5-aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride/Sodium ferrous citrate

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is prevalent especially in Gulf countries and poses serious long-term risks to patients. A multifaceted treatment approach can include nutritional supplements with antioxidant properties such as 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) with sodium ferrous citrate (SFC). This prospective, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, dose escalating pilot clinical trial assessed the safety of 5-ALA with SFC at doses up to 200 mg 5-ALA/229.42 mg SFC per day in patients living in Bahrain with type 2 diabetes mellitus that was uncontrolled despite the use of one or more antidiabetic drugs. Fifty-three patients (n=53) from 3 sites at one center were enrolled by Dr. Feryal (Site #01), Dr. Hesham (Site #02), and Dr. Waleed (Site #03) (n=35, 5-ALA-SFC;n=18, placebo). There was no significant difference in incidence of adverse events reported, and the most frequent events reported were gastrointestinal in nature, consistent with the known safety profile of 5-ALA in patients with diabetes. No significant changes in laboratory values and no difference in hypoglycemia between patients receiving 5-ALA and placebo were noted. Overall, the current results support that use of 5-ALA-SFC up to 200 mg per day taken as 2 divided doses is safe in patients taking concomitant oral antidiabetic medications and may offer benefits in the diabetic population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.govNCT02481141.

The shaddock peel polysaccharide (SPP) has various biological activities. This explored its antioxidant activity. In vitro antioxidant tests, the two SPP components showed good DPPH, hydroxyl radical scavenging ability and anti-lipid peroxidation ability. At a concentration of 3.2 mg/mL, the anti-lipid peroxidation abilities of the two polysaccharides were 21.65% and 18.96%, respectively. SPP-3 had a slightly stronger ability to scavenge hydroxyl radicals than SPP-2. When the polysaccharide concentration reached 3.2 mg/mL, the order of the two polysaccharides' DPPH scavenging rates was SPP-2 > SPP-3. Therefore, SPP showed strong antioxidant activity and could be used in antioxidant-related applications in the future.