Effects of the Hydroalcoholic Extract of the Psidium guajava Fruit on Osteoporosis Prevention in Ovariectomized Rats.

BACKGROUND: Several plants have been shown to possess antioxidant and estrogenic properties that can be useful in postmenopausal bone-loss prevention. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-osteoporotic effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of the Psidium guajava (PG) fruit in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. METHODS: Sixty female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: a control positive group, a sham-operated group, an OVX group given normal saline (OVX-only group), and 3 treatment groups comprising 2 OVX groups treated orally with 500 and 1000 mg/kg/d of the hydroalcoholic extract of the PG fruit respectively and an OVX group treated with an injection of 0.15 mg/kg of estradiol. The study was conducted over a 12-week period. Samples from the animals' blood, femoral bones, and uteri were collected for stereological and biochemical analyses. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 19. A P value equal to or less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The results revealed a significant decrease in the levels of calcium, total antioxidant capacity, and phosphorus as well as uterus weight, femoral ash density, femoral volume and weight, and numbers of osteocytes and osteoblasts. Moreover, there was an increase in the levels of alkaline phosphatase and urine deoxypyridinoline together with a rise in the number of osteoclasts in the OVX-only group compared to the control and treatment groups (P≤0.05). The hydroalcoholic extract of the PG fruit increased femoral weight and volume, femoral ash density, numbers of osteocytes and osteoblasts, and trabecular volume of the bones in comparison with the OVX-only group in a dose-dependent manner. No significant difference was observed between the groups in the levels of malondialdehyde and interleukin-6. CONCLUSION: The hydroalcoholic extract of the PG fruit prevented OVX-induced bone loss in the rats, with no proliferative effect on atrophic uteri; it should, therefore, be considered for treatment purposes.

Correction to: Effects of supplementation with rice husk powder and rice bran on inflammatory factors in overweight and obese adults following an energy-restricted diet: a randomized controlled trial.

In the original publication, one of the author's name was misspelled. The correct name is "Salma Mahmoodianfard". The original article was corrected.

Effects of supplementation with rice husk powder and rice bran on inflammatory factors in overweight and obese adults following an energy-restricted diet: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns worldwide which are associated with a low-grade chronic inflammation. Dietary fiber as an important component of diet could be effective in controlling weight and inflammatory factors. The present study aimed to compare the effects of rice husk powder and rice bran on inflammatory factors along with an energy-restricted diet in overweight and obese adults. METHODS: In this randomized trial, 105 eligible individuals were assigned to one of the three energy-restricted diet groups receiving; rice bran (n = 35), rice husk powder (n = 35), and control group (n = 35) for 12 weeks. Demographic data, dietary intake, anthropometric indices and inflammatory factors (serum levels of IL-6 and hs-CRP) were measured at baseline and at the end of the study. RESULTS: Weight, BMI and waist circumference reduced significantly in all groups after 12 weeks of study (P < 0.01 for all). However, pre- and post-measure differences between groups were not significant. Moreover, serum levels of hs-CRP and IL-6 were not significantly different between participants in the rice bran or rice husk groups. However, the reduction in serum levels of hs-CRP in rice husk (mean change = - 0.14 ± 0.05 µg/ml) and rice bran (mean change = - 0.13 ± 0.03 µg/ml) was significantly higher when compared to the control group (mean change = - 0.03 ± 0.02 µg/ml) (P < 0.05 for both groups). The same pattern was found when changes in IL-6 serum levels of participants in rice husk (mean change = - 0.48 ± 0.11 pg/ml) and rice bran (mean change = - 0.57 ± 0.13 pg/ml) groups were compared to the control group (mean change= - 0.19 ± 0.07 pg/ml) (P < 0.05 for both groups). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed positive effects of rice bran and rice husk powder supplementation, combined with an energy-restricted diet, on inflammatory markers among overweight and obese adults.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of an Almond-enriched, Hypocaloric Diet on Liver Function Tests in Overweight/Obese Women.

BACKGROUND: Gradual weight reduction has been shown to be associated with improvements in liver enzymes. However, some evidence demonstrated that liver enzymes may transiently increase immediately after a diet-induced weight loss. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to assess the effects of a hypocaloric, almond-enriched diet (AED) compared with a hypocaloric nut-free diet (NFD) on liver function tests in the context of a three-month weight reduction program in overweight/obese women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial was registered at Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials with ID number of IRCT2013062313751N1. Overweight and obese Iranian women [n = 108; age = 42.7 y, body mass index = 29.6 kg/m(2)] were randomly assigned to consume an AED or NFD. The carefully planned hypocaloric diets were identical for both groups except for the AED group who consumed 50 grams of almonds daily for three months. Anthropometric measurements and laboratory measurements including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) were assessed before and immediately after the intervention. RESULTS: Of 108 participants, 50 women in AED group and 50 women in NFD group completed the protocol of the study (response rate: 92.6 %). The AED led to a median weight loss of 3.79 kg (interquartile range: 4.4 kg). Significant decreases within AED and NFD were observed in ALT (-16.6 ± 16.3 and -11.7 ± 16.8, P < 0.001, respectively). Similar significant decreases were observed in AST (-13.6 ± 15.7 and -7.7 ± 16.1; P < 0.001, respectively). The decrease in GGT was also significant in both groups (-11.4 ± 21.6 and -6.2 ± 19.8; P < 0.001 respectively). ALT, AST and GGT decreased significantly in the AED group compared to the NFD group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: AED improved liver enzymes in obese women. However, mild, transient increases in ALT and AST values can be observed immediately after an NFD in women.

