Functional food science and defence against reactive oxidative species

This paper assesses critically the science base that underpins the argument that oxidative damage is a significant causative factor in the development of human diseases and that antioxidants are capable of preventing or ameliorating these disease processes. The assessment has been carried out under a number of headings, and some recommendations for future research are made based on the present day knowledge bas

Functional food science and defence against reactive oxidative species

This paper assesses critically the science base that underpins the argument that oxidative damage is a significant causative factor in the development of human diseases and that antioxidants are capable of preventing or ameliorating these disease processes. The assessment has been carried out under a number of headings, and some recommendations for future research are made based on the present day knowledge base. The knowledge database (1) Consideration of the basic science that underlies understanding of the role of free radicals in causing cellular pathologies, and the role of antioxidants in preventing this, shows that an imbalance of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defence systems may lead to chemical modifications of biologically relevant macromolecules. This imbalance provides a logical pathobiochemical mechanism for the initiation and development of several disease states. Experimental data obtained in vivo provide evidence that antioxidants function in systems that scavenge reactive oxygen species and that these are relevant to what occurs in vivo. The relevance in vivo of these observations depends inter alia on knowledge of the uptake and distribution of the antioxidant within the human body, and on what tissue levels of the antioxidant may be expected in relation to dietary levels. (2) There is some way to go until validated precise methods are available for measuring biomarkers of oxidative damage in human subjects in vivo under minimally invasive conditions. With respect to oxidative damage in DNa, HPLC and GC-mass spectrophotometry methods have both merits and limitations. Lipid oxidation products in plasma are best measured as isoprostanes or as lipid hydroperoxides using specific HPLC techniques. Development of isoprostane measurement will advance specificity and precision. The measurement of oxidative damage to proteins has some potential but such methods have not been effectively exploited. (3) Epidemiological studies support the hypothesis that the major antioxidant nutrients vitamin E and vitamin C, and beta-carotene (which may or may not be acting as an antioxidant in vivo), may play a beneficial role in prevention of several chronic disorders. More research is needed on the impact of other non-nutrient compounds, such as other carotenoids and flavonoids, on human health. In general, human intervention studies using hard end-points are the gold standard. Trials are restricted mainly to the major antioxidants and do not allow firm conclusions because of inconsistent findings, an insufficient number of studies and the use of varying doses. There is evidence that large doses of beta-carotene may be deleterious to the health of certain subgroups of the population such as heavy habitual smokers. (4) With respect to the safety of administration of supplementary vitamins, vitamin C is safe at levels of supplementation up to 600 mg/d, and higher levels, up to 2000 mg/d, are without risk. Vitamin E has a very low human toxicity and an intake of 1000 mg/d is without risk; 3200 mg/d has been shown to be without any consistent risk. Large intakes of beta-carotene must be viewed with caution because they have been shown to confer detriment to a population at high risk of lung cancer when administered after many years of high risk (smoking) behaviour. Until further work clarifies the situation in heavy smokers with respect to taking supplements, larger doses should be avoided by such individuals. There is little reliable information about the human toxicology of flavonoids and related non-nutrient antioxidant constituents of the diet. (5) The food industry has long experience in the control of oxidative damage in foods and this experience can be used to advantage for the protection of food antioxidants which are beneficial. Some of these, such as vitamins C and E and beta-carotene, are well known, and strategies for their protection in foods are already exploited by food technologies. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED

Health claims in the labelling and marketing of food products:: the Swedish food sector's Code of Practice in a European perspective

Since 1990 certain health claims in the labelling and marketing of food products have been allowed in Sweden within the food sector's Code of Practice. The rules were developed in close dialogue with the authorities. The legal basis was a decision by the authorities not to apply the medicinal products’ legislation to “foods normally found on the dinner table” provided the rules defined in the Code were followed. The Code of Practice lists nine well-established diet–health relationships eligible for generic disease risk reduction claims in two steps and general rules regarding nutrient function claims. Since 2001, there has also been the possibility for using “product-specific physiological claims (PFP)”, subject to premarketing evaluation of the scientific dossier supporting the claim. The scientific documentation has been approved for 10 products with PFP, and another 15 products have been found to fulfil the Code's criteria for “low glycaemic index”. In the third edition of the Code, active since 2004, conditions in terms of nutritional composition were set, i.e. “nutrient profiles”, with a general reference to the Swedish National Food Administration's regulation on the use of a particular symbol, i.e. the keyhole symbol. Applying the Swedish Code of practice has provided experience useful in the implementation of the European Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods, effective from 2007

Compulsory Arbitration Agreements in Domestic and International Consumer Contracts

This paper examines the UK Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCR)'s prohibition on clauses in consumer contracts that mandate dispute settlement in an arbitration tribunal as potentially unfair and oppressive as against consumers because it denies their right to civil adjudication. The understanding of UTCCR's unfairness as developed by the UK House of Lords is not necessarily applicable to arbitration clauses because of the lower cost of such proceedings and the availability of legal aid, even in the international context. International arbitration decisions may also be reviewed for procedural irregularities under the New York Convention. Various European court decisions are reviewed where compulsory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts were evaluated for fairness to conclude that courts should be more receptive to such terms because of procedural advantages that they may accord to consumers

Effect of vitamin E (Tri E®) on antioxidant enzymes and DNA damage in rats following eight weeks exercise

