 0.007). Blood glucose, blood lactate, heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion were similar throughout the match play protocol (all P > 0.05). No differences were observed between conditions in players’ overnight sleep, daytime nap duration and level of daytime sleepiness (all P > 0.05), whereas pre-match perceived tiredness and fatigue ratings were higher in RAM (both P < 0.01). In conclusion, although Ramadan fasting resulted in increased sensations of fatigue and tiredness during match play, skill performances were however largely maintained, with the only observed decrement being a decrease in overhead smash velocity

Drug-induced liver injury associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A review of adverse event reports in an Asian community from 2009 to 2014

10.1186/s12906-016-1168-zBMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine16119

Enhancing a search for traditional medicinal plants with anthelmintic action by using wild type and stress reporter Caenorhabditis elegans strains as screening tools

Traditional healers in Sarawak, Malaysia, use plants such as Picria fel-terrae, Linariantha bicolor and Lansium domesticum to treat gastrointestinal infections. This study aimed to test whether their nematocidal activities could be confirmed in vitro using highly standardised Caenorhabditis elegans models. We applied eight different ethanol solubilised plant extracts and two commercial anthelmintic drugs to larval and adult stages of C. elegans in vitro. Seven C. elegans strains were evaluated, one wild type and six strains with GFP-tagged stress response pathways to help characterise and compare the pathways affected by plant extracts. Our in vitro screen confirmed that both of the commercial anthelmintic drugs and five of the eight traditionally used plant extracts had significant nematocidal activity against both larval and adult C. elegans. The most effective extracts were from P. fel-terrae. The plant extracts triggered different stress response pathways from the commercial anthelmintic drugs. This study showed that using traditional knowledge of plant medicinal properties in combination with a C. elegans in vitro screen provided a rapid and economical test with a high hit rate compared with the random screening of plants for nematocidal activities. The use of transgenic C. elegans strains may allow this approach to be refined further to investigate the mode of action of active extracts