BACKGROUND Mucilage compounds are pharmaceutically important polysaccharides that have an extensive range of applications, including binding agents, thickeners, water retention agents, emulsion stabilizers, suspending agents, disintegrates, film formers, and gelling agents. A historical approach to medical science written by Iranian scholars could help in identifying excellent ideas and provide...

In the recent years synthetic drugs have been widely replaced with herbal medicines and plant extracts because of their little undesirable and extensive beneficial effects. Plantago major L. (also known as plantain and way bread) is a member of the Plantaginaceae family. Leaves and seeds of the plant have been widely used in folk medicine for various purposes, including treatment of an extensiv...

Intestinal structure of male adult African Green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops ssp vervets) was studied after 3'/2 yr of consuming diets containing 10% psyllium husk or cellulose. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) identified mild damage (cellular swelling and disarray, and microvillar denudation and disarray) at villous tips throughout the small intestine in the psyllium-fed monkeys. The cel...

Psyllium, a dietary fibre rich in soluble components, has both cholesterol- and TAG-lowering effects. Many studies have verified these actions using liver samples, whereas little information is available on the effects of psyllium treatment on other organs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the possible beneficial effects of psyllium. We investigated the gene expression profiles ...

Dietary soluble-fiber sources such as pectin, guar gum, or psyllium decrease plasma concentrations of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in guinea pigs by distinct mechanisms, including increases in LDL apolipoprotein (apo) B turnover and/or decreases in LDL apo B flux (J Lipid Res 1995; 36:2394-404). The present studies were undertaken to test whether changes in the rates of very-low-de...

Abstract Background As a vegan diet is per definition plant-based diet, consumers rely on plant protein sources in order to substitute animal proteins. Plant commonly used this context are the following: cereals, like wheat ( Triticum aestivum, durum ), oat flakes; pseudo cereals quinoa; nuts and oil seeds cashew Anacardium occidentale hazelnut Corylus avellana walnut Juglans regia ); psyllium ...

Psyllium has a mucilaginous property that makes it a good candidate to be utilized as an excipient in the preparation of controlled release systems. Various formulations were prepared using theophylline as a model drug and investigated with a view to achieve an ideal slow drug release profile. The addition of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) to psyllium significantly reduced the burst relea...

AIMS We aimed to assess the effects of psyllium supplementation on insulin sensitivity and other parameters of the metabolic syndrome in an at risk adolescent population. METHODS This study encompassed a participant-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Subjects were 47 healthy adolescent males aged 15-16 years, recruited from secondary schools in lower socio-economic area...