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exercise is beneficial to health, but during exercise the body generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are known to result in oxidative stress. The present study analysed the effects of vitamin E (Tri E^®) on antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (Cat) activity and DNA damage in rats undergoing eight weeks exercise.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty four <it>Sprague-Dawley </it>rats (weighing 320-370 gm) were divided into four groups; a control group of sedentary rats which were given a normal diet, second group of sedentary rats with oral supplementation of 30 mg/kg/d of Tri E^®, third group comprised of exercised rats on a normal diet, and the fourth group of exercised rats with oral supplementation of 30 mg/kg/d of Tri E^®. The exercising rats were trained on a treadmill for 30 minutes per day for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken before and after 8 weeks of the study to determine SOD, GPx, Cat activities and DNA damage.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SOD activity decreased significantly in all the groups compared to baseline, however both exercised groups showed significant reduction in SOD activity as compared to the sedentary groups. Sedentary control groups showed significantly higher GPx and Cat activity compared to baseline and exercised groups. The supplemented groups, both exercised and non exercised groups, showed significant decrease in Cat activity as compared to their control groups with normal diet. DNA damage was significantly higher in exercising rats as compared to sedentary control. However in exercising groups, the DNA damage in supplemented group is significantly lower as compared to the non-supplemented group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, antioxidant enzymes activity were generally reduced in rats supplemented with Tri E^®probably due to its synergistic anti-oxidative defence, as evidenced by the decrease in DNA damage in Tri E^®supplemented exercise group.</p

Evaluation of the functional efficacy of an antioxidative probiotic in healthy volunteers

BACKGROUND: In persons without clinical symptom it is difficult to assess an impact of probiotics regarding its effect on health. We evaluated the functional efficacy of the probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum ME-3 in healthy volunteers by measuring the influence of two different formulations on intestinal lactoflora, fecal recovery of the probiotic strain and oxidative stress markers of blood and urine after 3 weeks consumption. METHODS: Two 3-week healthy volunteer trials were performed. Open placebo controlled (OPC) study participants (n = 21) consumed either goat milk or by L. fermentum ME-3 fermented goat milk (daily dose 11.8 log CFU (Colony Forming Units). Double blind randomised placebo controlled (DBRP) study participants (n = 24) received either capsules with L. fermentum ME-3 (daily of dose 9.2 CFU) or placebo capsules. The faecal lactoflora composition, faecal ME-3 recovery, effect of the consumption on intestinal lactoflora, and oxidative stress markers of blood (total antioxidative activity; total antioxidative status and glutathione red-ox ratio) was measured. RESULTS: ME-3 was well tolerated and a significant increase in total faecal lactobacilli yet no predominance of ME-3 was detected in all study groups. Faecal recovery of ME-3 was documented by molecular methods only in fermented milk group, however the significant improvement of blood TAA (Total Antioxidative Activity) and TAS (Total Antioxidative Status) indices was seen both in case of fermented goat milk and capsules", yet glutathione re-ox ratio values decreased only in case of fermented by ME-3 goat milk. CONCLUSION: The functional efficacy of both consumed formulations of an antioxidative probiotic L. fermentum ME-3 is proved by the increase of the intestinal lactobacilli counts providing putative defence against enteric infections and by reduction of the oxidative stress indices of blood and urine of healthy volunteers. In non-diseased host the probiotic health claims can be assessed by improvement of some measurable laboratory indices of well-established physiological functions of host, e.g. markers of antioxidative defence system

The ISO Long-Wavelength Spectrometer

The Long-Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) is one of two complementary spectrometers aboard the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) (Kessler et al., 1996). It operates over the wavelength range 43 - 196.9 μm at either medium (about 150 to 200) or high (6800 to 9700) spectral resolving power. This Letter describes the instrument and its modes of operation; a companion paper (Swinyard et al, 1996) describes its performance and calibration

The ISO long-wavelength spectrometer

The Long-Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) is one of two complementary spectrometers aboard the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) (Kessler et al., 1996A&A...315L..49D). It operates over the wavelength range 43-196.9μm at either medium (about 150 to 200) or high (6800 to 9700) spectral resolving power. This Letter describes the instrument and its modes of operation; a companion paper (Swinyard et al, 1996) describes its performance and calibration

Immune Activation Reduces Sperm Quality in the Great Tit

Mounting an immune response against pathogens incurs costs to organisms by its effects on important life-history traits, such as reproductive investment and survival. As shown recently, immune activation produces large amounts of reactive species and is suggested to induce oxidative stress. Sperm are highly susceptible to oxidative stress, which can negatively impact sperm function and ultimately male fertilizing efficiency. Here we address the question as to whether mounting an immune response affects sperm quality through the damaging effects of oxidative stress. It has been demonstrated recently in birds that carotenoid-based ornaments can be reliable signals of a male's ability to protect sperm from oxidative damage. In a full-factorial design, we immune-challenged great tit males while simultaneously increasing their vitamin E availability, and assessed the effect on sperm quality and oxidative damage. We conducted this experiment in a natural population and tested the males' response to the experimental treatment in relation to their carotenoid-based breast coloration, a condition-dependent trait. Immune activation induced a steeper decline in sperm swimming velocity, thus highlighting the potential costs of an induced immune response on sperm competitive ability and fertilizing efficiency. We found sperm oxidative damage to be negatively correlated with sperm swimming velocity. However, blood resistance to a free-radical attack (a measure of somatic antioxidant capacity) as well as plasma and sperm levels of oxidative damage (lipid peroxidation) remained unaffected, thus suggesting that the observed effect did not arise through oxidative stress. Towards the end of their breeding cycle, swimming velocity of sperm of more intensely colored males was higher, which has important implications for the evolution of mate choice and multiple mating in females because females may accrue both direct and indirect benefits by mating with males having better quality sperm