The antioxidant system can be critical in reducing exacerbated inflammation in COVID-19. This study compared the antioxidant and inflammatory responses between COVID-19 outpatients and seemingly healthy individuals. This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 53 COVID-19 outpatients and 53 healthy individuals as controls. The serum concentrations of amyloid A (SAA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured and compared between COVID-19 patients and controls using the independent sample t-test before and after controlling for dietary supplement use. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression model, limited to COVID-19 patients, was used to evaluate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of disease symptoms on days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after the disease onset. Serum concentrations of SOD (p ≤ 0.001) and GPx (p = 0.001) were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients than in controls before adjustment for dietary supplement use. GPx remained significantly higher among COVID-19 patients than in controls after adjustment for all dietary supplements (p = 0.005). Moreover, serum concentrations of GPx (p = 0.003), SOD (p = 0.022), and TAC (p = 0.028) remained significantly higher among COVID-19 patients than in controls after adjustment for vitamin D supplementation. This study showed higher GPx in COVID-19 outpatients than in controls after adjustment for dietary supplement use. Moreover, elevated SOD, GPx, and TAC concentrations were shown in COVID-19 outpatients compared to controls after adjusting for vitamin D supplementation. These results may provide a useful therapeutic target for treating oxidative stress in COVID-19 disease, which may help ameliorate the pandemic.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate whether traditional and non-traditional adiposity indicators are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors among adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: In this cross-sectional study among 240 inpatients with type 2 DM, we determined traditional anthropometric indicators including body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio, and non-traditional anthropometric indicators including lipid accumulation product (LAP), visceral adiposity index (VAI), deep abdominal adipose tissue (DAAT), and Després indices. Lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured to evaluate cardiometabolic parameters. Results: In overweight patients, DAAT was positively correlated with total triglycerides. LAP was negatively correlated with serum HDL-C levels. WHR and DAAT were associated with total triglycerides, HbA1c, total cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL-C, and total triglycerides/HDL-C, after adjustment for age and duration of disease. VAI, DAAT, LAP, and Després index were significant determinants of lipid profile and SBP. Conclusion: Traditional and non-traditional anthropometric indices are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in patients with type 2 DM.

Vitamin D and zinc are important components of nutritional immunity. This study compared the serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and zinc in COVID-19 outpatients with those of potentially non-infected participants. The association of clinical symptoms with vitamin D and zinc status was also examined. A checklist and laboratory examination were applied to collect data in a cross-sectional study conducted on 53 infected outpatients with COVID-19 and 53 potentially non-infected participants. Serum concentration of 25(OH)D were not significantly lower in patients with moderate illness (19 ± 12 ng/mL) than patients with asymptomatic or mild illness (29 ± 18 ng/mL), with a trend noted for a lower serum concentration of 25(OH)D in moderate than asymptomatic or mild illness patients (p = 0.054). Infected patients (101 ± 18 µg/dL) showed a lower serum concentration of zinc than potentially non-infected participants (114 ± 13 µg/dL) (p = 0.01). Patients with normal (odds ratio (OR), 0.19; p ≤ 0.001) and insufficient (OR, 0.3; p = 0.007) vitamin D status at the second to seventh days of disease had decreased OR of general symptoms compared to patients with vitamin D deficiency. This study revealed the importance of 25(OH)D measurement to predict the progression of general and pulmonary symptoms and showed that infected patients had significantly lower zinc concentrations than potentially non-infected participants.

Since the outbreak of COVID‐19 in China, it has rapidly spread across many other countries. We evaluated antioxidant defense systems and inflammatory status related to the SARS‐CoV2 infection in a population from southwestern Iran. Comorbidities and clinical symptoms of 104 subjects (comprising negative and positive‐PCR COVID‐19 outpatients) were assessed. Serum concentrations of glutathione reductase (GR) and interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) were measured using ELISA. In the positive‐PCR group, follow‐ups on clinical symptoms were carried out for 28 days at 7‐day intervals. In the positive‐PCR group, hypertension, diabetes, liver disease, chronic heart disease, and chronic kidney disease were the most common comorbidities. In the general category of symptoms, we found a significant difference between negative and positive‐PCR groups, except regarding runny noses. In the pulmonary category, there was a significant difference between the two groups except in terms of chest pain. We also determined a significant difference in neurologic symptoms, except for ear pain, between negative and positive‐PCR groups. We also found significantly lower levels of GR but higher levels of IL‐10 in the positive‐PCR group ( p = 0.000 for both). In the positive‐PCR group, serum levels of IL‐10 (odds ratio = 0.914, p = 0.012) decreased the chances of neurological symptoms occurring over time. The antioxidant defense systems of positive‐PCR outpatients failed as demonstrated by a reduction in the serum levels of GR. We also indicated a dysregulation in the immune response against COVID‐19, characterized by changes in serum IL‐10 levels.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of Nigella sativa (N. sativa) supplementation on metabolic and cardiovascular health outcomes. A comprehensive search of EMBASE, Scopus, PubMed, CENTRAL, and Web of Science databases was conducted up to August 2024. Study quality and certainty of evidence were assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tools, respectively. Eighty-two studies, including 79 quantitative and 3 qualitative studies published between 2008 and 2024, involving 5026 participants with interventions ranging from 1 to 48 weeks and doses varying from 200 to 4600 mg/day, were included. N. sativa supplementation significantly improved body fat percentage (BF%), body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), waist circumference (WC), weight, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), postprandial blood glucose (PPBG), quick insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), C-reactive protein (CRP), high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), atherogenic index (AI), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC) to HDL-C ratio, TC, triglycerides (TG), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine, urea, catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) activity, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Our findings suggest that N. sativa could be a promising adjunct therapy for improving cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.