Consumed Food Supplements Research Articles

Dietary supplement consumption and associated factors among Algerian population residing in Tebessa: Cross-sectional survey

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the prevalence of dietary supplement consumption among Algerians in Tebessa. Materials and methodsThis was a descriptive cross-sectional survey carried out over two months. The study included 216 Algerian men and women selected via simple random sampling. Approximately half of the participants were under 27 years old, with a mean age of 30 years. Variables assessed included the use of dietary supplements, reasons for consumption, frequency of use, types of supplements used, sources of purchase, and sources of advice regarding consumption. Continuous and categorical variables were compared using the Mann–Whitney test and Chi2 test, respectively. Logistic regression was employed to examine associations between dietary supplement consumption and explanatory variables, including socioeconomic factors. ResultsThe prevalence of dietary supplement use was 88.4%. The most common reasons cited for consumption were muscle mass enhancement and fatigue reduction. Vitamins were the most frequently used supplements, followed by trace elements. Consumption patterns were significantly associated with socioeconomic factors. ConclusionsA large part of the population has consumed food supplements for different reasons. This consumption could be beneficial for their health. Therefore, information-based on scientific evidence is important to prevent inappropriate use of dietary supplements by consumers. This study could serve as the foundation for a nationwide multicenter study to gain a better understanding of dietary supplement use among Algerians.

Glucosinolates as Markers of the Origin and Harvesting Period for Discrimination of Bee Pollen by UPLC-MS/MS.

Bee pollen is currently one of the most commonly consumed food supplements, as it is considered to be a good source of bioactive substances and energy. It contains various health-promoting compounds, such as proteins, amino acids, lipids, as well as glucosinolates. In the present study, the glucosinolate content was determined, by means of ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass detector, in 72 bee pollen samples from four different apiaries in Guadalajara (Spain), harvested in three different periods. In addition, 11 commercial multifloral samples from different Spanish regions were also analyzed. The aim was to verify the suitability of these compounds as biomarkers of their geographical origin, and to test their potential for distinguishing the harvesting period. By means of a canonical discriminant analysis, it was possible to differentiate the apiary of origin of most of the samples, and these could also be clearly differentiated from the commercial ones, simply as a result of the glucosinolate content. In addition, it was also demonstrated for the first time that bee pollen samples were capable of being differentiated according to the time of harvesting and their glucosinolate content.

Healthy lifestyle and opinion seeking in the consumption of food supplements

Purpose – This research aimed to verify the influence of healthy lifestyle and the search for opinion in relation to the intention to consume food supplements.Design/methodology/approach – A descriptive research was carried out using a quantitative approach. The field research was developed through an online survey and the data were analyzed using multiple linear regression.Findings – It was found that the higher the level of healthy lifestyle, the greater the intention to resort to food supplementation. Furthermore, the search for opinion, in turn, positively influenced the intention to consume food supplements. However, this search for opinion is intrinsically related to the search for information from sources not indicated to direct the consumption of dietary supplements, which represents a risk to health.Originality/value – The main contribution of this research was that the experience of a healthy lifestyle does not represent the absence of consumption of dietary supplements. The results reveal an alarming situation regarding the health risks to which consumers of dietary supplements are exposed. These risks are also related to people with a high level of healthy lifestyle. Thus, this picture represents a public health problem and refers to the urgent need for information and awareness-raising actions for the population in order to control the incidence of diseases associated with the consumption of these products.

Assessment of Food Supplement Consumption in Polish Population of Adults.

