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Objectives: To assess the association between dietary patterns, central obesity, and blood pressure (BP)., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated anthropometric measurements, BP, and usual dietary intakes of 243 men, aged 30-50 years old, working at the Education and Culture Systems in Ahvaz, Iran, between October 2011 and March 2012 using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)., Results: Using the factor analysis, we extracted 3 major dietary patterns: "prudent", "high protein" and "high fat". After controlling for confounders (energy and physical activity), "prudent" pattern scores were negatively associated with body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic BP (p<0.05). Scores of "high protein" and "high fat" patterns were positively related to obesity and hypertension indices (p<0.05)., Conclusion: A dietary pattern characterized by high consumption of vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, nuts, and olives are associated with lower risk of central obesity and hypertension, while dietary patterns with high amounts of red meat, egg, butter, high fat dairy products, hydrogenated fats, pizza, and soft drinks are associated with increased risk of these conditions in Ahvaz, Iran.

Objective: To examine the effect of green tea extract on body weight, serum levels of glucose, and lipids in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats., Methods: This experimental study was carried out in the Diabetes Research Center, Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran from January 2011 to March 2011. Forty-eight male wistar rats (200-250 g) were divided randomly into 6 groups. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of stereptozotocin (55 mg/kg). The experimental groups received alcohol extract of green tea leaves (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) for 4 weeks and the body weight of animals were measured every day. Finally, blood samples were collected and analyzed for glucose and lipid profile levels., Results: Administration of green tea extract caused a significant decrease in serum glucose and total cholesterol levels and significantly improved the body weight loss in diabetic rats treated with 200 mg/kg green tea in comparison to diabetic control group. No significant changes were observed in triglyceride (p=0.04), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (p=0.000), and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p=0.01) following intervention., Conclusion: It appears that green tea extract had both antihyperglycemic and hypocholesterolmic effects in diabetic rats, although further work is needed to determine their mechanism.

Objective: To assess the effect of restricting calories with or without daidzein on weight, serum levels of glucose, and inflammatory markers in obese rats., Methods: This experimental study was carried out in Jundishapur University, Ahvaz, Iran, from September 2010 to January 2011. Obesity was induced in 30 male Wistar rats (140-160, 6-8 weeks age) after 6 weeks by feeding them a high-fat diet. Then, the rats were divided into 3 groups: obese rats treated with low-calorie diet containing 50 mg/kg daidzein (n=10); obese rats treated with low-calorie diet containing dimethyl sulfoxide (n=10); and obese rats that were given ad libitum access to food as the control group (n=10). After 4 weeks, blood samples were collected in order to analyze the levels of glucose, resistin, and high sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP)., Results: Restriction of calories resulted in decreased blood glucose (p=0.002), and decreased levels of high sensitive CRP (p=0.000), but had no significant effect on resistin level. Daidzein administration had no significant effect on body weight, serum glucose, levels of resistin, and high sensitive CRP., Conclusion: Calorie restriction significantly affected body weight, serum glucose, low-grade inflammation biomarkers, and masked the effect of daidzein.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of oral administration of caraway (Carum carvi) on the blood glucose level, lipid profile, and the weight of diabetic rats., Methods: This investigation was carried out in Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran between April and June 2010. Twenty-four male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly divided into 3 groups: normal, diabetic, and caraway treated diabetic groups and were studied for 3 weeks. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg body weight streptozotocin. Caraway was given orally at a dose of 1g/kg body weight daily, and the body weight of animals was measured every day. Blood samples were collected and blood glucose levels and lipid profile were determined., Results: The results showed that oral administration of caraway caused a significant decrease in blood glucose level of treated rats (p = 0.001) and alleviated their body weight loss (p = 0.037). Furthermore, it caused significant decrease in total cholesterol (p = 0.036), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p = 0.001) in the treated animals compared with the diabetic control rats, and with no significant change in triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels., Conclusion: Caraway has both antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic activity in diabetic rats. Nevertheless, it is not recommended before further investigations in animals and humans.

Objective: To evaluate the hypouricemic and antioxidant effects of Allium cepa Lilliaceae (Allium cepa L.) and quercetin in normal and hyperuricemic rats., Methods: The following study was conducted in the Department of Nutrition and Biochemistry, Tehran University of Medical Science, Iran, between May 2007 and March 2008. A total of 48 male Wistar rats (body weights: 180-200 g) were randomly divided into 8 equal groups including normal; normal + Allium cepa L. (5g/kg); normal + quercetin (5mg/kg); normal + allopurinol (5mg/kg); hyperuricemic; hyperuricemic + Allium cepa L. (5g/kg); hyperuricemic + quercetin (5mg/kg); hyperuricemic + allopurinol (5mg/kg) once a day for 14 days. Experimentally, hyperuricemia in rats was induced by intraperitoneal injection of potassium oxonate (250mg/kg)., Results: Allium cepa L. and quercetin treatments for 14 days significantly reduced (p=0.000) the serum uric acid levels of hyperuricemic rats in a time-dependent manner. All treatments significantly inhibited hepatic xanthine oxidase/xanthine dehydrogenase activity. Allium cepa L. and quercetin treatments led also to a significant improvement in biomarkers of oxidative stress in hyperuricemic rats (p=0.000). Although the hypouricemic effect of allopurinol was much higher than that of Allium cepa L. and quercetin, it could not significantly change oxidative stress biomarkers., Conclusion: These results may be responsible partly for the beneficial effects of Allium cepa L. and its major flavonoid on hyperuricemia and oxidative stress.