Optimized method for processing avocado seeds to improve selected nutrients and functional values

This research article published by J-STAGE, Volume 27 Issue 1, 2021The objective of this study was to develop an optimal processing technique capable of reducing antinutrients to acceptable levels, retain nutrients and functional values of avocado seeds for human consumption. Different processing conditions for probiotic fermentation, boiling and soaking techniques were studied to establish optimal processing conditions for the seeds. The antinutrients, antioxidant activity, total phenolics and selected nutrients of avocado seeds were analyzed using analytical standard methods. All processing techniques significantly (p < 0.05) reduced over 50% of antinutrients. The highest total phenolics and antioxidant activity (IC50) were 33.3 mgGAE/g and 0.8 mg/mL respectively which were observed at a fermentation temperature of 37 °C. Soaking and boiling reduced the analyzed minerals to about 30% whereas probiotic fermentation retained 100% of minerals analyzed, ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol. Moreover, probiotic fermentation demonstrated the best results in comparison to boiling and soaking thus, considered as an optimal processing method for improving nutritional and functional values of avocado seeds

The prebiotic potential of brewers' spent grain on livestock's health: a review.

This research article published by Springer Nature Switzerland AG., 2020The increasing interest from the feed as a source of energy towards specific nutrient-yielding compounds in feeds is amongst the latest developments from scientific and industrial communities. Apart from brewers' spent grain (BSG) being relatively inexpensive feed source, nutritious with high crude protein and minerals, recent studies have explored its potential as a source of prebiotics. Prebiotics are certain feeds that are comprised of non-digestive polysaccharides that can be fed to animals and modulate the balance and activities of microbial populations in the gut. The BSG contains arabinoxylans and β-glucans whereby when consumed by animals, they promote the activity of beneficial bacteria particularly species from three genera of Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, and Lactobacillus. The increased degradation of fibrous feed accelerates the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) which serve as the primary energy sources for the anaerobic microbes. This elevated concentration of SCFA stimulates numerous physio-biological functions which include intestinal nutrients absorption, glucose balance, improvement of immunity, lipid metabolism, and suppression of pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli. To capitalize on the prebiotic potential of BSG, certain considerations need to be well taken care of and these include possible microbial dysfunctions such as rumen acidosis, different responses rates of animals due to variations in health status, age, and species as well as feed safety issues especially mycotoxin contamination which can jeopardize its inherited prebiotic benefits

Radioactivity and dose assessment of naturally occurring radionuclides in terrestrial environments and foodstuffs: a review of Bahi district, Tanzania

This Research Article was published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2023.In this review, the online searchable research articles were scrutinized for the data presented in line with radioactivity and dose estimates from both terrestrial environments and foodstuffs from Bahi district and other parts of Tanzania. The data on natural gamma ray dose rates from Bahi localities were observed with variations among researchers. The observed ranges of radioactivity concentrations (Bq kg−1) in soil were 226Ra (28.5–57.4), 232Th (38.1–521.3), and 40K (562.9–665.0). Deep closed water wells with installed pumps from Ilindi and Bahi Mission reported radioactivity concentration of 238U 3.08 Bq L−1 and Ilindi swamps reported radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra 15.35 Bq L−1, whereas radioactivity concentrations of 238U in cereals were within the annual tolerable limits of 0.001–0.02 Bq kg−1. The quantity and accessibility of published studies, as well as the diversity of the data, point to the necessity for additional studies to be carried out in order to obtain comprehensive baseline data

Bioaccumulation and distribution pattern of heavy metals in aquaculture systems found in Arusha and Morogoro regions of Tanzania

