Phytochemistry and antifatigue activities of Carica papaya leaf from geothermal, coastal and urban areas, Indonesia.

Fatigue, a condition of lack of energy and motivation resulting in the feeling of extreme tiredness or exhaustion, is usually prevented and treated with ergogenic aids, such as in the form of nutritional supplements. Papaya (Carica papaya) may be a potential candidate for ergogenic aids, considering its healthy secondary metabolite properties and number of metabolite compounds that could be affected by the location where the plant growing. The aim of this study was to identify the phytochemicals of papaya leaves from three different locations: geothermal, coastal, and urban areas in Aceh province, Indonesia. Concentrations of papaya leaf with the highest number of secondary metabolite compounds were tested in rats to measure blood lactate acid concentrations after strenuous exercise. The number of chemical compounds identified from the three locations was 24 compounds; 23 compounds and 17 compounds, respectively. The highest concentration of chemical compounds that have antifatigue activity contained in all papaya leaf samples were neophytadiene, linolenic acid, gamma tocopherol, hexadecanoic acid, vitamin E, carpaine, octadecatrienoic acid, nor lean-12-ene, squalene, and phytol. Furthermore, most of the compounds' highest concentrations were found in papaya leaves from the coastal area and, therefore, tested on the animal model. Treatment was provided in 12 male rats with different doses of papaya powder supplements for 15 days. The results showed that lactic acid levels of rats received a dose of 400 mg/kg of papaya leaf extract reduced the lactic acid concentration (p=0.014) compared with the control group. This study highlights that papaya leaves from the coastal area have the most potential activities as ergogenic herbal aid and were able to reduce lactic acid levels in rats after strenuous exercise.

Positive correlation between body weight and body mass index with blood pressure in young adults.

Study assessing the correlation between body weight and body mass index (BMI) with blood pressure in young adults is still limited. The aim of this was to investigate the link between body weight and BMI with blood pressure, as well as to assess how much increasing of body weight and BMI contribute to raising blood pressure in young men and women. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,107 healthy young adults aged 18-22 years (women, n=705; men, n=402). Chi-squared test was used to assess the association between body weight and BMI with blood pressure. The Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis were used to determine the correlation and direction of the relationship between body weight and BMI with blood pressure. Our data indicated the associations between body weight and BMI with blood pressure (both had p=0.001). There was a strong correlation between body weight and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r=0.709; p<0.001), whereas the correlation between body weight and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was moderate (r=0.374; p<0.001). BMI moderately influenced SBP and DBP (r=0.488 and r=0.358; p<0.001). A linear correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between body weight and BMI with blood pressure, where an increase in body weight of 1 kg resulted an increase in SBP of 0.725 mmHg and DBP of 0.318 mmHg. In addition, an increase in BMI of 1 kg/m2 followed by an increase in SBP and DBP of 1.6 mmHg and 0.834 mmHg, respectively. This study highlights that nutritional status in young men and women is linked and has a positive correlation with blood pressure.

Association between caregiver burden in family and hemodialysis compliance of chronic kidney disease patients in Aceh, Indonesia.

Patient compliance toward undergoing treatment determines its success rate. Unfortunately, the compliance among hemodialysis patients is concerning. Supports from family has been suggested influence the patient compliance, especially from a family member who acts as a caregiver. The aim of this study was to determine the association between the level of caregiver burden and compliance in hemodialysis patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Dialysis Installation at Dr. Zainoel Abidin Hospital, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The study sample was family members who accompanied hemodialysis patients. The minimal number of patients was determined of which 67 respondents were required and therefore recruited. Caregiver burden was collected using direct interview using Caregiver Burden Assessment questionnaire. The results revealed that twenty-four respondents (35.8%) had moderate caregiver burden, while there were only nine respondents (13.4%) had very low caregiver burden. The majority of the hemodialysis patients were non-compliant (n=38, 56.7%). A Chi-squared test indicated a significant association between the status of caregiver burden and the patient compliance to hemodialysis (p=0.011). These findings stress the importance of addressing caregiver burden in ensuring the compliance of patients receiving hemodialysis.

Ultrafiltration of α-Lactalbumin Protein: Acquaintance of the Filtration Performance by Membrane Structure and Surface Alteration.

