Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 15, Issue 2, 2019

Background: Shilajit (mumie), a natural multi-component herbomineral ethnomedicinal food, is used as a traditional medicine for enhancing the quality of life and for management of health ailments in many countries of the world. Use of Shilajit as an adaptogen, aphrodisiac, rejuvenator and anti-aging substance is mentioned in many ancient texts. This review aims to provide comprehensive insights into its biochemical aspects, microbial role in biosynthesis, bioactivities and to establish correlation between traditional uses and scientifically validated research findings. Methods: Scientific literature and ethnopharmacological information were compiled from the published peer-reviewed articles, unpublished materials, thesis, books, patent databases, clinical trial registries and from the websites of research councils of traditional medicine. The scientific databases, thesis repositories and books databases were searched with keywords Shilajit, mumie, mumijo, salajeet, asphaltum, fulvic acid, dibenzo-alpha-pyrones etc. Results: Scientifically validated research and ancient texts suggest multifaceted benefits of Shilajit. It is endowed with anti-stress, memory and energy enhancing, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, spermatogenic, neuroprotective, antiulcer and wound healing activities. These pharmacological effects are mainly attributed to the presence of humic acid, fulvic acid, dibenzo-α-pyrones, dibenzo- α-pyrones chromoproteins and trace elements. Conclusion: This review summarizes the traditional importance of Shilajit for the treatment and prevention of several acute and chronic diseases and health ailments. Despite numerous health claims, there are still major gaps in our understanding of its mechanism of action, variability in efficacy and toxicity profile. Therefore, a coordinated interdisciplinary approach is needed to establish the underlying mechanisms of action, comprehensive toxicological profile, pharmacokinetics parameters and effects on different organ systems. Regulatory and governmental impetus to basic and clinical research, safety testing and formulations quality control is warranted.

Background: The seeds of Lens culinaris Medikus belong to family Leguminosae and are commonly known as masoor pulses, Lentils, and Lens esculenta Moench. Objective: The present review provides an up-to-date information on the therapeutic potential of Lentil seeds including its synonyms, taxonomical classification, geographical distribution, cultivation, pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology and reported biological uses. Updated Information: Geographically, L. culinaris seeds are grown throughout North India. They are lens shaped, grayish brown in color with mucilaginous taste and characteristic odor. They are well known for their nutritional properties and are also considered as a vital part of a balanced diet. Besides their contribution to health due to the presence of essential macro- and micro- nutrients, they also contain various bioactive phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds, saponins, etc. which are responsible for exhibiting various pharmacological properties. The Lentil seeds are traditionally used to treat gastrointestinal problems such as dysentery, diarrhea, constipation, strangury, cardiac disorders, skin diseases, anemia, etc. Due to such an attractive ethnopharmacological profile, various studies have been conducted on Lentil seeds which recommend the use of Lentil seeds as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal antihyperlipidemic, etc. Conclusion: This would assist the researchers to get a better insight into Lentil seeds.

Background: Excessive consumption of cola beverages is accompanied by numerous public health risks. But besides these well-known adverse effects, recently, several medical articles have been published that show some indications for cola beverages in clinical practice like resolution of gastrointestinal or feeding tube obstructions, increasing bioavailability and palatability of other medications, rehydration and other uses in healthcare settings. These approaches are not without shortcomings and complications. Methods: In this systematic review we tried to explore these new uses for practitioners and also reemphasize on the most evidence-based complications of cola consumption like bone loss and metabolic and cardiovascular adverse effects in cases of misuse and overuse from both clinical and nutritional points of view via searching the PubMed database. Results: We chose 145 journal articles from the most relevant ones plus 30 extra references and categorized their topics in two classes of medical uses and adverse effects. Conclusion: It could be stated that cola beverages have demonstrated interesting uses and benefits in medicine but their use should be regulated as strict as possible.

