Effects of chocolate on cognitive function in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis on clinical trials.

Cognitive function is defined as performance in objective tasks that need conscious mind effort. It has been shown that consuming foods rich in flavanols causes neurobiological effects and improves learning, memory, and global cognitive function. This study aimed to investigate the impact of chronic chocolate consumption on cognitive function in healthy adults based on published trials. The PICO strategy was applied to examine the research question in this study. Researchers searched the Web of Science, Science Direct, Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases. Related articles of randomized controlled trials that evaluated the chronic effect of chocolate on cognitive function were selected (all published from their inception to February 2021). The difference in means of the last and first measurements was the main effect measure between the control and intervention groups. For quantitative data synthesis, weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were performed in the random effect model. Of the initial 340 articles identified, seven trials met the eligibility criteria. Chronic chocolate intake significantly reduced executive function time (WMD: -11.77, 95% CI: -22.49, -1.05, p = 0.03) of the participants. Further, the language and executive function (WMD: 6.38, 95% CI: 5.97, 6.80, p < 0.001) was raised by 6.38 times after the intervention with chocolate. We could not perform subgroup analysis due to insufficient trials and significant heterogeneity in some studies. It is concluded that daily consumption of cocoa may provide short and middle-term effects on young adults and make them better cognitive performance in learning, memory, and attention.

Synbiotic supplement for treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in haemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that probiotics can increase the availability of iron. The aim of current study was to determine the effects of synbiotic supplementation on the haematological parameters and anaemia in haemodialysis patients. METHODS: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Fifty patients were randomly selected from the haemodialysis section of Vaseii Hospital, Sabzevar, Iran. Subjects in the symbiotic and control groups received 2 capsules of synbiotic supplement or placebo, respectively, once a day for 8 weeks. Blood samples were divided into two test tubes in equal volumes. Blood haemoglobin, haematocrit, transferrin saturation, red blood cells (RBCs), and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were measured with auto-analyser. Ferritin was determined using Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Twenty tree patients in each group completed the study. Significant results were recorded in synbiotic groups regarding the concentration of blood haemoglobin, haematocrit, transferrin saturation, the number of RBCs, and serum ferritin compare to placebo group (P < .05). At the end of week 8, TIBC significantly decreased in synbiotic than placebo group (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Synbiotic supplementation could be a safe and promising candidate in improving anaemia in CKD patients.

Effects of soy intake on circulating levels of TNF-α and interleukin-6: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: Pro-inflammatory mediators, including serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), can be used as biomarkers to indicate or monitor disease. This study was designed to ascertain the effects of soy products on TNF-α and IL-6 levels. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Web of Science, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to November 2019 for RCTs around the effects of soy-based products on TNF-α and IL-6. A random effects model was used to calculate overall effect size. RESULTS: In total, 29 eligible publications were considered in the present systematic review, of which 25 were included in this meta-analysis. The overall effect of soy products on TNF-α and IL-6 levels failed to reach statistical significance (MD = - 0.07; 95% CI - 0.22-0.09; I2 50.9; MD = 0.03; 95% CI - 0.07-0.14; I2 42.1, respectively). According to a subgroup analysis, natural soy products led to a reduction in TNF-α concentration compared with processed soy products (MD = - 0.32; 95% CI - 0.45 to - 0.19; I2 0.0). Moreover, IL-6 reduction was stronger in participants who were affected by different diseases (MD = - 0.04; 95% CI - 0.07 to - 0.02; I2 0.0). CONCLUSIONS: A review of RCTs published to November 2019 found that natural soy products are effective in lowering TNF-α levels. While the beneficial effects on reduction of IL-6 appeared stronger in individuals affected by different diseases, this finding cannot be generalized to all individuals affected by different diseases.

Dietary quality index is negatively associated with serum advanced glycation end products in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In human, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) can endogenously formed or exogenously ingested from foods and tobacco. Dietary quality is an important factor to prevent many disorders. This study sought to determine any association between AGEs and diet quality. METHODS: The participants were 90 healthy adults, aged higher than 20 years. Dietary intake of individuals was collected using two 24-h dietary recalls and quality of diets were determined by dietary quality index-International (DQI-I). Serum levels of pentosidine and carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) were examined by ELISA. RESULTS: Total DQI-I score was 62.3 ± 1.3. Variety, adequacy, moderation, and the overall balance of diet scores in the study participants were 16.5 ± 0.4, 25.8 ± 0.5, 17.7 ± 0.9, and 2.4 ± 0.3, respectively. Participants with higher age (>40 years), higher education level, moderate calorie intake and married had significantly greater DQI-I score. Diet quality was positively associated with participants' education level (r = 0.28, p = 0.008). DQI-I score negatively correlated with serum levels of CML and pentosidine (r = -0.42, P < 0.001 and r = -0.35, P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Dietary modification may be beneficial for controlling AGE accumulation in the body and subsequently in reduction of chronic diseases risk.