Comparing the effects of dietary flaxseed and omega-3 Fatty acids supplement on cyclical mastalgia in Iranian women: a randomized clinical trial.

Considering the negative side effects of chemical drugs, there is a great need for effective alternative treatment strategies to manage cyclical mastalgia. Therefore, this study aimed at comparing the effects of flaxseed diet and omega-3 fatty acids supplement on treatment of cyclical mastalgia. In this study, 61, 60, and 60 women, respectively, received flaxseed as bread, omega-3 fatty acids as pearl, and wheat bread as their diet for two menstrual cycles. At the baseline cycle and end of both interventional cycles, intensity of mastalgia was measured using visual analogue scale. Analysis of covariance showed a significant difference among the three groups regarding the mean intensity of cyclical mastalgia in the first and second cycles of the interventions (P < 0.001). Also, repeated measures analysis of covariance with adjustment of two variables of age and mastalgia intensity of the baseline cycle demonstrated that flaxseed bread was more effective compared to omega-3 and wheat bread (P < 0.001). The results of this study demonstrated that flaxseed bread diet was an effective approach in decreasing cyclical mastalgia and could be prescribed to women as a simple treatment with few complications.

The effect of almonds on anthropometric measurements and lipid profile in overweight and obese females in a weight reduction program: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Due to the wholesome benefits of nuts increased consumption of them has been recommended. However, because of nut's high energy density, the role of them in the treatment of overweight and obesity is vague. This current clinical trial study aims to investigate the effects of a balanced hypocaloric almond-enriched diet (AED) (almond group) in comparison to a balanced hypocaloric nut-free diet (NFD) (nut-free group) on body weight and cardiovascular disease risk factors in women with body mass index (BMI) >25 for 3-month. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 108 overweight and obese women were assigned in our 3-month randomized controlled trial. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups regarding a balanced hypocaloric diet with or without almond. The planned reduced calorie diets for both groups were identical except for the almond group who consumed 50 g of almonds daily. Anthropometric and laboratory measurements of the participants who completed the study were made prior to and at the end of the study. RESULTS: A total of 100 subjects completed the study. Weight, BMI, waist circumference, waist to hip circumference ratio, total cholesterol, and triglyceride, total: High density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting blood sugar and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the almond group compared to the nut-free group (P > 0.001). Greater reduction in low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P > 0.002) and systolic blood pressure (P > 0.001) and greater increase in HDL-C (P = 0.001) were found in the nut-free group. CONCLUSION: The balanced hypocaloric AED in comparison to the balanced hypocaloric NFD led to a greater weight-loss and overall better improvements in studied cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Assessing the impact of nutrition education on growth indices of Iranian nomadic children: an application of a modified beliefs, attitudes, subjective-norms and enabling-factors model.

In order to teach suitable feeding and hygiene practices to a group of randomly selected Qashqa'i tribe families with 406 children aged 0-59 months, a culturally appropriate community-based education intervention approach was used. To assess the impact of the intervention on the study group, another group of families with 405 children were randomly selected to serve as the controls. At the beginning of the intervention programme both groups of children had access to a similar diet, consisting of cereals, beans, oil, sugar, milk and yoghurt. Baseline data, age, gender, weight, height and mean arm circumference (MAC), were obtained before the intervention. Using Hubley's behavioural change model, the components of which deal with beliefs, attitudes, subjective norms and enabling factors, the research team studied the behaviour of the family members and tried to change their nutritional behaviour. This was achieved by designing a suitable education programme to be carried out for 12 months. During the programme, families were instructed to follow different methods of food preparation and cooking practices. The final data were collected 3 months after the end of the intervention programme. The results indicated that the children in the study group gained: 1.16 (sd 1.2) kg body weight, 0.033 (sd 0.05) m in height, 0.0067 (sd 0.015) m in MAC, 0.8 (sd 1) in weight-for-age Z-score, 0.97 (sd 1.7) in height-for-age Z-score and 0.28 (sd 1.8) in weight-for-height Z-score by the end of the study. The corresponding values for the control group were 0.42 (sd 1.0), 0.0167 (sd 0.047), 0.0017 (sd 0.012), 0.35 (sd 1.1), 0.56 (sd 1.5) and 0.014 (sd 1.6) respectively and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). These findings suggest that educational interventions involving parents and/or other family members who might play a role in the care behaviour and care resources are important in feeding the children energy- and protein-enriched, hygienic, simple and cheap foods. Such practices could improve child growth even under conditions of poverty.