This study investigated the hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antioxidant effects of dietary quercetin in an animal model of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Four-week-old C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice (n = 18) were offered an AIN-93G diet or a diet containing quercetin at 0.04% (low quercetin, LQE) or 0.08% of the diet (high quercetin, HQE) for 6 weeks after 1 week of adaptation. Plasma glucose, insulin, adiponectin, and lipid profiles, and lipid peroxidation of the liver were determined. Plasma glucose levels were significantly lower in the LQE group than in the control group, and those in the HQE group were even further reduced compared with the LQE group. The homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) showed lower values for LQE and HQE than for the control group without significant influence on insulin levels. High quercetin increased plasma adiponectin compared with the control group. Plasma triglycerides in the LQE and HQE groups were lower than those in the control group. Supplementation with high quercetin decreased plasma total cholesterol and increased HDL-cholesterol compared with the control group. Consumption of low and high quercetin reduced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels and elevated activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the liver. Thus, quercetin could be effective in improving hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and antioxidant status in type 2 diabetes.

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Nanofluid is a colloidal suspension which has received great attention over the past two decades, but its limited heat transfer enhancement is a matter of concern for industrial applications. We demonstrate an improvement in the thermal conductivity of TiO 2 nanofluids with an addition of negligible amounts of modified silver "Ag" nanoparticles. In this work, the surface/shape of newly synthesized "Ag" nanoparticles is modified by planetary ball milling. Then, to enhance the thermal conductivity of TiO 2 nanofluids, the flattened "Ag" particles are incorporated with the combination of small (15 nm) and large (300 nm) TiO 2 nanoparticles in an aqueous solution. The thermal conductivities of Ag/TiO 2 −water nanofluids with various weight concentrations are measured at temperatures ranging from 15 to 40 °C. As a result, the present study confirms that the thermal conductivity of TiO 2 based solution can be improved by introducing the flattened "Ag" particles.

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