Background: Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the functional foods which contains biological compounds including gingerol, shogaol, paradol and zingerone. Ginger has been proposed to have anti-cancer, anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, hypolipidemic and analgesic properties. Here, we report the effect of ginger supplementation on glycemic indices in Iranian patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 20–60 -year-old patients with type 2 diabetes who did not receive insulin. Participants in the intervention and control groups were received 3 g of powdered ginger or placebo (lactose) (in capsules) daily for 3 months. Glycemic indices, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum paraoxonase, dietary intake and physical activity were measured at the beginning and end of the study, and after 12 h fasting. Results: Comparison of the indices after 3 months showed that the differences between the ginger and placebo groups were statistically significant as follows: serum glucose (–19.41±18.83 vs. 1.63±4.28 mg/dL, p<0.001), HbA_1c percentage (–0.77±0.88 vs. 0.02±0.16 %, p<0.001), insulin (–1.46±1.7 vs. 0.09±0.34 μIU/mL, p<0.001), insulin resistance (–16.38±19.2 vs. 0.68±2.7, p<0.001), high-sensitive CRP (–2.78±4.07 vs. 0.2±0.77 mg/L, p<0.001), paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) (22.04±24.53 vs. 1.71±2.72 U/L, p<0.006), TAC (0.78±0.71 vs. –0.04±0.29 µIU/mL, p<0.01) and MDA (–0.85±1.08 vs. 0.06±0.08 µmol/L, p<0.001) were significantly different. Conclusions: This report shows that the 3 months supplementation of ginger improved glycemic indices, TAC and PON-1 activity in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Vitamin D concentrations are linked to body composition indices, particularly body fat mass. Relationships between hypovitaminosis D and obesity, described by both BMI and waist circumference, have been mentioned. We have investigated the effect of a 12-week vitamin D3 supplementation on anthropometric indices in healthy overweight and obese women. Methods: In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial, seventy-seven participants (age 38±8.1 years, BMI 29.8±4.1 kg/m²) were randomly allocated into two groups: vitamin D (25 μg per day as cholecalciferol) and placebo (25 μg per day as lactose) for 12 weeks. Body weight, height, waist, hip, fat mass, 25(OH) D, iPTH, and dietary intakes were measured before and after the intervention. Results: Serum 25(OH)D significantly increased in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group (38.2±32.7 nmol/L vs. 4.6±14.8 nmol/L; P<0.001) and serum iPTH concentrations were decreased by vitamin D3 supplementation (-0.26±0.57 pmol/L vs. 0.27±0.56 pmol/L; P<0.001). Supplementation with vitamin D3 caused a statistically significant decrease in body fat mass in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group (-2.7±2.1 kg vs. -0.47±2.1 kg; P<0.001). However, body weight and waist circumference did not change significantly in both groups. A significant reverse correlation between changes in serum 25(OH) D concentrations and body fat mass was observed (r = -0.319, P = 0.005). Conclusion: Among healthy overweight and obese women, increasing 25(OH) D concentrations by vitamin D3 supplementation led to body fat mass reduction. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01344161.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether probiotics had an effect on proinflammatory markers and cytokines in overweight and obese individuals and whether they could have synergistic effects with weight-loss diets. A total of 75 healthy overweight and obese individuals completed this randomized doubled-blind controlled clinical trial. Participants were randomly assigned to groups consuming regular yogurt with a low-calorie diet (LCD, RLCD; n = 25) or receiving probiotic yogurt with LCD (PLCD; n = 25) or consuming probiotic yogurt without LCD (PWLCD; n = 25) for 8 weeks. The pribiotic regimen contained 200 g/day yogurt, enriched by Lactobacillus acidophilus La5, Bifidobacterium BB12, and Lactobacillus casei DN001 10(8) colony-forming units/g. Body fat percentage, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), leptin, and mRNA levels of inflammation-related genes (TNF-α and RAR-related orphan receptor gamma [ROR-γt]) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were measured. A reduction in body mass index (BMI), fat percentage, and leptin level was observed that was more obvious in groups who received the weight-loss diet with probiotic yogurt. Reduction in the gene expression of ROR-γt was significant in the PLCD group (p < 0.001). The expression of TNF-α did not change among all groups after intervention. The mean concentration of leptin was significantly decreased in all groups after the dietary intervention, but the mean changes in leptin level in the PLCD group was more prominent compared to the other two groups (-2.38, p < 0.001 [PLCD] vs -1.75, p = 0.002 [RLCD] and -0.55 ng/mL, p = 0.12 [PWLCD]). The reduction in serum levels of hs-CRP was more evident in the PWLCD group compared to the PLCD and RLCD groups after the 8-week intervention (-3.4, p = 0.03 vs -1.76, p < 0.001 and -2.98 pg/mL, p < 0.001, respectively). Our results suggested that the weight-loss diet and probiotic yogurt had synergistic effects on T-cells subset specific gene expression in PBMCs, fat percentage, and body weight among overweight and obese individuals.

Low seminal plasma concentrations of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) have been correlated with impaired sperm parameters, but the exact mechanism remains of dominating interest. This randomised, placebo-controlled study examined the effect of CoQ10 on catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and F2 -isoprostanes in seminal plasma in infertile men and their relation with CoQ10 concentration. Sixty infertile men with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) were randomised to receive 200 mg d(-1) of CoQ10 or placebo for 3 months. 47 persons of them completed the study. Semen analysis, anthropometric measurements, diet and physical activity assessment were performed for subjects before and after treatment. Independent and paired t-test, chi-square test and ancova were compared outcomes of supplementation between two groups. CoQ10 levels increased from 44.74 ± 36.47 to 68.17 ± 42.41 ng ml(-1) following supplementation in CoQ10 (P < 0.001). CoQ10 group had higher catalase and SOD activity than the placebo group. There was a significant positive correlation between CoQ10 concentration and normal sperm morphology (P = 0.037), catalase (P = 0.041) and SOD (P < 0.001). Significant difference was shown between the mean of changes in seminal plasma 8-isoprostane in two groups (P = 0.003) after supplementation. Three-month supplementation with CoQ10 in OAT infertile men can attenuate oxidative stress in seminal plasma and improve semen parameters and antioxidant enzymes activity.