لاله پیاهو

Probiotics, as live microorganisms, exert beneficial effects on controlling diseases. Considering the lack of study in this field, the present study was conducted to assess the barriers of probiotic product's usage and the status of knowledge, attitude, and practice among nurses and medical sciences students in Maragheh city.

This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 386 subjects (59 nurses and 327 students) of both genders at Maragheh University of Medical Sciences between 2020 and 2021. Convenience sampling was used on educational-therapeutic centers of Maragheh University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected by a questionnaire consisting of 35 questions, validity and reliability of which were previously evaluated. Independent sample t-test was used to compare the score of knowledge, attitude, performance and barriers, and Chi-square test was used to compare qualitative variables between the two groups of nurses and students.Values less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Overall, 386 subjects (129 men and 257 women) completed the study. About 54% of participants did not have enough knowledge regarding probiotics. Regarding the barriers to consumption, nearly 57% stated that there was no comprehensive and sufficient information about probiotic products, and 46% of participants mentioned that access to probiotic products was poor. There was a significant difference (p<0.001) between the two groups in terms of being interested in learning more about probiotics, welcoming probiotic workshops, using live microbes in controlling diseases and in the family's shopping basket, the healthier status of probiotic foods compared with current supplements and the effect of probiotics on the outcome of the treatment protocol (p<0.001).

The involvement of media in raising awareness about the safety of probiotic products and general education in schools and the community through nurses and healthcare providers is recommended.

Among all types of cancers, pancreatic cancer has poor prognosis with 5-year survival below 10%. In theory, alcohol intake may be a modifiable risk factor for pancreatic cancer due to its role in multiple carcinogenic and metabolic signaling pathways. In addition, alcohol consumption may lead to chronic pancreatitis which is underlying cause of pancreatic cancer. However, little is known about whether this factor is associated with pancreatic cancer. This study aimed to systematically review the cohort studies investigating the possible link between alcohol consumption and the morbidity or mortality of pancreatic cancer.

This study was carried out based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). All of cohort studies that assessed the association between alcohol intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer or death were included in this systematic review without a language restriction. Electronic databases including PubMed, Web of science, Scopus, and Google scholar were searched using the keywords "pancreatic cancer" and "alcohol" and similar words from 1990 to April 2021 to find the cohort studies.

858 articles were identified, of which 806 were excluded and the full-text of 52 papers were evaluated for the eligibility. Eventually, 22 articles were eligible and were included in this study. Many of the articles assessed the impacts of low to moderate alcohol intake. A comprehensive review of these studies showed that low to moderate alcohol consumption had a non-significant correlation with pancreatic cancer, while high alcohol consumption was significantly associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer or death. The results also revealed that high liquor consumption was associated with higher risk of pancreatic cancer. Nevertheless, the follow-up durations in most of these studies were shorter than that to lead to pancreatic cancer.

Long-term heavy alcohol drinking can increase the morbidity or mortality of pancreatic cancer. Regarding that several genetic and environmental variations involve in the pathogenesis of this cancer, simultaneous control of these differences should be addressed to determine the net effect of alcohol drinking on pancreatic cancer.

In thisresearch, for the first time, the replacement of valerian extract with chemical preservatives in orange juice has been investigated. Whey Permeate Powder is also used as a source of minerals and vitamins in orange juice. In this experimental study, an antioxidant effect of valerian extract was determined and its compounds were determined. Then, the effect of juice extract on three levels of 1.25, 0.63 and 0.13 ml and 1.5, 1 and 0.5 percent of whey permeate powder on the chemical properties of orange juice during the storage period in three intervals. The period of 1, 14 and 30 days was studied. The tests performed on prepared samples including: formalin index, acidity, vitamin C, pH and antioxidant properties, and the results obtained by Expert design-7 software are analyzed and shown in the diagram. The results indicated that the pH increased at high levels of whey permeate powder and extract during the period of 1, 14 and 30 days. Also, the decreasing in acidity with increasing whey permeate powder percent is probably due to the low acidity of whey permeate powder to the extract and the sample of orange juice's control (is a witness). By adding single levels of whey permeate powder and extract, the vitamin C increased and then decreased with increase of during maintenance. Also, the effect of valerian extract was greater than whey permeate powder in vitamin reduction over a period of time.

