A Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Crossover Study to Assess the Safety and Beneficial Effects of Cassia Tora Supplementation in Healthy Adults.

Objective: The current clinical trial was aimed at evaluating the safety and beneficial effect of Cassia tora (C. tora) supplementation in healthy adults.

Design: A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study with a crossover design was done on 60 healthy normal weight adults (age range: 20-55 yrs).

Genetic determinants of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in South Indian male smokers.

The development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upon exposure to tobacco smoke, is the cumulative effect of defects in several genes. With the aim of understanding the genetic structure that is characteristic of our patient population, we selected forty two single nucleotide polymorphisms of twenty genes based on previous studies and genotyped a total of 382 samples, which included 236 patients and 146 controls using Sequenom MassARRAY system. Allele frequencies of rs2276109 (MMP12) and rs1800925 (IL13) differed significantly between patients and controls (p = 0.

Oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme activity in South Indian male smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background And Objective: Oxidative stress resulting from tobacco smoking has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the oxidant and antioxidant levels in smokers with and without COPD.

Methods: Two hundred thirty-six patients with COPD and 150 smokers with no respiratory problems were selected.

Age-related correlation between antioxidant enzymes and DNA damage with smoking and body mass index.

To understand whether oxidants contribute to the initiation and/or promulgation toward aging, the present study has been undertaken on 220 healthy male volunteers aged 20-80 years selected from the defined electoral area (suburbs of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India) to evaluate the concentrations of free radicals (superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide), lymphocyte antioxidant enzymes (glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, catalase), and DNA damage in relation to obesity and smoking (lifestyles). A two fold increase of lymphocyte free radical generation (DNA damage) was observed in older age groups with a reduced antioxidant potential, forming a link between cigarette smoking and oxidative stress represented by an antioxidant imbalance. Body mass index had a positive relationship with oxidative stress, but antioxidant levels did not vary with body mass index.