Background and Objective: Yoghurt, especially bio-yoghurt has long been recognized as a product with many health benefits for consumers. Also, honey and olive oil have considerable nutritional and health effects. So, the effect of administration of yoghurt made using ABT culture and fortified with honey (2 and 6%), olive oil (1 and 4%) or honey + olive oil (2+1 and 6+4% respectively) on some biological and hematological properties of rats was investigated. Methods: The body weight gain, serum lipid level, blood glucose level, serum creatinine level, Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase (GOT) activity, Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (GPT) activity, leukocytes and lymphocytes counts of rats were evaluated. Results: Blending of bio-yoghurt with rats' diet improved body weight gain. Concentrations of Total plasma Cholesterol (TC), High-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), Low-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), Very Low-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL) and Triglycerides (TG) significantly lowered in plasma of rats fed bio-yoghurt. Levels of TC, LDL, VLDL, and TG also decreased in rat groups feed bio-yoghurt supplemented with honey and olive oil. LDL concentrations were reduced by 10.32, 18.51, 34.17, 22.48, 43.30% in plasma of rats fed classic starter yoghurt, ABT yoghurt, ABT yoghurt contained 6% honey, ABT yoghurt contained 4% olive oil and ABT yoghurt contained 6% honey + 4% olive oil respectively. The blood glucose, serum creatinine, GOT and GPT values of rats decreased while white blood cells and lymphocytes counts increased by feeding bioyoghurt contained honey and olive oil. Conclusion: The findings enhanced the multiple therapeutic effects of bio-yoghurt supplemented with honey and olive oil.

Background: Micromeria species are rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolics which have several medicinal properties. Different solvents are used for extraction of these substances from natural products and solvent type has a major importance in extraction efficiency. In this context, three solvent systems of methanol, ethanol and acetone and their mixture at 50% were used to extract the phenolics with biological effects from Micromeria graeca (L.) Benth. ex Rchb. Methods: The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminium chloride methods, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of the extracts was evaluated using three different assays. The antifungal capacity against the two strains Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger by using the method of diffusion on disc was also carried out. Results: The 50% acetonic extract gave a better rate of extraction which is 14.4% and presents the highest contents in total phenolics and flavonoids which are of 46.7 ± 2.3 mg gallic acid equivalent /g dry matter and 2.4 ± 0.1 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry matter respectively. A better antioxidant activity for the various tests was observed for 50% methanolic and acetonic extracts. The extract of 50% acetone recorded the most important antifungal activity. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the extract prepared with the 50% acetone from Micromeria graeca has the highest phenolics content and revealed the best biological activities. So, this study has allowed us to find the suitable solvent for the preparation of the M. graeca extract for several uses.

Background: It is important to study about the use of natural antioxidants as alternatives to synthetic ones due to the possibility of carcinogenic effects of synthetic antioxidants. This study is comparing the effect of the ultrasound-assisted and maceration extraction methods on antioxidant activity of Matricaria recutita. Methods: Bioactive compounds including phenolic, tocopherol, flavonoid and tannins and antioxidant activity of the extracts were evaluated. Moreover, extracts obtained from ultrasound and maceration methods were added to sunflower oil without any antioxidants at level of 200, 500 and 800 ppm, after that samples were heated at 180°C. Oxidation of the samples were evaluated after 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 hours by measuring Peroxide Value (PV), Conjugated Diene (CD), Iodine Value (IV), Carbonyl Value (CV), Total Polar Compounds (TPC), Oil Stability Index (OSI), Color Index (CI) and acid value (AV). Results: The result showed total phenol (42.90 mg gallic acid/g extract), tocopherol (120.46 μg α - tocopherol/ml extract), flavonoid (2.64 mg/100 g extract) and tannins (3.89 mg gallic acid/g extract) of ultrasound extracts were higher than maceration extracts. Antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated by DPPH assay which indicated 800 ppm of the Matricaria recutita extracted by ultrasound was the highest radical scavenging ability. Conclusion: Result indicated both ultrasound and maceration extracts could increase the oil oxidative stability but could not increase compared to BHA. In most cases, the extract samples by ultrasound had a better effect on stabilizing of sunflower oil during frying.

Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents has increased dramatically during the past decades, in most developing and developed countries. This study aimed to evaluate the beverage intake among Jordanian adolescents and to investigate the possible associations between beverage consumption and weight status. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at government and private schools in Amman city, the capital of Jordan. Seven hundred and ninety five adolescent students (400 boys and 395 girls) aged 15-18 years were recruited using a multistage stratified sampling method. Students were asked to complete a validated questionnaire to assess their beverage consumption during school year 2013- 2014. Students' body weight was categorized as non-obese and obese according to the International Obesity Task Force standard. Results: The average beverage consumption was found to be significantly higher in Jordanian adolescent boys than in girls. However, both boys and girls had similar beverage consumption frequencies except for whole milk and sweetened coffee with or without milk or non-dairy coffee creamer. The boys consumed 1-2 cups of whole milk and sweetened coffee with or without milk or non-dairy coffee creamer/day (58.5% and 55.5% respectively), while the girls consumed less than one cup/ day of whole milk and sweetened coffee with or without milk or non-dairy coffee creamer/day (57.7% and 49.9% respectively). No significant associations were established between the investigated beverage consumptions and the weight status for Jordanian adolescents. Conclusion: Although beverage consumption was significantly higher in Jordanian adolescent boys than girls, it was not associated with the obesity among Jordanian adolescents.