Background and purpose:

Traditional use of native plants as complementary medicine has been grown during the past 20 to 25 years, worldwide. Ginger, with the scientific name of "Zingiber officinale Roscoe", has been known as one of the useful traditional medicinal plants in the prevention and treatment of diseases. The aim of the present study is to overview the beneficial effects of ginger based on the perspectives of traditional Persian medicine and modern science.

Methods and Materials:

In this review article, all of the papers indexed in the scientific databases including PubMed, Iran medex, Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, and all traditional Persian medicine books using keywords including ginger, Islamic Traditional medicine, health benefits, and modern science entirely were searched and discussed between 2000 and 2018.

It seems that ginger with its hot nature is effective in the treatment of many disorders including nausea, low blood pressure, bladder stones, pain, dysmenorrhea, and bacterial and fungal diseases. Useful components of ginger including gingerol, shogaol, zingerone, zingeberol, and paradol with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-angiogenesis, insulin mimicking, stimulating beta cells, and anti-platelet aggregation properties play an important role in the prevention and treatment of diseases such as diabetes, nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, asthma and bronchitis.

Considering the beneficial effects of the ginger plant, its use as a medicinal herb in the prevention and treatment of diseases is recommended.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with many chronic disorders. Increasing the concentration of circulatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6)، tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) can effect on the insulin sensitivity. Recently، the use of herbs as complementary and alternative medicine، due to low level of side effects، has been prevailed. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Anethum graveolens supplementation on the insulin resistance and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with type 2 diabetes. This randomized-double blind-placebo controlled study was conducted on 60 patients with type 2 diabetes in Tabriz، Iran. The eligible patients randomly divided to two intervention and control groups. Intervention group received 3. 3 g/day powder of Anethum for 8 weeks and control group received the same amounts of starch. At the onset and end of the study، serum concentrations of insulin، IL-6 and TNF-α was determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method; and hs-CRP was measured using spectrometry. The homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)، as an index of insulin resistance، was calculated as fasting concentrations of blood glucose (mg/dl) × fasting insulin (μU/ml) /405. Serum concentration of insulin، IL-6، TNF-α and hs-CRP decreased significantly at the end of study in intervention group (P < 0. 05). This decreasing was confirmed after adjusting for baseline and confounding factors. Changes in HOMA-IR were not significant in none of the groups. Supplementation of Anethum graveolens had beneficial effects on the concentration of insulin concentration and inflammatory biomarkers. However، further clinical studies are suggested to confirm the results.

Background and Healthy eating has prominent value in Islam. The Quran, after considering the human food, has been stated about plants. The pomegranate with scientific name Punicagranatum L. and Quran name Al-Roman is given three times in the Holy Quran. This fruit due to the many bioactive components has important role in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. The aim of this study was the review of beneficial effects of pomegranate point to the Quran and nutrition science. In this review study, after meditation on the verses of the Quran and all papers submitted at the scientific information data base including PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar from the years 2000 to 2014 with key words pomegranate, Islam, disease, nutrition and Quran, the results obtained and discussed. The effective components of pomegranate act in the prevention of cancers through different mechanisms such as inactivation of pro-inflammatory enzymes, suppression of tumor growth and upregulation of tumor suppressor proteins. Inhibition of enzymes involved in the oxidation and synthesis of fat and increasing of production, secretion and sensitivity of insulin from pancreatic beta cells are the most important mechanisms involved in the reduction of fat and glucose, respectively. Anti-obesity effect of the pomegranate is related to the inhibition of pancreatic lipase enzyme and its anti-infective effect is associated to the inhibition the growth of bacteria. Considering emphasizes of Quran on the beneficial effects of pomegranate as well as the existence of enough scientific evidence about its prevention effects, the using of this fruit in diet is suggested.

