Enhancement of the folate content in Egyptian pita bread

Introduction: Egypt has a high incidence of neural tube defects related to folate deficiency. One major food source for folate is pita (baladi) bread, which is consumed daily. Bioprocessing (e.g. germination) has been reported to increase the folate content in cereals. The aim was to produce pita bread with increased folate content using germinated wheat flour (GWF).Methods: Prior to milling the effects of germination and drying conditions on folate content in wheat grains were studied. Pita bread was baked from wheat flour substituted with different levels of GWF. The folate content in dough and bread and rheological properties of dough were determined.Results: Germination of wheat grains resulted in, depending on temperature, 3- to 4-fold higher folate content with a maximum of 61 µg/100 g DM (dry matter). The folate content in both flour and bread increased 1.5 to 4-fold depending on the level of flour replacement with GWF. Pita bread baked with 50% sieved GWF was acceptable with respect to colour and layer separation, and had a folate content of 50 µg/100 g DM compared with 30 µg/100 g DM in conventional pita bread (0% GWF).Conclusion: Using 50% GWF, pita bread with increased folate content, acceptable for the Egyptian consumer, was produced. Consumption of this bread would increase the average daily folate intake by 75 µg

Characterization of volatile compounds in Swedish yellow and gray peas : implications for new legume‐based ingredients

There is a growing demand for alternative protein‐source ingredients from domestically cultivated pulses in Europe, including Sweden. However, the use of legumes as a food ingredient is limited by the presence of a distinct beany flavor. Mapping the volatile compounds composition in a standardized approach will aid in comparing different legume varieties and processing treatments. The composition of volatile compounds in flour from yellow and gray peas (raw and boiled) was investigated and compared. Volatile compounds were isolated by headspace solid‐phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) and analyzed using gas chromatography‐mass spectrophotometry (GC‐MS). A total of 43 volatiles were identified, consisting mostly of aldehydes, followed by alkanes, alcohols, ketones, alkenes, furans, terpenes, aromatics, and sulfur‐containing compounds. Boiling led to a marked reduction in alcohols and an increase in aldehydes. Several markers of beany flavor, such as 1‐octen‐3‐ol, 2‐pentylfuran, and 3,5‐octadien‐2‐one, were significantly decreased after boiling. The composition of volatiles collected from yellow and gray peas was comparable, but boiled yellow pea had a higher abundance of beany flavor as compared to gray pea. Gray pea is an interesting variety to be explored further as a potential alternative to the well‐known yellow pea

Characterization of Flavonoid Compounds in Common Swedish Berry Species

Berries are considered an ideal source of polyphenols, especially from the flavonoid group. In this study, we examined the flavonoid content in 16 varieties of Swedish lingonberry, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry. Nineteen flavonoids were simultaneously quantified using external standards. An additional 29 flavonoids were tentatively identified using MS as no standards were available. Quantification was done using HPLC-UV after optimization of chromatographic and extraction procedures. The method showed high linearity within the range of 2–100 µg/mL (correlation co-efficient >0.999), intra- and inter-day precision of 1.7–7.3% and average recovery above 84% for all compounds. Blueberries and lingonberries were found to contain higher contents of flavonoids (1100 mg/100 g dry weight) than raspberries and strawberries (500 mg/100 g dry weight). Anthocyanins were the dominant flavonoids in all berries. The tentatively characterized compounds contribute 18%, 29%, 61%, and 67% of the total flavonoid content in strawberries, lingonberries, raspberries, and blueberries, respectively. Overall, Swedish berries were shown to be good sources of polyphenols

Plasma metabolite profiles in healthy women differ after intervention with supplemental folic acid v. folate-rich foods

Public health authorities recommend all fertile women to increase their folate intake to 400 μg/d by eating folate-rich foods or by taking a folic acid supplement to protect against neural tube defects. In a previous study it was shown that folate-rich foods improved folate blood status as effectively as folic acid supplementation. The aim of the present study was to investigate, using NMR metabolomics, the effects of an intervention with a synthetic folic acid supplement v. native food folate on the profile of plasma metabolites. Healthy women with normal folate status received, in parallel, 500 μg/d synthetic folic acid from a supplement (n 18), 250 μg/d folate from intervention foods (n 19), or no additional folate (0 μg/d) through a portion of apple juice (n 20). The metabolic profile of plasma was measured using 1H-NMR in fasted blood drawn at baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention. Metabolic differences between the groups at baseline and after intervention were assessed using a univariate statistical approach (P ≤ 0·001, Bonferroni-adjusted significance level). At baseline, the groups showed no significant differences in measured metabolite concentrations. After intervention, eight metabolites, of which six (glycine, choline, betaine, formate, histidine and threonine) are related to one-carbon metabolism, were identified as discriminative metabolites. The present study suggests that different folate forms (synthetic v. natural) may affect related one-carbon metabolites differently

Folate absorption from folate-fortified and processed foods using a human ileostomy model

