Development of a Sandwich ELISA to Measure Exposure to Occupational Cow Hair Allergens

Background: Cow hair and dander are important inducers of occupational allergies in cattle-exposed farmers. To estimate allergen exposure in farming environments, a sensitive enzyme immunoassay was developed to measure cow hair allergens. Methods: A sandwich ELISA was developed using polyclonal rabbit antibodies against a mixture of hair extracts from different cattle breeds. To assess the specificity of the assay, extracts from other mammalian epithelia, mites, molds and grains were tested. To validate the new assay, cow hair allergens were measured in passive airborne dust samples from the stables and homes of farmers. Dust was collected with electrostatic dust fall collectors (EDCs). Results: The sandwich ELISA was found to be very sensitive (detection limit: 0.1 ng/ml) and highly reproducible, demonstrating intra-and interassay coefficients of variation of 4 and 10%, respectively. The assay showed no reactivity with mites, molds and grains, but some cross-reactivity with other mammalian epithelia, with the strongest reaction with goat. Using EDCs for dust sampling, high concentrations of bovine allergens were measured in cow stables (4,760-559,400 mu g/m(2)). In addition, bovine allergens were detected in all areas of cattle farmer dwellings. A large variation was found between individual samples (0.3-900 mu g/m(2)) and significantly higher values were discovered in changing rooms. Conclusion: The ELISA developed for the detection of cow hair proteins is a useful tool for allergen quantification in occupational and home environments. Based on its low detection limit, this test is sensitive enough to detect allergens in passive airborne dust. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Botanicals in Functional Foods and Food Supplements: Tradition, Efficacy and Regulatory Aspects

In recent decades, the interest in products containing botanicals and claiming \u201cfunctional\u201d properties has increased exponentially. Functional foods, novel foods and food supplements have a special impact on the consumers, who show significant expectation for their well-being. Food supplements with botanical ingredients are the food area that has witnessed the greatest development, in terms of the number of available products, budget, and consumer acceptability. This review refers to and discusses some open points, such as: 1) the definitions and regulation of products containing botanicals; 2) the difficulty in obtaining nutritional and functional claims (botanical ingredients obtaining claims in the EU are listed and summarized); 3) the safety aspects of these products; and 4) the poor harmonization between international legislations. The availability of these "new" products can positively influence the well-being of the population, but it is essential to provide the consumers with the necessary recommendations to guide them in their purchase and use

The PlantLIBRA project: how we intend to innovate the science of botanicals

The main aim of the EC-financed R&D project PlantLIBRA (PLANT food supplements: Levels of Intake, Benefit and Risk Assessment) is to foster the safe use of food supplements containing plants or botanical preparations, by enabling science-based decision making by regulators and stakeholders. To make informed decisions, competent authorities and industry need more accessible and quality-assured information, as well as better tools (e.g., databases) and procedures for safety and benefit assessments, supported by broadly accepted methodologies. Consequently, PlantLIBRA is working to develop, validate and disseminate data and methodologies for risk and benefit assessment of plant food supplements, and to implement sustainable international cooperation. International cooperation will help ensure the quality of botanicals imported in the EU. Moreover, the project will provide data on intake by conducting a harmonized consumption survey. Existing composition and safety data will be collated into a meta-database. New analytical data and methods will be investigated and validated. The consortium is working closely with competent authorities and stakeholders

Review of existing experimental methods for assessing the outcome of plant food supplementation on immune function

Plant food supplements (PFS) have become increasingly popular with respect to their consumption for improving human immune function. Despite this popularity, critical review is lacking regarding the analytical methods used to assess PFS outcome. The suitability of such methods for clinical-based studies remains particularly unclear.We undertook a literature-based review of the methods used to assess PFS outcome in immune function, to identify and assess the relevance of different technologies. Most methods described in this review adequately measured the functions of innate and adaptive immunity, were applicable to both healthy and diseased subjects, and were appropriate for assessing the benefit claims of PFS on immune function. However, the design and reporting quality of studies varied widely across trials, in some cases potentially impacting negatively on the outcomes and interpretations. Several strategies to enhance study robustness and quality were outlined, to improve the validity of the data generated in the field

Simple surface functionalization strategy for immunosensing detection of aflatoxin B1

