This study aimed to evaluate the effects of barley flour, crude cinnamon, and their combination on blood glucose, serum insulin, serum lipid profile, and serum adipose tissue hormones in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Male Wistar rats (n=35) were divided into five groups: nondiabetic, diabetic, diabetic group fed 5% cinnamon, diabetic group fed 30% barley, and diabetic group fed 5% cinnamon and 30% barley. Fasting blood glucose, insulin, lipid profile, adiponectin, and leptin were measured after 8 weeks. Blood glucose significantly decreased in all treated diabetic rats compared with the diabetic group. Serum insulin and high-density lipoprotein significantly increased, while cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein were significantly decreased after 8 weeks. Adiponectin significantly increased, while leptin significantly decreased with administration of either cinnamon, barley, or their combination. No significant differences were observed among the three treated groups on all parameters. A cinnamon and barley combination caused obvious improvement in insulin-positive cells of pancreatic tissue. In conclusion, consuming diets containing either cinnamon, barley, or their combination regulates blood glucose, lipid profile, and adipose tissue hormones in type 2 diabetic rats. The most effective treatment was the cinnamon and barley combination.

This study was carried out to investigate the functional role of lycopene obtained from powder prepared from fresh tomato, tomato paste, and ketchup that contained equal amounts of lycopene based on levels of intake on body weight gain (BWG), feed intake, feed efficiency ratio (FER), lipid profiles, atherogenic index, and liver enzymes of hyperlipidemic rats. Forty-eight male albino rats were divided into two main groups: the first group (n = 6 rats) was kept on the basal diet as a normal control, while the second group (n = 42 rats) was fed a hyperlipidemic diet for 5 weeks to induce hyperlipidemia. The latter group was divided into seven subgroups: the first subgroup was the positive control group, while the others were supplemented with one of the tomato products at one of two levels (10 or 20 mg of lycopene/kg of diet). BWG, feed intake, and FER were calculated, and blood samples were collected to determine total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoprotein fractions, atherogenic index, and liver function in sera. Relative organ weights were also calculated. Results revealed that administration of various tomato products produced a significant reduction in feed intake except for the hyperlipidemic group that supplemented with the lower lycopene level from tomato paste. In addition, BWG and FER were not influenced by addition of tomato products at any level of intake. Hyperlipidemic rats supplemented with tomato powder, tomato paste, or ketchup showed significant improvement in almost all the parameters studied compared to the positive control group. Results showed that the higher lycopene level from tomato paste produced significant improvement in all lipid parameters, followed by 10 mg of lycopene/kg from tomato paste, which caused significant elevation in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol comparable to that of the negative control group. The lowest atherogenic index was achieved by addition of the lower lycopene level from tomato paste followed by the higher lycopene level from the same source. So, because of the positive effect of tomato products on the tested parameters an increase in consumption of tomato and its products in the diet is recommended. Nutrition education programs should be encouraged to inform the public of the importance of tomato and its products, especially tomato paste and ketchup, in decreasing the risk of hyperlipidemia.

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This study aimed to evaluate the renoprotective effect of Physalis peruviana L. extract (PPE) on acute renal injury in rats. Adult male rats (n = 36) were divided into six groups that were fed with basal diet throughout the experiment (33 days). The first group was normal group, the second and the third groups were administered orally with 100 and 150 mg PPE/kg body weight (BW) respectively, the fourth group was injected intraperitoneally with 5 mg/kg BW cisplatin once on the 28th day to induced ARI, and the fifth and sixth groups were treated like the second and the third groups and were injected with cisplatin on the 28th day. Many bioactive compounds were found in PPE. PPE did not cause any changes in the second and third groups compared to normal control group. Administration of PPE prior to cisplatin injection caused significant reduction in relative kidney weight, serum creatinine, urea, blood urea nitrogen, and significant increments in body weight, feed intake, total protein, albumin, and total globulin compared to cisplatin group. Pretreatment with PPE improved kidney histology and diminished the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and enhanced other antioxidant enzymes in kidney homogenate compared to cisplatin group.

This study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant activity of different treatments of sesame seeds on lipid profile in rats with atherosclerosis. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n= 72) were divided into two main groups the first main group (n=9) was fed on basal diet as a negative control group. Atherosclerosis was induced in the second main group (n = 63) which was assigned to groups 2-8. Group 2 was positive control group; the others were treated with raw, roasted and fermented sesame seeds at two levels of intake (100 and 150 gm/kg diet). At the end of the experimental period (8 weeks), feed intake was recorded and feed efficiency ratio was calculated Heart and aorta from all rats were collected for histological studies. Blood samples were collected for estimating lipid profile and its fractions. Results revealed that treatment of atherosclerotic rats with raw, roasted and fermented sesame seeds at the two levels of intake improved daily food intake, body weight gain and feed efficiency ratio. Supplementation with all forms of sesame seeds improved blood lipids parameters and atherogenic index. Results showed that the addition of sesame seeds led to a significant improvement in the results of histological studies which were coincided with the biochemical analysis .The present study recommends increasing the consumption of sesame seeds in different formsdue to its beneficial effects on lipid profile. Nutrition education programs are needed to clarify the importance of sesame seeds in reducing the risk of developing arteriosclerosis. Further studies are required to evaluate the health benefits of consuming fermented sesame seeds.