The effect of dried Ziziphus vulgaris on glycemic control, lipid profile, Apo-proteins and hs-CRP in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

We aimed to evaluate the effect of dried Ziziphus vulgaris [Z. vulgaris] consumption on liver enzymes, blood pressure, inflammatory status, glycemic control, and lipid concentrations in type 2 diabetes patients. Seventy-six diabetic participants (aged 20-65 years) randomly assigned to intervention (n = 38) and placebo (n = 38) groups. The intervention group received 30 g/day dried Z. vulgaris for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, there was a significant reduction in the percentage change of weight, body mass index [BMI], insulin, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance [HOMA-IR], Apoprotein B100 [ApoB100], and high-sensitive c-reactive protein [hs-CRP] in the intervention group compared to the controls. Also, increased values of quantitative insulin check index [QUICKI] and Apoprotein A-I [ApoA-I] in Z. vulgaris group compared to the controls were observed. In conclusion, consumption of dried Z. vulgaris fruit could have beneficial effects on improving the glycemic control and reducing the cardiovascular risk factors in the diabetic patients. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: In the present study we found that consumption of 30 g/day dried Z. vulgaris fruit in patients with type 2 diabetes for 12 weeks has beneficial anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-hyperlipidemic effects on type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM] patients compared to the control group. Thus, it seems reasonable to design a large-scale clinical trial to determine the potential adverse effects of higher doses of this fruit and identify the therapeutic doses for the complementary treatment in T2DM medication. The medication with this popular fruit as an ingredient could be easily accepted by diabetic patients and may reduce the dependency and dosage of some of the routine diabetes medications which often have some adverse side effects.

Effects of saffron supplementation on oxidative/antioxidant status and severity of disease in ulcerative colitis patients: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Supplementation with saffron helps improve antioxidant status. Oxidative stress plays an important role in ulcerative colitis (UC). The present study aimed to investigate the effect of saffron supplementation on disease severity and Oxidative/Antioxidant factors in patients with UC. This randomized double-blinded study was conducted on 80 mild to moderate UC patients. Participants were randomly divided into intervention (100 mg saffron/daily) and placebo (100 mg maltodextrin/daily) groups. Of all the participants, 75 completed the study. After 8 weeks, there were significantly increased in the mean score of simple clinical colitis activity index questionnaire (3.83 ± 1.78 to 3 ± 1.60, p = .004), the serum levels of total antioxidant capacity (2.68 ± 0.90 to 2.79 ± 0.87, p = .016), superoxide dismutase (60.69 ± 9.59 to 66.30 ± 10.79, p = .009) and glutathione peroxidase (22.05 ± 14.27 to 29.67 ± 17.97, p = .011) in patients received saffron compared to the placebo group. Whereas, there was no significant difference in serum levels of malondialdehyde between the two groups. Finally, dietary saffron as an alternative therapy may effective in improving antioxidant factors and reducing the severity of disease in UC patients.

Therapeutic effects of vitamin D as adjunctive therapy to fluoxetine in patients with major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the therapeutic effects of vitamin D3 plus fluoxetine and fluoxetine alone in patients with major depressive disorder. METHODS: In the present double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 42 patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder based on DSM-IV criteria were randomly assigned into two groups to receive daily either 1500 IU vitamin D3 plus 20 mg fluoxetine or fluoxetine alone for 8 weeks. Depression severity was assessed at 2-week intervals using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) as a primary outcome measure and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as a secondary outcome measure. Serum 25(OH) vitamin D was measured at baseline and after intervention. RESULTS: Forty patients completed the trial. A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that depression severity based on HDRS and BDI decreased significantly after intervention, with a significant difference between the two groups. The vitamin D + fluoxetine combination was significantly better than fluoxetine alone from the fourth week of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In the present 8-week trial, the vitamin D + fluoxetine combination was superior to fluoxetine alone in controlling depressive symptoms.