Efficacy of using walnuts as statin adjuvants in hypertension management.

BACKGROUND: Due to the widespread unorthodox use of nuts to improve cardiovascular health, this clinical trial was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of walnut as an adjuvant statin in hypertensive subjects. METHOD: A single-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial that lasted for 3 months. Forty-five screened hypertensive subjects on treatment, aged 45-65 years, were randomized into intervention and placebo groups according to their blood pressure defined by the American Heart Association criteria. Fifteen (15) normotensive subjects were also recruited for this study. The participants in the intervention group included daily 7 g of boiled walnut taken as snacks. The study was not controlled for type of diet and frequency of meals in a day. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) was the primary endpoint for this study. RESULTS: The mean LDLc levels of the intervention groups (84.6 mg/dl and 79.7 mg/dl, respectively) were significantly (p < .005) lower than the placebo (137.6 mg/dl). The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) levels of the intervention groups were significantly higher than the placebo. The mean total cholesterol levels of the intervention groups were significantly lower than the placebo group. The intervention groups recorded a significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to the placebo. The supplementation of walnut significantly decreased the apolipoprotein E (APOE), proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9), and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activities relative to the placebo. CONCLUSION: The use of walnut as a statin adjuvant during hypertension treatment reduced LDLc levels within 42.1% and improved HDL levels by 33.6%, and the LDLc decrease related to reduced PCSK9 and APOE activities while the HDLc increase related to reduced CETP activities.

Vascular Effects of Avocado Seed Glycosides during Diabetes-induced Endothelial Damage.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The relationship between vascular damage and diabetes mellitus was exploited using avocado seed extracts. The purpose of the study was to understand the therapeutic relevance of glycosides compared to standard vascular and anti-diabetic drugs. Constituent Avocado Seed Glycosides (ASG) were analysed and administered to rats with Diabetes-Induced Vascular Damage (DIVD). METHODS: The rats were first administered with streptozotocin and screened after seven days for alterations in blood glucose, insulin, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1), Von Willebrand factor (VWF), Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAS), eNOx, and endothelin-1 (ET-1). Only rats that satisfied these criteria were recruited and treated with either glibenclamide, met.su + losart, or 200 mg/kg body weight ASG for 28 days. RESULTS: There was an abundance of digitoxin (13.41 mg/100g), digoxin (17.98 mg/100g), avicularin (165.85 mg/100g), and hyperoside (282.51 mg/100g). ASG or met.su + losart exhibited slight modulatory properties on glucose homeostasis. Rats with DIVD showed elevated renin, angiotensin, VCAM-1 and Lp-PLA2 levels but slightly decreased with glibenclamide treatment and normalized with ASG or met.su + losart administration. All treatments normalized Hcy levels. DIVD caused the overproduction of CnT, LDH, Crt-K, LDL-c, TG, and TC and suppressed HDL-c but was completely normalized by the ASG. Water intake remained altered in treated rats. CONCLUSION: The ASG had no relevant effect on glucose homeostasis during DIVD but showed significant vasoprotective properties.

Biochemical Implications of Biotransformation of Some Toxic Floras Using Natural Local Enzyme Sources.

BACKGROUND: Recently, it has been established that simultaneous saccharification and fermentation is a potent technique for the detoxification of harmful plant materials. OBJECTIVE: Following encouraging simultaneous medicinal applications of snail slime and yeast, we exploited their hydrolytic and fermentation potentials to prevent toxicities of the selected floras; Erythrodontium barteri (EB), bracken fern (BF), and crustose lichens (CL). The applicability of the saccharification process has been described in a patent (WO2005010193A2). METHODS: The plants were bioprocessed using snail digestive juice and yeast slurry and their health effects were evaluated. Seventy rats were divided equally into groups, treated with single doses of aqueous extracts of the plants and their bioprocessed forms, and compared with control rats. RESULTS: The plants showed very high antinutrients levels, which significantly reduced after SSF with enhanced flavonoids, alkaloids and phenols. Potential alterations of WBC differentials, RBC, liver and renal function markers indices were mitigated by bioprocessed extracts. MDA, SOD, GRase, XO and XDH levels in rats administered the bEB and CL were equivalent to the levels found for the control rats. Some bioprocessed plants produced unaltered insulin, ghrelin, and leptin levels. The bioprocessed extracts, when compared to the effects of unprocessed extracts, produced lower TNF-α, Caspase-3, and adiponectin levels and mitigated the potential suppression of Na+/K+-ATPase levels. Potential depletion of inhibin-B, testosterone, estrogen, and prolactin was mitigated after bioprocessing. CONCLUSION: This study, thus, validates the application of bioprocessing using snail digestive juice and yeast as an effective approach to reduce the potential toxicities of harmful plants.