BackgroundWe aimed to evaluate the effects of a hydroalcoholic extract of Juglans regia L. leaves on blood glucose level and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetic patients.MethodsIn this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group (2 arms) clinical trial, 50 diabetic patients were divided into two groups: treatment group (receive the capsules containing 100 mg J. regia leaf extract) and control group (receive the capsules containing placebo, microcrystallin cellulose). Baseline participant data were matched between the two arms of the study. We administered the prepared capsules to the patients twice daily for 8 weeks. Blood glucose level, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level, body weight, body mass index, blood pressure, lipid profile, serum insulin, and insulin resistance were compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. P < 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsAfter excluding eleven patients, 20 received J. regia leaf extract and 20 patients received placebo. The J. regia leaf extract did not significantly change the blood glucose and insulin resistance condition. However, in this group, body weight, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure significantly decreased compared with the baseline measurements (P = 0.028, P = 0.030, and P = 0.005, respectively). The lipid profile did not change significantly compared with the baseline measurements. In the control group, postprandial glucose and HbA1c levels significantly decreased after the intervention (P = 0.030 and P = 0.028, respectively). The other variables were not significantly different in this group. At the end of the study, the variables were not significantly different between the two groups.ConclusionIn this double-blind study, 200 mg/d of J. regia leaf extract had no significant effect on blood glucose level and HOMA-IR score in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the J. regia leaf extract was effective in reducing body weight and blood pressure. An accidental finding of our study was that microcrystalline cellulose, a widely used placebo in clinical trials, led to a reduction in blood glucose level.Trial registrationIranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT: 138901203180 N2, 2010/6/6); retrospectively registered.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder without any curative treatment so, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic modalities are used to improve pain and disability. Objectives: This is a study for evaluation of the efficacy and safety of Elaeagnus angustifolia and ginger extracts in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Patients and Methods: This randomized double-blind clinical trial study carried out on 80 outpatients with knee OA. The patients were randomized to take 200 mg extract of E. angustifolia and ginger or placebo. Knee radiography, serum biochemistry and blood pressure were recorded at baseline and the patients were evaluated for pain intensity, patient and physician global assessment of efficacy, and analgesic use in the past week. The statistical analysis was done using χ 2 and t-test for comparing the mean values of patients at baseline and after intervention. Results: Sixty-one patients completed the study. Of all 97.5% of patients were females and the mean of BMI was 30 ± 4.5 kg/m 2. An entry 53 (66.2%) of patients were receiving analgesics. Eight weeks after the intervention, the patients in drug group had more improvement in pain intensity according to visual analogue scale (VAS) (P = 0.02) and the physician evaluation according to a 4-scale scoring system (P = 0.03), but the analgesic consumption for pain control was not different. Serum biochemistry and ESR did not change after the intervention. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that combination of E. angustifolia and ginger extracts are safe and may have some efficacy in patients with knee OA.

In this study, essential oils from different organs of Satureja bachtiarica Bunge were obtained by hydro-distillation. Quality and quantity of chemical composition of essential oils were determined by capillary gas chromatography and using gas-chromatography and mass spectrometric detection. The numbers of compounds were identified in the essential oils of leaves; stem and aerial parts were 45, 39 and 35, respectively. Also, carvacrol was the main component found in essential oils from leaves (39.3%), stem (39.4%) and aerial parts (67.88%) of S. bachtiarica in flowering stage. In addition, results showed that there were some different in compositions of the essential oils of different parts of S. bachtiarica and there are some minor components in each oil that are not present in the others parts. In addition chemical analysis of essential oils obtained from leaves and stem of S. bachtiarica were rich in oxygenated monoterepens (55.64% and 67.53%) while oxygenated monoterepen (77.22%) were the main class of compounds in the essential oils from aerial parts of S. bachtiarica. Results of this study showed that the essential oils from different organs of S. bachtiarica have a potential to be used as a new carvacrol source in drug and food industries.