Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx (HS) water decoction extract is a commonly consumed beverage with various pharmacological properties. This systematic review examines the possible effect of HS intake on immune mediators. The Scopus and PUBMED databases were searched for all human and animal studies that investigated the effect of HS administration on immune related biomarkers. For each of the immune biomarkers, the mean, standard deviation and number of subjects were extracted for both the HS treated and untreated group. These values were used in the computation of standardized mean difference (SMD). Statistical analysis and forest plot were done with R statistical software (version 3.6.1). Twenty seven (27) studies met the eligibility criteria. Twenty two (22) of the studies were used for the meta-analysis which included a total of 1211 subjects. The meta-analysis showed that HS administration significantly lowered the levels of TNF-α (n=10; pooled SMD: -1.55; 95% CI: -2.43, -0.67; P < 0.01), IL-6 (n=11; pooled SMD:-1.09; 95% CI: -1.77, -0.40; P < 0.01), IL-1β (n=7; pooled SMD:-0.62; 95% CI: -1.25, 0.00; P = 0.05), Edema formation (n=4; pooled SMD: -2.29; 95% CI: -4.47, -0.11; P = 0.04), Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein -1 (n=4; pooled SMD: -1.17; 95% CI: -1.78, -0.57; P < 0.01) and Angiotensin converting enzyme cascade (n=6; pooled SMD: -0.91; 95% CI: -1.57, -0.25; P < 0.01). The levels of IL-10 (n=4; pooled SMD: -0.38; 95% CI: -1.67, 0.91; P = 0.56), Interleukin 8 (n=2; pooled SMD:-0.12; 95% CI: -0.76, 0.51; P = 0.71), iNOS (n=2; pooled SMD:-0.69; 95% CI: -1.60, 0.23 P = 0.14) and C- Reactive Protein (n=4; pooled SMD: 0.05; 95% CI: -0.26, 0.36; P = 0.75), were not significantly changed by HS administration. Some of the results had high statistical heterogeneity. HS may be promising in the management of disorders involving hyperactive immune system or chronic inflammation.

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Spent crankcase oil (SCO) contains a cocktail of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), transferred to the associated water-soluble fractions (WSF); and low-dose heavy metals exposures could increase the triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) concentrations. Hence, this study estimated the changes in the lipid profile and atherogenic indices (AI) of male Wistar albino rats exposed to the WSF of SCO and treated with aqueous extracts (AE) of red cabbage (RC) for 60 and 90 days. Sixty-four male Wistar rats divided into 8 groups (8 animals each) were orally administered 1 mL of deionized water, 500 mg/kg AE of RC, 1 mL of 25%, 50%, and 100% WSF of SCO daily for 60 and 90 days, whereas alternate groups were given the stated percentages of the WSF and the AE. Serum TG, TC, LDL, and VLDL concentrations were then analyzed using appropriate kits and the AI estimated thereafter. Although the 60 days study presented a nonsignificant (P < 0.05) difference in the TG, VLDL, and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-C levels in all the exposed and treated groups, a significantly (P < 0.05) elevated TC and non-HDL was recorded for the 100% exposed group alone. Also, the LDL concentration of all exposed groups was higher than all treated groups. The findings at the 90th day was different, such that the 100% and 25% exposed only groups had elevated lipid profile (except HDL-C) concentrations and AI compared with other groups. RC extracts can act as good hypolipidemic agents in WSF of SCO hyperlipidemia potentiating events.

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