Formulation of a Mixture of Plant Extracts for Attenuating Postprandial Glycemia and Diet-Induced Disorders in Rats.

The aim of this study was to design a mixture consisting of plant-derived preparations containing inhibitors of carbohydrate digestion and/or glucose absorption that could lower postprandial glycemia and attenuate dietary-induced disorders. The following standardized preparations were tested: white mulberry leaf extract, green coffee bean extract, white kidney bean extract, pomelo fruit extract, bitter melon fruit extract, and purified l-arabinose. The study design was composed of oral sucrose and starch tolerance tests in Wistar rats preceded by a single ingestion of the preparations or their mixtures.

A Synergistic Formulation of Plant Extracts Decreases Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Peaks: Results from Two Randomized, Controlled, Cross-Over Studies Using Real-World Meals.

This study investigated the efficacy of a plant-derived dietary supplement with respect to decreasing postprandial glucose and insulin peaks after the intake of real-world meals. Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over experiments were conducted on healthy subjects who received a supplement containing extracts of white mulberry, white bean, and green coffee or one containing the three extracts with added fibre before consuming high-GI/GL (glycaemic index/glycaemic load) meals. In study one, 32 subjects received an investigational product/placebo before a standardized meal at two visits.

Reynolds-number dependence of the longitudinal dispersion in turbulent pipe flow.

In Taylor's theory, the longitudinal dispersion in turbulent pipe flows approaches, on long time scales, a diffusive behavior with a constant diffusivity K_{L}, which depends empirically on the Reynolds number Re. We show that the dependence on Re can be determined from the turbulent energy spectrum. By using the intimate connection between the friction factor and the longitudinal dispersion in wall-bounded turbulence, we predict different asymptotic scaling laws of K_{L}(Re) depending on the different turbulent cascades in two-dimensional turbulence.

[Is physiological saline really physiological? Hyponatreamia treatment--small deviations from the rules of appropriate therapy create serious complications and side effects].

Physiological saline can hardly be treated as physiological as it contains qualitatively and quantitatively different amounts of electrolytes. In particular, it contains 50% more chlorine ions than serum. Physiological saline can cause metabolic acidosis and in diabetic patients hyperchloremic acidosis.

[Different types of obesity. Can some types of obesity be protective?].

Adipose tissue is not to be treated as a homogenous organ of identical functionality. Adipose tissue can be divided into specific regions of different localizations with adipocytes differing in their genetical profile, metabolism, autophagic activity and capacity for multiplication - hyperplasia. Visceral and ectopic regions of adipose tissue are characterized by poor capilarization, hypoxia, and the presence of hypertrophic big adipocytes.

Cytostatic and cytotoxic effects of alkylglycerols (Ecomer).

Background: Shark liver oil, with a standardized concentration of alkylglycerols and their methoxyderivates, has been widely used in Scandinavian countries as complementary medicine in the treatment of different forms of cancer. The aim of our study was to verify the hypothesized antiproliferative effect of alkylglycerols in different human cancer cell lines.

Material/methods: The plating efficiency method was used to assay the effect of alkylglycerols on the plating efficiency of human ovarian carcinoma (OVP-10), mammary carcinoma (MCF-7), and prostate cancer (DU-145, PC-3 and PCa-2b) cell lines.

Effect of two modes of antiandrogen treatment on insulin sensitivity and serum leptin in women with PCOS.

Androgens are suggested to interact with leptin production and with insulin sensitivity in both polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity. The aim of the study was to follow these interactions along with two forms of antiandrogen treatment. Twenty women with PCOS were treated with ethinylestradiol and high dose of cyproteroneacetate (EE-CA) and 8 with the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue goserelin for 6 months.

[Effect of chitosan in complex management of obesity].

Unlabelled: The aim of the present study was to verify the effect of chitosan as a possible adjuvant in the complex management of obesity.

Method: Fifty obese women (22-59 years, BMI > 30) participated in the study. A six months program consisted of 2-hour meetings with a physician, psychologist and dietitian, in a group of about 20 persons, every two weeks.

Thyroid hormones in the pathogenesis and treatment of obesity.

Thyroid hormones (TH) are potent modulators of adaptive thermogenesis and can potentially contribute to development of obesity. The decrease of T(3) in association with reduction of calorie intake is centrally regulated via decreases in leptin and melanocortin concentrations and peripherally via a decrease in deiodinase activity, all aimed at protein and energy sparing. The use of TH in the treatment of obesity is hardly justified except in cases of elevated thyrotropin (TSH) with low/normal T(3) and T(4) and/or a low T(3) or T'(3)/T(4) or a high TSH/T(3) ratio.