Dairy foods and health: an umbrella review of observational studies

Evidence on consumption of dairy foods and human health is contradictory. This study aimed to summarize the level of evidence of dairy consumption on various health outcomes. A systematic search for meta-analyses was performed: study design, dose\u2013response relationship, heterogeneity and agreement of results over time, and identification of potential confounding factors were considered to assess the level of evidence. Convincing and probable evidence of decreased risk of colorectal cancer, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, elevated blood pressure and fatal stroke, respectively, was found for total dairy consumption; possible decreased risk of breast cancer, metabolic syndrome, stroke and type-2 diabetes, and increased risk of prostate cancer and Parkinson\u2019s disease was also found. Similar, yet not entirely consistent evidence for individual dairy products was reported. Among potential confounding factors, geographical localisation and fat content of dairy have been detected. In conclusions, dairy may be part of a healthy diet; however, additional studies exploring confounding factors are needed to ascertain the potential detrimental effects

Food consumption behaviours in Europe:Mapping drivers, trends and pathways towards sustainability

Why do European consumers buy food the way they do? Which key factors drive Europeans’ food consumption patterns and how could they be used to create pathways toward sustainability? The VALUMICS project’s evidence-based report provides insights to what influences consumers the most in their food choices. The report ‘Food consumption behaviours in Europe’ brings together data across various countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy. Through in-depth literature research, focus groups and expert consultations, the report provides a better understanding of the status quo, trends, motivations as well as barriers and opportunities towards more sustainable food consumption behaviours in general. The focus is on five product categories: Beef, dairy, salmon, tomatoes and bread. Findings indicate that food consumption behaviours can be largely attributed to price considerations, family eating habits, health concerns or social contexts of consumers. The report highlights that environmental awareness and values play little to no role in the consumption patterns. “Certain changes can only be made by politics, or the EU in this case, which should impose high sustainability limits and standards: for example, banning disposable plastics is a good start. Until certain management practices are allowed, it is difficult to behave more sustainably because everyone else can be more economically competitive” noted one of the experts interviewed for the report. Other actions suggested in the report include fostering stronger communication channels between producers and consumers, with the potential for increasing the resilience of food value chains as well as using behavioural insights to inform strategies and action plans for more sustainable food consumption. The report ’Food consumption behaviours in Europe’ is the first in a series of VALUMICS publications focusing on analysing food consumption. The upcoming reports look into successful interventions for sustainable food behaviour, multi-stakeholder recommendations toward more sustainable food consumption, and food retailer interventions to support this shift.Nicolau, M., Esquivel, L., Schmidt, I., Fedato, C., Leimann, L., Samoggia, A., Monticone, F., Prete, D.M., Ghelfi, R., Saviolidis, M.N., Olafsdottir, G., Sigurdardottir, H., Aubert, P.M., Huber, E., Aditjandra, A., Hubbard, C., De, A., Gorton, M., Čechura, L., Bogason, G.S., Brimont, L., Odene, J. & Schamari, D. Report on (2021) Food consumption behaviours in Europe. Mapping drivers, trends and pathways towards sustainability. VALUMICS "Understanding Food Value Chains and Network Dynamics", funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme GA No 727243. Deliverable: D6.1, CSCP, Germany, 87 pages

Whole grain consumption and human health: an umbrella review of observational studies

Whole grains have been associated with a number of health benefits. We systematically reviewed existing meta-analyses of observational studies and evaluated the level of evidence for their putative effects based on pre-selected criteria. Of the 23 included studies, we found convincing evidence of an inverse association between whole grain consumption and risk of type-2 diabetes and colorectal cancer; possible evidence of decreased risk of colon cancer and cardiovascular mortality with increased whole grain intake, as well as increased risk of prostate cancer. Limited or insufficient evidence was available for all other outcomes investigated. Overall findings are encouraging for a positive effect of whole grain consumption on certain diseases, especially highly prevalent metabolic diseases, however, uncertainty of some negative associations deserves further attention

