Sterol composition of hazelnuts from different Portuguese cultivars

The consumption of the typicaI Mediterranean diet is associated with lower mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancer (1 ). This diet is low in meat and higher in fish, fruits and vegetables, also having nuts as valuable components. There Is a growing interest in evaluating nut's role in a heart healthy diet and several studies have been made supporting a role for nuts in reducing CHD (1 ). Among nut species, hazelnuts are widely appreciated. They are consumed as a fruit but are also used as an ingredient in confectionary products. Hazelnuts are rich in phytosterols, which due to their structural similarity with cholesterol, inhibit its Intestinal absorption, thereby reducing blood cholesterol. Besides, sterol composition is an important tool in the assessment of identity and quality of vegetable oils (2). In this work, the sterol composition of oils extracted from different cultivars of hazelnuts grown in Portugal was evaluated by gas-liquid chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector (GLC/FID). The oil was sap onified and the unsaponifiable fraction was isolated by solid-phase extraction on an aluminium column

Helium burning and neutron sources in the stars

Helium burning represents an important stage of stellar evolution as it contributes to the synthesis of key elements such as carbon, through the triple-alfa process, and oxygen, through the 12C(alfa, gamma)16O reaction. It is the ratio of carbon to oxygen at the end of the helium burning stage that governs the following phases of stellar evolution leading to different scenarios depending on the initial stellar mass. In addition, helium burning in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars, provides the two main sources of neutrons, namely the 13C(alfa, n)16O and the 22Ne(alfa, n)25Mg, for the synthesis of about half of all elements heavier than iron through the s-process. Given the importance of these reactions, much experimental work has been devoted to the study of their reaction rates over the last few decades. However, large uncertainties still remain at the energies of astrophysical interest which greatly limit the accuracy of stellar models predictions. Here, we review the current status on the latest experimental efforts and show how measurements of these important reaction cross sections can be significantly improved at next-generation deep underground laboratories

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.</p

Mycotoxins and applicability of in vitro methods of digestion and absorption assessment – the patulin case study

Mycotoxins are a wide group of fungal secondary metabolites that exert multiple toxic effects on humans and animals1. Patulin, a mycotoxin with significant public health risk, is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by a wide range of fungal species growing on rotten fruit2. In human health risk assessment, ingestion of food is considered a major route of exposure to many contaminants, although the total amount of an ingested contaminant does not always reflect the amount that is available to the body and exert its toxic effects3. In this study, two in vitro methods were applied to evaluate the bioaccessibility of patulin at different experimental conditions and the intestinal membrane integrity of Caco-2 cells exposed to patulin and cysteine (antioxidant) protective effects. Seven artificially contaminated fruit juices were assayed in the presence or absence of a standard meal showing a significant difference (p=0.001) for bioaccessibility values between contaminated samples alone and combinations with a standard meal4. Different concentrations of patulin and cysteine were assayed in a Caco-2 cells monolayers. At 95 µM, patulin produced a dramatic decrease of transepithelial electrical resistance. This effect was significantly (p=0.016) reduced when 400 µM and 4000 µM of cysteine was added to the cells4. The combination of in vitro digestion models with other techniques using intestinal cell lines offer a more complete picture of what is happening in the digestion and absorption process, as well as the study of beneficial effects of protective agents.FC

Vitamin A nutritional status in high‐ and low‐income postpartum women and its effect on colostrum and the requirements of the term newborn

Objective: To evaluate the vitamin A status in serum and colostrum of postpartum women with different socioeconomic status, comparing the colostrum retinol supply with the vitamin A requirement of the newborn. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with 424 postpartum women. Vitamin A maternal dietary intake was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. Colostrum and serum retinol levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Serum retinol concentrations <20 μg/dL were indicative of vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Vitamin A levels provided by colostrum <400 μgRAE/day were considered as insufficient for term newborns. Results: The mean maternal vitamin A intake during pregnancy was 872.2 ± 639.2 μgRAE/day in low-income women and 1169.2 ± 695.2 μgRAE/day for high-income women (p < 0.005). The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency was 6.9% (n = 18) in the low-income group and 3.7% (n = 6) in the high-income group. The estimated mean retinol intake by infants of the high- and low-income mothers were 343.3 μgRAE/day (85.8% AI) and 427.2 μgRAE/day (106.8% AI), respectively. Conclusions: Serum vitamin A deficiency was considered a mild public health problem in both populations; however, newborns of low‐income women were more likely to receive lower retinol levels through colostrum when compared with newborns of high‐income mothers

Vitamin A nutritional status in high- and low-income postpartum women and its effect on colostrum and the requirements of the term newborn,

Abstract Objective To evaluate the vitamin A status in serum and colostrum of postpartum women with different socioeconomic status, comparing the colostrum retinol supply with the vitamin A requirement of the newborn. Methods Cross-sectional study conducted with 424 postpartum women. Vitamin A maternal dietary intake was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. Colostrum and serum retinol levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Serum retinol concentrations <20 µg/dL were indicative of vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Vitamin A levels provided by colostrum <400 µgRAE/day were considered as insufficient for term newborns. Results The mean maternal vitamin A intake during pregnancy was 872.2 ± 639.2 µgRAE/day in low-income women and 1169.2 ± 695.2 µgRAE/day for high-income women (p < 0.005). The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency was 6.9% (n = 18) in the low-income group and 3.7% (n = 6) in the high-income group. The estimated mean retinol intake by infants of the high- and low-income mothers were 343.3 µgRAE/day (85.8% AI) and 427.2 µgRAE/day (106.8% AI), respectively. Conclusions Serum vitamin A deficiency was considered a mild public health problem in both populations; however, newborns of low-income women were more likely to receive lower retinol levels through colostrum when compared with newborns of high-income mothers