Nigella sativa and its Derivatives as Food Toxicity Protectant Agents

Exposure to food toxins generate multiple adverse health effects. Heavy metals, antibioticsresidue, mycotoxins, pesticides and some food additives are examples of the most importantfood toxins. The common mechanism of toxicity and carcinogenicity effects of food toxins is thegeneration of oxidative stress that leads to DNA damages. Moreover, based on epidemiologicevidence unhealthy eating habits and food toxicities are associated with cancers occurrence.Therefore, application of bioactive food additives as harmless or safe components in foodindustry is expensive. Nigella sativa L. is a broadly used herb-drug for various diseases all overthe world and has been used as preservative and food additive. Based on various studies N. sativahas shown various pharmacological activities including therapeutic efficacy against differenthuman diseases and antioxidant anti-inflammatory effects against environmental toxins. N.sativa decreases the adverse health effects induced by mentioned food toxins via modulating theaction of antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferasecatalase and act as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers in different organs. Besides, N.sativa and thymoquinone (TQ) have protective effects on food products through removal andinhibition of various toxic compounds. Therefore, in the present review we will describe allprotective effects of N. sativa and its main constituents, TQ, against food induced toxicities

Spectroscopic, thermodynamic and molecular docking studies of bovine serum albumin interaction with ascorbyl palmitate food additive

Introduction: Ascorbyl palmitate (AP) is an example of natural secondary food antioxidant, which has been used for oxidative rancidity prevention in food industry. In this study, the interaction of AP with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated. Methods: The mechanism of BSA interaction with AP was investigated using spectroscopic methods (UV-Vis, fluorescence). The thermodynamic parameters including enthalpy change (ΔH), entropy change (ΔS), and Gibb’s free energy (ΔG) were calculated using Van’t Hoff equation at different temperatures. Results: The experimental results showed that UV-Vis absorption spectra of BSA decreased upon increasing AP concentration, indicating that the AP can bind to BSA. Formation of the AP-BSA complex was approved by quenching of fluorescence and the quenching mechanism was found to be resultant from dynamic procedure. The positive values of both ΔH and ΔS showed that hydrophobic forces were the major binding forces. The negative value of ΔG demonstrated that AP interacts with BSA spontaneously. Molecular docking results confirmed that AP binds to BSA through hydrophobic forces. Conclusion: The attained results showed that AP can bind to BSA and effectively distributed into the bloodstream

The effectiveness of psychosexual education program on psychological dimensions of sexual function and its quality in cardiac rehabilitation patients

Objectives: The study aimed to assess the efficacy of a psychosexual education program (PSEP) on the psychological dimensions of sexual function and its quality in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 43 male patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft were selected randomly and then divided into case (n = 23) or control groups (n = 20). The research instruments consist of multidimensional sexual questionnaire and Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire. Levin's PSEP (two 1-hour sessions) is presented as an intervention program. Data were analyzed through multivariate analysis of covariance to control the baseline scores. Results: Approximately 84% of patients (cases: 87% and controls: 80%) completed the final assessment. The results indicated that PSEP is significantly effective in the enhancement of sexual assertiveness (P = 0.034) and reduction of fear about intercourse (P = 0.007). There were no significant differences between two groups in other variables (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that PSEP is effective in the promotion of sexual assertiveness and fear of intercourse among CR patients. As the resumption of sexual function is one of the most important components in the psychosocial improvement of patients, it seems that this intervention should be included as a priority among educational programs in Iranian CRs

Predictors of Clinical Anxiety Aggravation at the End of a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Background: Anxiety is one of the most primary and common reactions to a cardiac event can lead to hypertension, tachycardia, and high cardiac output. Objectives: To investigate the predictors of clinical anxiety aggravation at the end of a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study used a database of a CR ward of a hospital in Iran. The demographic and clinical information of 574 patients participating in the CR program from April 2005 through April 2010 were analyzed. In order to determine the predictors of anxiety, binary logistic regression was performed. Results: After adjustment for gender, age and education, the results showed that 16.7% of the patients completed their CR program with increased levels of clinical anxiety. The following study variables were independently predictive of increased anxiety at the end of the CR program: male gender (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.11 to 3.33, P = 0.048), no history of diabetes (OR = 4.24, 95% CI = 172 to 10.44, P = 0.002), family history of cardiac disease (OR = 2.63, 95% CI = 1.03 to 6.74, P = 0.043), and not quitting smoking (OR = 3.29, 95% CI = 1.38 to 7.85, P = 0.007). These variables could explain 9% - 15% of the variance in the dependent variable. Conclusions: It is possible to predict higher anxiety levels at the end of the CR program and implement preventive measures to control anxiety by considering certain demographic and clinical variables. Future studies should assess the predictive power of other variables