Rice bran oil could favorably ameliorate atherogenicity and insulin resistance indices among men with coronary artery disease: post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite recent advances in recognizing more reliable indicators to estimate the coronary artery disease (CAD) patients' response to treatment and prognosis, less attention has been paid to evaluating them in clinical trials. Hence, the present research was conducted to study the impact of rice bran oil (RBO) versus sunflower oil (SFO) on various atherogenicity and insulin resistance markers. METHODS: In the present 8-week randomized controlled trial, 40 CAD men with an average age of 56 years were allocated randomly into the intervention or control group to use RBO or SFO (30 g/day) plus a standardized dietary plan. As a further analysis, eight atherosclerosis-related indices were calculated before and after the study. RESULTS: Analysis of covariance test in which potential confounders and baseline levels were considered, indicated that using RBO compared to SFO reduced Castelli's risk index I and II (adjusted means:3.29, 1.52 vs. 4.61, 2.20, respectively), atherogenic coefficient (2.29 vs. 3.61), lipoprotein combine index (6.54 vs. 17.53), and cholesterol index (0.46 vs. 1.20) after the trial (P-value ≤ 0.002). Also, the RBO group yielded significantly lower triglyceride glucose index (8.73 vs. 9.13) (P-value = 0.010). Further, marginally significant amelioration in triglyceride/HDL ratio and atherogenic index of plasma (1.48 and 0.13 vs. 1.86 and 0.24 respectively) were noted (P-value = 0.07). Spearman correlation analysis detected significant positive correlations between alterations in TNF-α serum levels (ng/L) and the majority of evaluated indices (P-value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Taken together, incorporating 30 g of RBO into the patient's usual diet appeared effective in ameliorating atherogenicity and insulin resistance indicators among men with CAD, probably in relation to its anti-inflammatory properties. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol of the current trial was retrospectively recorded in the Iranian clinical trial registration system (IRCT) with the registration number of IRCT20190313043045N1 (URL: https://en.irct.ir/trial/38346 ; Registration date: 2019-04-27).

Melissa officinalis tea favourably affects the frequency of premature ventricular beats and cardiometabolic profile among patients with premature ventricular contraction: A randomised open-label controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Premature ventricular contraction (PVC) as one of the most common arrhythmias could worsen the morbidity of cardiovascular events, particularly concurrent with other risk factors. Considering the probable side effects of antiarrhythmic drugs chronic use, prescribing herbal medicines for such conditions is on the rise. Melissa officinalis (MO) is widely identified as an antiarrhythmic and cardioprotective agent but there is limited evidence for its clinical use. This research, thus, aimed to investigate the effects of MO tea among patients with PVCs. METHODS: The present 12-week randomised controlled trial enrolled 60 patients with confirmed diagnosis of moderate to low-grade PVCs. The patients in intervention group received MO teabags (containing 2-g dried leaves/250 mL in hot water) two times/day in addition to lifestyle modification recommendations, while control group only received lifestyle modification recommendations. After collecting the data, blood samples were gathered to explore serum concentrations of glucose and lipid markers. The number of premature ventricular beats and heart rates was determined by 24-hour rhythm Holter monitoring. RESULTS: On average, the patients aged 47 years and approximately 67.8% (n = 40) were women. The ANCOVA adjusted for baseline values and confounders revealed that patients in the MO tea group had significantly lower concentrations of triglyceride (adjusted mean (AM) = 144.75 mg/dL), total cholesterol (AM = 155.35 mg/dL), and fasting blood sugar (AM = 90.85 mg/dL), compared with the controls (AM = 174.27, 171.99, 99.84 mg/dL, respectively (P-value ≤.042). However, the intervention failed to affect LDL-C and HDL-C levels significantly. Significantly reduced frequency of 24-hour premature ventricular beats in the MO tea group (AM = 2142.39) was also noted compared with the controls (AM = 3126.05); (P-value = .017). The 24-hour heartbeats showed only a significant decrease within the intervention group (P-value < .01). CONCLUSION: Together, these results seem to support the higher cardioprotective effects of MO as a medicinal plant than lifestyle modifications alone. Nevertheless, further exploration of this hypothesis is warranted using large-scaled clinical trials.