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Several fruit by-products may exert a beneficial role on oxidative stress and inflammation modulation, providing essential bioactive components, such as polyphenols and carotenoids. Recently, the potential bioactivity of miso has been reported. The aim of this dietary intervention−clinical study was to evaluate the acute effect of a novel, functional miso-type sauce based on legumes, on postprandial biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation. In this randomized, cross-over design, intervention−clinical trial, 14 healthy volunteers, aged 20−30 years old, consumed a rice meal rich in fat and carbohydrates (258 g), containing a legume-based sauce. After a 1-week washout period, the same subjects consumed the same meal, containing the novel fermented miso-type sauce, enhanced with 50% carotenoid-rich, fruit peel extract. Differences in postprandial total plasma antioxidant capacity according to the FRAP method, serum lipids, glucose, uric acid levels, and antithrombotic activity in platelet-rich plasma were evaluated before, 30 min, 1.5 h, and 3 h after consumption. The results showed that, in comparison to the control group, consumption of the novel sauce resulted in a significantly increased total plasma antioxidant capacity 3 h after consumption (p < 0.05). In addition, we observed a significant attenuation of triglycerides concentration increase in the last 1.5 h in the functional group (p < 0.05). A significant decrease in serum aggregation was found at 30 min and 3 h after functional sauce intake in comparison with the baseline (p < 0.05). Finally, LDL-cholesterol concentrations were significantly reduced 3 h after the functional meal consumption, in comparison with baseline values (p < 0.05). The remaining biomarkers did not show statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Further investigation is needed in order to validate the current results.

This essay offers an overview of the history of the relations between science and Eastern Christianity based on Greek-language sources. The civilizations concerned are the Byzantine Empire, the Christian Orthodox communities of the Ottoman Empire, and modern Greece, as a case study of a national state. Beginning with the Greek Church Fathers, the essay investigates the ideas of theologians and scholars on nature. Neoplatonism, the theological debates of Iconoclasm and Hesychasm, the proposed union of the Eastern and Western Churches, and the complex relations with the Hellenic past all had notable impacts on the conception of science held by the Byzantine Orthodox. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, the Christian Orthodox world did not actively participate in the making of the new science that was developing in modern Europe. It had to deal with the assimilation of scientific ideas produced by Western Christianity, and its main concern was the “legitimacy” of knowledge that did not originate directly from its own spiritual tradition. Finally, with regard to the Greek state, beyond the specific points of contact between the sciences and Orthodox Christianity—pertaining, for example, to materialism, evolution, and the calendar—the essay presents the constant background engagement with religion visible in most public pronouncements of scientists and intellectuals.