High Amounts Of Carbohydrates Research Articles

Nutritional influences of overfeeding on experimental outcomes in laboratory mice: consequences for gut microbiota and other functional studies

Data from literature suggests that laboratory mice are often overfed and malnourished. This might have several reasons, including: (i) we usually offer an ad libitum diet, which is not the natural way of feeding for a wild mouse; (ii) many commercial diets we use contain rather high amounts of carbohydrates, particularly of sugars, and low amounts of fat; and (iii) laboratory mice live in a warm and constricted environment in which energy expenditure is lower than in the wild. Such selective or global overfeeding in laboratory mice, which resembles the widespread overfeeding in humans, although it does not always result in overweight, likely affects a number of outcome variables analyzed in laboratory mice, such as microbiota composition and function, metabolic alterations, longevity, intestinal permeability and inflammation. Therefore, a careful selection of experimental diets and their way of administration, as well as detailed documentation, is mandatory in order to understand and compare scientific data obtained from different mouse experiments.

Energy Contribution and Nutrient Composition of Breakfast and Their Relations to Overweight in Free-living Individuals: A Systematic Review

Previous systematic reviews on the relation between overweight or obesity and breakfast focused on the frequency of consumption and only partially accounted for breakfast nutritional profiles. Given the central role of these factors, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on this putative relation, with a specific focus on breakfast energy intake and/or breakfast composition. Among the 814 articles identified from the literature search in PubMed, 19, mostly cross-sectional, studies met the inclusion criteria (i.e., studies providing a quantitative estimate of the relation between any measure of weight, overweight, and obesity and breakfast energy intake or breakfast macronutrient composition). We excluded studies in subjects with acquired metabolic disorders, such as diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Of the 16 studies that evaluated the amount of energy intake at breakfast, 4 found that a lower energy intake at breakfast was significantly associated with obesity in children, adolescents, and adults, whereas 2 partially overlapping studies found that a higher energy intake was significantly associated with a higher body mass index in children. Of the 8 studies investigating breakfast composition, 3 suggested that a breakfast characterized by a higher amount of carbohydrates and a lower amount of fat is significantly related to normal weight in adults, whereas the others reported mixed results. In conclusion, there is some evidence that a lower energy intake at breakfast is related to obesity, although the studies are few and heterogeneous. Studies on the nutrient composition of breakfast have shown inconsistent results.

Effect of chemical pretreatments on de-oiled rice bran for fermentative biohydrogen production

Increased demand of fossil fuels has lead to its shortfall and also for an urge for the search of alternative source of energy, which is non-polluting. Biohydrogen is an ideal fuel of future as it can be produced from different types of wastes, solids or liquids, rich in organic matter and it does not produce any types of green house gases when combusted. Present work was carried out to enhance the biohydrogen production from de-oiled rice bran by pretreatment methods. Presence of high amount of carbohydrate (39% cellulose and 31% hemicellulose) and less lignin (4%) makes it an attractive feedstock for conversion into a variety of value-added products. De-oiled rice bran was taken as substrate and Clostridium acetobutylicum NCIM 2877 was used as seed culture for the fermentative biohydrogen production. Substrate was pretreated with different concentrations of acids and alkali. 1.5% H2SO4 pretreated de-oiled rice bran hydrosylate gave maximum of 97.5 ± 2.5 ml volumetric biohydrogen with conversion efficiency of 87.27 ± 0.84 % whereas maximum production of 130 ± 1.5 ml with a conversion efficiency of 65.66 ± 0.08 % was achieved at 0.25% of HCL. Among alkali, 0.1% NaOH pretreated de-oiled rice bran hydrosylate gave 99.0 ± 3.0 ml production with conversion efficiency of 83.36 ± 0.91 % and 0.75 % Ca(OH )2 pretreated de-oiled rice bran hydrosylate gave maximum production of 73.78 ± 7.4 ml. Therefore, by pretreatment of various complex biomasses, production of biohydrogen can be enhanced.

Nutrients and bioactive compounds in popular and indigenous durian (Durio zibethinus murr.)

