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Background/Aim: Emprit ginger (Zingiber officinale var. amarum) is an Indonesian natural plant with various bioactivities, including antidiabetic properties. Several studies have shown that bioactivities can be attributed to the presence of flavonoids and also melatonin which playing a role in carbohydrate metabolism and blood sugar levels regulation. Ginger also has an effect on the lipid profile in studies in experimental animals. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the in vivo antidiabetic activity of melatonin-rich extract of Emprit ginger using blood sugar and lipid profiles parameters. Methods: The study procedure comprised 30 male white rats of Wistar strain, which were divided into 5 groups. These included: I - K-: negative control; II - K+: injected with streptozotocin (STZ) - nicotinamide (NA); III - P1: given STZ-NA + 100 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day ginger extract; IV - P2: given STZ-NA + 200 mg/kg BW/day ginger extract; and V - P3: injected with STZ-NA + metformin 300 mg/kg BW/day. In addition, the treatment was carried out for a total of 21 days, followed by the measurement of random blood sugar (RBS) levels and lipid profiles. Results: The highest pre-treatment RBS, triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL and LDL levels were 426.8 ± 55.8 mg/dL (P2), 142 ± 39.8 mg/dL (P2), 130.8 ± 21.7 mg/dL (K+), 53.4 ± 4.92 mg/dL (P1) and 61.67 ± 17.69 mg/ dL (K+), respectively. The results showed that the largest decrease in RBS was obtained in P3 by 262.8 ± 70.6 mg/dL, while P2 experienced the highest decrease in triglyceride levels by 83.66 ± 52.04 mg/dL. In addition, the largest decrease in cholesterol was in P3 by 50.2 ± 26.30 mg/dL, with P1 possessing the highest reduction in HDL by 15.4 ± 15.88 mg/dL. In terms of LDL, the largest decrease was obtained in P3, 20.44 ± 16.68 mg/dL. Based on the results, changes in biochemical parameters levels between all groups showed significant differences except for HDL. Conclusion: STZ-NA injection caused an increase in RBS and cholesterol in rats. Administration of melatonin-rich ginger extract led to a decrease in RBS, cholesterol and LDL and was more effective in the group given metformin. Melatonin-rich ginger extract at a dose of 200 mg/kg BW/day was more effective in reducing triglycerides compared to other clinical parameters.

Compounds with high bioactive are commonly used as a nutritional approach for accelerating muscle damage recovery after strenuous exercise. There are still inconsistent results of post-exercise antioxidant supplementation on the circulating muscle damage biomarker. This study aimed to examine the effect of post-exercise Curcuma extract supplementation in ice cream on muscle damage and inflammatory markers in amateur soccer players. Male amateur soccer athletes (aged 14 - 18 years) participated in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study under two conditions: control group (n = 10) and treatment group (n = 10). The treatment group was treated with Curcuma extract ice cream (250 mg/100 g) for 21 days. Blood samples were drawn before training, considered baseline, and 3 h after training on day 21. The level of creatine kinase, IL-6, haemoglobin (Hb), and lactic acid were quantified. There was a significant decrease in creatine kinase change in the treatment group compared to the control group (p <0.05). No change in IL-6 and Hb levels in the treatment group. Lactic acid decreased by 16.3% from baseline in the treatment group (p <0.05). Curcuma extract ice cream potentiates to ameliorate exercise-induced muscle damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the severe threats to efforts to improve health, especially on the quality of future generations is stunting. This study aimed to determine the risk factors for lack of protein intake and the provision of breast milk complementary food for the incidence of stunting in children aged 12-24 months. Method: This study uses the design of case-control. The study sample was toddlers aged 12-24 months Semarang with 60 cases and 60 controls. Data collected includes sample and respondent identity, protein intake, and complementary feeding of breast milk. The test used is Mc Nemar with a = 0.05. Results: The test results showed as many as 15.9% of toddlers suffered from stunting. Lack of risky protein intake is significant for the incidence of stunting of children aged 12-24 months. Conclusion: Toddlers who have sufficient protein intake probably has less five times the risk of suffering from stunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined the effects of longterm pre-exercise Curcuma xanthorriza Roxb supplementation on red blood cell indices along with circulating malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in response to endurance exercise to address previously inconsistent findings., Methods: Male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus; n = 20, aged 12-16 weeks) were divided equally into an exercise-only group (C) and three groups supplemented with Curcuma extract at dosages of 6.75 (T1), 13.50 (T2), and 20.25 mg (T3). Curcuma extract supplementation was administered for 28 d immediately prior to exercise., Results: Following 28 d of exhaustive swimming, the hematocrit and erythrocyte count increased by 15% (p = 0.06). Pre-exercise Curcuma supplementation did not significantly affect mean corpuscular volume or mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Longterm exercise intervention resulted in elevated MDA levels by 41% (p <0.001), while Curcuma supplementation (13.50 mg) attenuated this increase by 16.6% (p = 0.09). Additionally, Curcuma supplementation resulted in a dose-dependent increase in SOD levels, with an 82.6% increase observed at 20.25 mg (p = 0.028)., Conclusion: Our preliminary findings indicated that pre-exercise supplementation with Curcuma extract had a negligible effect on changes in red blood cell markers, but it mitigated the increase in oxidative stress induced by exercise training. Our future research direction will involve applying the findings to humans.