Praktikos Institute

Erythrina verna, popularly known as “mulungu”, is a Brazilian medicinal plant used to treat anxiety. Erythrina alkaloids have been described in several species of Erythrina, which have biological and therapeutic properties well known that include anxiolytic and sedative effects.

For the ancient ancestors of plants and animals, a partnership with other microbes was once formed during an endosymbiotic event to give rise to eukaryotes. Plants and animals, over billions of years of trial and error, made efficient use of different energy sources in the environment, namely carbon dioxide and oxygen.

Boosting intakes of nitrates may improve the resting metabolic rate in healthy volunteers, says a new study with implications for the healthy regulation of metabolic function.

We are all aware of the health benefits of dietary fiber. But what is dietary fiber and how do we metabolize it? Researchers begun to uncover how our gut bacteria metabolize the complex dietary carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables. Trillions of bacteria live in human intestines — there are about ten times more bacterial cells in the average person’s body than human ones. Known as “microbiota,” these bacteria have a vital role to play in human health: they are central to our metabolism and well-being.

In early civilization, cinnamon was used to treat everything from athlete’s foot to indigestion. The cinnamon herb is obtained from the bark of its evergreen tree that originated from Sri Lanka. The herb has many benefits across all cultures, and researchers are still studying more of its uses in laboratories. Cinnamon aids the digestive system in different ways such as soothing the stomach, increasing metabolism, increasing appetite, and relieving gas.

A high-fat diet affects the molecular mechanism controlling the internal body clock that regulates metabolic functions in the liver, UC Irvine scientists have found. Disruption of these circadian rhythms may contribute to metabolic distress ailments, such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the brain plays a key role in glucose regulation and the development of type 2 diabetes, researchers write in the Nov. 7 issue of the journal Nature. If the hypothesis is correct, it may open the door to entirely new ways to prevent and treat this disease, which is projected to affect one in three adults in the United States by 2050.

A diet high in a certain type of fat may actually increase metabolism, according to recent research by Texas Tech University nutrition scientists. After studying genetically modified mice, the discovery could lead to supplements and a diet regime that will increase metabolism and decrease muscle fatigue in humans.

Short Chain Fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) prebiotic fibres can significantly modulate metabolism including insulinaemia, in the context of diet-induced obesity, as confirmed by a French study published in August 2013.

The amino acid arginine improved glucose metabolism in lean and obese mice, by stimulating GLP-1 production and improving insulin secretion, researchers reported.