Background and Objective: Zinc is an essential ion for living and inter the body from different sources. Since Zn⁺⁺ interfere on many cellular process such as biological function such as calcium chanalls, this study was designed to investigate the effect of oral ZnCl₂ on glucose, Insulin, lipoproteins and liver enzymes in male Rats.

Materials and Methods: This experimental study was performed on 48 of Wistar-Albino male Rats randomly allocated into three exprimental and one control groups. Exprimental groups received 50 mg/l, 100 mg/l and 200 mg/l ZnCl₂ in drinking water daily for four weeks but the control group received tap water. After four weeks, animals were anesthetized, sacrificed and blood samples were collected. Glucose, insulin, lipoproteins, aspartat amino transferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALT) were measured. Data were analyzed by SPSS-11, ANOVA and Tukey-tests.

Results: The mean±SD of Cholesterol in group D (85.7±3.2), HDL in groups B, C, D (66.1±2.7, 67±2.18, 68.83±2.69 mg/dl) and LDL in groups B, C, D (2.8±0.9, 14.6±6.3, 13.4±2.8 mg/dl) respectively were significantly decreased compared with Cholesterol (125.5±4.9 mg/dl), HDL (80.5±3 mg/dl) and LDL (30.3±3.2 mg/dl) in group A. Mean±SD of glucose, insulin, triglyceride and liver enzymes did not show any differences among the groups.

Conclusion: This study showed that ZnCl₂ added on drinking water reduce serum lipoproteins in male Rats.

Background and Objective: Conventional treatments for primary dysmenorrhea are often associated with adverse effects, including nausea, headache, and dizziness, and may be contraindicated in certain cases. In Iranian traditional medicine texts, fennel is recommended for pain relief and the induction of menstruation; it also exhibits antiemetic and antinauseant effects. Valerian is a traditional Indian medicinal plant that has been utilized as a sedative, antispasmodic, and hypnotic agent. The present study aimed to determine the effects of fennel and valerian herbal medicines on relieving primary dysmenorrhea-induced pain.
Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 120 single girls with primary dysmenorrhea who referred to healthcare centers in Khomein, Iran, in 2019. The subjects were selected via a convenience sampling method and randomly allocated into the control, first intervention, and second intervention groups. The control group received mefenamic acid capsules (250 mg), the first intervention group received fennel capsules (30 mg of sweet fennel essential oil), and the second intervention group received valerian capsules (350 mg of plant root) over two consecutive menstrual cycles. Pain severity was measured using the visual analog scale (VAS) during two consecutive menstrual cycles prior to the intervention and two consecutive menstrual cycles following the initiation of the intervention (a total of four cycles).
Results: At the end of the study, the primary dysmenorrhea-induced pain severity significantly decreased in all three studied groups (P<0.05); however, this pain relief was significantly greater in the valerian-receiving group (the first intervention group) compared to the fennel-receiving (the second intervention group) and mefenamic acid-receiving (the control group) (P<0.05). The odds ratio (OR) of experiencing higher pain severity in the first and second intervention groups compared to the control group was determined to be 0.23 (95% CI: 0.07-0.72, P=0.013) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.28-0.93, P=0.028), respectively.
Conclusion: Valerian and fennel herbal medicines can be utilized as effective alternatives with fewer adverse effects compared to mefenamic acid for relieving primary dysmenorrhea-induced pain.