[ effect of daily consumption of Iranian yogurt drink doogh fortified with vitamin D or vitamin D plus calcium on the serum advanced glycation end products [AGEs] and oxidized LDL concentrations in type 2 diabetes patients: a randomized clinical trial]

High levels of advanced glycation end products [AGEs] and oxidative stress play a key role in development of complications in type 2 diabetes [T2D]. It has been reported that glycemic optimizing affects vitamin D in patients with T2D. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of daily consumption of vitamin D and vitamin D-calcium-fortified yogurt drink on serum levels of AGEs and ox-LDL in T2D patients. Sixty diabetic subjects aged 30-60 years were assigned randomly to one of the three groups: 1- plain yogurt drink; 2-yogurt drink fortified with 500IU cholecalciferol per 250 mL bottle; and 3- yogurt drink fortified with 500IU cholecalciferol and 250 mg calcium per 250 mL bottle. Participants were instructed to consume 2 bottles of the yogurt drink daily for 12 weeks. The anthropometric, dietary and laboratory assessments were done at baseline and at the end of intervention. Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased significantly from 40.6 +/- 30.1 to 76.8 +/- 32.6 nmol/L [p<0.001] in group 2 and from 45.1 +/- 38.7 to 72.7 +/- 35.3nmol/L in group 3. Fasting glucose [p=0.016 and p=0.040, respectively], insulin [p<0.001 and p=0.009, respectively], HbA1c [p=0.001 and p=0.003, respectively], HOMA-IR [p<0.001 and p=0.002, respectively] and serum level of AGEs [p=0.029 and p=0.001, respectively] decreased significantly. There was no significant within and between group changes in ox-LDL serum levels. Our results showed that daily intake of 1000 IU vitamin D with or without calcium significantly increased serum levels of 25[OH] D, improved glycemic control and decreased serum levels of AGEs but had no effect on ox-LDL levels in diabetic patients

[Sensory evaluation and assessment of compliance with vitamin D and Calcium fortified- milk among school- age children in Tehran]

Inadequate intake of Calcium and vitamin D is one of the common health problems, especially among the children in developed as well as developing countries, including Iran. Fortification of foodstuff, specially milk and dairy products, is being used as a major strategy to combat this problem in many countries. This study aimed to evaluate sensory desirability and compliance with vitamin D and Calcium-fortified milk, among 9-11 year-old schoolchildren in the city of Tehran. This cross sectional study was conducted in two phases including sensory evaluation and compliance with vitamin D and Calcium fortified-milk in schoolchildren. The first phase was performed by a panel of 212 schoolchildren from both sexes using a 5- point hedonic questionnaire with both images and words. And, the second phase was carried out on 200 children using an 8-item questionnaire. In sensory evaluation 44.4% of the students described the taste of the fortified milk as bad, while in the compliance study 85% of children were satisfied with the taste of vitamin D and Calcium - fortified milk. Only less than half of the students agreed with the continuation of the fortification program. Calcium and vitamin D fortification, resulting in unpleasant changes in the taste of milk, can challenge fortified milk distribution program for children. Further study is needed to provide a formulation that would result in a higher compliance among schoolchildren

Effects of carrot juice enriched with beta carotene on serum levels of inflammatory indicators in type 2 diabetics

Background and Purpose: Variation and increase in the levels of inflammatory factors and glycemia are among the major problems of type 2 diabetics. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of beta carotene-enriched carrot juice on CRP inflammatory indexes, IL-6 and FBS glucose in diabetics

Methods and Materials: This randomized double blind clinical trial was conducted on 44 type 2 diabetics. Participants based on gender and BMI were assigned into two groups [Group A receiving 200 ml carrot juice enriched with 10 mg beta carotene and Group B receiving normal carrot juice] by randomized stratified sampling. Both groups received 200 ml carrot juice for 8 weeks for lunch [instead of cereals]. A 24-hour recall was obtained for 3 consecutive and 6 concomitant days at the beginning and end of the study duration. Also, CRP, IL-6, FBS glucose and serum beta carotene levels were measured in FBS blood sample at the beginning and end of the study duration. The consumption data were fed into Nutritionist IV, and analyzed in SPSS 11.5

Results: Each group consisted of 22 [11 male and 11 female diabetics] participants. There was a significant increase in the levels of beta carotene in group A [111.9 +/- 64.9 at the beginning and 72 +/- 43.9 at the end] [p=0.02]. However, the reduction of CRP in Group A [-996.9 +/- 2172.6 at the beginning and -537.3 +/- 1412.4 at the end] was not significant [p=0.098]. Also, IL-6 reduction in Group A [-0.8 +/- 2.1 at the beginning and -0.6 +/- 2.4 at the end] was not significant [p=0.085]. FBS glucose was also not examined in the present study

Conclusion: Daily consumption of carrot juice enriched with 10 mg beta carotene for eight weeks caused an improvement in the levels of serum antioxidants including beta carotene in type 2 diabetics, with no significant effects on serum glucose and inflammatory indexes

Iranian diabetics may not be vitamin D deficient more than healthy subjects

There are some reports of decreased serum levels of 25[OH]D in the subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM]. To assess vitamin D status of the Iranian diabetics, a pilot study was conducted on 90 subjects with either type 1 diabetes mellitus [T1DM] [n= 30], T2DM [n= 30], or apparently healthy subjects [n= 30] during fall and winter of 2005. Serum samples were analyzed for 25-hydroxycholecalciferol using three different methods: high-performance liquid chromatography [HPLC], competitive protein-binding assay [CPBA] and radioimmunoassay [RIA]. In this study serum levels of 25[OH]D were categorized as follows: sufficient. 37 nmol/L; 25 nmol/L. mild deficiency < 37 nmol/L; 12.5 nmol/L. moderate deficiency < 25 nmol/L; severe deficiency < 12.5 nmol/L. Results showed that the occurrence of vitamin D insufficiency was almost the same in patients with T1DM and healthy controls. Mean serum level of 25[OH]D in patients with T2DM was significantly higher than in T1DM, as judged by HPLC [58.2'] 8.5 vs. 35'] 5 nmol/L, Mann Whitney U-Wilcoxon, P= 0.024]. Moreover, both CPBA and RIA showed some over-estimation of serum 25[OH]D compared to HPLC. Our findings suggest that, at least in the cold seasons, vitamin D status of the healthy subjects may not be higher than that of T1DM patients

Simple and rapid gas-chromatographic method for quantitation of total and free valproic acid in human serum

Valproic acid [VPA] is one of the mostly used antiepileptic drugs that may have some side effects so, it is highly recommended to evaluate its serum concentrations. The aim of this study was to develop a simple, fast and economic method using gas-chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector [GC/FID]nd VPA analysis. To do this, 200 microl of serum was mixed with an aliquot of caproic acid [200 microl, methanolic solution] as internal standard and extracted by stepwise addition of hydrochloric acid and chloroform with slight agitation between each step. After centrifugation, 1.0 fil of the bottom layer was injected into a wide-bore nonpolar capillary column. Injectable samples for analysis of unbonded VPA were prepared by ultra filtration followed by solid phase extraction [SPE]. Caproic acid and VPA were eluted after 1.5 min and 3.0 min, respectively [total GC run time about 3.2 minutes]. This GC/FID method was linear over a range of 2.5-6400 microg/ml with the mean recovery of 92%. The intra- and inter-assay precision in the range of 25-100 microg/ml was 1.50-, 2.95, and 2.35-3.22%, respectively. The simplicity of sample preparation with no derivatization, short run-time and high sensitivity sufficient to detect low concentrations of the drug makes this method suitable for research as well as routine use