Hypoglycemic Potential of Supplementation with a Vegetable and Legume Juice Formula in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.

Background And Objective: Type 2 diabetes affects a large number of people all over the world; hence, it is worthy to supplement those patients with a food formula containing biologically active ingredients that can help to control the disease and its complications. The present study was designed to prepare a plant formula in the form of a juice taken during treatment to synergies and reduce the drug dose used and minimize disease complications.

Materials And Methods: The formula is formed of spinach, broccoli, celery, green beans and chickpea.

Human portal serum stimulates cell proliferation in immature Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni were incubated in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% fetal calf serum, 10% human portal venous or 10% human peripheral venous sera in the presence of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in order to measure differences in cell proliferation. The rates of cell proliferation as expressed by BrdU labelling indices (BLI) were determined as a function of time of incubation by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody to BrdU. Compared to schistosomula cultured in the presence of RPMI plus 10% fetal calf serum, BLIs were increased by 60% in the presence of human portal, but not in peripheral serum.

The effect of some beverage extracts on intestinal iron absorption.

The effect of some beverage extracts namely anise, mint, caraway, cumin, tilia, liquorice, karkade and tea, on the absorption of iron was tested in tied-off intestinal segments of rats. The rate of intestinal iron absorption was calculated in terms of an absorption index. The tannin, phytic acid and ascorbic acid contents of these beverages were analysed.

The influence of ascorbic acid and lactose on the interaction of iron with each of cobalt and zinc during intestinal absorption.

The effect of ascorbic acid and lactose on the interaction between iron and each of zinc or copper during intestinal absorption was studied in normal and iron-deficient rats. It was found that addition of cobalt to the iron dose inhibited absorption of iron to 42% in normal rats and to 46.7% in iron deficient ones.

Mucosal iron binding proteins and the inhibition of iron absorption by endotoxin.

The uptake of iron from a tied off jejunal segment into the body after the injection of a 59Fe labeled test dose was decreased after the administration of endotoxin by about 80% in both normal and iron deficient animals.--In the iron deficient group the distribution of 59Fe in the cytosol fraction of jejunal mucosa between transferrin and ferritin was determined chromatographically; the amount of 59Fe in the ferritin fraction increased remarkably after the endotoxin treatment and the ratio of both was changed in favor of ferritin.--It is hypothesized that the association of the diversion of iron to the mucosal ferritin with the decrease of the transport of iron into the blood caused by endotoxin might be the consequence of abnormal oxidations in the mucosa measured by others in liver tissue.