This study identified nutrients, fatty acids, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of two popular varieties (Mon-thong, Cha-ni) and two indigenous varieties (Kra-dum and Kob-ta-kam) of durian. Each of variety was collected from 3 gardens in Nonthaburi province, Thailand. At optimal ripeness, the edible part was separated, homogenised or freeze dried, as fresh or dry samples for further analysis using standard methods. All durian varieties contained a considerable amount of dietary fibre (7.5–9.1g/100g dry matter, DM) and high amounts of carbohydrate and sugar (62.9–70.7g and 47.9–56.4g/100g DM respectively). Cha-ni, Kra-dum and Kob-ta-kam varieties had monounsaturated (MUFA) (6.1–7.8g/100g DM)>saturated (SFA) (4.2–5.7g/100g DM)>polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (0.8–1.5g/100g DM), whereas the Mon-thong variety had SFA>MUFA>PUFA (5.1, 4.0, 1.1g/100g DM, respectively). The Kob-ta-kam variety showed greater potential for health benefits in terms of carotenoids and β-carotene (2248μg and 1202μg/100g DM respectively). Phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity were not significantly different among each variety, though the Cha-ni variety had the lowest. This study provides data on nutrients, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of indigenous and popular durian varieties that could be used for consumer education as well as for incorporation into the food composition databases.

Questionnaire Study on the Comparison among Circadian Typology, Sleep Habit, Physical and Mental Health and Meal Habit in Japanese University Athletes

It has been pointed out that Japanese university students have several problems from psychological and social points of view due to their evening-typed life. For university athletes, evening-typed life is afraid to promote reduced quality of performance and high risk to be injured during training and match. This study tries to investigate the relationship among circadian typology, sleep habit, physical and mental health and meal habit from epidemiological view point. An integrated questionnaire was administrated to 120 men athletes attending university soccer club in November 2013 and 62 ones answered it correctly. The questionnaire included the diurnal type scale which is constructed by Torsvall & ?kerstedt (1980) and questions on sleep habits and mental health, SOC scale (SOC3- UTHS) and FFQ scale. Morning-typed students showed higher quality of sleep (p = 0.015) and they tended to have higher SOC scores (p = 0.071) than the other chrono-types. Evening-typed students took higher amount of carbohydrates than the other types (p = 0.048). Circadian typology might be related to not only sleep health but also the nutritional characteristics and psychological responses to social stress in Japanese university athletes.

Direct utilization of kitchen waste for bioethanol production by separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) using locally isolated yeast

ABSTRACTKitchen wastes containing high amounts of carbohydrates have potential as low-cost substrates for fermentable sugar production. In this study, enzymatic saccharification of kitchen waste was carried out. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the enzymatic saccharification conditions of kitchen waste. This paper presents analysis of RSM in a predictive model of the combined effects of independent variables (pH, temperature, glucoamylase activity, kitchen waste loading, and hydrolysis time) as the most significant parameters for fermentable sugar production and degree of saccharification. A 100 mL of kitchen waste was hydrolyzed in 250 mL of shake flasks. Quadratic RSM predicted maximum fermentable sugar production of 62.79 g/L and degree of saccharification (59.90%) at the following optimal conditions: pH 5, temperature 60°C, glucoamylase activity of 85 U/mL, and utilized 60 g/L of kitchen waste as a substrate at 10 h hydrolysis time. The verification experiments successfully produced 62.71 ± 0.7 g/L of fermentable sugar with 54.93 ± 0.4% degree of saccharification within 10 h of incubation, indicating that the developed model was successfully used to predict fermentable sugar production at more than 90% accuracy. The sugars produced after hydrolysis of kitchen waste were mainly attributed to monosaccharide: glucose (80%) and fructose (20%). The fermentable sugars obtained were subsequently used as carbon source for bioethanol production by locally isolated yeasts: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida parasilosis, and Lanchancea fermentati. The yeasts were successfully consumed as sugars hydrolysate, and produced the highest ethanol yield ranging from 0.45 to 0.5 g/g and productivity between 0.44 g L–1 h–1 and 0.47 g L–1 h–1 after 24-h incubation, which was equivalent to 82.06–98.19% of conversion based on theoretical yield.

