Food Con Research Articles

Molecular Mechanism of TRPV1 Activation by Capsaicin

Molecular Mechanism of TRPV1 Activation by Capsaicin

Mediterranean Food Consumption Patterns Sustainability: Setting Up a Common Ground for Future Research and Action

Food consumption patterns are critical for sustainability. Many issues directly or indirectly related to food con- sumption patterns should be addressed in the Mediterranean area. A sustainable food system supports food security and makes optimal use of natural and human resources. The review paper aims at highlighting the main aspects and concepts regarding Mediterranean food consumption patterns sustainability that should be taken into consideration in order to set up a region wide research and action agenda. Current Mediterranean food consumption patterns are not sustainable. Unsustainable food con- sumption patterns are putting increasing stress on Mediterranean ecosystems and social systems. Food consumption and pro- duction patterns are among the most important drivers of environmental degradation. The social and economic costs of di- et-related illnesses are straining individuals, families and national healthcare budgets. The Mediterranean diet is widely consi- dered a healthy dietary pattern and a greater adherence to it has been associated with significant nutritional and health im- provements. It has also been acknowledged for its lower environmental footprints. However, there is an ongoing decrease of adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern. Moving towards sustainable food system in the Mediterranean region means addressing systemically the consumptive demand as well as productive supply elements. Curbing the amount of food loss and waste is a tangible starting point as well as promoting the Mediterranean diet as a sustainable dietary pattern. Steps must be taken to assess the nutritional, health, economic, environmental and social sustainability of the current food consumption patterns and to develop appropriate policy guidelines and instruments.

Validation Study of a Dietary Questionnaire for Assessing Exposure to Food-Borne Hazards

Assessing human exposure to food-borne hazards requires standardized assessment tools. The objective of this study was to validate a newly developed dietary assessment questionnaire to assess human exposure to food-borne hazards, which include dietary behavior and food consumption patterns such as eating frequency, types of food containers and cooking methods. A total of 216 adults were recruited for two questionnaire surveys (questionnaire 1 and 2) about 1 week apart with a 3 day diet record. Reproducibility was evaluated by comparing responses from questionnaires 1 and 2, and validity was checked by comparing responses from questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record. Comparisons were based on the percent agreement and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The mean exact agreement of food con tainers at purchase between questionnaires 1 and 2 was 73.5%, for storing containers it was 71.9%, and for cooking methods it was 83.0%. The mean correlation coefficient for food intake frequency between questionnaires 1 and 2 was 0.71 (range, 0.50?0.83). The mean correlation coefficient of the food intake frequency between questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record was 0.21 (range, 0.04-0.48). The exact and adjacent agreement of food intake frequency quartile assessed by questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record was 65.4% (range, 51.0-82.1%). Although the correlation coefficient for food intake frequency between questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record was low, the exact and adjacent food intake frequency agreement was higher than 50% and reproducibility of the dietary behaviors exceeded 70%. Therefore, the questionnaire developed in this study could be applied to assess diets for the human exposure to food-borne hazards as a qualitative assessment in a large population. (Korean J Nutr 2011; 44(2): 171 ~ 180)

Consumption and Demand

American Journal of Agricultural EconomicsVolume 91, Issue 5 p. 1176-1186 General Session Consumption and Demand Rulon D. Pope, Rulon D. Pope professor of Economics Brigham Young UniversitySearch for more papers by this author Rulon D. Pope, Rulon D. Pope professor of Economics Brigham Young UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 December 2009 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8276.2009.01342.x The author would like to thank Daniel Sullivan for assistance. Fellows Address was presented at the 2008 AAEA annual meeting in Milwaukee, WI, August 2009. Invited addresses are not subjected to the journal's standard refereeing process. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume91, Issue5December 2009Pages 1176-1186 RelatedInformation

The behavioral effects of food constituents: strategies used in studies of amino acids, protein, carbohydrate and caffeine.

