maria aslam

The scientific name of rice is Oryza sativa. It is one of the important staple human foods. There are more than 110,000 cultivated varieties of rice, most widely known and grown. Nutrient concentration may vary depending on production, environment, pre- and post-harvesting treatment, and processing. Cooked rice with high amylose content effectively controls metabolic disorders, serum blood glucose levels, and lipid profile and is also effective in weight loss.

This study aimed to determine the comparative effect of amylose concentration in brown and white rice on hepatocellular insufficiency in healthy rat models.

We divided 25 rats into 5 groups (G0, G1, G2, G3, and G4). There were 5 rats in each group. Group 0 was the control group on a normal diet. Group 1 was fed white rice flour, G2 was fed cooked white rice, G3 was fed brown rice flour, and G4 was fed cooked brown rice. Free access to food and water was secured. Weight changes, blood glucose, and lipid profiles were analyzed pre and post-treatment.

Rats on white rice feed showed weight gain, increased blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and low HDL levels. However, rats on brown rice feed showed less weight gain (P < 0.05), a lower increase in blood glucose (P < 0.05), high HDL, lower LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. The pancreas and liver histopathology showed no major changes due to the short trial duration.

Rats fed white rice showed ineffective results disturbing biological parameters as compared to those rats which were fed brown rice. Due to low amylose content and the presence of antioxidants, flavonoids, and high fiber content, brown rice shows beneficial effects in controlling and maintaining relevant biological parameters.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the main cause of illness, mortality, and stress worldwide. Oxidative stress is the major cause of myocardium tissue damage associated with cell necrosis.

The current study was designed to compare biochemical parameters with in vitro antioxidant activity in MI patients.

This observational cohort study was conducted on 53 MI patients, and the samples were collected on the basis of a nonrandom sampling technique from April 2022 to November 2022. Lipid profile (i.e., total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and triglycerides (TG)) and cardiac profile (i.e., troponin T, troponin I, creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), and creatine phosphokinase (CPK)) were measured for the confirmation of variation in biochemical parameters. Afterward, the inhibition of oxidative stress was analyzed through the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay on the serum samples of the patients.

Of 53 MI patients, 33 and 20 cases were male and female, respectively. Moreover, the correlation of the DPPH assay with TC, troponin T, and troponin I was determined by Pearson correlation. The correlation coefficients range from -1 to 1, indicating the strength and direction of the linear relationship between the markers. The concentrations of lipid profile (i.e., TC, TG, LDL, and VLDL) or cardiac profile (i.e., CK-MB, CPK, troponin T, and troponin I) were significantly elevated in all MI patients. However, the HDL level (P = 0.001) was decreased.

According to obtained results, reactive oxygen species (ROS) might be the causative agent of MI. Therefore, if an antioxidant medication is used as administrative content, it would be helpful for the treatment of MI and a lead mark for pharmaceutical companies in drug designing for MI patients.

Good nutrition is imperative to achieve a better health status. The rate of obesity and related comorbidities is increasing all over the world. The main reasons behind this worse situation are the overconsumption of food groups or exceeding the recommended portion sizes. University life is a period when students are independent in making their food choices. The chances of adopting unhealthy eating behaviors are increased during this tenure. Nutritional knowledge is an important tool in assessing the nutritional status of an individual, group, and community.

The main objective of the current study was to assess the nutritional knowledge of university-going students.

The pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the data from the students of the University of Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 300 students participated in this study (150 from the Nutrition Department and 150 from the non-nutrition departments). Demographic data, anthropometric measurements, and total nutritional knowledge (TNK) scores were measured during the 4-month study duration. Additionally, gender-and department-based comparisons of various parameters were performed. The mean TNK of the Nutrition Department students was higher (34.89 ± 0.95/58) than non-nutrition departments (24.05 ± 1.00/58) (P = 0.01). Additionally, the mean TNK of female students was higher (28.53 ± 1.28/58) than male students (27.05 ± 1.27/58) (P = 0.03). Moreover, 61% and 63% of nutrition students were familiar with the relationship between high intake of salt and fats with chronic diseases, respectively.

A statistically significant relationship was not observed between gender (P = 0.78) and departments (P = 0.10) with body mass index (BMI). This finding shows that nutritional knowledge alone is not a predictor of the nutritional status (BMI) of an individual. Students, even from the Nutrition Department, failed to transform their knowledge about nutrition into healthy food choices and eating practices.

It is necessary to initiate nutrition education programs emphasizing making healthy food choices. Moreover, nutritional knowledge related to dietary guidelines should be incorporated into daily life to remove the disease burden associated with obesity.