Jamoon

From the bark, to the leaves, to the fruit and its seeds, the jamoon tree is another of nature's wonderful gifts. Jamoon is not just for enjoyment; it's good for your health. It's a very good source of Vitamin C, and the skin has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help fight certain diseases and protect our bodies. Societies that practice herbal, traditional, or alternative medicine use the leaves and the seeds of the jamoon fruit because theses traditions believe that these assist in the control of some illnesses - for example, diabetes, digestive problems and high blood pressure, though there is no formal scientific confirmation of this.

Ginger an your health

Ginger is a perennial flowering plant, native to Southern Asia, and introduced to many parts of the globe. It is now cultivated throughout the humid tropics including the Caribbean (Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti), Asia, and Africa. Ginger's botanical name is Zingiber officinale Roscoe. Though sometimes called a root, ginger is in fact a swollen underground stem - a rhizome.

Can green tea do that? A literature review of the clinical evidence

OBJECTIVE: Habitual green tea consumption has long been associated with health benefits including chemoprevention and cardiovascular protection. This non-systematic literature review presents the clinical evidence to date. METHOD: A literature review of peer-reviewed articles on observational and interventional studies was conducted to include green tea, its extract or its purified polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Electronic databases searched included PubMed (1966-2009) and the Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2008). RESULTS: Observational studies are inconclusive on the benefits of habitual consumption of green tea in the prevention of most cancers. However, there are trends towards prevention in breast and prostate cancers. Interventional studies have demonstrated reduction in relapses following surgical resection in colorectal adenomas and increased survival rates in epithelial ovarian cancer. Observational studies indicate that green tea may provide protection against hypertension and reduce the risk for stroke, and interventional studies are providing biochemical and physiological evidence. CONCLUSION: Although the overall clinical evidence is inconclusive, habitual green tea consumption may be providing some level of chemoprevention in prostate and breast cancer. Green tea may also attenuate the risk factors association with the development of atherosclerosis thus reducing the incidence of cardiovascular events and stoke.

Green tea and your health

Green tea is regarded by many as a "miracle tea" and is reputed to be beneficial for many medical conditions such as: cancer, rheumatiod arthritis, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, liver disease, halitosis, infection and impaired immune function. What exactly is green tea, and is it really so special?

Tiny berry big punch: health benefits of the cranberry

We all know that fruits and vegetables are good for you. In fact, its been shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of cancers and other chronic diseases. But cranberries are not your average fruit. Since 1984, many studies have indicated that cranberries have a number of health benefits, the foremost being the "anti-adhesion" effect on certain bacteria.

Antarth, a polyherbal preparation protects against the doxorubicin-induced toxicity without compromising its antineoplastic activity

Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline drug widely used for the treatment of various cancers, causes a cumulative dose-dependent cardiotoxicity that is characterized by an irreversible dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. Antarth (ANT) a polyherbal preparation was evaluated for its cardioprotective properties against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in mice. Mice were treated with 25 mg/kg ANT orally once daily for 5 consecutive days before a single intraperitoneal injection of 15 mg/kg doxorubicin. The animals were killed 30 h after DOX treatment. DOX induced a significant elevation in the serum levels of glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), creatine kinase (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), indicating its acute cardiotoxicity. The treatment of mice with ANT before DOX administration significantly reduced the serum levels of GPT, GOT, CK-MB and LDH indicating that ANT protected against the DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Pretreatment of mice with 25 mg/kg ANT inhibited the DOX-induced decline in the antioxidant status. Intraperitoneal injection of 1.25 mg/kg DOX once daily for 9 consecutive days significantly improved the survival of mice bearing Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC). Treatment of EAC with 25 mg/kg ANT alone did not affect the anticancer activity of DOX since ANT did not alter the tumor cell growth, the median survival time and average survival time of tumor bearing mice. The present study demonstrates that ANT protects mice against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, without compromising the antineoplastic activity of DOX.

Non-nutrient dietary factors and antioxidants

Some of the negative effects of free radicals are to accelerate aging, alter our immune systems, promote the growth of tumours and cataracts and increase the risk of cancer and heart disease. While many of the natural anti-oxidants are nutrients, especially vitamins A, C and E, there are a number of other substances which are not nutrients but which are marketed in supplement form.

Pathogenesis of complications of diabetes mellitus

The endothelium has been shown to release a substance that induces smooth muscle relaxation by increasing the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). This factor is called endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF), and also nitric oxide(NO) - they are believed to be one and the same. Endothelium-derived nitric oxide is a potent endogenous nitro vasodilator and plays a major role in modulation of vascular tone. The strongest evidence to support a role in vasodilation in humans is the observation that intravenous administration of N G-monomethly-L-arginine, an inhibitor of NO formation from L-arginine, causes potent vasoconstriction which asts for up to 1 hour. Acetylcholine (ACh) causes vasodilation that is primarily due to stimulation of NO synthesis. Thus, human vessels are continuously under the influence of the vasodilation effects on NO. In diabetes, elevated glucose concentrations impairment can be reversed by antioxidants, which includes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. It has been reported that oxygen-derived free radicals (FR) inactivate ENDRFs and selectively attenuate endothelium-dependent relaxation. The oxidative injury may also be increased in diabetes mellitus because of weakened defence due to reduced endogenous antioxidants. There is clear evidence that disturbed endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation in diabetes mellitus because of weakened defence due to reduced endogenous antioxidants. There is clear evidence that disturbed endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation in diabetes as well as the loss of several properties of NO, including inhibition of platelet aggregation, monocyte adhesion to endothelial cell and smooth muscle cell proliferation, coupled with loss of the anti-aggregatory and thrombolytic effects of plaminogen-acti-vator inhibitor (PAI) combine to accelerate the predisposition to the development of atheroma in diabetes. Studies on the effects of antioxidants in human diabetes are scanty. Pharmacological administration of Vitamin E in doses of greater than and equal to 900mg/d for 4 months has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and ameliorate red blood cell microviscosity, but it is also clear that carefully controlled prospective studies on a long-term placebo-controlled randomized basis are needed to determine whether or not the free radical hypothesis of diabetic vascuar complications is tenable, and whether or not antioxidants should be introduced into the clinic

