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Background & objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by metabolic disorders and elevated blood glucose. It is one of the most common diseases in developed countries. Thyme is one of the herbs which have been used in some drug content due to its high antioxidant properties. Thyme can increase the activity of mitochondrial oxidative enzymes and affect metabolic and hematological indices due to its phenolic compounds.
So, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of Thymus migricus extract supplementation on the metabolic, hematological indices and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic rats.
Methods: For this purpose, 24 Wistar rats (220-240g) were divided randomly into three groups; group1: healthy control group (NC, n=8), group2: diabetic control group (D, n=8) that took fat diet for 2 weeks then were injected with streptozotocin (37 mg/kg), and group3: diabetic+Thyme group (Th+D,n=8). Thyme hydro-alcoholic extract dissolved in distilled water to the desired concentration (400 mg/kg) according to their daily water consumption (30 ml). Then glycemic, blood and lipid indices were measured in the peripheral blood of the rats.
Results: The results revealed that thyme supplementation significantly decreased the fasting blood glucose level (356.35±40 mg/dl to 261.61±35 mg/dl) and HOMA-IR index (3.52±0.30 mg/dl to 2.2±0.33 mg/dl). Also significantly decreased the lipid profile level of the Th+D group compared to those of the D group (p<0.05), but the hematological parameters of the Th+D group compared to those of D group were not significantly changed. FRAP in Th+D group was not significantly different in comparison with the other two groups, but MDA was significantly increased in diabetic groups (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results, thyme supplementation by decreasing insulin resistance and fasting blood glucose can improve lipid parameters, but does not affect blood parameters and antioxidant indices.
 

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Background & objectives: There is evidence that COVID-19 may have some long-term effects on the patients' blood biochemical and hematological factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the changes in biochemical and hematological factors in adults with and without past history of COVID-19.
Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional study including 72 cases with a past history of COVID-19 (PCR+ test) and 52 controls without a history of COVID-19. All participants were from two prospective cohort studies, namely Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and Shahedieh Cohort Study. Biochemical parameters such as blood glucose, lipid profiles, liver, kidney and hematological factors of cases and controls were extracted from the databases and analyzed.
Results: The mean red blood cell count in patients with COVID-19 was significantly higher than in non-COVID-19 patients (p<0.05), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was significantly lower in patients with COVID-19 (p>0.001). However, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of lipid and kidney profiles and liver enzymes.
Conclusion: No significant difference was found between the two groups of patients exposed to COVID-19 and patients not exposed to COVID-19 in terms of liver enzymes, lipid and kidney profiles, which probably indicate that COVID-19 has no long-term effect on these variables. However, a significant difference was observed between the two groups (p<0.05) regarding the number of red blood cells and MCV.