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Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Background: Constipation is a common and prevalent digestive problem. Forcing and straining due to constipation may have a negative effect on some parts of the body, including the heart. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Ma'aljobon (a kind of whey) on functional constipation in hypertensive patients., Materials and Methods: The present double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was a part of the study about the effect of Ma'aljobon on stage 1 hypertension, performed in 2017-2018. Hypertensive patients accompanying constipation were included in the study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: Group A ( n = 19) received 25 g of Ma'aljobon powder and Group B ( n = 22) received 25 g of maltodextrin powder, twice a day for 6 weeks. The number and quality of defecation during a day were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the study within and between groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version: 17) using Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. P <0.05 was considered as significant level., Results: Forty-one patients had inclusion criteria, of whom 34 patients completed the study (19 in Group A and 15 in Group B). The mean ± standard deviation age of patients was 53.86 ± 8.92 years (range: 34-80 years). Before intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to constipation; however, after 6 weeks' treatment, the frequency of constipation was significantly different between groups ( P < 0.001). At the end of 6 th week, constipation in the Group A was improved completely in terms of the number of defecation and stool consistency; but, in the Group B, eight (53.33%) patients still suffered from constipation ( P < 0.001). No specific complications were reported in both groups., Conclusion: Ma'aljobon can improve constipation in hypertensive patients without any adverse effect., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Journal of Research in Medical Sciences.)

Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Background: Most of the cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by doing regular physical exercises and using herbal supplements. The present study is aimed at assessing ginger supplement and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on inflammatory indices contributing to atherosclerosis in overweight women., Materials and Methods: The present study is a randomized, experimental, and controlled one in which thirty healthy overweight women aged 20-30 years were randomly divided into three equal groups, namely, ginger, ginger + HIIT, and placebo + HIIT. The training groups performed high-intensity interval exercises (i.e. 40-m maximal shuttle run) for ten consecutive weeks. The supplement groups daily took 3 g of ginger pills and the third group took placebo., Results: Paired t -test revealed a significant decrease in the density of type 1 monocytes chemo tactic protein (MCP-1) in HIIT + ginger ( P = 0.026) and HIIT + placebo ( P = 0.001) groups. Besides, maximum aerobic capacity in the two training groups significantly increased P = 0.002 and P = 0.000, respectively. In spite of this, analysis of variance showed no significant differences in three groups regarding the three indices such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) ( P = 0.093), MCP-1( P = 0.075), and serum interleukin-10 (IL-10) ( P = 0.164)., Conclusion: A 10-week intensive interval exercise, by itself or together with ginger supplement, improved MCP-1 and maximum oxygen consumption in overweight women, without any significant effect on soluble ICAM-1 and IL-10. These findings indicate the relative and efficient role of HIIT in overweight women without the necessity to combine with ginger as an antioxidant/anti-inflammatory supplement., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest.