Böcker av Jihan Hussein

Many plants, including some of the commonly consumed herbs and spices in our daily food, can be safely and effectively used to prevent and/or treat some health concerns. In the recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the role of diet in human health. Epidemiological studies have shown that high fruit and vegetable consumption have health benefits in the prevention of chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis and cancer, cardiovascular, cataract, diabetes, coronary heart diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson¿s and Alzheimer¿s diseases as well as inflammation and problems caused by cell and aging. Antioxidants may reduce the risks of these diseases and improve general health. Most of antioxidant capacity of fruit or vegetable may derive from compounds such as flavonoids, isoflavones, flavones, anthocyanins, catechins and isocatechins rather than from vitamins C, E or ¿-carotene. Many of these phytochemicals may help to protect cells against the oxidative damage caused by free radicals.

Plasma membranes are made up of a bilayer of phospholipids which are a group of lipids that are the utmost components of all cell membranes. Phospholipids have several impacts on human health and are being used worldwide. As an essential constituent of cell membranes they take part in cell signaling and are therefore requisite for the communication and interaction between body cells. Although some influences of phospholipids on health are debatable, overall dietary phospholipids are most likely to have a positive action on health.

Diabetes mellitus is a complex of metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia , diminished insulin production, impaired insulin action , or a combination of both resulting in the inability of glucose to be transported from the blood stream into the tissues, which in turn results in high blood glucose levels and excretion of glucose in the urine, The cell functions involved in the action of insulin receptor binding enzyme and transporter activities are controlled by membrane properties . Fatty acids composition of membrane phospholipids are affected by the composition of the dietary fat .Changes in the fatty acids composition of erythrocyte membrane , which are easily accessible cells, reflects changes in that of membrane phospholipids of less accessible tissues . The fatty acids composition of cell membrane can influence membrane associated phenomena such as the interaction between insulin and its receptors. Thus it is from interest to study the relationship between cell membrane phospholipids fractions and their role in insulin action, also to study the role of omega-3 fatty acids in reducing oxidative stress in diabetic rats.

Hepatitis infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease which infects more than 170 million persons worldwide, often leading to cirrhosis, hepatic failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. D-galactosamine-induced experimental model system in rats recognized to be much like viral hepatitis in humans from both morphological and functional points of view. Food derived antioxidants have a strong potential for long-term use as chemopreventive agents in disease states involving oxidative stress, such as hepatitis and alcoholic liver diseases because they are safe. Tea and cocoa are food sources rich in phenolic compounds and have several biological activities, such as the ability to scavenge superoxide and hydroxyl radicals, reduce lipid peroxyl radicals and inhibit lipid peroxidation . This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of some polyphenolic compounds, heavily present in green tea, black tea and cocoa, against liver injury and to know the potent effect of each in protecting the liver.