Impact of COVID pandemic on attitude and prevalence of plant-based food products consumption in Serbia

COVID pandemic influence on eating behavior and dietary habits with respect to various plant-based foods in Serbia were estimated by an anonymous questionnaire. Most examinees agree that fruits and vegetables contribute to strengthening immunity and that herbal medicines and natural products have beneficial effects on health. Around 55% of examinees consider their diet balanced, and 4% have started to drink herbal teas more often when the pandemic started. Garlic and ginger were the most frequently reported newly included plants in examinees’ diet. The attitudes toward plant-based food products are not strongly dependent on the education level. The age and previous dietary habits of examinees have great influence in the current frequency of consuming fruits, vegetables, herbal teas, spices, and dietary supplements. There was a significant shift toward greater use of herbal teas and dietary supplements, especially among the population that has already consumed them occasionally. Somewhat concerning is the fact that around half of respondents use dietary supplements without the recommendation of an expert. People with good dietary habits and the elderly were most prone to improving their diet. Roughly 15% of all respondents now have the same habits as before the pandemic, although they improved their diets temporarily at the beginning of COVID pandemic

EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTATION WITH VITAMIN E ON GENTAMYCIN-INDUCED ACUTE RENAL FAILURE IN RATS

A frequent administration of gentamicin in clinical practice has shown its bactericidal activity, and besides being vestibulotoxic it is highly nephrotoxic, which can further result in acute renal insufficiency. The study analyzed 24 Wistar rats, divided into three equal groups. GM group received gentamicin (100 mg/kg), GME group received vitamin E (100 mg/kg) and the same dose of gentamicin as GM rats, while the third group served as the control group and received saline (1 ml/24h) for 8 days. Pathohistological examination of the kidney tissues from GM group rats showed areas of coagulation-type necrosis in a large number of proximal tubules, while their glomeruli were considerably enlarged compared both to control and GME group rats. In GME rats, changes in glomeruli were less visible, while areas of coagulation-type necrosis were not found.  Biochemical analysis showed significantly higher values of blood urea and creatinine in GM group rats in comparison to C group and GME group (p<0.001). The concentrations of potassium in blood serum was significantly lower in GM group compared to control group (p<0.01), whereas the concentration of sodium was lower, however, without statistical significance. The concentrations of AOPP for GM group were significantly higher when compared to C group (p<0.001), whereas the values for GME group of rats were statistically significantly lower than AOPP recorded for GM group (p<0.001). Our experimental study has shown that gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity can be significantly reduced by simultaneous administration of vitamin E.Key words: Gentamicin, vitamin E, nephrotoxicity, Wistar rat