Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a polygenic endocrine disorder and the most common gynecological endocrinopathy among reproductive-aged women. Current remedies are often used only to control its signs and symptoms, while they are not thoroughly able to prevent complications. Quercetin is an herbal bioactive flavonoid commonly used for the treatment of metabolic and inflammatory disorders. Thus, this systematic review was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of quercetin supplementation in subjects with PCOS. Databases until March 2019 were searched. All human clinical trials and animal models evaluating the effects of quercetin on PCOS women were included. Out of 253 articles identified in our search, 8 eligible articles (5 animal studies and 3 clinical trials) were reviewed. The majority of studies supported the beneficial effects of quercetin on the ovarian histomorphology, folliculogenesis, and luteinisation processes. The effects of quercetin on reducing the levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and insulin resistance were also reported. Although quercetin improved dyslipidemia, no significant effect was reported for weight loss. It is suggested that the benefits of quercetin may be more closely related to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory features of quercetin rather than weight-reducing effects. Therefore, this review article provides evidence that quercetin could be considered as a potential agent to attenuate PCOS complications. However, due to the paucity of high-quality clinical trials, further studies are needed.
1 April 2019 in Complementary Therapies in Medicine
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most important threats to human health in the twenty-first century. The use of complementary and alternative medicine to prevent, control, and reduce the complications of diabetes mellitus is increasing at present. Glutamine amino acid is known as a functional food. The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the potential role of glutamine supplementation on metabolic variables in diabetes mellitus. For this review, PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, ProQuest, and Google Scholar databases were searched from inception through April 2020. All clinical trial and animal studies assessing the effects of glutamine on diabetes mellitus were eligible for inclusion. 19 studies of 1482 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of the 19 studies, nine studies reported a significant increase in serum GLP-1 levels. Also, eight studies showed reducing in serum levels of fasting blood sugar, four studies reducing in postprandial blood sugar, and triglyceride after glutamine supplementation. Although glutamine resulted in a significant increase in insulin production in seven studies, the findings on Hb-A1c levels were inconclusive. In addition to, despite of the results was promising for the effects of glutamine on weight changes, oxidative stress, and inflammation, more precise clinical trials are needed to obtain more accurate results. In conclusion, glutamine supplementation could improve glycemic control and levels of incretins (such as GLP-1 and GIP) in diabetes mellitus. However, more studies are needed for future studies.
Background: Diet is considered as one of the modifiable factors that appears to exert a vital role in psychological status. In this way, we designed this study to examine the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII), dietary antioxidant index (DAI), and mental health in female adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 364 female adolescents selected from high schools in the five regions of Tabriz, Iran. A 3-day food record was used to extract the dietary data and calculate DII/DAI scores. DII and DAI were estimated to assess the odds of depression, anxiety, and stress based on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Adjusted relationships of the DII and DAI with depression, anxiety, and stress were determined using multiple regression after adjusting for age, energy intake, BMI, family income and mother and father education. Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI)-for-age > + 1 z-score relative to world health organization standards. Results: Depression, anxiety, and stress were observed in 21.4%, 26.6%, and 25.7% of subjects, respectively. The percentage of overweight among adolescents was 19.4%. The association between DII and score of mental health profile was positive among subjects in the third tertile of DII compared to subjects in the first tertile. However, this association was not statistically significant after adjusting for confounding variables. Moreover, there was a significant inverse association between DAI and depression and anxiety; and a statistically insignificant association between DAI and stress after adjusting for confounders. Conclusions: Our results highlighted the importance of a healthy and anti-inflammatory diet on mental health in female adolescents. Therefore, modifying unhealthy dietary habits are likely to be effective in the management of psychosocial disorders.
1 January 2020 in Complementary Therapies in Medicine