Effect of combination of Beta Glucan and Lactobacillus rhamnosus HerizI on white blood cell counts and serum levels of IL-4 and IL-12 in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Aim of this study was the isolation of native probiotic and determine the effect of combination of Beta Glucan and Lactobacillus rhamnosus Heriz I on White Blood Cell Counts and serum levels of IL-4and IL-12 in breast cancer women receiving Chemotherapy. METHODS: This study was randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial in 30 women with breast cancer. Women in the intervention group received two 10-mg capsules of soluble 1-3,1-6, D-beta glucan and one capsule of Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain Heriz I (2 × 107 CFU) daily and placebo group received placebo during 21days, interval between two courses of chemotherapy. White blood cells, neuthrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte counts, serum levels of IL-4 and IL-12 were measured before and after the study. RESULTS: We isolated Lactobacillus rhamnosus Heriz I from conventional yogurt of Heriz region and registered in NCBI GeneBank. After administration, in both groups white blood cells counts decreased. At the end of study, serum level of IL-4 was decreased in combination group compared to placebo (P = 0.005). Also, serum level of IL-12 in combination group increased non-significantly (P = 0.066). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that combination of Beta Glucan and Lactobacillus rhamnosus Heriz I may be useful as immunomodulary supplements in chemotherapy patients however further studies were needed.

The roles of personalized nutrition in obesity and diabetes management: a review.

Background & Aims: Nutrition is one of main environmental factor affecting obesity and its related complications such as diabetes and dyslipidemia. Due to growing prevalence of obesity across the world, it seems that nutritional advice alone is not able to combat this health problem. The present overview aimed to summarize the roles of personalized nutrition (PN) in obesity and diabetes management. Methods: Scopus, PubMed and Google scholar were searched up to February 2021 to find relevant studies with English language in which the roles of PN in obesity and diabetes management were examined. Results: Recent evidence revealed the importance of gene-environment interactions for management of diabetes mellitus and obesity. Moreover, microbiome research showed that personalized diet based on a combination of clinical and microbial features is likely to improve responses to therapeutic interventions. Epigenetics as well as genetic and environmental factors can also contribute to the treatment. In addition, articles showed significant roles of epigenetics and gut microbiome on providing an individualized diet for obese and diabetic patients. Conclusion: PN compare to conventional diet can better improve metabolic status in obese and diabetic patients. Considering genetic differences and microbiome patterns along with environmental factors and their interactions are recommended for obesity and diabetes management. This approach can increase success in promoting health and preventing complications related to diabetes and obesity.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) supplements improve quality of life and appetite in atherosclerosis patients: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of the cardiovascular disease. Saffron is a traditional food that affects many diseases and disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the effects of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on quality of life (QOL) and appetite in patients with atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 63 participants with atherosclerosis were recruited from Emam Sajjad Hospital, Valiasr Hospital, and Zafaranieyh Clinic in Tehran, Iran. The participants were divided randomly into two groups. Participants received 100 mg/d saffron or placebo capsule for 6 weeks. QOL and appetite levels were measured by the McNew QOL questionnaire, and visual analog scale questionnaire, respectively. Furthermore, anthropometric indices of participants were measured before and after the intervention. Results: Statistical analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference between atherosclerosis patients who received placebo and those who consumed saffron in terms of the physical domain (P = 0.008) and social domain (P = 0.012) of QOL. In the saffron group increased score in Total score Macnew (P < 0.001), physical domain (P = 0.025), and social domain (P < 0.001) was significant after the intervention. Moreover, the consumption of saffron did not significantly affect emotional domains of QOL, and appetite levels. Conclusion: Saffron may be considered as a novel agent in patients with atherosclerosis to improve the QOL. A great deal of further research will be needed to critically validate the efficacy of saffron and its mechanisms in atherosclerosis.

Nutrition and Diet Therapy in Diabetes Mellitus: A Roadmap based on available evidence.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition is considered as a primary approach for diabetes management. It needs a comprehensive assessment of evidence to identify nutritional dimensions that should be explored in the future. We aimed to provide a roadmap on diabetes and nutrition and clarify research gaps in this field. METHODS: In the present review, we searched Scopus and PubMed electronic databases to collect eligible publications with English and Farsi languages from 2015 to December 2019 in the field of nutrition and diabetes. Relevant papers were classified into six subgroups including biochemistry/ animal studies, clinical nutrition, food industry, genetic, public health, and dietary supplements. Based on evidence-based pyramid, publications were categorized as well. Publications trend from 2015 to 2019 and frequency of publications in each category were provided. RESULTS: Finally, we reached 438 eligible papers. Most studies (40.86%) were clinical trials and in most human studies (n = 224) patients with type 2 diabetes were considered. Probiotic/prebiotic/ symbiotic, vitamin D, and omega-3/fish oil were the most frequent studied dietary supplements. Low portions of studies were dedicated to diabetic children (n = 3), type 1 diabetes (n = 6), diabetes complications (n = 23) and GDM (n = 25). CONCLUSION: An increasing trend in nutrition publications in the field of diabetes was observed. Publications were mostly dedicated to clinical trials with a focus on dietary supplements. Low portion of studies have been dedicated to children with diabetes, diabetes complications, and GDM. More attention to high quality basic research, product-based projects, and interdisciplinary studies in the field of nutrition and diabetes are needed.