The current study was conducted to determine chemical constituents present in M. pulegium L and A. graveolens L. essential oils and investigate dietary effects of the herbal powders on some biochemical, hematological and oxidative stress parameters. A 42-day fully randomized trial was conducted using 240 broilers (Ross 308) divided into 4 main groups with three replicates, supplemented with the aerial parts of the plant materials as follows: (I) Control (corn-soybean meal only); (II) 1% pennyroyal; (III) 1% dill; (Ⅳ ) the combination (0. 5% pennyroyal+0. 5% dill). Numerous active compounds were detected in the essential oils of both plants. 1, 8-cineole was found to be the major constituent in pennyroyal's essential oil and Carvone in dill. The serum cholesterol, triglyceride as well as High and Low Density Lipoprotein (HDL and LDL) levels were significantly different among treatments (P< 0. 05). However, the combination of both plants had more pronounced effects on the aforementioned parameters. A significant increase in total protein content also was observed in the groups supplemented with herbal powders. Nevertheless, dill powder had no significant effect on glucose levels. Heterophil and lymphocyte counts also were different between groups (P< 0. 05). Moreover, activities of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase were significantly changed following the herbal supplementation. A significant decrease in malondialdehyde content and increase in total antioxidant capacity were recorded in all supplemented groups. Conclusively, supplementation with the dried powders can improve serum biochemistry and enhance the antioxidant status. However, it seems like the combinatorial supplementation is more effective.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Branched-Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplementation time on changes in the concentration of anabolic-catabolic hormones and muscle damage in trained individuals following acute resistance training.Methods: In this quasi-experimental study with cross-sectional design, 11 active male athletes from Sanandaj sports clubs with a mean age of 32±6.9 years, height of  179.7±22.7 Cm, weight of 79.4±1.11Kg, and body mass index of 25.3 ± 3.8 Kg/m2  who had at least three regular training sessions during the week and had no history of taking supplement, were selected purposefully and then randomly subjected to four conditions (taking supplement/placebo 20 minutes before training and immediately after training). In the first session, half of the participants received three grams of BCAA supplements, and the other half received a placebo 20 minutes before resistance training. In the second session, the participants were subjected to opposite conditions. The conditions in the third and fourth sessions were different in that the time of taking the supplement was immediately after the end of resistance training. In each session, two blood samples were drawn before the beginning of the resistance program and again half an hour after the end of the training program to measure the studied variables.Results: Analysis of variance with repeated measurements showed that BCAA supplementation does not significantly affect muscle damage indices (creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase) and does not change the serum concentration of testosterone, cortisol, and growth hormones.  Conclusion: In general, the present findings show that the use of one dose of BCAA before and after the end of the resistance training protocol does not affect the changes in the concentration of anabolic-catabolic hormones and muscle damage.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate how exhaustion exercise affects testosterone levels and plasma lactates in road cyclists supplemented with oral zinc and selenium for 4 weeks.Materials and Methods: Twenty-four male road cyclists volunteers, were selected from the Tehran Traffic team, and based on BMI were divided into three groups; the selenium, zinc, and controls. The status of zinc and selenium in subjects was assessed at baseline. After 4 weeks of supplementation free, total testosterone, and lactate levels of all subjects were determined before and after exercise. Data was analyzed according to repeated measures ANOVA, and the Bonfferoni post hoc test, with a significance level of P<0.05.Results: Resting total, free testosterone, and lactate levels did not differ significantly between groups, and were increased by exercise (P>0.05). Total testosterone levels in the Zn group were higher than in the Se group after exercise (P<0.05). Free testosterone levels in the Zn group were higher than the other groups (P<0.05). There was an insignificant difference between levels of lactate in the three groups after exercise (P>0.05).Conclusion: According to this study, 4-week selenium and zinc supplementation had no significant effect on testosterone or lactate levels of subjects who had a zinc and selenium sufficient diet. Zinc supplementation increased levels of total testosterone in contrast with selenium group, and also increased free testosterone versus the other groups, whereas there was no change in the levels of lactate in the three groups post-test.