Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents is a major public health concern and their prevalence is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate in both developing and developed countries. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a representative sample of 12-18-year-old schooled adolescents in Fez, Morocco, and to investigate the possible risk factors associated with adolescent obesity. A cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2014 and March 2015 in public secondary schools. Data were collected from a questionnaire. Weight and height were measured, and body mass index was calculated. Weight was classified according to the reference curves of WHO (2007). Data on 1818 adolescents aged 12-18 years were used. The prevalence of overweight was 7.69% and that of obesity was 3.41%. Overweight and obesity in adolescents were positively correlated to having a father (odds ratio (OR) = 1.58, P = 0.008) or a mother with higher education (OR = 1.56, P = 0.009). High family income (OR = 2.115, P = 0.028), motorized transport to school (adjusted OR = 1.77, P = 0.017), using a computer for > 4 h/day (OR: 2.56, P = 0.004) and frequent consumption of soda and soft drinks (OR = 1.42, P = 0.04) were also correlated with an increased risk for overweight and obesity. This study provides useful findings that could be elaborated on and expanded in studies on overweight and obesity among adolescents in Morocco.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of aqueous leaf extract of Cistus ladaniferus (C. ladaniferus) on glycemic and lipidemic status in diabetic rats.MethodsOvernight fasted rats were injected intraperitoneally with streptozotocin (45 mg/kg) to induce experimental diabetes. The aqueous extract of the leaves of C. ladaniferus was administered orally at the dose of 500 mg/kg body weight to diabetic rats for a period of 28 days. Hypoglycemic effect, body weight, oral glucose tolerance, change in lipid parameters, urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels of diabetic rats treated with aqueous extract were evaluated in experimental animals.ResultsAdministration of 500 mg/kg of C. ladaniferus extract to diabetic rats for 28 days resulted in a significant reduction in the levels of blood glucose, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, urea and creatinine. Furthermore, the extract of C. ladaniferus improved glucose tolerance in diabetic rats, and its antidiabetic effect was similar to the one obtained with glibenclamide. The hypolipidemic effect was demonstrated by an important decrease in plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels.ConclusionsIt is concluded that C. ladaniferus leaf extract showed an antidiabetic activity in experimental diabetes which was similar to the one obtained with glibenclamide

The aim of this work was to evaluate the IgE-sensitivity to shrimp tropomyosin (ST) in a Moroccan population from Fez region, and then to study the effect of temperature and enzymatic digestion on the allergenicity of ST. This work was conducted with a questionnaire completed by a sera-bank, obtained from 500 patients recruited from Fez Hospitals. Their sera were analyzed for specific IgE-sensitivity to ST. From questionnaire, 9.8% reported allergy to fish and shellfish where shrimp was one of the most common species causing allergy in patients. Evaluation of specific IgE showed that 10.2% of patients present higher values. Further indirect ELISA and Dot-blot results indicated that ST showed a decrease in the human IgE binding under heating or pepsin hydrolysis. These results demonstrate that this population was sensitive to ST and the sensitivity could be reduced by heating and more where it was digested by pepsin.

Objective: The aerial parts of Thymus satureioides have been traditionally used to treat diabetes mellitus and its complications in Morocco. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effects of the aqueous extract of Thymus satureioides aerial parts in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats.Methods: Experimental diabetes was induced in overnight fasted rats by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg). Diabetic rats were orally administered with aqueous extract of Thymus satureioides (500 mg/kg b.w.) for 28 d. Glibenclamide (2 mg/kg), a standard antidiabetic drug, was used as a positive control drug. Body weight and fasting blood glucose (FGB) were measured every week. Oral glucose tolerance, change in lipid parameters, urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) levels of diabetic rats were evaluated at the end of the treatment.Results: Administration of Thymus satureioides aqueous extract to diabetic rats for 28 d reduced their fasting blood glucose levels significantly compared to the diabetic control rats. The extract improved body weight and glucose tolerance in diabetic rats. The antihyperlipidemic assessment of the extract revealed a decrease in plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL levels and an increase in HDL level in the plasma of treated diabetic rats. Furthermore, the biochemical liver and kidney functional tests have shown that serum biomarkers of liver and renal dysfunction were significantly reduced in treated diabetic rats.Conclusion: The present findings suggest that Thymus satureioides extract has both antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effects in experimental diabetic rats which can be beneficial in the management of diabetes and its complications.

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are among the largest family of cell surface re-ceptors found in the human genome. They govern a wide range of physiological responses in both health and diseases, making them one of the potential targeted surface receptors for pharmaceuti-cals. Flavonoids can modulate GPCRs activity by acting as allosteric ligands. They can either en-hance or reduce the GPCR's effect. Emerging research shows that individual flavonoids or mix-tures of flavonoids from plant extracts can have relevant pharmacological effects against a num-ber of diseases, particularly by influencing GPCRs. In the present review, we are considering to give a comprehensive overview of flavonoids and related compounds that exhibit GPCRs activity and to further explore which beneficial structural features. Molecular docking was used to strengthen experimental evidence and describe flavonoid-GPCRs interactions at molecular level.