Obesity, The Most Common Health Problem, Can Result In The Incidence Of Many Chronic Diseases. Genetic And Environmental Factors Can Affect Its Incidence. Differences In The Population Of Gut Microbiota In Lean And Obese Subjects And Interaction Between Them, Has Led To A Field Of Investigation About The Effects Of Intestinal Microbiota In The Obesity Occurrence. In The Other Hand, The Use Of Functional Foods Has Been Shown Positive Effects In The Prevention Of Obesity. This Study Was Aimed To Assess The Differences Between Gut Microbiota In Obese And Normal People, Their Roles In Energy Homeostasis And The Mechanisms Of Probiotics And Prebiotics In The Management Of Obesity. All Articles Indexed In The Valid Scientific Data Bases Published Between 2000 And 2014 Were Searched And Reviewed Using Probiotics, Prebiotics, Obesity And Gut Microbiota As Key Words And Results Were Examined. A Group Of Gut Microbiota Facilitates Energy Extraction From The Diet That Results In Fat Storage In Adipose Tissues. Bacteroidetes As A Residing Bacterial In The Gut Is In Fewer Amount, Inversely, Firmicutes As Another Residing Bacterial Is In Higher Amount In Obese People, And It Changed In Lean Individuals, Inversely. Differences In The Extraction Of Energy In Subjects Were Attributed To Differences In The Composition In Gut Microbiota. Archaea ‌Species That Resident In The Gut Involved In Energy Homeostasis Through Increasing The Ability Of Fermentation, Electron Production And Removing The Energy. In Addition To, The Probiotic And Prebiotic Supplements Have Roles In The Prevention Of Obesity Via Stimulating The Growth Of Beneficial Bacteria, Production Of Short Chain Fatty Acids, Modulating The Secretion Of Hormones Involved In Energy Homeostasis. Further Studies Are Needed To Identify The Specific Probiotic Bacteria And Other Effective Functional Foods In Management Of Obesity.

Aging، as a main period of life، is faced with many physiological and psychological problems such as malnutrition and depression. Some evidences manifested that malnutrition and depression could affect each other. Considering the lack of studies in this field in our region، this study designed to determine the nutritional status and its relation with depression in the free-living elderly individuals. This cross-sectional study was carried on 184 elderly people (male=97; female=87) with the age ≥ 60 years. All subjects were selected from daily care centers for elderly people in Tabriz city. Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and Geriatric Depression Score (GDS) were used to evaluate the nutritional status and depression prevalence، respectively. More than 50% of subjects had inappropriate nutrition status (6. 2% undernourished and 46. 7% at risk of malnutrition). Prevalence of malnutrition in females was 5-fold more than males. The results of GDS test revealed that about 14% of elderly people had serve depression and 28. 3% had mild depression. There was a significant positive correlation between MNA and GDS tests in both gender (r=0. 42; p<0. 001) and this correlation were stronger in females. Nutritional and mental statuses of free-living elderly individuals were not in acceptable level. Therefore، it seems to be necessary that health professionals should consider these problems for promotion the quality of life for elderly as a priority.

Aging as one of the most critical period of life is faced with many physiological changes. A main challenge of this century is a better quality of life. Therefore, determining factors that affect quality of life in elderly people is important. This study designed to determine relationship between depression disorders and physical activity level with quality of life in free-living elderly in Tabriz in 2012. This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 184 elderly people (97 male and 87 female) with the age of 60 years and above. All subjects were selected from daily care centers of elderly people in Tabriz. Validated Persian self-reported version of World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL) questionnaire was used to determine the quality of life in free-living elderly. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) questionnaires were used to assess the level of physical activity and depression status, respectively. Correlations of variables were analyzed by multiple logistic regressions. There was a significant positive correlation between IADL and ADL with quality of life (r=0.426; p<0.001 and r=0.147; p=0.041, respectively). In addition, the correlation between GDS and quality of life variable was significant (r= -0.180, p=0.013). Since physical activity has beneficial effects on quality of life in elderly people, encouraging them to participate in social exercise programs and presenting guidelines to improve other aspects of quality of life are suggested.

