Insights & Discussion
Results from existing studies suggest that goji berry polysaccharide is a promising therapeutic agent, particularly in the management of liver disease, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes.
Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) have a number of promising therapeutic uses in the liver disease, metabolic disorders, immune dysfunction, aging, neuroprotection, cancer, and ocular surface diseases. These potential applications should be thoroughly assessed through further in vivo studies and ultimately in well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials. One major limitation of current research is a lack of standardization and quality control for the LBP used. The availability of research-grade LBP, of consistent concentration, will help promote further interest and robust research work in this field.
Discover Related Insights
In women with polycystic ovary syndrome, cinnamon reduced insulin resistance and testosterone levels similar to metformin, and ginger decreased follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones.
2022 Frontiers in Nutrition A comparison of the effects of cinnamon, ginger, and metformin consumption on metabolic health, anthropometric indices, and sexual hormone levels in women with poly cystic ovary syndrome: A randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial Dastgheib M, Barati-Boldaji R, Bahrampour N, Taheri R, Borghei M, Amooee S, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Ceylon Cinnamon Cinnamon FSH
In the methodology of the study, 100 women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome were divided into four groups. Each group received a different treatment: cinnamon, ginger, metformin, or placebo. The dosage for these treatments was 500 mg, three times a day, administered over a period of 8 weeks. The participants' sex hormones, weight revelations, along with glycemic and lipid markers were monitored before and after this period. Several participants were disqualified because of unspecified factors, resulting in a final sample size of 83.
In terms of results, all groups saw a decrease in weight and body mass index. The metformin and cinnamon groups specifically had notably decreases in their insulin resistance, meaning that these treatments were effective in improving metabolic health. Additionally, the ginger group experienced a reduction in follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels unlike the other groups. Testosterone levels were lowered in the metformin and cinnamon groups, but no significant changes in dehydroepiandrosterone were observed in any of the groups. These results indicate the potential use of cinnamon and ginger as alternative treatments in managing polycystic ovary syndrome.
Chinese medicine formulas for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease were superior to antioxidants in alanine aminotransferase normalization.
2021 World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Chinese medicine formulas for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Overview of systematic reviews Dai L, Zhou WJ, Zhong LLD, Tang XD, Ji G
Review Article Fatty Liver Disease
Seven systematic reviews were ultimately included. All systematic reviews were conducted based on randomized controlled trials and published in the last decade. According to the AMSTAR 2 tool, one systematic review was judged as having a moderate confidence level, whereas the other studies were rated as having a low or extremely low level of confidence. The ROBIS tool showed that the included systematic reviews all had a high risk of bias due to insufficient consideration of identified concerns. According to the GRADE system, only two outcomes were determined as high quality; namely, TCM formulas with the HuoXueHuaYu principle were better than conventional medications in ultrasound improvement, and TCM formulas were superior to antioxidants in alanine aminotransferase normalization. Other outcomes were downgraded to lower levels, mainly because of heterogeneity among studies, not meeting optimal information sample size, and inclusion of excessive numbers of small sample studies. Nevertheless, the evidence quality of extracted outcomes should be further downgraded when applying to clinical practice due to indirectness.
Coffee consumption may contribute to the prevention of several inflammatory diseases and types of cancer, with reduced mortality risk deemed safe up to 400mg of caffeine per day.
2021 Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition Coffee consumption, health benefits and side effects: a narrative review and update for dietitians and nutritionists Barrea L, Pugliese G, Frias-Toral E, El Ghoch M, Castellucci B, Chapela SP, et al.
Review Article Obesity Type 2 Diabetes
The methodology used in this scholarly review was based on an extensive literature review using the PubMed/Medline database. As the primary research tool, this database facilitated the authors' collation and analysis of relevant studies concerning the impact of coffee consumption on health outcomes. The focus was to determine both the positive and negative aspects of coffee consumption, with an additional aim of providing dosage recommendations. The data collated from these studies was then summarised and analysed through a narrative approach, making the findings more digestible and interpretable.
The findings suggested that coffee consumption may play a significant role in preventing inflammatory and oxidative stress-related diseases such as obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. In addition, findings indicated that coffee consumption also seemed to have an association with a lower incidence of several types of cancer and a reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality. However, notable is the need for a time gap between coffee consumption and the intake of some drugs to avoid potential interactions. It was also concluded that the consumption of up to 400mg/day of caffeine was generally found to be safe for the average person.
Moderate coffee consumption may potentially reduce the risk of low HDL-C and high fasting blood glucose amongst Korean male adults.
2021 Nutrients Association of Coffee Consumption and Its Types According to Addition of Sugar and Creamer with Metabolic Syndrome Incidence in a Korean Population from the Health Examinees (HEXA) Study Tan LJ, Jeon HJ, Park SH, Kim SA, Lim K, Chung S, et al.
Cohort Study
The study was designed to evaluate the link between coffee intake and the onset of metabolic syndrome, utilizing participant data sourced from the Health Examinees study. Metabolic Syndrome was identified based on the criteria set by the Adult Treatment Panel III of the National Cholesterol Education Program. The researchers deployed a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model to examine the relationship between different levels of coffee consumption and the incidence of metabolic syndrome.
In the analysis of the results, moderate coffee consumption, approximately 1-3 cups per day, in male participants was found to have an inverse correlation with low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high fasting blood glucose. More so, this inverse correlation was further observed with the consumption of 3-in-1 coffee, which includes sugar and creamer. This suggests that male habitual coffee drinkers may be less likely to experience low HDL-C and high fasting blood glucose, key markers of metabolic syndrome.
Acupuncture is beneficial in the treatment of metabolic syndrome and could serve as an alternative therapy for metabolic syndrome-associated conditions.
2020 Acupuncture in Medicine Acupuncture for metabolic syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis Li X, Jia HX, Yin DQ, Zhang ZJ
Systematic Review
A total of 13 RCTs were identified with 423 subjects undergoing acupuncture regimens and 411 receiving control interventions. Active acupuncture yielded better outcomes than sham acupuncture with respect to improving multiple metabolic syndrome indices. Acupuncture monotherapy had similar effectiveness in controlling triglyceride levels and high-density lipoprotein levels compared to CMs. The overall effects of adjunctive acupuncture were markedly greater than those of controls (CMs + LI, CMs, and LI) with respect to waist circumference with a mean difference of −5.11 cm and body mass index with a mean difference of −2.54, and improvements were observed in most hyperlipidemia indices and fasting blood glucose. An evidence-based acupuncture regimen was identified as a future treatment strategy for metabolic syndrome.
Sign In
Users not signed in are limited to viewing the 5 most recent items of content.