Background: Beneficial effects of dietary proteins and exercise in treatment of obesity is well-recognized. The effect of exercise and protein source on food intake, body weight and characteristics of metabolic syndrome in obese female Wistar rats was examined. Female Wistar rats received an obesogenic diet for 12 weeks. Then, rats were allocated to four groups and received one of the following treatments for eight weeks: 1- Whey protein Diet + Exercise (WPE), 2- Soy protein diet + exercise (SPE), 3- Whey protein diet, no exercise (WPN), 4- Soy protein diet, no exercise (SPN). The exercise comprised of 30 minutes on a treadmill, three times/week. Body weight (BW) and food intake (FI), blood pressure, pulse, glucose and intake regulatory hormones were measured. Results: FI and plasma ghrelin (2.7 times) were higher in exercise groups compared with non-exercise groups. BW was lower (6.7%) in groups fed a whey protein diet compared with those fed a soy protein diet. Abdominal fat (% BW) was lower (22.8%) in WPE compared with other groups. Diastolic blood pressure (11.1%) and pulse (6%) were lower in groups fed a soy protein diet compared with groups fed a whey protein diet. Conclusion: While exercise affects food intake, source of protein determines BW and BC. Whey protein showed more favorable effect on BW and body composition.

Background: Nowadays, consumers are more concerned about the issues related to the maintenance and promotion of health, trying to combine the pleasure in the consumption of certain foods with health benefits. Therefore, there has been an increase in the marketing of functional foods. Objective: The present study was carried out in order to explore the consumers’ acceptance regarding the possibility of introducing in the market a new dairy product with functional properties, namely a cheese with berries. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a non-probabilistic sample of 335 adult participants. The questionnaires were applied online after informed consent only to adults (aged 18 or over) and the data were collected from August 2016 to March 2017 among the Portuguese population. Results: The results obtained showed that approximately 92% of the participants consumed cheese of any type regularly and 50% consumed cheese two or three times per week. Most of the participants (~62%) revealed that they did not consume any type of cheese with additional benefits. Nevertheless, they indicated that they might be potential consumers of a cheese with berries (~73%) and would like the product to have the ability to improve cardiovascular health (~73%) and have high antioxidant capacity (~51%). The participants involved considered important the addition of ingredients such as blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry, blueberry, strawberry or cherry, and suggested that all the ingredients tested might combine well with cheese. Conclusion: This work showed that the introduction in the market of this new dairy product, a cheese with berries, might be a successful strategy.

Background: In majority of the studies inverse association between vitamin D and parathyroid hormone levels is documented. Objective: The rationale of the current study was to investigate whether this inverse association is agedependent and whether it has any role in modulating renal function and insulin resistance. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we have carried out a hospital based study enrolling 848 subjects (558 men and 290 women) with the mean age of 50.9 ± 15.9 y. Chemiluminometric competitive immune assays were performed using commercial kits to determine 25-OH vitamin D and Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) levels. Fasting glucose levels and serum creatinine were used to evaluate diabetes and renal function. Results: Vitamin D deficiency was predominant irrespective of age group (p = 0.21) and gender (p = 0.12). An inverse association between vitamin D and PTH was observed (r = -0.24) in middle age subjects (p = 0.02). The data segregation based on plasma vitamin D levels which were <20 ng/ml, 20.1- 30 ng/ml and >30 ng/ml confirmed the inverse association between vitamin D and PTH levels (ptrend: 0.007). Subjects with low plasma vitamin D and increased PTH exhibited elevated blood urea, serum creatinine and blood glucose. Subjects with 25-OHD deficiency showed a 3.03-folds (95% CI: 2.26- 4.07) and 2.09-fold (1.41-3.10) increased risk for diabetes and renal disease, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it is suggested that those with vitamin D deficiency need to be evaluated for possible presence of renal dysfunction, diabetes/insulin resistance in addition to assessing their PTH status.