α-Lactalbumin is an essential protein with multiple roles in physiological and the nutritional functionalities, such as diabetic prevention, blood pressure stabilization, and cancer cell inhibition. In the present work, polyethersulfone (PES)-based membranes were developed by incorporating Pluronic F127 and carbon nanotubes with single- and multi-walled dimensions (Sw-Cnts and Mw-Cnts) as additives. The resulting membranes were evaluated for use in the filtration of α-lactalbumin protein solution. Four series of membranes, including PES pristine membrane, were fabricated via the phase inversion process. The characteristics of the membrane samples were analyzed in terms of morphology, membrane surface hydrophilicity and roughness, and surface chemistry. The characterization results show that the incorporation of additive increased the surface wettability by reducing the surface water contact angle from 80.4° to 64.1° by adding F127 and Mw-Cnt additives. The highest pure water permeability of 135 L/(m2·h·bar) was also exhibited by the PES/F127/Mw-Cnt membrane. The performance of the modified membranes was clearly better than the pristine PSF for α-lactalbumin solution filtration. The permeability of α-lactalbumin solution increased from 9.0 L/(m2·h·bar) for the pristine PES membrane to 10.5, 11.0 and 11.5 L/(m2·h·bar) for membranes loaded with Pluronic F127, Sw-Cnts, and Mw-Cnts, respectively. Those increments corresponded to 17, 22, and 28%. Such increments could be achieved without altering the α-lactalbumin rejections of 80%. Remarkably, the rejection for the membrane loaded with Sw-Cnts even increased to 89%.

Action Mechanism of Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) Used to Treat Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly Women.

OBJECTIVE: Rosella is a safe medicinal herb used by people in Indonesia. They believe that rosella is effective in controlling metabolic syndrome, working with antihypertension, antidiabetic, antidyslipidemia and antiobesity effects. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of rosella in controlling metabolic syndrome through the secretion of blood nitric oxide (NO) and the cortisol pathway. METHODS: This study was a quasiexperimental, pretest-posttest with control group design. The total subjects were 18 people, women, and the elderly. Subjects were selected randomly into 2 groups: control group (n = 8) and treatment group (n = 8). The treatment was rosella tea, a dose of 2 grams, duration 2 times a day, given in the morning (08.00-8.30 a.m.) and evening (06.30-7.00 p.m.) after meals for 21 days. Examination of NO and cortisol levels was carried out using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in bodyweight (BW) (p = 0.021), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p = 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p = 0.049), glucose preprandial (FPG) (p = 0.014), total cholesterol (CT) (p = 0.001), triglycerides (TGs) (p = 0.014), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (p = 0.001), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (p = 0.010) after consuming rosella. NO levels were significantly increased (p = 0.012), whereas cortisol levels decreased significantly (p = 0.008) after therapy with rosella tea in elderly women. CONCLUSION: Rosella has shown evidence to control and lower blood pressure, blood glucose, lipid profile, and cortisol in the elderly with metabolic syndrome. Rosella is a traditional medicine that has the potential to be developed as a therapy for metabolic syndrome patients.

Anthropometry analysis of nutritional indicators in Indonesian adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Malnutrition is an emerging health problem that has challenged healthcare authorities worldwide. This study aims to determine anthropometric values and the nutritional status of Indonesian school adolescents. METHODS: In total, 510 students (288 girls and 222 boys) studying at Darul Ihsan Islamic Boarding School Banda Aceh participated in this cross-sectional study. All participants were examined for weight, height, and body mass index (BMI). The BMI category was classified using BMI criteria for the Asia-Pacific population. For data analysis, a descriptive analysis, chi-square (p < 0.05), and independent sample t-test (p < 0.05) were employed. RESULTS: The rate of malnutrition among school adolescents in Banda Aceh was underweight 36.67% (girls = 47.6% and boys = 52.4%) and overweight/obesity 21.96% (girls = 60.66% and boys = 39.33%). There was a significant difference in the number of overweight girls and boys: 127 (60.2%) and 84 (39.8%) p = 0.007, respectively. Obesity I was more common among girls than boys: (31; 66%) versus (16; 34%), p = 0.020. There was a slight difference in the prevalence of being underweight: 89 (47.6%) versus 98 (52.4%), p = 0.520, and no difference in the number of girls and boys with obesity II: 6 (50%) versus 6 (50%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports multiple malnutrition problems in adolescent schools in Banda Aceh, namely being underweight, overweight, and obesity. This calls for urgent attention by healthcare authorities to initiate public awareness campaigns to curtail malnutrition.

The effects of celery leaf (apium graveolens L.) treatment on blood glucose and insulin levels in elderly pre-diabetics.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the effect of celery leaf extract on blood glucose and plasma insulin levels in elderly pre-diabetics. Methods: This study was conducted between March and November 2014 at the Faculty of Medicine, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group was conducted with elderly pre-diabetic volunteers. The subjects included 16 elderly pre-diabetics older than 60 (6 males and 10 females). The subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups: a control group (placebo-treated) and a treatment group (celery-treated). The treatment consisted of celery leaf extract capsules at the dose of 250 mg, 3 times per day (morning, afternoon and evening), 30 minutes before a meal, for 12 days. Data analysis was performed using the t-test (p less than 0.05). Results: There was a significant decrease in pre-prandial plasma glucose levels (p=0.01) and post-prandial plasma glucose levels (p=0.00), but no significant increase in plasma insulin levels (p=0.15) after celery leaf treatment in elderly pre-diabetics. Conclusion: Celery was effective at reducing blood glucose levels, but there was a lack of association between blood glucose levels and plasma insulin levels in elderly pre-diabetics.