Impact of fermentation, drying, roasting and Dutch processing on flavan-3-ol stereochemistry in cacao beans and cocoa ingredients

This paper reports a systematic study of the level of flavan-3-ol monomers during typical processing steps as cacao beans are dried, fermented and roasted and the results of Dutch-processing. Methods have been used that resolve the stereoisomers of epicatechin and catechin. In beans harvested from unripe and ripe cacao pods, we find only (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin with (-)-epicatechin being by far the predominant isomer. When beans are fermented there is a large loss of both (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin, but also the formation of (-)-catechin. We hypothesize that the heat of fermentation may, in part, be responsible for the formation of this enantiomer. When beans are progressively roasted at conditions described as low, medium and high roast conditions, there is a progressive loss of (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin and an increase in (-)-catechin with the higher roast levels. When natural and Dutch-processed cacao powders are analyzed, there is progressive loss of both (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin with lesser losses of (-)-catechin. We thus observe that in even lightly Dutch-processed powder, the level of (-)-catechin exceeds the level of (-)-epicatechin. The results indicate that much of the increase in the level of (-)-catechin observed during various processing steps may be the result of heat-related epimerization from (-)-epicatechin. These results are discussed with reference to the reported preferred order of absorption of (-)-epicatechin > (+)-catechin > (-)-catechin. These results are also discussed with respect to the balance that must be struck between the beneficial impact of fermentation and roasting on chocolate flavor and the healthful benefits of chocolate and cocoa powder that result in part from the flavan-3-ol monomers

Aboriginal Children and Their Caregivers Living with Low Income: Outcomes from a Two-Generation Preschool Program

The development of preschool children of Aboriginal heritage is jeopardized by the inter-generational transmission of risk that has created, and continues to create, social disadvantage. Early intervention programs are intended to mitigate the impact of social disadvantage. Yet, evidence of the effectiveness of these programs for children of Aboriginal heritage is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a two-generation, multi-cultural preschool program on 45 children of Aboriginal heritage and their caregivers. We used a single-group, pretest (program intake)/posttest (program exit) design with follow-up when the children were 7 years old. We used an observational measure of child receptive language (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–III) and caregiver-reported measures of child development (Nipissing District Developmental Screen), risk for child maltreatment (Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory; AAPI), parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index; PSI), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale; RSE), and life skills (Community Life Skills scale; CLS). Using paired t-tests we found statistically significant increases in child receptive language scores between intake and exit, and repeated-measures ANOVA showed that these improvements were maintained up to age 7 years. For caregivers, Pearson’s correlations demonstrated that risk for child maltreatment, parenting stress, self-esteem, and life skills were stable over time. Results of this study suggest that children of Aboriginal heritage can benefit from participation in a two-generation, multi-cultural preschool program. Their caregivers may have received greater benefit if issues of intergenerational transmission of the negative influences of residential schools were addressed as part of programming

Neuroticism And Individual Differences In Neural Function In Unmedicated Major Depression: Findings From The Embarc Study

BACKGROUND: Personality dysfunction represents one of the only predictors of differential response between active treatments for depression to have replicated. We examine whether depressed patients with higher neuroticism scores, a marker of personality dysfunction, show differences compared with depressed patients with lower scores in the functioning of two brain regions associated with treatment response, the anterior cingulate and anterior insula cortices. METHODS: Functional magnetic resonance imaging data during an emotional Stroop task were collected from 135 adults with major depressive disorder at four academic medical centers participating in the EMBARC (Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response for Clinical Care) study. Secondary analyses were conducted including a sample of 28 healthy subjects. RESULTS: In whole-brain analyses, higher neuroticism among adults with depression was associated with increased activity in and connectivity with the right anterior insula cortex to incongruent compared with congruent emotional stimuli (all k $ 281, all p , .05 familywise error corrected), covarying for concurrent psychiatric distress. We also observed an unanticipated relationship between neuroticism and reduced activity in the precuneus (k 5 269, p , .05 familywise error corrected). Exploratory analyses including healthy subjects suggested that associations between neuroticism and brain function may be nonlinear over the full range of neuroticism scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides convergent evidence for the importance of the right anterior insula cortex as a brain-based marker of clinically meaningful individual differences in neuroticism among adults with depression. This is a critical next step in linking personality dysfunction, a replicated clinical predictor of differential antidepressant treatment response, with differences in underlying brain function

The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide

Background: A plant-based diet protects against chronic oxidative stress-related diseases. Dietary plants contain variable chemical families and amounts of antioxidants. It has been hypothesized that plant antioxidants may contribute to the beneficial health effects of dietary plants. Our objective was to develop a comprehensive food database consisting of the total antioxidant content of typical foods as well as other dietary items such as traditional medicine plants, herbs and spices and dietary supplements. This database is intended for use in a wide range of nutritional research, from in vitro and cell and animal studies, to clinical trials and nutritional epidemiological studies. Methods: We procured samples from countries worldwide and assayed the samples for their total antioxidant content using a modified version of the FRAP assay. Results and sample information (such as country of origin, product and/or brand name) were registered for each individual food sample and constitute the Antioxidant Food Table. Results: The results demonstrate that there are several thousand-fold differences in antioxidant content of foods. Spices, herbs and supplements include the most antioxidant rich products in our study, some exceptionally high. Berries, fruits, nuts, chocolate, vegetables and products thereof constitute common foods and beverages with high antioxidant values. Conclusions: This database is to our best knowledge the most comprehensive Antioxidant Food Database published and it shows that plant-based foods introduce significantly more antioxidants into human diet than non-plant foods. Because of the large variations observed between otherwise comparable food samples the study emphasizes the importance of using a comprehensive database combined with a detailed system for food registration in clinical and epidemiological studies. The present antioxidant database is therefore an essential research tool to further elucidate the potential health effects of phytochemical antioxidants in diet

A randomized placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effect of lactolycopene on semen quality in healthy males

Purpose Poor sperm quality is a major contributor to infertility in heterosexual couples, but at present there are few empirical therapies. Several studies have examined the role of dietary factors and data from randomized controlled trials suggest that oral antioxidant therapy can improve some sperm parameters. Health benefits of lycopene supplementation have been proposed for a variety of health conditions and here we examine whether it can help improve sperm quality. This study aimed to investigate the effect of 14 mg daily lactolycopene for 12 weeks on semen quality in healthy men. Methods Sixty healthy male participants were recruited and randomized to this double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study and received either 14 mg/d lactolycopene or a placebo for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was a change in motile sperm concentration. Secondary endpoints were all other aspects of sperm quality, including the level of sperm DNA damage. Results Fifty-six men completed the intervention and the level of plasma lycopene was significantly increased in the men randomized to receive lycopene supplementation. There was no significant change in the primary endpoint (motile sperm concentration) post-intervention (p = 0.058). However, the proportion of fast progressive sperm (p = 0.006) and sperm with normal morphology (p < 0.001) did improve significantly in response to lactolycopene intervention. Conclusions Supplementation with 14 mg/d lactolycopene improves sperm motility and morphology in young healthy men