Obesity is the accumulation of abnormal or excessive fat that may interfere with the maintenance of an optimal state of health. The excess of macronutrients in the adipose tissues stimulates them to release inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6, and reduces production of adiponectin, predisposing to a pro-inflammatory state and oxidative stress. The increased level of interleukin 6 stimulates the liver to synthesize and secrete C-reactive protein. As a risk factor, inflammation is an imbedded mechanism of developed cardiovascular diseases including coagulation, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus. It is also associated with development of non-cardiovascular diseases such as psoriasis, depression, cancer, and renal diseases. On the other hand, a reduced level of adiponectin, a significant predictor of cardiovascular mortality, is associated with impaired fasting glucose, leading to type-2 diabetes development, metabolic abnormalities, coronary artery calcification, and stroke. Finally, managing obesity can help reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases and poor outcome via inhibiting inflammatory mechanisms.

BackgroundObesity is well associated as being an interfering factor in metabolic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes by increasing the secretion of proinflammatory markers from adipose tissue. Having healthy effects, vitamin C could work as an anti-inflammatory agent through its antioxidant capacity.RegistrationRegistration number: FPSK_Mac [13]04.ObjectiveThe aim of the study reported here was to identify the effect of vitamin C on reducing the levels of inflammatory markers in hypertensive and/or diabetic obese adults.Subjects and methodsSixty-four obese patients, who were hypertensive and/or diabetic and had high levels of inflammatory markers, from primary health care centers in Gaza City, Palestine, were enrolled into one of two groups in an open-label, parallel, randomized controlled trial. A total of 33 patients were randomized into a control group and 31 patients were randomized into an experimental group. The experimental group was treated with 500 mg vitamin C twice a day.ResultsIn the experimental group, vitamin C significantly reduced the levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and triglyceride (TG) after 8 weeks of treatment (overall: P<0.001); no changes appeared in total cholesterol (TC). In the control group, there were significant reductions in FBG and TG (P=0.001 and P=0.026, respectively), and no changes in hs-CRP, IL-6, or TC. On comparing the changes in the experimental group with those in the control group at the endpoint, vitamin C was found to have achieved clinical significance in treating effectiveness for reducing hs-CRP, IL-6, and FBG levels (P=0.01, P=0.001, and P<0.001, respectively), but no significant changes in TC or TG were found.ConclusionVitamin C (500 mg twice daily) has potential effects in alleviating inflammatory status by reducing hs-CRP, IL-6, and FBG in hypertensive and/or diabetic obese patients.

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Overweight and obesity are the most common nutritional disorders in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate anti-obesity effects of ethanolic extracts of saffron and crocin in comparison to orlistat in animal model. Male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were fed high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks to induce obesity. The saffron extracts (40 and 80 mg/kg), crocin (40 and 80 mg/kg) and orlistat (20 mg/kg) were fed to rats by mixing with high fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. Changes in anthropometrical, nutritional and lipid profile parameters were measured. The saffron extract significantly decreased food consumption in obese rats. Crocin (80 mg/kg) showed a significant decrease on rate of body weight gain, total fat pad and weight ratio of epididymal fat to body. Furthermore, crocin (80 mg/kg) significantly reduced plasma levels of triacylglycerol (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) while saffron extract (40 mg/kg) showed major improvement in low-density lipoprotein to high-density lipoprotein (LDL/HDL) level as atherogenic index. These findings demonstrated the potential anti-obesity benefits of saffron extract and crocin in preclinical study.

Obesity is associated with various diseases, particularly diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis and heart disease. Research on possibilities of herbal extracts and isolated compounds from natural products for treating obesity has an upward trend. Saffron (Crocus Sativus L. Iridaceae) is a source of plant polyphenols/carotenoids, used as important spice and food colorant in different parts of the world. It has also been used in traditional medicine for treatment of different types of illnesses since ancient times. Many of these medicinal properties of saffron can be attributed to a number of its compounds such as crocetin, crocins and other substances having strong antioxidant and radical scavenger properties against a variety of radical oxygen species and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this article is to assess the potential role of saffron and its constituents in the regulation of metabolic functions, which can beneficially alter obesity pathophysiology.