Breakfast consumption pattern of some Ahamdu Bello University students and nutrient composition of commonly consumed breakfast foods

This study was carried out to evaluate breakfast consumption pattern of university students and determine nutrient composition of some commonly consumed breakfast foods. Seventy five (75) students took part in the study, using semi-structured questionnaires to obtain information on breakfast consumption pattern and 24-hour dietary recall to document dietary intake. Standard methods were used to determine weight and height from which their body mass index was calculated. Proximate and mineral compositions of some breakfast foods were determined using standard methods. Results obtained showed 85.3% of respondents eat breakfast while 14.7% skipped breakfast. Breakfast contribution to total calorific consumption of breakfast eaters was 2651.86 kcal compared to 1981.00 kcal for breakfast skippers. Both groups showed lower intake of some vitamins and micronutrients when compared to RDA. Nutrient content of commonly consumed breakfast foods revealed moimoi and bean cake had 16.44±0.70g/100g and 22.19±0.08g/100g crude protein respectively, while fried yam had high amount of carbohydrate 41.12±2.12g/100g. Millet pap recorded higher content of magnesium (18.55+0.03mg/100g), calcium (28.73+0.52mg/100g), copper (26.33+0.08mg/100g) and Chromium (1.09+0.05mg/100g). A healthful breakfast food choices by students may be an important strategy for improving the nutritional quality of their dietary intake.Keywords: Students, Breakfast, Food, Nutrient composition

Biomass, nutrients and nutritive value of Persicaria salicifolia Willd. in the water courses of Nile Delta, Egypt

In the present study, we evaluate the biomass and nutritive value of the living and dead shoots of Persicaria salicifolia and their capacity to accumulate heavy metals and nutrients to be used as phytoremediator. The living and dead parts attained their highest phytomass during autumn. The dead parts accumulated higher amounts of copper, manganese and zinc than the living parts. On the other hand, the living parts had higher amounts of carbohydrates, ether extract, crude fibers and total protein. Due to its higher nutritive value, the living parts were considered excellent forage. Furthermore, the plant in the drains accumulates more nutrients and heavy metals than that in the canals. Some constituents (calcium, iron, digestible crude protein and crude fibers) had significant positive correlation with phytomass. The ability of the dead parts of P. salicifolia to accumulate higher values of nutrients renders this plant as a powerful phytoremediator for removal of pollutants from the aquatic ecosystems.

Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load and incidence of type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women: the Japan public health center-based prospective study

BackgroundJapanese diets contain a relatively high amount of carbohydrates, and its high dietary glycemic index and glycemic load may raise the risk of diabetes in the Japanese population. The current study evaluated the associations between the dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and the risk of type 2 diabetes in a population based cohort in Japan.MethodsWe observed 27,769 men and 36,864 women (45–75 y) who participated in the second survey of the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study. The dietary glycemic index and glycemic load were estimated using a food-frequency questionnaire. The development of diabetes was reported in a questionnaire administered five years later, and the associations were analyzed using logistic regression after controlling for age, area, total energy intake, smoking status, family history of diabetes, physical activity, hypertension, BMI, alcohol intake, magnesium, calcium, dietary fiber and coffee intake, and occupation.ResultsThe dietary glycemic load was positively associated with the risk of diabetes among women: the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio comparing the highest vs. the lowest quartile was 1.52 (95% CI, 1.13-2.04; P-trend = 0.01). The association was implied to be stronger among women with BMI < 25 than the women with BMI ≥ 25. The dietary glycemic index was positively associated with the risk of diabetes among men with a high intake of total fat: the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio comparing the highest vs. the lowest quartile was 1.46 (95% CI, 0.94-2.28; P-trend = 0.04). Among women with a high total fat intake, those in the first and second quartiles of the dietary glycemic index had a significant reduced risk of diabetes, compared with those in the first quartile who had a lower total fat level (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio = 0.59 with 95% CI, 0.37-0.94, and odds ratio = 0.63 with 95% CI, 0.40-0.998 respectively).ConclusionsThe population-based cohort study in Japan indicated that diets with a high dietary glycemic load increase the risk of type 2 diabetes among women. Total fat intake may modify the association between the dietary glycemic index and the risk of type 2 diabetes among men and women.