Summary Detecting the effects of foods and food con- stituents on behavior is difficult, due in part to the subtlety of the effects and the lack of stan- dardized and sensitive tests of human mood and performance. As more studies are con- ducted by different groups of investigators, however, it will become apparent that certain tests are more sensitive and that certain ef- fects are reliably present after specific foods are administered. For example, of the various tests that have been used, Simple Auditory Reaction Time has often been sensitive to the effects of foods and food constituents. Vigi- lance tests, particularly the version of the Wil- kinson Auditory Vigilance task we have used, also detect relatively subtle changes in behav- ior. Apparently minor details of these tests, including many histological or biochemical pro- cedures, may be critical in determining their sensitivity. In any case, it is certainly appro- priate to include a variety of tests in any behav- ioral study of foods. With regard to the other side of the equation, i.e., what foods to test, progress also is being made. It seems certain that tryptophan has sedative-like proper- ties,lslosl and carbohydrate foods relative to protein foods also may have similar effects.

Specificity of inducible seaweed anti-herbivory defences depends on identity of macroalgae and herbivores

Meso-herbivores can strongly affect biomass accrual and macrophytobenthic commu- nity structure. To counter grazing effects, constitutive and induced anti-herbivory responses evolved in seaweeds. Feeding-assayed induction experiments were conducted in the laboratory to investigate whether 14 d grazing periods by either the periwinkle Littorina brevicula or the abalone Haliotis dis- cus induced anti-herbivory defences in the green alga Ulva pertusa and the brown alga Laminaria japonica. Where appropriate, assays were repeated with artificial food containing lipophilic algal extracts, using dichloromethane (DCM) as a solvent, to test whether or not snails induced chemical defences. While exposure to periwinkles reduced palatability of fresh L. japonica pieces for naive conspecific grazers, no such effect was displayed by abalone-exposed L. japonica pieces. Patterns of grazer specificity in the palatability of fresh algae were not confirmed when using artificial food con- taining algal DCM extracts. This suggests that L. japonica either induced morphological defences or periwinkle-deterrent substances originated from the non-lipophilic fraction of defensive chemicals. Grazer-specific induced responses were not apparent in U. pertusa assays. This study revealed that the induction of chemical anti-herbivory responses depends not only on the type of grazer but also on the type of alga on which the grazer feeds.

Fates of diatom carbon and trace elements by the grazing of a marine copepod

Radiotracer experiments were performed to quantify the carbon assimilation and efflux in a subtropical coastal copepod Acartia spinicauda, and the importance of copepod grazing on the release of Cd, Fe, Se and carbon, from diatoms of different sizes (4 to 100 µm) at different food con- centrations (0.04 to 9.0 mg C l -1 ). Carbon assimilation was not significantly affected by the diatom food concentration (Thalassiosira pseudonana, T. weissflogii and T. rotula) or the amount of food ingested, but was lower for the large diatom T. rotula than for the small diatom T. pseudonana. No significant relationship between carbon assimilation and gut passage time of food materials was observed. The efflux rate-constant (physiological turnover rate) of carbon ranged between 0.134 and 0.372 d -1 and was not significantly affected by diatom concentration (T. weissflogii). During the phys- iological turnover period, over 50% of the copepod's carbon metabolic loss was in the form of dis- solved organic carbon, whereas only a small fraction of carbon was lost in the form of feces. A signif- icant fraction of the copepod's carbon was also lost through respiration, the relative importance of which decreased with increasing period of depuration. The retention of carbon, Cd, Fe, and Se by the diatoms (T. pseudonana, T. weissflogii, T. rotula, and Cosinodiscus sp.) was further compared in the presence and absence of the copepods. In general, there was no increase in the release of metals and carbon from the diatoms in the presence of grazing copepods regardless of diatom concentrations, suggesting that copepod grazing does not trigger significant releases of diatom metals and carbon directly into the ambient environment. Our results suggested that the excretion by zooplankton as well as leakage from fecal pellets presumably account for the majority of the zooplankton-mediated production and cycling of dissolved organic matter in the ocean.

Contrasts in the capacity and underlying mechanisms for compensatory growth in two pelagic marine fishes

