Effectiveness and Safety of Hwangchil-Unripe Bokbunja Extract Mixture on Blood Pressure: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Antioxidant-Rich Dietary Intervention Improves Cardiometabolic Profiles and Arterial Stiffness in Elderly Koreans with Metabolic Syndrome

PURPOSE

Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic metabolic diseases. This study investigated the effect of the antioxidant-rich dietary intervention on oxidative stress, metabolic parameters, and arterial stiffness in elderly Koreans with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-one subjects with MetS were enrolled and randomly divided into dietary intervention group and control group. Subjects in the intervention group received three meal boxes prepared with antioxidant-rich ingredients every day for 4 weeks, and subjects in the control group maintained their usual diets. Anthropometric and various biochemical parameters related to oxidative stress, inflammation, and MetS were assessed. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and fat measurement using computed tomography were also conducted before and after 4 weeks.

RESULTS

There were significant differences in waist circumference, visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio, lipid peroxidation, oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lipid parameters, advanced glycation end products, and baPWV between before and after the study in the experimental group (all p<0.05). Significant inter-group differences were observed between the experimental and control group in terms of the differences in body mass index, waist circumference, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, protein carboxylation, lipid peroxidation, oxLDL, blood pressure, lipid parameters, and baPWV between before and after the study (all p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Antioxidant-rich dietary intervention for a 4-week period ameliorated the state of oxidative stress and improved the components of MetS including central obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and arterial stiffness in elderly Koreans with MetS.

Laxative Effects of a Standardized Extract of Dendropanax morbiferus H. Léveille Leaves on Experimental Constipation in Rats

Background and Objectives: This study aimed at investigating the laxative effects of a standardized aqueous extract of Dendropanax morbiferus H. Lév. on two different constipation rat models. Materials and Methods: Animal studies were conducted with low-fiber diet-induced and loperamide-induced constipation animal models, and isolated colons were used in ex vivo analysis to determine the changes in colonic motility caused by D. morbiferus H. Lév. leaf extract (DPL). Results: The results showed that DPL administration significantly improved certain reduced fecal parameters (number, weight, and water content of the stools) in a both low-fiber diet and loperamide-induced constipation models without adverse effects of diarrhea. The laxative effect of DPL was confirmed to improve the charcoal excretion time upon DPL treatment in a low-fiber diet or loperamide-induced constipation model through gastrointestinal (GI) motility evaluation using the charcoal meal test. In addition, when DPL was administered to RAW264.7 cells and loperamide-induced constipation model rats, the production of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) increased significantly in cells and tissue. Furthermore, DPL dose-dependently stimulated the spontaneous contractile amplitude and frequency of the isolated rat colon. Conclusion: Although our study did not provide information on the acute or chronic toxicity of DPL, our results demonstrated that DPL can effectively promote defecation frequency and rat colon contraction, providing scientific evidence to support the use of DPL as a therapeutic application. However, further toxicity studies of DPL are needed prior to the initiation of clinical trials and clinical applications.