Objective:Metabolic syndrome is a set of cardiac risk factors with increased risk of chronic diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of crocin of saffron on metabolic syndrome.Methods:This double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on metabolic syndrome patients who were randomly assigned to crocin of saffron or control (placebo) groups. The intervention group received 100 mg/day crocin tablets (a constituent of saffron) for 6 weeks. Then, the changes in metabolic syndrome component were compared between two groups. The trial was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials. Data were entered to SPSS 15. Chi-square, Fisher's exact, paired t-test, and independent t-test were used to analyze data. P < 0.05 was defined as statistical significant level.Findings:Totally, 48 patients included in the trial (24 intervention and 24 placebo participants). There were significant reductions from baseline measurements in the levels of total cholesterol (P < 0.001) and triglyceride (P = 0.003) after the 6-week crocin administration. However, this decrease in lipid profile was not significant when compared with placebo group. There was no significant change in other laboratory values, blood pressure, and anthropometric measures.Conclusion:The present study indicated that the dose of about 100 mg crocin of saffron was well tolerated and has no complication for 6 weeks of oral administration. However, the dosage used in our study had no effect on metabolic syndrome. Further studies are required to assess this effect with the higher dosages of crocin as well as long time effects of its administration on metabolic syndrome patients.
Background:Metabolic syndrome is the constellation of several cardiometabolic risk factors, and is associated with a heightened risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The pro-oxidant–antioxidant balance (PAB) is a measure of factors that promote and control oxidative stress. PAB may also be associated with the risk factors of CHD.Objectives:This study aimed to explore the impact of supplementation with barberry, a fruit rich in antioxidants, on PAB in patients with metabolic syndrome.Patients and Methods:A total of 106 patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome were randomized in two groups: case and control. The case group received three capsules of barberry and the control group received three capsules of placebo for 6 weeks. Serum PAB was measured in all patients before and after the intervention.Results:There was no significant difference between the groups regarding their baseline PAB values (P = 0.32). A significant decrease in PAB was observed in the barberry group (P = 0.022), whilst there was no significant change in the control group (P = 0.18). The magnitude of change in PAB during the study was significantly greater in the case group compared to the control group (P = 0.01).Conclusions:Barberry supplementation reduces oxidative burden in patients with metabolic syndrome.
Background and Aim:Emotional intelligence (EI) theory provides a view about predicting effective factors in people's lives whether in education or profession. According to earlier studies, people who have higher emotional skills are more successful in many of life aspects :e.g., reaction to stress and controlling stress situations. Since students are the future of society, this study was carried out to evaluate the relationship between EI and education stress in the students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences (BUMS).Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 260 students were selected by proportional sampling in four faculties: Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Paramedical Sciences, and Health. Data were collected using two questionnaires: The standardized EI Shering's (33 questions, five domains) and the Student-Life Stress Inventory (57 questions, nine domains). The obtained data were analyzed by independent t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and linear regression at the significant level of α = 0.05.Results:Totally, 65.8% of participants were females and 31.1% were males. The educational level of the participants included Associate's degree (44.6%) Bachelor's degree in science (31.2%), and medical science (23.1%). There was no significant correlation between EI scores and educational stress in students. But there was a significant relationship between EI with sex (P = 0.02) and mean of EI scores with three domains of academic stress: Personal favorites (P = 0.004), reaction to stressors (P = 0.002), and performance in stressful situations (P = 0.001).Conclusion:Although EI growth in different individuals can promote their success, it cannot decrease academic stress by itself which was particularly significant in females. Therefore, other causes of stress such as individual differences must be taken into consideration.
The sequence of Cro s 2 showed a high degree of identity and similarity to other plant profilins and the recombinant saffron profilin, Cro s 2, may be used for target-specific diagnosis and structural analyses and investigation of cross reactivity of Cro s 2 with other plant profilins.
Background:The metabolic syndrome is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. Objectives: As alternative medicine emerged worldwide, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Berberis vulgaris (barberry fruit) in the treatment of metabolic syndrome. Methods: This is a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind, trial with two treatment arms. A total of 60 patients with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to receive barberry or placebo tablets (one 550 mg tablets per day for 3 weeks). Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglyceride, fasting blood sugar and hematocrit were measured before and after 21 days of treatment. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and paired t-test by SPSS (V.15) software. P-values < 0.05 were considered to be significant. Results:In the barberry group, there was a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (pre-treatment 123.1 ± 13.1 vs. posttreatment 117.7 ± 13.2, P-value = 0.04), waist circumference (pre-treatment 105.9 ± 7.5 vs. post-treatment105 ± 7.7, P-value = 0.04) and hematocrit (pre-treatment 45 ± 3.6 vs. post-treatment 43.5 ± 2.7, P-value = 0.004) but other parameters did not change significantly. Serum cholesterol was significantly reduced after intervention in the barberry group (-17 ± 61.1 vs. 23.6 ± 45, P-value = 0.02). Conclusions:We observed a significant effect of barberry on systolic blood pressure and waist circumference. Further studies with larger samples are needed to longitudinally investigate the effect of metabolic syndrome.
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