The widespread capacity for teleost fishes to engage in compensatory growth suggests there are costs or trade-offs that constrain normal growth to sub-maximal rates. Some potential trade- offs include behavioral conflicts between foraging and avoiding predators, and physiological aspects of energy allocation between synthesis of new tissue and functional demands of metabolism and maintenance. We examined the capacity for compensation and some potential underlying mecha- nisms in juveniles of 2 northern Pacific fish species, walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma and sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria. Fish were deprived of food for 2 to 3 wk, then returned to ad libitum rations. Growth rates were subsequently compared to those for continually fed fish for up to 16 wk, and potential trade-offs in behavior (food consumption, routine swimming speeds, and response to a predator) and physiology (indexed by critical swimming speeds) were examined during 3 time peri- ods: immediately after deprivation, after 4 wk of ad libitum rations, and after 9 wk. We distinguished between routine swimming speeds, which indicate volitional motor activity, and critical swimming speeds, which estimate physiological capacity by forcing fish to swim to exhaustion against an increasing current. Previously deprived walleye pollock exhibited a clear, sustained capacity for accelerated growth, allowing them to quickly catch up in size to continually fed fish. Sablefish, how- ever, exhibited only a minor level of growth compensation. Underlying mechanisms of compensatory growth also differed between the 2 species. Previously deprived walleye pollock increased food con- sumption to levels 3 to 4× greater than those of control fish and reduced energy expenditure by low- ering routine swimming speeds. Compensating sablefish did not differ from control fish in consump- tion rates or routine swimming, but had lower critical swimming speeds than control fish, suggesting a trade-off in energy allocation. Responses to a simulated predator threat did not differ between pre- viously deprived and continually fed fish of either species. The experimental results are suggestive of different mechanisms, behaviorally based for walleye pollock and physiologically based for sablefish, associated with accelerated growth. The differences between the 2 species in integrated processes of growth, behavior, and physiology are likely to be a function of their contrasting life history strategies and different baseline growth rates.

食物摂取パターンの変化についての検討

As pointed out by H. Toyokawa in 1975, there are internal relationships in the food con sumption pattern among Japanese, which is determined by food habit, preference, and other food-related factors. Despite the fact that their food consumption has been markedly changed since 1975, however, there have been few reports which focused on the change of food con sumption pattern because of the lack of methodologies. We proposed a new method of analyzing the food consumption data which were collected in two or more surveys on the same persons. This method enables to grasp movements of each variable (representing a food group) in factor space, by analyzing multi-year's data in a single procedure. From the analysis of 159 females' food consumption data surveyed in 1979 and 1989, paying attention to the changes in the relationships among the food groups, the following results were obtained; 1. The factors obtained were alike to those which were previously defined as the character istics of Japanese food consumption pattern. 2. The main food groups, which determined, respectively, the first and second factors, decreased absolute values of their factor loading, demonstrating that they lost their typical positions with changes in the relationship among food groups . 3. There was no consistent relationship between the change in intake of each food group and the change in the factor loading, implying that the change in intake could not be explained by only the change of food consumption pattern . 4. It was suggested that this analytical method was useful for examination of the change of food consumption pattern, using the data which were collected in two or more surveys on the same individuals.

Sampling and analysis of gut contents in relation to environmental variability and diel vertical migration by herbivorous zooplankton

The accuracy of standard sampling and analysis procedures for estimating ingestion by herbi- vorous zooplankton was assessed using models. Artificial environments were created in a computer model, allowing for depth-dependent variability in temperature, chlorophyll and primary production. Model zooplankton were simulated within these artificial environments using individual-based models. The model zooplankton feed and defaecate at rates determined by temperature and food con- centrations, and also exhibit diel vertical migration (DVM) according to a variety of migration models. The computer model was run for different combinations of these nine environmental and five DVM models. Data were 'sampled' from the model output, similar to field sampling of mesozooplankt on grazing. Dairy ingestion was calculated from the gut 'samples' using standard procedures for analysing gut fluorescence. The sample results were compared with the actual ingestion values in the model, and some causes of discrepancies were noted, (i) If incorrect temperatures were assumed when calculat- ing the gut evacuation rate (K), then estimates of ingestion were wrong by up to 40%. (ii) Non-uniform food environments gave errors of up to 30% because of the large variability of measured gut contents among individuals, (iii) Sampling from only part of the total depth range (eg. at the chlorophyll maximum) resulted in estimates of ingestion being only 5% of the real value. This sampling practice should be discouraged, because the sample is not random, (iv) If sampling is not frequent enough, erron can be as large as 45%, but more usually were -10% for realistic sampling frequencies. We describe an analysis procedure that uses Monte Carlo-type simulations in a computer spreadsheet to estimate population consumption. These calculations take into account natural variability due to popu- lations, samples and assumptions. We urge that results should be presented as ranges of possible values, rather than as single 'mean' values, to allow for easier recognition of meaningful differences among samples and systems.

