Microwave-assisted methanolysis of green coffee oil

AbstractOptimisation of a microwave-assisted methanolysis was performed to obtain cafestol and kahweol directly from green coffee oil (Coffea arabica). A two-factor (the methanolysis period and temperature), three-level, factorial experimental design (32) was adopted. The methanolysis procedure was performed under microwave irradiation, using closed vessel and accurate fast responding internal fibre-optic temperature probe. The effects on the responses were measured by HPLC. After 3min of microwave irradiation (hold time) at 100°C, with 500mg of green coffee oil, a yield higher than 99% was obtained. The yield of this reaction is 26% after 2h when working under conventional heating. The methods described in the literature lead to long reaction times, poor yields and formation of side products. The microwave-assisted technique proved to be faster, avoided undesired side products and gave better conversion, when compared to conventional heating process

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions. © Copyright