This paper describes the strategy of functionalization of gold electrodes surfaces in aim to obtain a new impedimetric immunosensor for the detection of aflatoxin B1, a common toxic food contaminant. The immunosensor elaboration is based on immobilization of anti-aflatoxin antibody on gold electrodes modified with a cross-linked film of bovine serum albumin, by a four-step protocol. The immunosensor is based on a simple design and requires small volumes of toxic aflatoxin solution. All the steps of the immunosensor elaboration and the immunochemical reaction between aflatoxin and antibody were followed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The resistance to charge transfer (Rct) was the most sensitive parameter to changes induced to the interfacial properties of the immunosensor by the incubation with aflatoxin and varied linearly with aflatoxin concentration in the range 1-20 ng/mL. The immunosensor was applied for the detection of aflatoxin in spiked plant extracts with good recovery factors

Dietary and lifestyle habits of drinkers with preference for alcoholic beverage : Does it really matter for public health? a review of the evidence

Although the detrimental effects of heavy drinking in terms of health are well-documented in the literature, there are inconsistent findings regarding the safety of light-to-moderate alcohol consumption. In particular, little is still known about the consumption of specific alcoholic beverages in combination with dietary habits and lifestyle, which in turn could influence health status. Thus, the aim of this review is to summarise and critically evaluate the evidence of a relationship between preference for alcoholic beverages and consumer dietary and lifestyle habits. A literature search retrieved 3,887 articles. By removing duplicates and articles which were not relevant, the final number of articles was 26. The adherence to a healthier diet and lifestyle was generally observed in light-to-moderate alcohol consumers, especially when wine was the preferred beverage. Considering the potentially strong impact of drinking patterns on health and the risk of developing chronic diseases, the data summarised in this review highlight that alcoholic beverage preferences, drinking patterns, dietary patterns and lifestyle should be studied together. Any future epidemiological studies should analyse the relationship between alcohol consumption and the abovementioned correlations with respect to impact on health

Valutazione dell'effetto di trattamenti termici tecnologici ed enzimatici sulla concentrazione di ginkotossina in semi di Ginkgo Biloba L.

La pianta Ginkgo biloba L. è nota da secoli per le sue proprietà benefiche. Gli estratti delle foglie sono infatti impiegati in numerosi Paesi come ingredienti di integratori alimentari per coadiuvare la sintomatologia associata a diverse condizioni cliniche, tra cui il declino cognitivo e patologie vascolari periferiche. I semi di Ginkgo biloba sono invece ampiamente utilizzati nella cucina tradizionale asiatica. È però noto che i semi di questa pianta possono essere responsabili di eventi avversi a causa della possibile presenza della 4’-O-metilpiridossina (MPN), nota anche come ginkgotossina. Questa molecola ad azione neurotossica è strutturalmente simile alla vitamina B6, di cui altera, a elevate concentrazioni, le funzioni fisiologiche, tra cui la sintesi del GABA. I casi descritti in letteratura evidenziano che i soggetti maggiormente sensibili agli eventi avversi sono i bambini, probabilmente a causa dell’aumentato rapporto assunzione/peso corporeo e della loro limitata capacità metabolica. Negli anni 2000, sono stati identificati nei semi di Ginkgo derivati glicosidici dell’MPN, tra cui la 4’- O-metilpiridossina-5-glucoside, la cui tossicità non è ancora stata approfonditamente valutata. Nonostante i semi di ginkgo siano maggiormente consumati nei Paesi asiatici, si sta assistendo ad un graduale aumento della loro diffusione nei paesi Europei, come dimostra il crescente numero di siti internet che riportano consigli sulla raccolta, metodi di cottura casalinghi e ricette. Al fine di garantire la sicurezza del consumatore, è evidente la necessità di condurre approfonditi studi sulla caratterizzazione dei semi di Ginkgo biloba, quantificarne i livelli di MPN e composti derivati, e valutarne l’effetto dei metodi di cottura sui livelli di tali molecole. Nel presente studio la MPN è stata quantificata in campioni di semi raccolti nell’area di Milano, prima e dopo la bollitura, che costituisce il metodo di cottura casalingo più frequentemente utilizzato e consigliato in internet; parallelamente, sono stati analizzati semi di ginkgo commerciali, che subiscono un processo di detossificazione. Sugli stessi campioni è stata valutata la presenza di derivati glicosidici dell’MPN, utilizzando un trattamento enzimatico con β-glucosidasi. Al fine di quantificare il contenuto di MPN nei semi è stata utilizzata la cromatografia liquida ad alte prestazioni a fase inversa accoppiata a rilevatore a fluorescenza (RP-HPLC/FD). I risultati hanno mostrato che i semi freschi contenevano livelli medi di MPN pari a 322.3 ± 22.7 μg/g di peso secco che si riducevano significativamente dopo bollitura (128.9±14.8; -60.2±5 %, p <0,0001). I semi commerciali presentavano invece una concentrazione di MPN inferiore al limite di determinazione