Introduction: In recent years, there has been a great interest in food supplements. However the use of food supplements can be associated with the risk of excessive intake of vitamins or minerals which may have adverse health effects.Objective: Assessment of food supplement consumption in the adult population in Poland.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 1,831 adults (913 men, 918 women) from which 178 (59 men, 119 women) food supplement users were selected. The consumption of food supplements were assessed by the 24-h recall repeated two times and the food propensity questionnaire (FPQ).Results: 10% of the subjects consumed food supplements during the 12 months prior to the study (6% of men, 13% of women) and among users 68% (79% of men and 88% of women) in the day before the survey. Most respondents (44%) used vitamin supplements during the year. More men than women (27 vs. 11%, p = 0.0059) used mineral supplements while more women than men used vitamin and mineral supplements (31 vs. 8%, p = 0.0008). The most frequently supplemented vitamins were: B6 (58%), C (53%), and D (47%) and minerals were: magnesium (43%), zinc (34%), and iron (29%). More women than men supplemented vitamin B6 (71 vs. 40%, p = 0.0012), vitamin D (54 vs. 36%, p = 0.0061) and magnesium (49 vs. 34%, p = 0.0075). Intake of riboflavin, pantothenic acid and manganese were higher in the group of men (respectively: 3.3 mg ± 6.0 vs. 1.4 mg ± 0.3, p = 0.0329; 9.4 mg ± 5.6 vs. 6.1 mg ± 2.0, p = 0.0357; 2.2 mg ± 0.9 vs. 1.3 mg ± 0.6, p = 0.0080) but intake of vitamin D was higher in the group of women (15.7 μg ± 20.4 vs. 33.1 μg ± 26.4, p = 0.0085). In many cases, the intake of vitamins and minerals from food supplements covered the Dietary Reference Values for these nutrients in 100%. In some persons the intake of biotin, vitamin B12, C, B6, riboflavin, niacin was higher than the reference values several dozen times. The intake of vitamins and minerals exceed UL in a few cases relating to vitamin B6 and magnesium.Conclusions: A minority of adults in Poland used food supplements. However, those products were a significant source of vitamins and minerals. Intake of vitamins and minerals from food supplements should be monitored.

Development of gastro-resistant coated probiotic granulates and evaluation of viability and release during simulated upper gastrointestinal transit

Probiotics have become one of the most consumed food supplements worldwide. Many probiotic strains are sensitive to low pH and bile concentrations encountered in the gastrointestinal tract upon oral ingestion. This study aimed at developing gastro-resistant probiotic granulates releasing viable cells in the small intestine. Fatty alcohols were investigated as potential coating materials. Cetostearyl alcohol was selected and combined with different plasticizers to further optimize the coating properties. Combining cetostearyl alcohol with olive oil and beeswax in selected concentrations was found promising, and the coatings were applied to L. acidophilus LA3 and B. longum BB536, using hot-melt fluid bed coating. Viability in and release from the coated probiotic granulate was investigated, using a physiological relevant in vitro model simulating conditions in the human stomach, duodenum, jejunum and ileum. L. acidophilus LA3 coated with cetostearyl alcohol and olive oil in the ratio 95:5 (w/w) resulted in significantly higher viability after simulated gastrointestinal transit, compared to the uncoated probiotic powder. Furthermore, the coating showed no release of viable cells after simulated gastric transit. Released viable cells were detected after the remaining steps in the in vitro model, indicating that the coating system provides gastric protection and release during intestinal transit.

The Romanian consumers’ perception regarding the safety of dietary supplements

The efficacy and security of food supplements are largely used terms nowadays, giving rise to controversies regarding the safety or risks that may occur in consuming such products. In the international literature, there are studies regarding the consumption of dietary supplements from a medical or sociological point of view. The present study focused on the analysis of the Romanian population’s opinion regarding the safety of dietary supplements (from the consumer protection point of view), also identifying the profile of the Romanian consumers in terms of consuming supplements, the perception of the consumer concerning the safety of these products and the main factors which determine the behaviour of supplements consumers. The background of the study includes a literature review and some controversies regarding how efficient it is to consume food supplements. The classification tree was used as a pertinent, rigorous, structured and easily readable method. A survey was performed among 333 Romanian respondents who belong to different social classes. The present study draws conclusions related to the importance of mass media, friends’ advice and the effects of using dietary supplements in drawing up a clear opinion of the Romanian consumers’ perception regarding the safety of using supplements.

Theoretical perspectives on the interaction between warfarin and garlic compounds with an in silico study of CYP3A4

