Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has had a significant impact on the natural history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, leading to a remarkable decrease in its morbidity and mortality, but is frequently associated with clinical and metabolic complications. Fat redistribution or lipodystrophy, hypertriglyceridaemia, hypercholesterolaemia, insulin resistance and diabetes...

The chemical tagging of a cytochrome P-450-dependent lauric acid omega-hydroxylase from clofibrate-treated Vicia sativa seedlings with [1-14C]11-dodecynoic acid allowed the isolation of a full-length cDNA designated CYP94A1. We describe here the functional expression of this novel P-450 in two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains overproducing their own NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase or a reducta...

Chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) is a flavonoid, natural component of traditional medicinal herbs, present in honey, propolis and many plant extracts. The objective of this study was to investigate the hypolipidemic properties of chrysin on Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemia in female C57BL/6 mice. Triton WR-1339 was administered intraperitoneally (400 mg/kg) to overnight-fasted mice to develo...

The site of synthesis and induction by clofibrate of peroxisomal 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (acetyl-CoA acyltransferase; EC 2.3.1.16) was investigated. Free and membrane-bound polyribosomal RNA species from the livers of normal rats and rats treated with clofibrate, a hypolipidaemic drug that causes marked proliferation of peroxisomes, were translated in a nuclease-treated rabbit reticulocyte-lysa...

Therapeutic potentials of several medicinal plants are under active investigations and there are several reports indicating their antidiabetic actions, including the one that appeared in your esteemed journal about fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) seeds (1). Improvement in lipid profile also, following an oral administration of the whole seeds of this plant, has been reported by other work...

It has been postulated that the peroxisomal fatty acid-oxidizing system [Lazarow & de Duve (1976) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 2043--2046; Lazarow (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 1522--1528] resembles that of mitochondria, except for the first oxidative reaction. In this step, O2 would be directly reduced to H2O2 by an oxidase. Two specific procedures developed to detect the activity of the cha...

Some blood orange juice (BOJ) flavanones may have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, hypolipidaemic, vasoprotective and anticarcinogenic properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of hesperetin and naringenin in human subjects after BOJ intake. In a cross-over study, seven healthy female volunteers consumed 150 and 300 ml BOJ corresponding to about...

Spices which show hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic and antioxidant activities may have a role in the treatment of diabetes and its complications. The present study aimed to compare the modulatory effects of garlic, ginger, turmeric and their mixture on the metabolic syndrome and oxidative stress in streptozotocin (STZ)-nicotinamide diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in overnight fasted rats by a ...

INTRODUCTION This present study aims to evaluate the beneficial effect of tomatoes, a rich source of lycopene, which is a relatively new carotenoid known to play an important role in human health and disease. METHODS We investigated the lipid peroxidation rate by estimating malondialdehyde (MDA), levels of serum enzymes involved in antioxidant activities such as superoxide dismutase, glutathi...

In the present study, diet was formulated; the glycemic index of the formulated diet determined and its effectiveness tested in the management of alloxaninduced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of alloxan 60mg/kg body weight in albino rats. Normal and diabetic control rats received balanced normal nutritive diet while the treatment groups were fed with 30,...