This research article published by Taylor & Francis Group, 2020The assessment of the current distribution and concentrations of As, Pb, Hg, Cd, and Cr in farmed catfish and tilapia, fish feed, and pond sediment in Tanzania is important in order to establish the potential dietary exposure to heavy metals from aquaculture sources. Thirteen fish ponds were selected from each of the 10 sites (villages) studied in Arusha and Morogoro regions. Representative samples collected were analysed using polarised energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (PED-XRF) spectrometer. Human health risk from fish consumption was established by calculating the estimated daily intakes (EDI), target hazard quotients (THQ), total hazard indices (HI), and carcinogenic risk (CR) of the heavy metals. Arusha had the highest concentrations (dry weight) of As (2.49–4.75 mg/kg) in the fish feed. Morogoro had the highest concentrations of Hg (1.65–2.69 mg/kg), Pb (4.59–5.64 mg/kg), and Cd (1.99–3.97 mg/kg) for sediment, fish feed, and fish muscles, respectively. Cr was the most accumulated heavy metal in the fish muscles sampled in Arusha (4.61–9.50 mg/kg) and Morogoro (2.53–5.57 mg/kg). Concentrations and EDI calculated based on mean fish consumption of 22.1 g per person per day by a 60 kg Tanzanian adult found heavy metal intakes were below the recommended daily dietary allowance (RDA) while THQ values were lower than 1, indicating no health risk related to consumption of the fish. The estimated HI was greater than 1, suggesting a potential significant non-carcinogenic health risk. The CR values were below 10−4, indicating no carcinogenic health risk in humans from fish consumption. This study recommends continued surveillance given potential bioaccumulation of these heavy metals in fish

Effect of lactic acid fermentation, boiling and soaking on selected nutrients and health promoting components of mango seed kernels

This research article published by the International Journal of Biosciences, Vol. 17, No. 6, 2020Mango seed kernels are considered as wastes although they are rich in essential nutrients and bioactive compounds for human health. Lack of commercial application (unlike oil seeds) presence of antinutrients, difficulty in processing and little information on nutritional and functional values contribute significantly to their underutilization. These factors underscore the need for processing these seeds to enhance their utilization as food or functional food. The purpose of this study was to investigate which processing technique was capable of improving selected nutrients and bioactive compounds, and reduction of the antinutritional factors to acceptable levels. Selected vitamins, minerals and antinutrients, antioxidant activity and total phenols were determined using standard methods. All the processing methods at different set conditions significantly (p<0.05) reduced the antinutritional factors of the mango seed kernels to above 38%. The results showed that, lactic acid fermentation had no significant differences in all analyzed minerals while boiling and soaking reduced the contents of the minerals except for potassium and zinc on soaked samples. The maximum percentage increase of total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and ascorbic acid was observed in samples fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum and their values were 25%, 37% and 28% respectively. On contrast, boiled and soaked samples had a significant decrease in ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity and all employed processing techniques showed insignifant variations of α-tocopherol content. The results in this study indicated that lactic acid fermentation reduced the antinutrients to acceptable levels and improved the studied nutritional and bioactive compounds as compared to boiling and soaking methods, thus considered as a technique for processing mango seed kernels for functional foods

Context-specific food-based approach for ensuring nutrition security in developing countries: a review

This research article published by Taylor & Francis Online, 2017Sustainable food strategies for meeting nutrient needs in developing countries are not well established. The available evidence shows that more than one-third of the world’s population is facing under-nutrition, of which the most affected individuals are children and mothers from poor countries. In most developing countries, losses resulting from malnutrition are between 3 and 16% of the gross domestic product. This burden is far larger than the donor-driven and government programmes can tackle alone. As such, an innovative approach, which is independent and not donor-based, is needed to reduce the burden of malnutrition in low-income countries. In this review, we describe a context specific food-based approach for addressing malnutrition in developing countries. The approach deploys the hybrid public–private delivery model that enables cost sharing and efficiency gains in resource-poor countries. The model influences players to consider consumers’ perspectives, which often are neglected and truly engage them as key stakeholders

In vivo evaluation of Spirulina platensis for nutrient bioavailability in mice

This research article published by Indian Journal, 2021Spirulina, a photosynthetic blue-green alga (cyanobacterium), has drawn attention as a viable food supplement due to its suitable nutrient content. Despite its suitable nutrient composition, the bioavailability of nutrients Present in Spirulina is not well reported. In this study, the bioavailability of nutrients present in locally cultivated Spirulina platensis was evaluated by using in vivo method. A total of 54 mice, 5-8 weeks age were used. The mice were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 (n = 18) served as a control and received a basal diet. Group 2 (n = 20) served as a test and received Spirulina blended with a basal diet. Group 3 (n = 16) serves as a standard and received a basal diet supplemented with nutritional supplements. The study revealed that test diet had apparent absorption of protein 67%, calcium 50.6%, iron 43.8%, zinc 42%, and vitamin A 56.5%, which was higher (p 0.05) with standard diet. Given the higher bioavailability of nutritional supplements mixed into the standard diet, the resemblance in nutrient absorption between test and standard diets illustrated that Spirulina mixed into the test diet also has higher nutrient absorption