Bamboo forest resources of India and its role in food security -A review

Bamboo, the fastest growing plant, is estimated to cover 8.96 million ha of the total 63.3 million ha forest area of India. The plant is intricately associated with humans from times immemorial. Though popularly known for industrial usage, a lesser known fact of bamboos is the utilization of its juvenile shoots as food that can be consumed fresh, fermented, canned or pickled. Bamboo shoots have high nutritive value containing low fats and cholesterol and high amount of carbohydrate, proteins, minerals and dietary fibres. It holds great promise for utilization as health food because of presence of bioactive compounds which is found to have medicinal properties. Being one of the fastest growing plants, its shoots can be utilized for feeding the ever increasing human population and also because of its nutritional and therapeutic values, the shoots can be used to make up for the dietary deficiencies of nutrients in the diet.

THE IMPACT OF NONPHOTOCHEMICAL QUENCHING OF FLUORESCENCE ON THE PHOTON BALANCE IN DIATOMS UNDER DYNAMIC LIGHT CONDITIONS(1).

The nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) of fluorescence is an important photoprotective mechanism in particular under dynamic light conditions. Its photoprotective potential was suggested to be a functional trait of algal diversity. In the present study, the influence of the photoprotective capacity on the growth balance was investigated in two diatoms, which possess different NPQ characteristics. It was hypothesized that under fluctuating light conditions Cyclotella meneghiniana Kütz. would benefit from its large and flexible NPQ potential, whereas the comparably small NPQ capacity in Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve should exert an unfavorable impact on growth. The results of the study clearly falsify this hypothesis. Although C. meneghiniana possesses a fast NPQ component, this diatom was not able to recover its full NPQ capacity under fluctuating light. On the other hand, the induction of NPQ at relatively low irradiance in S. costatum resulted in rather small differences in the fraction of energy dissipation by the NPQ mechanism in the comparison of both diatoms. Larger differences were found in the metabolic characteristics. Both diatoms differed in their biomass composition, with a higher content of lipids in C. meneghiniana but higher amounts of carbohydrates in S. costatum. Finally, the lower degree of reduction in the biomass compensated for the higher respiration rates in S. costatum and resulted in a higher quantum efficiency of biomass production. An indirect correlation between the photoprotective and the metabolic capacity is discussed.

Comparative Evaluation of Zea mays (L.) and Ipomoea batatas (L.) as a Pharmaceutical Excipient

This investigation aims at comparing starches from two grains: Maize (Zea mays) and Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) grains. These grains are used mainly as foods and they contain high amount of carbohydrate. The presence of starch in these grains varies and thus their use as pharmaceutical excipients will vary to the degree of their starch functionality. The powders obtained were characterized for their particle size, particle size distribution. The organoleptic and physicochemical characterization such as viscosity, hydration capacity, swelling capacity, moisture sorption capacity, pH, flow rate and porosity, Carr's index and Hausner's ratio were evaluated. Maize starch showed the least Carr's index, Hausner ratio, porosity, moisture sorption capacity and the greatest flow rate. Sweet potato starch showed the highest hydration capacity and swelling capacity. The results obtained showed that between the two starches in relation to their flowability, maize starch possesses the best flow property. Compatibility of Etoricoxib with maize and sweet potato starch was evaluated by IR spectra and found that both Etoricoxib is compatible along with maize and sweet potato starch. This knowledge of starch properties will help to explain the behavior of these starches when used as tablet excipients.