Acid- and Base-Catalysis in the Mononuclear Rearrangement of Some (Z)-arylhydrazones of 5-Amino-3-benzoyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole in Toluene: Effect of Substituents on the Course of Reaction

The reaction rates for the rearrangement of eleven (Z)-arylhydrazones of 5-amino-3-benzoyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole 3a-k into the relevant (2-aryl-5-phenyl-2H-1, 2,3-triazol-4-yl)ureas 4a-k in the presence of trichloroacetic acid or of piperidine have been determined in toluene at 313.1 K. The results have been related to the effect of the aryl substituent by using Hammett and/or Ingold-Yukawa-Tsuno correlations and have been compared with those previously collected in a protic polar solvent (dioxane/water) as well as with those on the analogous rearrangement of the corresponding (Z)-arylhydrazones of 3-benzoyl-5-phenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole 1a-k in benzene. Some light can thus be shed on the general differences of chemical reactivity between protic polar (or dipolar aprotic) and apolar solvents

Apolar versus polar solvents: a comparison of the strength of some organic acids against different bases in toluene and in water

The constants of ion-pair formation with 3-nitroaniline (3NO2A) for eight halogenoacetic acids (HAAs, 3a-h: TFA, TCA, TBA, DFA, DCA, DBA, MCA, and MBA), and five 2,2-dichloroalkanoic acids containing 3-8 carbon atoms (HAs, 5a-e: DCPA, DCBA, DCMBA, DCVA, and DCOA) have been determined in TOL at 298.1 K. The results obtained brought to evidence for HAAs the formation of ion-pairs with two different stoichiometries (base-acid, 1:1 or 1:2), while in contrast the HAs furnish only the 1:1 pairs. The different steric and electronic requirements of HAAs and HAs seem to be responsible for such an unlikely behavior. At the same time, the acid-catalyzed MRH of the (Z)-phenylhydrazone of 5-amino-3-benzoyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole (1) into (2,5-diphenyl-2H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)urea (2) in the presence of the five HAs above has been investigated in TOL at 313.1 K. Thus, in contrast with previous results in the presence of several HAAs, a unique pathway for the rearrangement has been observed, again pointing out the importance of the above effects on the initial acid/base interactions. Finally the acidic strength of TFA against seven nitroanilines (NA, 4a-g: 4NO2A, 3NO2A, 3Me4NO2A, 4Me3NO2A, 2Me3NO2A, 2NO2A, and 3,5diNO2A) characterized by a very different basicity has been measured in TOL at 298.1 K

Probiotic properties of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus paracasei isolated from human faeces.

Background: The possibility of using microbes to maintain health, and to prevent or treat disease is a topic as old as microbiology. The research of novel probiotic strains is important in order to satisfy the increasing request of the market and to obtain functional products in which the probiotic cultures are more active and with better probiotic characteristics than those already present on the market. Aim of the study: In this study, the probiotic potential of Lactobacillus strains isolated from Italian elderly human faeces was investigated. Methods: The Lactobacillus strains were identified and examined for resistance to gastric acidity and bile toxicity, adhesion to HT-29 cells, antimicrobial activities, antibiotic susceptibility and plasmid profile. Survival of the strains through human intestine was examined in a 3 months human feeding trial. Results: Two strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus IMC 501 and Lactobacillus paracasei IMC 502, tolerated well low pH and bile acids. In antimicrobial activity assays, both strains showed inhibitory properties towards selected potential harmful microorganisms, particularly against Candida albicans. The two selected strains expressed high in vitro adherence to HT-29 cells increasing this characteristic when they are used in combination and they were resistant to vamcomycin, colistin sulphate, gentamicin, oxolinic acid and kanamycin. Moreover, the two strains could be recovered from stools of volunteers after the feeding trials. Conclusions: Lactobacillus rhamnosus IMC 501 and L. paracasei IMC 502 present favourable strain-specific properties for their utilisation as probiotics in functional foods and the high adhesion ability of the L. rhamnosus IMC 501 and L. paracasei IMC 502 used in combination, confirmed by both in vitro and in vivo study, indicate that the two bacterial strains could be used as health-promoting bacteria