Introduction: Treatment of cardiovascular risk factors seems to be necessary and involves a number of changes in drug treatment and lifestyle. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Matricaria chamomilla L. hydroalcoholic extract on antioxidant activity, atherosclerotic plaques, lipid profile and inflammatory indicators in rats. Methods: Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into five experimental groups consisting of group 1 (Sham; normal dietary), group 2 (control; high cholesterol diet (2%)), group 3 (high cholesterol diet plus 55 mg/kg of chamomile hydroalcoholic extract), group 4 (high cholesterol diet plus 110 mg/kg of chamomile hydroalcoholic extract), and group 5 (high cholesterol diet plus 10 mg/kg of lovastatin). At the beginning and end of the study, blood samples of all the animals were taken for determination of antioxidant activity and the level of biochemical parameters. The hearts and aorta were also isolated for ontological tests. Results: No symptom of plaque formation was observed in experimental groups 3, 4 and 5 that received the high cholesterol diet. High cholesterol diet (2%) resulted in a significant increase in serum cholesterol level, TG and LDL-c levels in groups 2 and 3 as compared to group 1 (P<0.001). No significant difference was observed in serum cholesterol, TG and LDL-c levels in experimental groups 4 and 5, compared to experimental group 1. In group 4, serum HDL-c concentration did not show significant changes as compared to group 1. In groups 4 and 5, no significant change was observed in inflammatory factors as compared to group 1. The levels of superoxide dismutase in red blood cells and malondialdehyde in plasma of groups 3 and 5 showed no significant change when compared with group 1. Conclusion: Chamomile led to the management and correction of changes in risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases are among the most common causes of mortality worldwide. Therefore, it is necessary to control the risk factors of these patients. Since the level of inflammatory markers and lipid profiles has increased in cardiovascular diseases and due to the increasing role of plants in the treatment of diseases, the current study aimed to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Teucrium polium on inflammatory markers and lipid profile in hypercholesterolemic rats.Materials and methodsA total of 24 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of six each and treated with oral administration for 8 weeks. The control group received normal diet, the sham group received high-cholesterol diet and experimental groups 1 and 2 received high-cholesterol diet in the 8 weeks and doses of 85 and 170 mg/kg, respectively, of the T. polium hydroalcoholic extract (TPHAE) in the second 4 weeks. At the beginning and the end of the study, rats were examined for biochemical parameters. The mean level of variables for each group was presented as mean ± standard error of mean.ResultsThe results of this study showed that, after administration of TPHAE, there was a significant decrease in the mean of inflammatory markers in all groups compared to sham group (P<0.001). Also, administration of the extract significantly reduced the serum levels of triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol and significantly increased the serum HDL-cholesterol levels. In addition, the 170 mg/kg dose of TPHAE was the most effective in reducing serum levels of inflammatory and lipid markers.ConclusionTreatment with TPHAE caused dose-dependent decrease in serum levels of inflammatory markers and lipid profile in hypercholesterolemic rats. Therefore, it can be applied as a natural product for the management of cardiovascular diseases.

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency has become quite prevalent and is known to cause a great many diseases. Numerous studies have investigated the association between vitamin D deficiency and gestational diabetes, and the results are somewhat contradictory. The present study deals with the relationship between the vitamin D deficiency and gestational diabetes. Methods: Two researchers made use of MeSH, Scopus, PubMed database, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, the Web of Science, CINAHL, and Google Scholar search engines to identify qualified studies and articles carried out and published before August 2017 and reported the risk of gestational diabetes developing as a result of vitamin D deficiency. The association between the two conditions was measured using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Funnel plots, Egger’s, and Begg’s tests were also used to assess publication bias. All analysis was done by STATA (version 11.2). Results: Twenty-nine eligible studies with a total of 14,497 participants were included in the final analysis. Overall, maternal vitamin D insufficiency was significantly associated with a greater risk of gestational diabetes (OR = 1.15; 95% CI, 1.00-1.30; p<0.001). Serum 25OHD was significantly lower in participants with gestational diabetes mellitus than in those with natural glucose tolerance (−29.7 nmol/L, 95% CI, −36.6 to −22.8; p=0.000). Conclusion: According to the current meta-analysis results, vitamin D deficiency is correlated with the risk of gestational diabetes development.