Measuring Serum Toxicity Markers to Evaluate the Safety of Commercially Available Spirulina Products in Mice

This research article published by Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science, 2021Spirulina a multicellular, blue-green alga has drawn attention as a viable food supplement due to its suitable nutrient composition, however, there is a dearth of information regarding its safety. This study aimed to measure the heavy metal concentrations in commercially available Spirulina products and evaluate the safety using the in vivo method. A total of 54 mice were randomly divided into three groups; Group 1 (n = 18) served as a control and received a basal diet. Group 2 (n = 20) served as a test and received Spirulina powder (15%) blended with a basal diet. Group 3 (n = 16) serves as a standard and received a basal diet supplemented with nutritional supplements. The findings showed that the concentration of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, cystatin C, and troponin I after consuming the experimental diets was not statistically different between groups (p > 0.05). The concentrations of mercury (0.000036 mg/kg), lead (0.0047 mg/kg), cadmium (0.00048 mg/kg), and arsenic (0.0046 mg/kg) was very little to cause toxic effect and the levels were below the European Communities Commission (EC) recommended maximum heavy metal levels in foodstuffs. Therefore, consumption of Spirulina at a proportion of 15% does not exert any hepatic, renal, and cardiac toxicities in the mice. However, evaluating the safety of higher doses (> 15%) is required

Context-Specific Food-Based Strategies for Improving Nutrition in Developing Countries

Viable food approaches for achieving nutrient needs in underdeveloped countries are not well documented. The existing evidence indicates that one out of three people is facing single or multiple forms of malnutrition globally, in which the highly affected sections of the population are children and women from less developed countries. Economic losses, which result from undernutrition are between 3% and 16% of the GDP in the majority of poor countries. This problem is far bigger than what the government and donors can tackle alone. Thus, a new strategy, which is donor-independent, is required to address the problem of undernutrition in developing countries. In this chapter, we report on a food approach that is context-specific for grappling with malnutrition problems in low-income countries. The approach employs the model which encompasses public and private sectors to allow cost-sharing and productivity gains in tackling malnutrition in under-resourced countries. The model urges all stakeholders to consider consumers’ views, which are often overlooked, and properly engross them as key players

Context-specific optimal dietary guidelines for managing cancer for hospitalized patients in Tanzania

This research article was published by Emerald Publishing Limited, 2022Purpose – The lack of food-based dietary guidelines for managing cancer among hospitalized patients has led to an increasing economic burden on the government and families in low- and middle-economy countries. There have been increasing medical costs due to delayed recovery, readmission and mortality. The purpose of this study is to contribute in reducing these effects by developing context specific food-based dietary guidelines to assist health-care professionals and caregivers in planning diets for cancer patients. Design/methodology/approach – For seven days, the dietary intakes of 100 cancer patients in the hospital were recorded using weighed food records. Data on the costs of commonly consumed foods during hospitalization were obtained from hospital requisition books as well as nearby markets and shops. The information gathered was used to create optimal food-based dietary guidelines for cancer patients. Findings – Most patients did not meet the recommended food group and micronutrient intake according to their weighed food records. Sugar intake from processed foods was (51 6 19.8 g), (13% 6 2%), and calories (2585 6 544 g) exceeded recommendations. Optimized models generated three menus that met the World Cancer Research Fund 2018 cancer prevention recommendation at a minimum cost of 2,700 Tanzanian Shillings (TSH), 3500TSH, and 4550TSH per day. The optimal dietary pattern includes nutrient-dense foods from all food groups in recommended portions and within calorie limits. Originality/value – Findings show that optimal dietary guidelines that are context-specific for managing cancer in hospitalized patients can be formulated using culturally acceptable food ingredients at minimum cost