Comparison of antioxidant status during recovery from malnutrition on a corn oil- or coconut oil-based diet - abstract

Children recovering from malnutrition are given a high-energy diet during the "catch-up" phase. Corn oil, a poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) rich vegetable oil, is used to supply 60 per cent of the energy in the recovery diets. Previous work suggests that this high intake of corn oil may be associated with a deterioration of antioxidant status. A normal antioxidant status is essential for protection against cell damage. We therefore compared indices of antioxidant status (whole blood gluthathione, GSH; plasma vitamen E; and urinary mercapturic acid outputs (UMCA) in two groups of malnourished children who had recovered on isocaloric diets containing either PUFA rich, corn oil (Control group) or coconut oil (test group), which is rich in saturated fatty acids. Both groups showed an initial normalisation of GSH and vitamin E levels; whereas the test group maintained normal levels, the control group showed a progressive decrease of both indices during recovery. At discharge the test group had GSH (2.7 ñ 0.08 vs 2.44 ñ 0.88 mmol/Lrbc, mean ñ SEM) and vitamen E (8.44 ñ 1.21 vs 7.38 ñ 1.01 mg/l), levels that were significantly higher (p< 0.05) that in the Control group. Several children in the Control group had vitamen E levels that were below the accepted normal range. At recovery, UMCA outputs of the Control group (4.85 ñ 0.55 umol/kg/24 hr) were further increased, and as such were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the admission mean (3.32 ñ 0.54 umol/kg/24 hr). In the test group, mean discharge UMCA output (1.98 ñ 0.44 umol/kg/24 hr) was significantly lower than admission values, as well as the mean discharge UMCA output of the Control group. This suggests that the body's burden of compounds that require detoxification is significantly increased when malnourished children are rehabilitated on a diet rich in corn oil. Following recovery on the coconut oil diet, plasma cholesterol levels (2.30 ñ 0.15 mmol) were similar to the pre-treatment mean (2.15 ñ 0.11 mmol). However, plasma levels of triglycerides fell significantly (p < 0.05) with treatment (pre: 1.23ñ0.14; post 0.88ñ0.08 mmol). When given a diet that is not rich in PUFA, malnourished children are able to maintain their antioxidant status within the normal range. It is suggested that coconut oil be used routinely in the formulation of recovery diets for malnourished children (AU)

Antioxidant status of malnourished children

Free radicals, by virtue of their reactive nature, could account for the clinical features of kwashiorkor. These chemical species are produced in excess only after antioxidant defences fall. The possibility of this situation occuring in children with kwashiorkor was therefore investigated. Whole blood glutathione (GSH) levels were significantly decreased in children with kwashiorkor and marasmic-kwashiorkor. This indicates the presence of an overwhelming pro-oxidant stress. At a GSH level of 1.90 moles/Irbc (6.80 æmoles/gHb) oedema could be diagnosed with a sensitivity, specificity and positive accuracy of greater than 90 percent. GSH correlated inversely with the degree of oedema (r = -0.69). In children with maramus GSH was normal. Erythrocyte concentrations of NADPtot were normal in all children. The percentage of this nucleotide in the oxidised form ( percentNADP+/NADPtot) was normal in children with maramus, but abnormally elevated in oedematous children. This means that there is an acute change in the cellular redox in oedematous children, and implies that the cellular environment is oxidising. The activities of erythrocyte glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glyoxalase I were either normal or markedly elevated. Riboflavin status was poor. The end products of detoxification by GST, urinary mercapturic acids (UMCA), were between 3 and 5 times higher than normal. There were no intergroup differences. This suggests that the body's burden of toxins is significantly increased. During recovery from malnutrition, children with maramus showed a rapid restoration of normal antioxidant status, whereas those with oedematous malnutrition did so only after loss of oedema. This was followed by progressive, and unexpected, deterioration in antioxidant status: plasma vit. E and GSH levels decreased, and UMCA levels remained elevated. It was reasoned that the high PUFA content (60 percent )of the recovery diet may be a source of oxidative stress. In a second study the recovery diet contained an oil (coconut), rich in saturated fatty acids. On this diet children maintained normal levels of vit.E and GSH, and UMCA decreased significantly. This confirmed the high PUFA diet as a source of oxidative stress. Collectively, these data suggest that free radicals are involved in the aetiology and pathogenesis of kwashiorkor. It is recommended that: (1) whole blood levels of GSH be used in the diagnosis of oedematous malnutrition, and (2) coconut oil and antioxidants be used to treat malnourished children (AU)