The Effects of Lichen Extracts on Feeding by Gypsy Moths (Lymantria dispar)

A bioassay was developed to determine the effects of six lichen extracts on food con- sumption and growth of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae. The larvae were allowed to feed on leaves of Quercus rubra which had been painted with either acetone or water extracts of Cladina subtenuis, Flavoparmelia caperata, Hypogymnia physodes, Parmelia sulcata, Parmotrema hy- potropum, or Usnea strigosa. Acetone extracts containing depsides, depsidones, and usnic acid did not affect food consumption or larval growth. All water extracts except Flavoparmelia caperata decreased leaf consumption and growth by 30-80%. Although water extracts do not completely deter feeding, they could play an important ecological role in preventing lichenivory by gypsy moths. The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a common forest pest in eastern United States and can cause serious damage to hardwood forests during out- break years. Gypsy moth larvae are voracious feed- ers and are reported to utilize 485 species of North American plants as food sources (Gerardi & Grimm 1979). Although their preferred foods are leaves of Quercus or Populus species, they will eat a variety of unusual foodstuffs, including plastic tree flagging and styrofoam soaked in sugar (Zielinski 1986). De- spite the fact that larvae of gypsy moths come in contact with corticolous lichens during all stages of their development, our observations suggest that they never utilize lichens as a food source in nature. Secondary compounds in lichens have been shown to play important ecological roles in influencing food selection by lichenivores (Lawrey 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989; Reutimann & Scheidegger 1987; Run- del 1978). Such compounds include the acetone- soluble depsides, depsidones, usnic and pulvinic acid derivatives, which are exuded as crystals onto the surface of the lichen. Lichen secondary com- pounds-vulpinic acid and a combination of vul- pinic acid and atranorin--have also been shown to deter feeding by an insect which does not normally come into contact with lichens, the yellow-striped armyworm, Spodoptera ornithogalli (Slansky 1979). In order to provide a possible explanation as to why gypsy moth larvae do not feed on lichens, we investigated the effects of water and acetone lichen extracts on larval consumption and growth.

Necessary safeguards when prescribing opioid drugs to addicts: experience of drug dependence clinics in London.

average factors from standard food tables rather than by direct chemical analysis of the specific items concerned. The same is true, however, for almost all nutritional surveys. (5) As a result of limitations (3) and (4), and because each family takes part in the survey for only seven days, the National Food Survey can say nothing about the nutrient intake or eating behaviour of individual household members or indeed of individual households. It can only reasonably provide estimates for fairly broad groups of households ; but the recommendations of the DHSS are framed in similar terms. Furthermore, the food consumption of any family or individual during a single week, no matter how accurately measured, is unlikely to be directly reflected in their later morbidity or mortality. Epidemio logical studies are therefore usually concerned with group averages. The main strength of the National Food Survey is that it provides continuous information on food and nutrient intakes now spanning more than 30 years, not only for Britain as a whole but also for many subgroups within the population. Though constrained by financial and practical considerations, it remains an up to date, readily accessible, and comparatively cheap means of monitoring trends in household food con? sumption and of assessing a major aspect of nutritional state for epidemiologists to compare with any similar temporal or cross sectional data on morbidity and mortality.

Measurement of nutritional intake among schoolchildren: aspects of methodology.

Dietary surveys can take a number of different forms but may be grouped into two main categories: those in which a dietary history is obtained by recall and those in which a weighed, measured or estimated food record is made at the time of food consumption. The dietary history survey may be an individually reported record in which details of the food con sumed during the previous 24 hours are recalled. An example of this type of survey is that undertaken by Chattaway, Happold, and Happold (1946) who asked subjects to recall all they had eaten during the previous day, then showed them different weighed amounts of the food they had mentioned and asked them to select the amount eaten. Attempts have been made to estimate normal or typical food intake using dietary histories. Zukel et al. (1959) estimated 'usual' dietary intake by collecting histories of a typical day's menu together with a detailed dietary history over a four-week period; Babcock, Church, and Gates (1954) used a 30-minute interview to obtain 'usual' intake, and Burke, Reed, van den Berg, and Stuart (1959) used a comprehensive, cross checked interview to obtain 'usual' pattern of eating for children. All these methods and modifications of them rely on recall and may therefore be unreliable. In addition, the conversion of reported sizes of portion may be affected by individual variation in those carrying out the conversion (Brewer, 1959). It may, therefore, be more suitable, when diet at the individual level is being investigated in this manner, to use the data to obtain frequencies of intake of different foods rather than to estimate exact quanti ties.

