Homocysteine levels in preterm infants: is there an association with intraventricular hemorrhage? A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to characterize total homocysteine (tHcy) levels at birth in preterm and term infants and identify associations with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and other neonatal outcomes such as mortality, sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and thrombocytopenia. METHODS: 123 infants \u3c 32 weeks gestation admitted to our Level III nursery were enrolled. A group of 25 term infants were enrolled for comparison. Two blood spots collected on filter paper with admission blood drawing were analyzed by a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Statistical analysis included ANOVA, Spearman\u27s Rank Order Correlation and Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The median tHcy was 2.75 micromol/L with an interquartile range of 1.34 - 4.96 micromol/L. There was no difference between preterm and term tHcy (median 2.76, IQR 1.25 - 4.8 micromol/L vs median 2.54, IQR 1.55 - 7.85 micromol/L, p = 0.07). There was no statistically significant difference in tHcy in 31 preterm infants with IVH compared to infants without IVH (median 1.96, IQR 1.09 - 4.35 micromol/L vs median 2.96, IQR 1.51 - 4.84 micromol/L, p = 0.43). There was also no statistically significant difference in tHcy in 7 infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) compared to infants without PVL (median 1.55, IQR 0.25 - 3.45 micromol/L vs median 2.85, IQR 1.34 - 4.82 micromol/L, p = 0.07). Male infants had lower tHcy compared to female; prenatal steroids were associated with a higher tHcy. CONCLUSION: In our population of preterm infants, there is no association between IVH and tHcy. Male gender, prenatal steroids and preeclampsia were associated with differences in tHcy levels

Profiling Anthocyanins in Thai Purple Yams (Dioscorea alata L.)

Two accessions of Thai purple yam (Dioscorea alata) were investigated for their chemical constituents during tuber development when the vines were 3 to 8 months old. Yam tubers contained total phenolic compounds ranging between 100 and 385 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE), flavonoids 60–160 mg catechin equivalent (CE), monomeric anthocyanin of 10–90 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalent (CGE), 70 g starch, and 25–30 g amylose in 100 g yam tuber on a dried weight basis, depending on the accession and age of yam vine. LCMS-IT-TOF mass spectrometry revealed that anthocyanins in both accessions from 8-month-old vines had cyanidin or peonidin nucleus. Their glycosides were nonacylated, monoacylated, or diacylated with sinapic or ferulic acid. The major yam anthocyanins found in both accessions were alatanin C (cyanidin 3-(6-sinapoyl gentiobioside). This study revealed the insights on chemical components during tuber development and characteristics of alatanins for future selection and cultivation of purple yam tubers

Influences of Waxy Rice Protein Network on Physical Properties of Waxy Rice Flour Composites

ABSTRACT The roles of waxy rice protein network as a binder on thermal, pasting and microstructural characteristics of waxy rice flour (WF)-mungbean starch (MB) were demonstrated. The presence of WF, even at one-tenth of the total solid, lowered both enthalpy of gelatinisation and enthalpy for retrogradation reversal of the WF-MB flour composite compared to those of MB (P<0.05). The timedependent shear-thinning characteristics at 95°C of WF, WF-MB and MB indicated that the composites with high ratio of WF to MB resisted shear the most (P<0.05) during Rapid Visco Analysis (RVA). Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) showed the swollen MB granules were bound by the protein network of WF after heat treatment. The resistance to shear during pasting of WF-MB composites, compared to those of WF or MB alone, were likely to be due to the binding of the swollen MB granules via interfacial interactions between WF protein network and the protein at the envelope of MB granules. This study highlighted the influences of microstructural alteration, through network formation of proteins, on the bulk pasting profiles and thermal properties of both starch and flour

Serum β-carotene, lycopene and α-tocopherol levels of healthy people in northeast Thailand

Human serum contains many different antioxidants which may be important in the maintenance of antioxidant status. β-carotene and lycopene are carotenoids with potent antioxidant activity. Carotenoids intake probably protects against cancers and may affect the risk of several chronic conditions. α-tocopherol is well known for its function as antioxidant and in reduction of heart disease and cancer risk. We aimed to establish baseline values for serum β-carotene, lycopene and α-tocopherol concentrations in healthy northeast Thais. Fasting serum β-carotene, lycopene and α-tocopherol levels from 294 subjects aged 23-75 years old in northeast Thailand were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The mean serum β-carotene, lycopene and α-tocopherol levels were 0.53 ± 0.32 µmol/L, 0.57 ± 0.37 µmol/L, and 26.64 ± 14.85 µmol/L respectively. Serum β-carotene and lycopene levels in females (N = 118) were significantly higher than the value for males (N = 176), ie 0.60 ± 0.31 µmol/L versus 0.48 ± 0.32 µmol/L (p = 0.002) for β-carotene and 0.74 ± 0.38 µmol/L versus 0.46 ± 0.33 µmol/L (p<0.001) for lycopene whereas α-tocopherol level in males (28.60 ± 14.34 µmol/L) was significantly higher than in females (23.72 ± 15.16 µmol/L) (p = 0.006). β-carotene level was positively correlated with α-tocopherol (r = 0.22, p<0.001) and lycopene levels (r = 0.63, p <0.001). The results from this study give the baseline data of serum β-carotene, lycopene and α-tocopherol levels in healthy northeast Thai population and also suggest future study on the relationship of dietary intake