Alho (Allium sativum L.) é um dos suplementos alimentares mais consumidos no mundo e tem mpultiplas pripriedades biológicas. Entre todas as moléculas obtidas de alo, S-alil-Lcisteína (SAC), S-metil-L-cisteína (SMC) e S-alilmercaptocisteína (SAMC) são destacadas. Existem estudos in vitro e in vivo que correlacionam as interações destas mléculas com drogas medicinais como varfarina pela competição no sítio de ligação das isenzimas do citocromo P450 (CYP). Varfarina é um anticoagulando oral pertencente à classe dos antagonistas da vitamina K e meraboliza por CYP3A4, 2C9 e 2C19. Este artigo consiste em uma revisão mostrando estudos com extrados e/ou compostos isolados do alho, vias metabólicas e consequências biológicas considerando interações armacológicas. Os resultados revelaram que os extratos de alho expressam uma atividade inibitória em CYP3A4, 2C9 e 2C19. A inibiçã de CYP3A4 foi maior que 50% para SAC e SAMC. O experimento in silico foi realizado para SAC, SMC e SAMC na isoenzima CP3A4 em que SAMC mostrou menor energia de interação (-85, 9Kcal mol-1). (R)-varfarina foi estudada na mesma cavidade molecular deste sítio ativo e mostrou menor valor de energia de interação (-101, 1Kcal mol-1) en comparação com três compostos, que pode suregir que varfarina mostrou melhor afinidade com CYP3a4. Consequentemente, SAMC interage melhor co CYP3A4, seguida de SAC e SMC (-80,4 e 70,2 Kcal mol-1, respectivamente). Estes resultados indicam que mercaptocisteína mostra melhor encaixe com o sítio ativo da CYP3A4 humana. Então, estas interações podem potencializar o risco de sangramento em pacientes durante terapia com varfaria, pois em alguns dos compostos de alho inibem a CYP responsával pela biotransformaço de (R)-varfarina. Estes achados sugerem que o consume de alho deveria ser monitorado em pacientes que recebem terapia anticoagulante com varfarina e os profissionais da saúde devem esta conscientes deste potencial de interação.

Quantitative analysis of chemoresistance-inducing fatty acid in food supplements using UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are important signaling molecules. A recent study reported hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid, 12-oxo-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic acid, and (12S)-hydroxy-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic acid as chemotherapy resistance-inducing factors when tumor cells were treated with cisplatin. Marine-based food supplements like fish oil or algae extracts are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and can contain large amounts of hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid. Thus, it was concluded that oral uptake of hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid might induce chemoresistance as shown in a mouse model. Cancer patients tend to consume food supplements containing polyunsaturated fatty acids on a regular basis. The uptake of hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid and (12S)-hydroxy-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic acid should be controlled, because even low concentrations of 0.5 ng mL-1 showed chemoresistance-inducing effects in animal experiments. For accurate analysis of hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid and (12S)-hydroxy-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic acid a validated method was developed by using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry via electrospray ionization and sample preparation by solid-phase extraction (SPE) with 3-aminopropylsilica. A combined targeted/untargeted approach was utilized using MS/MS by data-independent acquisition with SWATH and applied to commercial food supplements (refined fish oil, fish oil capsules, algae oil capsules, and flaxseed capsules). Accurate quantification of hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid and (12S)-hydroxy-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic acid on the MS/MS level with simultaneous untargeted fatty acid screening revealed additional information. The LODs for hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid and (12S)-hydroxy-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic acid were 0.036 ng mL-1 and 0.054 ng mL-1, respectively. Since hexadeca-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z-tetraenoic acid was present in the samples in large amounts and (12S)-hydroxy-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic was not expected to be present in high concentrations, two calibration ranges, namely, 0.5-20 ng mL-1 and 5-200 ng mL-1, were validated. An untargeted screening identified 18-39 free fatty acids being present in the lipid extracts of the food supplement samples. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

PRADINIŲ KLASIŲ MOKINIŲ MITYBOS YPATUMŲ POKYČIAI. PALYGINAMASIS 2010 IR 2014 METŲ TYRIMAS

Tyrimo medžiaga ir metodai. 2010 metais dviejose Vilniaus miesto pradinėse mokyklose anoniminės anketinės apklausos būdu apklausti 460 1-4 klasių mokinių tėvai. 2014 metais tose pačiose mokyklose analogiškai apklausti 346 tėvai. Duomenys analizuoti SPSS 22.0 programa. Kokybinių duomenų analizei naudotas Pearson‘o chi kvadratas (χ²). Duomenų skirtumas laikytas statistiškai reikšmingu, kai p≤0,05. Rezultatai. 2010 metais sveikos mitybos rekomendacijų laikėsi 73,3% pradinukų tėvų, 2014 metais – 84,8%, atitinkamai kasdien pusryčiaudavo 65,7% ir 73,7% vaikų, prieš miegą valgantys vaikai 2010 metais sudarė 55,2%, o 2014 metais – 45,7%. 3 ir daugiau kartų per dieną daržoves 2010 metais valgė 12,2% respondentų vaikų, 2014 metais – 11,9%, atitinkamai vaisius 22,9% ir 25,0%, duoną ir grūdinius produktus – 28,5% ir 24,3%. Maisto papildus 2010 metais vartojo 44,4% pradinių klasių mokinių, 2014 metais – 52,6%. Išvados. Padaugėjo besilaikančių sveikos mitybos rekomendacijų tėvų, kasdien pusryčiaujančių, taip pat vartojančių maisto papildus vaikų. Reikšmingai sumažėjo prieš miegą valgančių vaikų.