Fermentative Production of Value-Added Products from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass (agro residues, grasses, wood, weed, dedicated energy crops and others) into biofuels and other value-added products offers numerous geopolitical, environmental, and strategic benefits. Lignocellulosic biomass (LB) is the most abundant renewable organic resources (~200 billion tons annually) on earth that are readily available for conversion to biofuels and other value-added products (industrial enzymes, organic acids, pharmaceuticals, commodity chemicals, and food/feed). However, they have not yet been tapped for the commercial production of these products. The last three decades witnessed the success made in research and development for the conversion of LB into biofuels and other commercially viable products. Despite the success achieved in the laboratory, there are several challenges for the successful bioconversion of lignocellulosic substrates into value-added products at commercial scale. The future of lignocellulosics conversion is expected to lie in improvement in pretreatment technologies, cellulolytic enzymes producing microorganisms, fullest exploitation of biomass components, and process integration. Further, advancement in system-biology-based “OMICS” approaches may provide new breakthroughs for the development of biocatalysts/enzyme titers for the cost effective production of commodity chemicals and fuels from biomass. This special issue presents a diverse range of experimental advancements on biomass pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, production of cellulosic biofuels, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), and lovastatin and blends of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and lignin. Authors here report on process variables including feedstock types (grasses and sugarcane-based agro residues), bioprocess engineering simulations, multivisual structural analysis of lignocellulosics after pretreatment, improvements in cellulase-mediated hydrolysis, and modification in fermentation strategies for the production of a range of value-added products. Selection of suitable lignocellulosic substrates plays a key role for the economic cellulosic ethanol production. Factors such as availability of feedstock and presence of high amount of carbohydrates and lignin amounts are critical for biofuels production at large scale under the biorefinery concept. Of particular interest in this regard is the use of sugarcane residues, corn stover, and grasses as a second-generation feedstock. L. Canilha et al. comprehensively reviewed the technologies (pretreatment methods, detoxification, hydrolysis, fermentation, and end-product distillation) for second-generation (2G) ethanol production from sugarcane residues (sugarcane bagasse and straw). Grasses are another excellent feedstock for 2G ethanol production in countries like Thailand. J. Wongwatanapaiboon et al. collected data on composition of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in 18 types of grasses followed by the alkaline peroxide mediated pretreatment. The pretreated materials were evaluated for ethanol production under simultaneous saccharification and fermentation approach employing yeasts cocultures. J. Lu et al. explored the Reed as a primary source for 2G ethanol production. They presented the data on sugar recovery after liquid hot water pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and conversion of sugars into ethanol under separate hydrolysis and fermentation. J. E. Jessen and J. Orlygsson examined the 2G ethanol production from various feedstocks (hemp stem, grass, wheat straw, newspaper, and cellulose) employing a new thermophilic isolate, Thermoanaerobacter J1, from a hot spring in Iceland in addition to the exploration of a mechanism of electron-scavenging systems on end-product formation. For the economization of biofuel or any value-added product formation from lignocellulosic materials, the efficient bioconversion of cellulose and hemicellulose into monomeric sugars is inevitable. In this line, A. D. Eckard et al. demonstrated the mechanism of casein (skimmed milk protein) action to improve the enzymatic saccharification of corn stover. Pretreatment is the key technology for the direct methanation of agroresidues. Y. Feng et al. investigated the changes in the maize straw characteristics during the methanation process. M. A. K. M. Zahari et al. optimized major influential parameters for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production from oil palm frond (OPF) juice by Cupriavidus necator CCUG52238T and concluded that OPF juice could be a competitive carbon source for the economic production of PHB. P. Chakraborty et al. presented the data on modified feeding strategies using a mixture of volatile fatty acids and artificial rumen fluid to maximize the PHA production by Ralstonia eutropha. Towards the pharmaceuticals intermediate production, M. F. Jahromi et al. investigated the lovastatin production by Aspergillus terreus under solid-state fermentation using rice straw and oil palm frond. M. O. Seydibeyoglu examined the properties of blends of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and lignin followed by the structural analysis employing modern structural tools. We sincerely hope readers will find these papers helpful to their research pursuits. It has been our pleasure to put together this special issue in Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.

Chemical evaluation of winged beans (&lt;i&gt;Psophocarpus Tetragonolobus&lt;/i&gt;), Pitanga cherries (&lt;i&gt;Eugenia uniflora) and orchid fruit (&lt;i&gt;Orchid fruit myristic&lt;/i&gt;a)

The proximate, mineral and sugar compositions of winged beans (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), Pitanga Cherries (Eugenia uniflora) and Orchid Fruit (Orchid fruit myristica) and physico-chemical properties of their oils were determined using standard methods. All the samples were found to be rich in proteins (winged beans 33.83 %, pitanga cherries 14.71 % and orchid fruit 17.96 %). Each of the samples also had a considerably high amount of carbohydrate (22.30 %, 38.55% and 26.45 % in winged beans, pitanga cherries and orchid fruit, respectively). Orchid fruit had a significantly higher (P &lt; 0.05) fat content of 34.36 % as compared to 17.51 % found in winged beans, and 15.62 % in pitanga cherries. Winged beans had the highest crude fiber (12.23 %) while orchid fruit had 6.03%and pitanga cherries had 9.77%. Winged bean and orchid fruit had similar (P &gt; 0.05) water content, which is significantly different from pitanga cherries. Iron, cadmium, lead and manganese were absent in all the samples. Copper and calcium were absent in pitanga cherries. Pitanga cherries had the highest composition (g/100g) of sugar, winged beans ranked next, while orchid fruit had low sugar content. The peroxide values of the oil of the various samples ranged between 11.41 and 12.91 meq/kg, while the saponification values ranged between 182.58 and 191.05 mgKOH/g. The unsaponifiable matter was very low in pitanga cherries compared with winged beans and orchid fruit. The acid value rangedbetween 0.71 and 2.82 mg/KOH/g while iodine value ranged between 91.15 and 144.57. The refractive index ranged between 1.465 and 1.474 in all the samples. Based on the results of this study, winged beans could be useful in the formulation of infant formula, pitanga cherries in the production of fruit jam and as a flavour in food drinks, because of its sugar contents, while orchid fruit&mdash;which has very high oil content&mdash;could be used as a spice.

