Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory autoimmune disorder with widespread synovitis. Isoflavones, the main active component of soy, have been reported to have potent anti-inflammatory effects; the previous RA animal models showed the promising effect of soy supplementation. We aimed to evaluate the effect of soy bread on inflammatory markers and lipid profiles in RA patients. The present study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. RA patients were randomly allocated to obtain soy bread (n = 22) or placebo bread (n = 22) for 8 weeks. Fasting serum levels of lipid profile, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and DAS28 were checked. Findings showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups in physical activity and dietary intake at the beginning of the study and the end of the study. There were no significant differences between the two groups in measured lipid profile markers, including high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and very low-density lipoprotein, at the end of the trial. In addition, TAC and CRP also were not significant at the end of the trial between the 2 groups (0.66 and 0.12, respectively). However, the serum levels of TNF-α reduced significantly in the soy bread group at the end of the intervention (p < 0.000) and compared with the control group (p < 0.019). Soy bread consumption only decreased circulating TNF-α serum concentration. Other outcome measures were not changed following supplementation. Future long-term, well-designed studies are needed to confirm these findings.
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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is recognized as one of the most prevalent metabolic diseases, and it is mostly associated with oxidative stress, atherosclerosis and dyslipidemia. Paraoxonase 2 (PON2) due to its antioxidant properties may play a role in the atherosclerosis development. Although long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, the exact mechanism of action is still unknown. Our goal in this study was to determine the effect of EPA administration on gene expression of PON2 in patients with T2DM. Present study was a randomized, controlled double-blind trial. Thirty-six patients with T2DM were randomly allocated to receive 2 g/day EPA (n = 18) or placebo (n = 18) for 8 weeks. There were no significant differences between 2 groups concerning demographic or biochemical variables, and dietary intakes as well (p > 0.05). However, patients received EPA showed a significant increase in the gene expression of PON2 compared with placebo group (p = 0.027). In addition, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased and fasting blood sugar decreased significantly after EPA supplementation compared with control group. Taken together, supplementation with 2 g/day EPA could be atheroprotective via the upregulation of PON2 in patients with T2DM.
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Pycnogenol is a standardized extract from the bark of the French maritime pine. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to clarify the effect of Pycnogenol supplementation on C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration. To identify eligible studies in order to find clinical trials which examined the effect of Pycnogenol supplementation on the level of CRP in adult participants, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were systematically searched until December 2017. Mean of CRP was collected to estimate the effect size of the supplementation. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored by subgroup analysis. Five trials including 324 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled effect size showed significant effect of Pycnogenol supplementation on CRP (−1.22 mg/dL, 95% confidence interval, −2.43, −0.003; I2 = 99%, pheterogeneity < 0.001). When the meta-analysis was subgrouped by dose of Pycnogenol, heterogeneity was attenuated in > 150 mg/d category (I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.42). There was significant difference between-subgroup heterogeneity (p < 0.001). Furthermore, no evidence of publication bias for CRP (p = 0.27, Begg's test and p = 0.62, Egger's test) was seen. Present systematic review and meta-analysis suggested Pycnogenol consumption can decrease the level of CRP and have anti-inflammatory effect. So, Pycnogenol as an anti-inflammatory agent might be a priority in interventions. Further studies with large-scale and better design are needed to confirm this result.
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Studies have reported different changes in the fatty acid composition of red blood cell (RBC) total lipids in patients with various types of cancer. It has been indicated that n-3/n-6 ratio plays a key role in the general consequence of skin photocarcinogenesis. However, to our knowledge there was no study examining the unsaturated fatty acid profile in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) patients. So, we explore the fatty acid composition of RBCs in newly diagnosed BCC patients in a hospital-based case-control study. This study has been conducted on new case BCC patients in Razi Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Fatty acid concentration in erythrocyte membranes defined as relative values after extraction, purification and preparation, by gas chromatography.Analysis revealed that heptadecenoic acid (p = 0.010) and oleic acid (p < 0.001) was significantly higher in BCC patients in comparison with control group. Among polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), linoleic acid (LA), and arachidonic acid (AA) were significantly higher in BCC patients (p < 0.001). It has been indicated that n-3 was significantly lower (p = 0.040) and n-6 was significantly higher (p = 0.002) in BCC patients. In addition, total PUFA (p < 0.001) and n-6 PUFAs/n-3 PUFAs (p = 0.002) were significantly higher in BCC patients compared to the control group. Here we indicated that new case BCC patient had significantly higher n-6 PUFA and lower n-3 along with other differences in unsaturated fatty acid in comparison with healthy subjects. Our study provides evidence that lipids are important in BCC development.
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