N‐3 Omega fatty acids: a review of current knowledge

SummaryThe very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (C18–C22) and n‐3 Omega PUFAs are apparently widely accepted as a part of modern nutrition because of their beneficial effects on metabolism. Most significantly, the reported protective effect of the n‐3 omega fatty acids in relation to cardiovascular inflammatory diseases and cancer has led people to consider these fatty acids more beneficial than other dietary supplements. Unfortunately, there is a lack of studies relating to the physical performance increasing effect in sports diets, cholesterol‐reducing effect in meat technology, effects on human serum profile, the application dose and the side effects with/without omega‐6 PUFAs, which has left us with several crucial unanswered questions. We still do not know the correct dose of n‐3 omega and the correct ratio of n‐3 omega to n‐6 omega or their possible contraindications when combined with drugs, other foods and herbal supplements. Another reported aspect of n‐3 omega PUFAs is that they protect and even enhance the effect in medical treatment of important diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and cancer. These reports led to PUFAs becoming one of the most accepted and consumed food supplements. Despite this weight of evidence and the considerable current use, there is still a need for studies, which will determine whether the n‐3 omega fatty acids are in fact important functional supplements with no adverse effects. This review will attempt to outline the current position of n‐3 omega fatty acids in the field of clinical nutrition and healthcare and outline the studies needed to determine whether there are significant advantages in taking them as food supplement without any adverse effects.

Prevalência do uso de agentes anabólicos em praticantes de musculação de Porto Alegre

This study aimed to determine through a questionnaire applied to interviewers, the current or past use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), as well as other hormones (OH), and other medicines (OM), food supplement and illicit drugs among strength training apprentices in the city of Porto Alegre, RS. We interviewed 288 subjects draw from a sample of 13 gyms. The prevalence of current and past use of AAS was about 11.1% (32/288), OH 5.2% (16/288) and OM 4.2% (12/288). The most used AAS were nandrolone and stanozolol; the OH were gonadotropin, triiodothyronine (T3) and OM, like lipostabil, diuretics and veterinary medicines (Monovin E). The most frequent side-effects were behavioral such as humor oscillation, irritability and hostility, and endocrine disturbances such as acne and increased or decreased libido. When analyzed together with other hormones in a variable named "hormonal agents" (AH), AAS presented a statistical difference (p< 0.05) among genders considering that the most frequent use of AH occurred among men and those who consume food supplements. The comparison of these findings to other national and international results is difficult due to the epidemiological design. Even if it is considered, the observed prevalence suggests that preventive attitudes as well as special care in the orientation and education of this population must be taken.

Effects of Extracts of Commonly Consumed Food Supplements and Food Fractions on the Permeability of Drugs Across Caco-2 Cell Monolayers

Extracts made from berries, herbs, and various plant materials, which might possess a range of activities, are used as health promoting products. Because little is known about their effects on the absorption of co-administered drugs, the effects of some food supplements, Finnish berries, and herbs were studied on the permeability of some commonly used drugs. The permeabilities of verapamil, metoprolol, ketoprofen, paracetamol, and furosemide were studied across Caco-2 cell monolayers with contemporaneously administered extracts from flax seed, purple loosestrife, and Scots pine bark; bilberries, cowberries, and raspberries; oregano, rosemary, and sage. Toxicological tests were conducted to determine cellular damage. The effects of extracts on drug permeabilities were generally minor. Flax seed decreased the permeability of all drugs except verapamil. Purple loosestrife and pine decreased verapamil and metoprolol permeability. Changes caused by berries were mainly pH-related. Rosemary and oregano enhanced furosemide permeability. Ingestion of extracts of herbs and berries studied are not expected to markedly change the permeabilities of highly permeable drugs. Harmful effects at sites of or during absorption are unlikely. However, if high doses of extracts are administered with low permeable drugs in vitro, effects on drug permeabilities could not be excluded. Use of such extracts should therefore be evaluated during continuous medication.