Azim Mirzazade, Akbar Fotouhi, Farshid Alla’oddini, Kamran Yazdani, Arash Arya, Fariba Asghari, Shahriar Shayan Far,
Volume 1, Issue 2 (18 2002)
Abstract
Introduction: Anethum is an herbal medicine composed of the three plants species Anethum, Fumaria and Cichorium, and has been widely marketed and prescribed as lipid-lowering agent in Iran in recent years. No controlled clinical trial of this medicine has so far been carried out, however. We studied the efficacy and short-term side effects of Anethum in patients with isolated hypertriglyceridaemia.
Methods: 151 people (54 men and 97 women) with serum triglyceride ≥250mg/dl and serum cholesterol <240mg/dl were enrolled in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: Anethum, nicotinic acid, clofibrate, and placebo. They were seen at the Doctor Shariati University Hospital lipid clinic once every two weeks. Serum lipid profile was measured at 2 and 4 months after start of therapy. Relevant patient details, including sex, body mass index, mean total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein, cigarette smoking, previous myocardial infarction, physical activity, and oral contraceptive use were recorded before enrolment.
Results: Four months after treatment was started, serum triglyceride had decreased 12.5% in the Anethum group and 6.8% in the placebo group (p=0.999). During the same period, serum triglyceride had decreased 48.8% in the nicotinic acid group and 54.4% in the clofibrate group (p=0.006 with respect to both placebo and Anethum). Furthermore, the nicotinic acid group showed a 7.8% decrease in serum total cholesterol (p=0.009 with respect to the other three groups). HDL-C decreased 9.8% in the Anethum group, 17.5% in the nicotinic acid group, 8.1% in the clofibrate group, and 9.1% in the placebo group (p=0.149 between first three groups and placebo). 81.8% of the nicotinic acid, 57.1% of the clofibrate, 8.0% of the Anethum and 30% of the placebo group experienced side effects during the same period. The most common complaints in the Anethum were actually non-specific ones.
Conclusion: We conclude that Anethum does not exert any therapeutic effect on isolated hypertriglyceridaemia.
Fereshteh Shahidi, Faramarz Yazdani, Abbasali Gaieni, Poran Karimi,
Volume 18, Issue 5 (7-2019)
Abstract
Background: Diabetic cardiomyopathy is the first cause of death in diabetic patients and angiogenesis is the most important mechanism for the recovery of heart blood flow in physiologic and pathologic conditions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of eight weeks of moderate continuous and sever interval training on heart angiogenesis in Wistar male diabetic rats.
Methods: 32 Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups: healthy non-exercised, diabetic no exercise, diabetic + moderate continuation and diabetic + severe interval exercises. Two types of exercises were calibrated and the exercise intensity was determined based on the maximum oxygen consumption and 5 days a week. The pro-angiogenic (VEGF, MMP2, TGFβ1) and anti-angiogenic (TIMP2) agents of the left ventricle of the heart were taken from the rat after 48 hours of the last training session. Western blot method was used to evaluate the synthesis of proteins involved in angiogenic route. Data were measured by one-way variance analysis with repeated measurements (P =0/000).
Results: The results showed that the levels of proangiogenic VEGF, MMP2, TGFβ1 significantly increased, but the anti-angiogenic factor of TIMP2 decreased (P <0.05). In addition, the maximum level of oxygen consumed in both continuous and periodic training groups showed a significant increase.
Conclusion: Moderate and continuous exercise increases angiogenic factors in the heart of diabetic Wistar rats, which is a good way to reduce the mortality rate of diabetes.
