Perspective: Practical Approach to Preventing Subclinical B12 Deficiency in Elderly Population

Vitamin B12 (also known as cobalamin) is an essential water-soluble vitamin that plays a pivotal role for several physiologic functions during one’s lifespan. Only certain microorganisms are able to synthetize B12, thus humans obtain cobalamin exclusively from their diet, specifically from animal-derived foods. Specific sub-group populations are at risk of vitamin B12 subclinical deficiency due to different factors including poor intake of animal source foods and age-dependent decrease in the capacity of intestinal B12 uptake. Consumption of animal products produces some negative health issues and negatively impacts sustainability while a plant-based diet increases the risk of B12 deficiency. Taking a cue from the aforementioned considerations, this narrative review aims to summarize facts about B12 deficiency and the burden of inadequate dietary intake in elderly population, as well as to discuss sustainable approaches to vitamin B12 deficiency in aging population

Crisi d'impresa. Le novit\ue0 del Codice

Dopo un lunghissimo iter \ue8 finalmente approdato in Gazzetta ufficiale il decreto legislativo con cui il Governo in carica ha dato esecuzione alla legge delega n. 155 del 2017 per la riforma delle procedure concorsuali. Il Governo aveva licenziato il testo del decreto nella riunione del Consiglio dei ministri dello scorso 10 gennaio, dopo il via libera delle commissioni parlamentari e della ragioneria dello Stato. Si tratta del Dlgs 12 gennaio 2019, n. 14 con il quale ha visto la. luce il \u201cCodice della crisi di impresa e dell\u2019insolvenza\u201d in attuazione della legge 19 ottobre 2017, n. 155 che costituisce per il nostro ordinamento una rivoluzione copernicana all\u2019approccio alla crisi dell\u2019impresa e del consumatore. Il volume esamina le novit\ue0 introdotte dal decreto legislativo in tutti i suoi aspetti

Use of selected sourdough strains of Lactobacillus for removing gluten and enhancing the nutritional properties of gluten-free bread

Forty-six strains of sourdough lactic acid bacteria were screened for proteolytic activity and acidification rate in gluten-free (GF) flours. The sourdough cultures consisted of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis LS40 and LS41 and Lactobacillus plantarum CF1 and were selected and used for the manufacture of GF bread. Fermentation occurred in two steps: (i) long-time fermentation (16 h) and (ii) fast fermentation (1.5 h) using the previous fermented sourdough as inoculum (ca. 43%, wt/wt) with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast). GF bread started with baker's yeast alone was used as the control. Gluten was added to ingredients before fermentation to simulate contamination. Initial gluten concentration of 400 ppm was degraded to below 20 ppm only in the sourdough GF bread. Before baking, sourdough GF bread showed phytase activity ca. sixfold higher than that of GF bread started with baker's yeast alone. Atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis revealed that the higher phytase activity resulted in an increased availability of free Ca2+, Zn2+, and Mg2+. The concentration of free amino acids also was the highest in sourdough GF bread. Sourdough GF bread had a higher specific volume and was less firm than GF bread started with baker's yeast alone. This study highlighted the use of selected sourdough cultures to eliminate risks of contamination by gluten and to enhance the nutritional properties of GF brea