Obesity as one of the most important health problems in the world, involved in the incidence of many chronic disorders. Obese individuals have lower level of vitamins and minerals such as zinc. Zinc is one of trace elements involved in synthesis, storage, release and action of insulin and in pathway of fat and carbohydrate metabolism. This study conducted to assay the effects of zinc supplementation on the insulin resistance, lipid profiles and blood sugar in obese people. This randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed on 60 obese people (BMI >30 kg/m2). Duration of intervention was one month. The eligible participants divided in two equal groups: intervention and placebo, randomly. Intervention group received a 30mg/d zinc pill and placebo group received 30mg/d starch. The concentration of serum insulin, insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), lipid profiles and fasting blood glucose were determined in onset and at the end of study. Zinc supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in serum insulin concentration, insulin resistance index and serum triglyceride at the end of intervention (p<0.05). However, these results were not significant in placebo group. In contrast, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and fasting blood, sugar (FBS) did not change significantly. Zinc supplement had positive effect on the reduction of insulin concentration and insulin resistance index. More studies with longer period of intervention suggested for disclose more mechanisms in this field.

Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics are categorized as functional foods believed to play a major role in enhancement of public health. The purpose of this study was to determine the publication rate in the field of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics, indexed in Medline and Web of Science.

This study was a Scientometrics study. Extracting data from Medline was limited to "title" in screen and years 1996-2011 with keywords “probiotic*, prebiotic*, synbiotic*”. Using software Find-string: Dr. Biglu, data was extracted. In the web of science all data was extracted with selecting SSCI and SCI-E, screen section limited to "title" and years 1993-2011 with the same keywords.

A growing rate in the publishing of pro, pre and synbiotics was observed and predicted to resume in the upcoming years. Iran was the 20th, 15th and 9th country in publishing articles related to probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics, respectively.

The increasing trend of publication on pro, pre and synbiotics may result from the increased interest among researchers to find more effective pro, pre and synbiotics regarding their health benefits and the underlying mechanisms, which may in turn be due to the greater attention consumers pay to functional foods.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that have positive effects on the host when consumed in sufficient amounts. According to several studies، probiotics have beneficial effects on prevention and treatment of many diseases. The aim of this study was to review animal and human studies on the role of probiotics in reducing serum cholesterol، their mechanisms of action، and a brief explanation of functional probiotic foods. This review article focused on all papers indexed in scientific databases from 2000 to 2012 using the related keywords، including cardiovascular diseases، probiotics، and serum cholesterol. Probiotics are used both in dairy and non-dairy products. Nowadays، the role of many probiotic strains in health is confirmed. From the studies done in this field، it can be inferred that probiotics through several mechanisms، such as binding cholesterol to cell walls of probiotics in intestine، conversion of cholesterol into coprostanol، production of short chain fatty acids، and deconjugation of bile acids، reduce serum cholesterol. Certain strains of probiotics have demonstrated cholesterol-lowering properties and others are under study. Further studies are needed to identify other mechanisms involved in lowering serum cholesterol and determine their safety

Cancer is chronic disease that its prevalence is growing in recent years. Genetics and environmental factors such as energy balance and nutritional habits are involved in its incidence. The nutrition plays an important role in prevention and incidence of cancer due to protective and harmful factors, respectively. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of medical sciences students regarding the role of nutrition in prevention or incidence of cancer in Tabriz University. This Cross- sectional study conducted on 565 (219 male and 346 Female) senior students of medical sciences. A self-administered questionnaire with two part completed by students. the one was about the demographic characteristics (age, gender, course, level of education, passing nutrition unit through the school and source of nutritional information) and the other one with 22 closed and open questions was about nutritional knowledge. Data analyzed by using descriptive statistics and presented as frequency and percent. Assessment of relationship between nutritional knowledge and demographic variable were used the Pearson correlation and ANOVA. About 13% of students had low level of nutritional knowledge and 41% and 45.6% had acceptable and high level of knowledge, respectively. Relationship between course, level of education, passing nutrition unit through the school and source of nutritional information of students with nutritional knowledge were statistically significant and with age and gender were no statistically significant relationship. Nutritional factors had important role in incidence of cancer and individual knowledge in this regard is important. In our study, medical knowledge of students, as future provider of health information hadn´t adequate level, so using of efficient coeducational materials for increasing their knowledge may be beneficial.