Comparative study of the nutritional composition of matured green and red fruits of &lt;i&gt;Dennettia tripetala&lt;/i&gt; – A threatened indigenous forest fruit species

Dennettia tripetala is one of the threatened forest species. It is referred to as a &ldquo;peppery fruit&rdquo;. The fruit serve as a stimulant and eaten raw. It is still green when matured and turn from yellow to red if left for sometime after reaching maturity. Dennettia tripetala is one of the most cherished stimulants. However, there is lack of adequate information on the nutritional composition of this species. This work therefore examined the nutrient composition of both the matured green and red fruits. The result obtained showed that the pulpy bark of the green fruit had the highest amount of moisture (55.10%), oil/fat (3.40%) and magnesium (0.37%). While the seeds from the green fruit had the highest amount of carbohydrate (80.75%) and calorific value of 356.42 kilojoules. The pulpy bark of the red fruit had the highest amount ash (18.54%), crude fibre (19.80%), crude protein (16.20%), potassium (4.21%), sodium (0.038% and nitrogen (2.59%). Seed from the red fruit had the highest amount of dry matter (95.40%), carbohydrate (59.88%), calcium (1.403%) and vitamin C (11.0%). On the average the red fruits had higher nutritional composition than the green fruits. Although the matured green fruits are commonly available, it is important to combine matured green and red fruits of this species when consuming this species.Keywords: Dennettia tripetala, nutritional composition, peppery fruit, stimulant

The chemical composition of some garden Dahlia tubers

PurposeDahlia is an ornamental plant originating from Mexico where it is considered as the National flower. The purpose of this paper is to investigate tubers from yellow, white and red‐flowered cultivars of the common garden Dahlia (D. pinnata) for their chemical composition.Design/methodology/approachThe composition of minerals was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), whereas vitamins were analyzed by High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).FindingsCarbohydrates represented the major constituent in Dahlia tubers, followed by fibre and protein. Tubers of the yellow‐flowered cultivar “HGH” contained the highest amount of carbohydrates, while tubers of the white‐flowered cultivar “BJ” and those of the red‐flowered cultivar “XM” abounded in fibre and protein, respectively. In addition, Dahlia tubers exhibited varying concentrations of minerals, among which potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and chromium were predominant. Tubers of the white‐flowered cultivar “LB” contained the highest amounts of magnesium and phosphorus. Moreover, tubers of the red‐flowered cultivar “MLH” showed the highest contents of potassium and chromium, whereas those of the red‐flowered cultivar “XM” were rich in calcium and zinc. Furthermore, Dahlia tubers were found to contain water and fat soluble vitamins, among which vitamins B2, B6, B7 and E were the most abundant. Tubers of the white‐flowered cultivar “BJ” exhibited the highest contents of water soluble vitamins, whereas those of the white‐flowered cultivar “LB” abounded in fat soluble vitamins.Originality/valueDespite the considerable variability observed among cultivars, Dahlia might be utilized as an alternative food resource for human nutrition.

Sports Drinks and Dental Erosion

Sports drinks were originally developed to improve hydration and performance in athletes taking part in intense or endurance sporting events. These drinks contain relatively high amounts of carbohydrates (sugars), salt, and citric acid. These ingredients create the potential for dental ramifications and overall public health consequences such as obesity and diabetes. High intake of sports drinks during exercise, coupled with xerostomia from dehydration, may lead to the possibility of erosive damage to teeth.

