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The present work was designed to explore the functionality of Pakistani date cultivar (Zahidi) against atherogenic diet induced oxidative stress. The bioefficacy assessment of Zahidi date fruit and extract was carried out via model feeding trial. The rats (Sprague Dawley) were divided into two broad categories; one fed with normal diet, whereas the other was fed with atherogenic diet to induce oxidative stress. The formulated groups were G1 (normal diet), G2 (date fruit + normal diet), G3 (date extract + normal diet), G4 (atherogenic diet), G5 (date fruit + atherogenic diet) and G6 (date extract + atherogenic diet). The results showed that date fruit reduced 3.65% serum cholesterol in normal rats, and 15.14% in atherogenic rats, while, the date extract treatment resulted in 4.49 and 18.55% reduction in normal and atherogenic rats, respectively. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol reduced by 8.66 and 11.55% in date fruit and date extract fed normal rats, respectively, while 21.05 and 25.98% reductions were noted in the atherogenic groups fed with date fruit and date extract, respectively. To assess the extent of cardiac risk in the subjects, several atherogenic ratios were calculated based on the serum lipid parameters. The analysis showed that atherogenic diet groups were at higher risk than the normal ones, and that date fruit and extract containing functional diets effectively ameliorated the elevated risk ratios. The date fruit and extract-based diets intensified serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels throughout the study up to 29.05 and 27.99%, respectively. Date fruit effectively lowered lipid peroxidation by 13.64 and 33.67% in normal and atherogenic rats, respectively. Conclusively, date fruit and extract treatment proved effectual in modulating the serum lipid profile and effectively restored the SOD and CAT levels alongside reducing the lipid peroxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron, iodine and vitamin A deficiencies are major clinical conditions affecting 33% of global population. Dual fortification of salt with iron and iodine could be a sustainable approach to fight against Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) and Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). The present work was designed to analyse the bioavailability of iron and iodine fortificants. For this reason, common table salt (NaCl) was subjected to various analyses like moisture, ash and minerals followed by double salt fortification with iron compounds like sodium iron ethylene diamine tetra acetate (NaFeEDTA), iron(II) sulphate (FeSO4) and potassium iodate (KIO3) at two different levels. Bioavailability of iron and iodine fortificants was analysed by feeding albino rats with fortified salt at 3.5%. Serum thyroxin (T4) level increased significantly from day 0 to 28 (26.72 ± 0.2 to 31.41 ± 0.4 nmol/L). Haemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin levels also depicted significant increase with the passage of time. However, whole blood zinc protoporphyrin, serum transferrin and serum triiodothyronine significantly decreased. As a conclusion, the present work revealed that double fortification of salt with iron and iodine along with a suitable stabiliser could be an effective strategy to control the two major micronutrient deficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]