Data on folate absorption from food from validated human studies using physiological folate doses are still needed to estimate dietary requirements and to formulate recommendations. The aim of the present work was to study the effects from fortified and processed foods on folate absorption in ileostomy volunteers (n 9) using the area under the plasma concentration curve (AUC) and kinetic modelling. Using a standardized single-dose protocol, dairy products fortified with a candidate fortificant (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolate ((6S)-5-CH3-H4folate), folic acid-fortified bread and a dessert crème containing natural yeast folate polyglutamates were compared with folate supplements. Absorbed folate was estimated by AUC and a kinetic model, and non-absorbed folate by ileostomal folate excretion. Median apparent absorption from test foods ranged from 55 to 86%. Added folate-binding proteins (FBP) significantly reduced folate absorption from dairy products, as in the absence of FBP, AUC–dose-corrected ratios were increased and ileal folate excretion decreased. After in vivo gastrointestinal passage of dairy products containing FBP, up to 43% of the ingested FBP was found in ileostomal effluent. Folate absorption was similar for (6S)-5-CH3-H4folate fortificant from fermented milk and for folic acid from fortified bread. Folic acid, ingested as food fortificant in bread, was significantly less absorbed compared with an isolated supplement. We conclude that all tested foods were suitable matrices for folate fortification. However, dairy products, fortified with the new candidate fortificant (6S)-5-CH3-H4folate, are suitable if no active FBP is present

Effect of a 12-Week Dietary Intervention with Folic Acid or Folate-Enhanced Foods on Folate Status in Healthy Egyptian Women

The Egyptian government introduced wheat-flour fortification with iron and folic acid to reduce the incidence of neural tube defects, but suspended it for technical reasons. We previously developed novel legume foods with enhanced folate content. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of 12-week intervention with folate-en- hanced foods versus folic acid supplement in improving folate status in Egyptian women. A randomized, parallel intervention trial with two active groups (n = 19, n = 18) and one blinded control group (n = 20) was executed over 12 weeks. Volunteers received either germinated legume foods and orange juice (≈250 μg/d folate) or folic acid supplement (500 μg/d) or apple juice (0 μg/d folate). Folate status was assessed by erythrocyte and plasma folate and total homocysteine (tHcy) at day 0, and after 8 and 12 weeks of intervention. After 12 weeks, mean plasma folate increased by 14 (P < 0.0001) and 12 (P < 0.0001) nmoL in the folic acid and food group, respectively. Erythrocyte folate concentration increased in the folic acid group from 614 to 912 (P < 0.0001) and in the food group from 631 to 914 nmoL (P < 0.0001). After 12 weeks, 90% of subjects in the folic acid group and 70% in the food group had erythrocyte folate concentrations exceeding 906 nmol/L. tHcy concentration was decreased by 20% (P = 0.007) and 18% (P = 0.006) in the folic acid and food group, respectively, but remained unchanged in the control group during intervention. Folate-enhanced foods effectively improve folate status in women of reproductive age. These foods could be used as a complement to folic acid fortification

Förstudie kring hållbar vattenförsörjning i södra Sverige

Dricksvatten är vårt viktigaste livsmedel men detta rena vatten används även för bevattningsändamål, i vårt avloppssystem och inom industrin. Våra samlade vattenresurser ger dessutom ekosystemtjänster i form av fiske, rekreationsvärde m.m. (Bergek m. fl., 2017). Trots att Sverige är ett mycket vattenrikt land sett ur ett internationellt perspektiv har vattenbrist uppstått i flera delar av landet under senare år. Vidare förväntas pågående och kommande klimatförändringar, befolkningstillväxt och urbanisering påverka vattenkvaliteten negativt samt öka konkurrensen om vatten ytterligare (IPCC, 2014; SMHI, 2020a). Med ökad konkurrens uppstår dessutom målkonflikter mellan olika viktiga samhällsfunktioner. Det finns således ett stort behov av tvärsektoriell forskning samt policyutveckling för att säkerställa en hållbar framtida vattenförsörjning. Denna rapport syftar till att sammanställa kunskapsläget vad gäller förutsättningarna för en hållbar vattenförsörjning i Kronobergs län. Först beskrivs tillgång och uttag av dricksvatten i Kronoberg i jämförelse med Kalmar och Skåne län samt förutsättningarna för god framtida vattenkvalitet med Bolmen som exempel. Därefter fokuserar vi på de målkonflikter som kan förväntas uppstå kring dricksvattnet och diskuterar slutligen de kunskapsluckor samt det behov av tvärsektoriell forskning och samhällsutveckling som behövs för en hållbar vattenförsörjning

On the effect of flavonoids and dietary fibre in lingonberries on atherosclerotic plaques, lipid profiles and gut microbiota composition in Apoe-/- mice

It has not been clarified whether the anti-atherosclerotic effect of lingonberry can be ascribed to its content of flavonoids or dietary fibre or both. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolic effects of whole lingonberries compared with isolated flavonoid and fibre fractions on atherosclerotic plaques, plasma lipid profiles, gut microbiota and microbiota-dependent metabolites in an Apoe–/– mouse model. Mice fed whole lingonberries showed the lowest amount of atherosclerotic plaques, while mice fed the fibre fraction had the highest formation of caecal butyric acid. Flavonoids, rather than dietary fibre, were suggested to be the components that favour proliferation of Akkermansia, as judged by the lowest abundance of this bacterium in mice fed the fibre fraction. All groups fed lingonberry diets had both, lower Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratios and creatinine concentrations, compared with the control. To conclude, different components in lingonberries are associated with different physiological effects in Apoe–/– mice