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disease known for inflammation and hyper-proliferation of epidermal keratinocytes (Luo et al., 2020). 2-3% of the population suffer from psoriasis (Parisi et al., 2013). Emotional distress in psoriasis patients impairs quality of their life. Moreover, they suffer from the burden of comorbidities like obesity, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome (Armstrong et al., 2013b), and hypertension (Armstrong et al., 2013a) through the increase in psoriasis severity. The pathogenesis of psoriasis is not well understood yet. It is concluded from the interactions between genetic predisposition and the environmental risk factors, such as diet, alcohol consumption, stress, obesity, and smoking (Ricketts et al., 2010). One pathogenesis of psoriasis is amplifying T-cells and dendritic cells from the immune system, which releases various pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines with simultaneous activation of growth factors (Al-Harbi et al., 2020). Moreover, oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production causes inflammation (Wacewicz et al., 2017). High free radicals have harmful effects through structural changes on proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. The increase in oxidants leads to active antioxidant defense mechanisms (Lobo et al., 2010). Corresponding Author:Azadeh Lesani View Orcid in Profile You can search for this author in PubMed     Google Scholar Profile

Introduction: Premature rupture of membranes (PROM) affects 10-20% of all pregnancies, occuring in approximately 30% to 40% of preterm deliveries. Vitamin C has a role in collagen metabolism and increases resistance maintenance of the chorioamniotic membranes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between vitamin C supplementation with PROM and preterm delivery.Methods and Materials: This clinical-trial study carried out from Jan to Jul 2006 at Hafez and Shoushtari Hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. This study was approved by the local committee of medical ethics. Pregnant women (n=117) with 20 weeks gestational age, randomly divided into two groups 57 in the case group and 60 in the control group and evaluated every 4 weeks, from 20 to 36 weeks of pregnancy. At each evaluation, a vaginal examination was performed, to rule out bacterial vaginosis infection. The case group received a chewing tablet of 100 mg vitamin C daily. PROM and preterm delivery was recorded for each group as indicator of the protective effect of vitamin C supplementation.Results: PROM occurred in 5 (8.77%) and 22 (36.67%) pregnancies in the case and control group respectively (p<0.001). Four patients (7.41%) in the case group and 18 pregnant women (32.08%) in the control group delivered at term with PROM (p=0.001). One woman (33.30%) in the case group and 4 women (57.10%) in the control group delivered due to PROM at term (p>0.5).Conclusion: Supplementation of vitamin C after 20 weeks of gestation prevents PROM.

The production, distribution, and consumption of iodized salt have increased in recent years. Also, a mild increase in the incidence of hyperthyroidism has been described previously and following implementation of iodinated salt programs, reinforced by other reports. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess iodine status in men and women aged more than 40 years in Tehran in 1996.In a cross sectional study in Tehran, 741 women and 514 men over 40 years of age were selected randomly. Thyroid size was examined by palpation and graded according to the WHO classification. Urinary Iodine was measured by digestion method. Serum T4, T3, and TSH (IRMA) concentration were also assayed by kits.In 211 men and 367 women aged 40-50 years old, percentage of grades 1 and 2 goiter were 53% and 22% in men and 53% and 35% in women, respectively. In 303 men and 374 women over 50 years old, percentage of grades 1 and 2 goiter were 50% and 14% in men and 51% and 23% in women respectively.The mean urinary iodine was 17±5.4 µg/dl. In 87% of the subjects, urinary iodine was more than 10 µg/dl.Mean serum T4, T3 and TSH were 8.4±1.3 µg/dl, 168±35ng/dl, and 1.4±0.7 µu/ml, respectively. Combination of high T4, T3 and suppressed TSH were observed in 2 subjects.This study points to the adequacy of iodine intake. The prevalence of hyperthyroidism has not been increased.