Effects of Untreated and Thermally Treated Lupin Protein on Plasma and Liver Lipids of Rats Fed a Hypercholesterolemic High Fat or High Carbohydrate Diet

Lupin protein is capable of reducing plasma lipids in hypercholesterolemic man and animals. Whether lipid-lowering properties of lupin protein will be influenced by thermal treatment or by other nutrients has not been elucidated. In a two-factorial study, rats were fed hypercholesterolemic diets based on high amounts of carbohydrates (HC) or fat (HF), which contained either (20.4% of energy) untreated or thermally treated lupin protein (steam: 120 °C, 30 min) or casein as control protein. Lupin protein lowered plasma lipid concentrations in rats fed the HF diet but not in those fed the HC diet (P<0.05). Among rats fed the HF diet, plasma and VLDL triglyceride concentrations were lower in rats fed thermally treated (-46% and -44%, P<0.05) and untreated lupin protein (-47% and -46%, P<0.05) than in those fed casein; whereas liver triglycerides were reduced only in rats fed untreated lupin protein (P<0.05). Compared to casein, untreated lupin protein had slightly stronger cholesterol-lowering effects in plasma, LDL and HDL (-34%, -37%, -35%; P<0.05) than thermally treated lupin protein (-23%, -29%, -31%, P<0.10). In conclusion, the lipid-lowering effect of lupin protein strongly depends on composition of the basal diet, and thermal treatment is accompanied by a slight reduction of its hypocholesterolemic properties.

Kinetics of thermal softening of cassava tubers and rheological modeling of the starch

Cassava or tapioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) tubers having high amount of carbohydrate are utilized after boiling or processing into starch and flour. Textural properties of raw and cooked tubers depend on variety, maturity, growing environment, physico-chemical and starch properties. Starch is used in food preparations as gelling and thickening agent, stabilizer and texture modifier. This study aims at analyzing and modeling the textural, dynamic rheological and gelatinization properties of selected cassava varieties. The thermal softening behavior was analyzed by linear regression and fractional conversion techniques, rheological properties of the gelated starch by Maxwell and power law models. The varieties were classified based on their physico-chemical, texture profile, rheological and gelatinization properties by multivariate analysis. The textural, rheological and gelatinization properties were significantly affected by the varieties (p < 0.05). Thermal softening of tubers was modeled by dual mechanism first order kinetic model with rate constant values ranging from 0.081 to 0.105min(-1). Linear regression models with extremely good fit were obtained to explain the relationship between the degree of cooking and relative firmness. The dynamic spectra of the gelated starch showed the characteristics of concentrated biopolymer dispersion and described using Maxwell and power law model. The results showed that textural, rheological and gelatinization properties varied considerably among the varieties and besides the physico-chemical properties, interaction between them and structural make up of the tuber parenchyma had a great influence on cooking quality and rheological properties.

Fatty acids and proximate composition of eight Thai edible terricolous insects

Abstract Fatty acid composition and proximate analysis of eight terricolous insects namely dung beetle (Copris nevinsoni Waterhouse), short tailed cricket (Brachytrupes portentosus Lichtenstein), june beetle (Holotrichia sp.), queen caste (Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius), weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius), termite (Termes sp.), longan stink bug (Tessaratoma papillosa), cicada (Meimuna opalifera Walker) were determined. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) was the most predominant fatty acid found in all analyzed insects, followed by saturated fatty acid (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA). The concentration of total PUFA ranged from 213 in cicada to 1514 mg/100 g in dung beetle. There were five PUFAs; 18:3n − 3, 20:3n − 6, 20:4n − 6, 20:5n − 3 and 22:6n − 3 detected in the insect samples. Two fatty acids, 20:3n − 6, and 20:4n − 6 were found in all analyzed insects, while, 20:5n − 3 was only detected in dung beetle which lives in herbivore faeces, at concentration of 300 mg/100 g accounted for 13% of total fatty acid. The SFA content in ranged from 234 in termite to 733 mg/100 g in dung beetle. Only one MUFA, 18:1 was detected in the all analyzed insects. The protein content of insects ranged from 37% in queen caste to 54% in dung beetle. The highest amount of carbohydrate (16%) was found in cicada. Lipid contents ranged from 5% in june beetle to 37% in queen caste, while ash contents of edible insects ranged from 2% in queen caste to 12% in june beetle. We suggest that the insect could be considered as a good nutritional food source especially for fat and protein.