effects of selected hot and cold temperament herbs based on Iranian traditional medicine on some metabolic parameters in normal rats

This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of diets containing some hot and cold temperament herb seeds according to Iranian traditional medicine [ITM] on some metabolic parameters in acute [24 h] and sub-acute [7 day] experiments that were performed on rats. For each experiment, effects of diets containing 10% herb seeds in category of hot [anise, fennel, ajowan] and cold [cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin] temperaments were analyzed on body weight gain, food intake, water consumption, urine output, serum glucose [SG] and insulin levels of rats. In the acute experiment, anise or fennel fed groups showed a significant decrease in food intake and there were not any changes in other parameters. The hot temperament groups in comparison with the cold temperament ones showed a significant decrease in food intake and a significant increase in SG level. In the sub-acute experiment, anise and fennel fed groups had a significant decrease in body weight gain on the 4[th] day. On the 7[th] day, the anise fed group experienced a significant decrease in body weight gain and a significant increase in SG levels. The groups that were fed hot temperament diets compared to the ones that consumed cold temperament diets showed a significant decrease in body weight gain and food intake rates and a considerable increase in SG levels. Considering the findings of this study, one can conclude that it is possible that hot temperament herbs such as anise and fennel be useful for humans for certain conditions such as weight control

Normality tests for statistical analysis: a guide for non-statisticians

Statistical errors are common in scientific literature and about 50% of the published articles have at least one error. The assumption of normality needs to be checked for many statistical procedures, namely parametric tests, because their validity depends on it. The aim of this commentary is to overview checking for normality in statistical analysis using SPSS

Is nitric oxide a hormone?

Nitric oxide [NO] is a simple ubiquitous signaling molecule and plays important roles in almost every biological system. Recent evidences suggest that NO may act as an endocrine molecule. The aim of this review is considering available literature on endocrine roles of NO and/or its metabolites, i.e. nitrite and nitrate. Existing data suggest the idea that NO is a hormone that after production in tissues, it is stabilized and transported as nitrite and/or Snitrosothiols in the blood to target cells