Relationship between Body Weight and Food and Water Intake in Trichinella spiralis-Infected Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs were studied during a 28-day period following a single oral dose of Trichinella spiralis larvae to obtain information on the lethality of T. spiralis for this host and the effect of infec- tion on body weight and food and water consumption. Survival time in guinea pigs administered graded doses of 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30,000 larvae followed a dose-dependent pattern, decreasing as the dose increased. The oral LD5o for a 28-day infection was calculated as 49 + 2 larvae per gram of body weight. Marked signs associated with trichinosis in the guinea pig were diarrhea, a reduction in weight gain, and reduced food and water consumption. Other signs were a roughness of the coat, inflamma- tion around the eyes and reduced activity. The rate of weight gain for infected guinea pigs was in- versely related to the size of the initial dose and was significantly lower than that for uninfected con- trols. Food and water intake studies showed that (a) when uninfected and infected guinea pigs were given food and water ad libitum, the uninfected animals consumed greater daily amounts of food and water than animals infected with 10,000 larvae; (b) this higher food consumption was associated with an increased rate of weight gain; (c) uninfected guinea pigs maintained on a diet restricted to that consumed by paired infected animals showed a higher rate of weight gain than the infected guinea pigs. Animals experimentally infected with Trich- inella spiralis often show roughened hair, apathy, diarrhea, and weight loss. Of these signs weight loss has probably been studied most closely. It is generally assumed that the failure of these animals to gain weight at a normal rate is due in large part to lowered food consumption. However, the amount of weight loss which can be attributed to a de- crease in food intake is obscure due to the loss that may be caused by other manifestations of infection. Possibly a decrease in body weight may reflect not only a reduced appetite (as evidenced by a decreased dietary intake) but other factors such as impaired intestinal ab- sorption and diarrhea. This investigation was undertaken to clarify the relationship between food and water con- sumption and weight loss in T. spiralis-infected guinea pigs. Experiments were all performed within a primary infection period of 28 days and were designed to study the virulence of T. spiralis in the guinea pig, with special ref- erence to lethal and sublethal dose values, changes in body weight, and changes in food and water consumption during infection.

Comparison of the in vivo sodium-removing activity of various types of ion exchange resins in rats.

ON exchange resins have now come into use for the control of sodium absorp- tion in various types of edema, and are being administered experimentally in some cases of hypertension. In fact, resins are proving effective in any sit- uation where restriction of gastrointestinal absorption of sodium is of impor- tance (Arnold,l Dock,2 Hay and Wood,3 Danowski and associateq4 Kahn and :Emerson," Martz, Kohlstaedt and HelmerG, i ). The resins in use at the pres- ent time have several disadvantages as therapeutic measures, i.e., large daily doses of an insoluble material; acidosis which, although generally compensated, may over1oa.d the kidneys; loss of sodium absorbing capacity of the resin due Male rats of the Wistar strain were used for all experiments. The animals were placed in metabolism cages, two rats to a cage, and given food and distilled water ad libitum. A standard ground rat diet was fed to all animals. Resin-containing diets were prepared by mixing the desired amounts of resin in this standard diet. Table I gives the composition of all the diets reported in this paper. These will be referred to in the text either by number or by the specific resin which is under consideration in that section. Food and water con- sumption and body weight were measured daily. Urine and feces were collected from each cage daily during test periods and pooled for three-day samples. The animals were main- tained on either the standard or test diet for seven days, then urine and feces samples were collected for two successive three-day periods. Each resin test was preceded and followed by a. test on the standard diet. The intake of food and resin was not controlled, but in general the rats compensated for the noncaloric resin by eating larger amounts of the resin-eontain- ing diets. Feces, urine, and food samples were analyzed for chloride, phosphate, sodium, and potassium. The use of distilled water in the drinking bottles precluded the necessity of analyzing the water except when the two liquid resins were tested. Urine chlorides were determined by the modified Volhard-Harvey titration method, and urine inorganic phosphate by the Fiske and Subbarow method. Urinary sodium and potassium were determined on suitably diluted samples using the Beckmann flame photometer. Feces samples were dried for t,welve to eighteen hours in an oven at 100" C. They were then ground and thoroughly mixed. Chlorides were determined on 2-gram samples of the dried feces by the open Carius method. For the determination of fecal phosphate, sodium, and potassium, a 500 mg. sample -__