Data on antiplatelet aggregation, anticoagulation and antioxidant activities of Canna edulis Ker rhizome and its secondary metabolites.

Canna edulis Ker rhizome has been used in Traditional Vietnamese Medicine to prevent and treat heart diseases without thorough scientific evidence. The data presented in this article characterize the antiplatelet aggregation, anticoagulant and antioxidant activity of C. edulis rhizome extracts and the bio-guided isolation of bioactive compounds from the active fraction. The data on tested bioactivities of isolated compounds were also provided. The inhibitory effect on adenosine diphosphate- and collagen-induced human platelet aggregation was evaluated through three parameters: percentage inhibition of platelet aggregation, aggregation velocity and area under the platelet aggregation curve. Prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastine time and thrombine time were measured to examine the anticoagulant activity. The free radical scavenging ability was assessed with DPPH and ABTS assays. The structures of compounds were elucidated by NMR and MS spectroscopic methods. The data showed that the ethyl acetate fraction showed the most potent antiplatelet aggregation, anticoagulant and antioxidant activity. Seven known compounds: 5-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one (1), epimedokoreanone A (2), nepetoidin B (3), ferulic acid (4), caffeic acid (5), hydroxytyrosol (6), and 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde (7) were isolated from this active fraction. Moreover, this article provided experimental data on antiplatelet effect of epimedokoreanone A (2) and nepetoidine B (3), anticoagulant and antioxidant activity of epimedokoreanone A (2) and also antiplatelet and antioxidant activity of 5-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one (1).

A Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled 12-Week Follow-Up Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Polycan in Combination with Glucosamine for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy and safety of Polycan, a ß-glucan produced from the black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans SM-2001, in combination with glucosamine in reducing knee osteoarthritis-associated symptoms. METHODS: This was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial of a formulated product composed of 16.7 mg of Polycan and 250 mg of glucosamine (Group A), 16.7 mg of Polycan and 500 mg of glucosamine (Group B), or 500 mg of glucosamine (control group) per capsule, administered as three capsules once per day over a period of 12 weeks, conducted with 100 osteoarthritis patients, aged 35-80 years. The primary outcome measure was osteoarthritis symptoms assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire. The secondary outcome measures included rescue medication use (according to data from a patient-reported diary) and other safety indices (body weight, blood pressure, hematological, and biochemistry markers). RESULTS: Compared with the control group, Group B demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the total WOMAC score after 12 weeks of treatment (p < 0.05). There was a significant reduction in the frequency of rescue medication used in Groups A and B compared with the control group (p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in hematology and biochemistry parameters or health indices between the active and the control group. CONCLUSION: Among patients with mild or moderate osteoarthritis, a daily oral dose of Polycan (50 mg) in combination with glucosamine (750 mg or 1500 mg; Group A or B, respectively) resulted in a better treatment outcome than treatment with glucosamine (1500 mg) alone.

An update on physical health and economic consequences of overweight and obesity.

Overweight and obesity (OW and OB) have been on the increase globally and posed health risks to the world's population of all ages, including pre-born babies, children, adolescents, adults and elderly people, via their comorbid conditions. Excellent examples of comorbidities associated with obesity include cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this article, we aimed to review and update scientific evidence regarding the relationships between obesity and its common physical health consequences, including CVD, T2DM, hypertension, ischemic stroke, cancer, dyslipidemia and reproductive disorders. In addition, the economic burden of OW and OB will be discussed. Abundant evidence is found to support the associations between obesity and other diseases. In general, the odd ratios, risk ratios or hazard ratios are often higher in OW and OB people than in the normal-weight ones. However, the molecular mechanism of how OW and OB induce the development of other diseases has not been fully understood. Figures also showed that obesity and its-related disorders exert enormous pressure on the economy which is projected to increase. This review highlights the fact that obesity can lead to numerous lethal health problems; therefore, it requires a lot of economic resources to fight against this epidemic.