The clinical efficacy of purple passion fruit peel extract (a flavonoid-rich dietary supplement) in reducing cardiovascular risk factors in adult type 2 diabetic subjects was investigated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Forty-one subjects were randomly assigned to receive a daily dose of purple passion fruit (220 mg) or a matched placebo for 16 weeks. Body mass index, blood pressure, fasting and postprandial blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and lipid profile were determined at baseline and at monthly intervals. A significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose was observed following administration of purple passion fruit ( P < .05). Purple passion fruit was well tolerated, and no adverse events were reported. These data suggest that purple passion fruit supplementation for 16 weeks in type 2 diabetics results in a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose, indicating that purple passion fruit is safe and well tolerated by diabetics.

Consanguineous marriages have been practiced around the globe by many societies from time immemorial, particularly in South India. Consanguineous marriages play a major role in the health of a population, and diseases leading to mortality of the progeny are a consequence of detrimental recessive genes. To evaluate the effects of ancestral consanguinity on mortality in relation to consanguineous marriage, we have ascertained data from 1,500 women belonging to three endogamous communities (Akuthota Reddy, Odde, and Madiga) of Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, India. There were 500 women from each community. For each marriage we drew a family pedigree, extended upward to two earlier generations on either side of the spouses, to determine the prevalence and pattern of consanguinity, with detailed information on fertility and mortality. We observed a significant difference in the mortality rates between consanguineous and nonconsanguineous marriages when all the marriages of the women, women's parents, and (women's) husband's parents were considered in all three communities. In inbreeding, the offspring of earlier generations might have passed on deleterious genes to later generations (under unfavorable conditions), which resulted in a negative aspect of reproduction (among the offspring of the present couple).

No abstract

In the present study the blood samples of 92 unrelated subjects of the Telugu speaking fishing community of coastal Andhra Pradesh were analysed for ABO and Rh (D) blood groups. The overall picture of ABO percentage is O (45.65%)> B (32.60%) >A (15.21%) > AB (6.52%). The frequency of Rh+ve (92.39%) is more than Rh-ve (7.60%).

No abstract