Traceability of food products and pharmaceutical products in relation to chemical investigation

Approaching issues related to the traceability of food and pharmaceutical products at the 26th International Symposium on Analytical and Environmental Problems, would like to point out the fact that the analytical chemistry investigations and their applications target both natural and processed products in the food and pharmaceutical industry (some raw materials being taken from the environment). In this context, the paper presents summary data on the traceability systems (integrated and differentiated). Thius, in order to highlight the scientific, technical and economic importance of traceability some data about the identification tools are summarized

Student's health and diet habits in Faculty of Food Products Technology from Timisoara, Romania

Our study followed the student’s health and habits diet using some nutritional questionnaires for students at the Faculty of Food Products Technology, Timisoara Romania. The students that took part of the present study had between 20 and 24 years old, boys and girls, and participated as volunteers. With the persented questionnair we tried to analyzed some nutritional and diet aspects such as: weight, body mass index, body shape perception; health status and diet habits; physical activity and student’s perception; and the knowledge about the basis of human nutrition. The results of the questionnaires were presented graphically as percent values. As results of the questionnaires, the girls students are preoccupied of weight and body shape perception with a big trend to be very skinny and thin. The boys students are also interested of their weight and body shape but their goals are to be skinny but to have well outlined muscles. Also, most of the students replace vegetables and fruits with snacks or sweets, and most of them do not drink enough liquids. Questioned students know that sport and physical activity is very good for having a nice body shape and have a good health status, but only a few of them practice some physical sports. Between macronutrients intake, micronutritents intake and optimal energy level there were no healthy nutrition correspondence. Having these results in view, and comparing these results with older similar results of the same questionnaire (2008), we can observe that in the last years the nutritional basic knowledge is improved, and students try to eat properly. Also, the health status, as they report, is improved for students in campus and students that live together with their family

Selenium in food and food supplements

The bioelements detected in the lithosphere and biosphere have aroused major interest in geology and biology. It was detected in minerals but also in tissues taken from plants, animals and humans. Among the bioelements, the natural distribution of selenium (Se) was studied, following the quantity in food, the structural specificity of the components. Along with these, the biological activity was studied, following its integration in food supplements

Root Vegetables: Biology, Nutritional Value and Health Implications

Plants served as main staple for humanity since time immemorial. Plant roots science is a fascinating domain that offers a window to the complex world of plants-microorganisms relationship. Plant roots were used throughout human history both as a food source particularly in times of food scarcity as well as for medicinal purposes aid in the treatment of various human disorders. Root vegetables are excellent sources of fiber and antioxidants and are low in calories and lipids—being indispensable in human diet. There is an increasing interest in the biochemical processes occurring in the rhizosphere between root tissues and the bacterial/fungal colonizers especially in soils where there is a deficiency in minerals such as iron, phosphorus and selenium or there is higher load of toxic metals such as aluminum, cadmium, nickel and lead. That interest stems from the need to improve crop yields in hostile environmental conditions such as drought and low nutrient availability in soils. In this chapter, we will focus on the typical edible plant roots as well as bulbs (are not proper roots) looking at their nutrient content as well as their use as health enhancers

OSMOLARITY AND APOPTOSIS IN IVF BOVINE EMBRYOS

The aim of this research was to establish the optimal conditions for culture of bovine embryos obtained in vitro and the effects of osmolarity on development and apoptosis. The embryos obtained by in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure were divided into two different groups. The embryos from the control group were cultured for 7 days in B2-Menezo. The embryos from the experimental group were cultured in medium with NaCl, having variation of concentration and osmolarity. Results showed that there are differences in development stage and apoptosis. Increasing the concentration from 90 to 120mM NaCl generated decreasing of the blastocyst stage (P<0.05), and also the apoptosis was increased in the blastocyst stage. The optimum concentration of NaCl was 90mM and the optimum osmolarity of the medium was between 260-280 mOsmol for the studied IVF bovine embryos, affecting positively the embryos development

Nigella Sativa and Oriental Spices with Protective Role in Iron Intoxication: in vivo Experiments on Rabbits

Homeostasis of hematological parameters is essential for assuring a general health status for any living organism. Iron is one of the essential mineral, involved in many vital processes - mainly in blood cells production, but in the same way it can become toxic in very high concentration. Hemoglobin and red blood cells are directed related with the iron ion, due to the high quantity (70%) of total iron from organism being part of the blood (hemoglobin) and muscle (myoglobin) cells. Ferrous ion is part of hemoglobin structure, and red blood cells. But, the administration of high doses of iron can negatively affect the general health status, because the iron alters the enzymatic system in the vital organs. The aim of our experimental study was to verify the hypothesis that in rabbit’s organism, after intraperitoneal administration of 15g Fe2+/body weight as ferrous-gluconate hydro solution, a special diet based on a complex, fresh, organic vegetables (roots and leaves) protects the organism by iron intoxication and help the hematological homeostasis. The research experiment was conducted during 43 days in summer time, on German Lop Eared breed young rabbits, which were protected with a diet that consisted of administration of Nigella sativa, some oriental spices (Allium ampeloprasum, Allium tuberosum, Coriandrum sativum, Eruca sativa, Cucumis sativus, Raphanus sativus, Trigonella foenum-graecum) and other vegetables (Trifolium, Petroselinum crispum, Dacus carrota subsp.sativus and Cucumis sativus). At the final of experiment we collected blood samples for hematological test and we evaluated the erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and red cell distribution width. The results were analytical evaluated and only for hemoglobin we obtained significant increase value in experimental rabbits compared to control group of rabbits

Xylanase - the enzyme which makes the difference in nutrition

Nutrition plays a critical role in health status both for humans and animals, comprising very complex processes starting with the ingestion of food or feed and ending with the excretion. But in this whole chain of processes, one of the main elements is the enzyme system without which digestion could not be possible. Xylanase is one of the enzymes that can make the difference in the digestion and absorption of some carbohydrates, like the digestion and absorption of fibers, used in various fields - food processing, feed additives, biofuel production, paper and pulp industry, textile industry, as well as waste management. Biochemically, xylanase is an enzyme that breaks down xylan, a complex polysaccharide found in plant cell walls. This paper presents some characteristics of xylanase, the important role in biotechnology, and also some applications of this enzyme

Effects of clinoptilolite addition to colostrum on the concentration of serum proteins, minerals, enzyme activities in neonatal calves

The objective of our research was to determine the effects of colostrum supplementation with clinoptilolite on concentrations of serum proteins, minerals and enzyme activities in newborn calves. Twenty newborn calves that were divided into control group (n=10) which received colostrum and experimental group (n=10) that received colostrum with 0.5% clinoptilolite added in the first three colostrum meals were studied. Blood samples were collected from jugular vein in vacutainer tubes from all calves prior to colostrum intake and after that, at 24 and 48 h after birth. Samples were analyzed for total protein, albumin, α1-globulin, α2-globulin, ß-globulin, γ-globulin, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, gamma glutamyltransferase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase. Clinoptilolite supplementation had significant effect (p<0.0006) on serum iron concentrations in experimental (27.64±3.78 µmol/l) vs control group (8.93±1.26 µmol/l) after 48h. GGT values were also significantly higher (p<0.04) in E (163.60±26.67 U/l) than in C group (84.01±19.77 U/l) at 48h after parturition. Other parameters analyzed were unaffected by clinoptilolite treatment. Obtained data revealed that colostrum supplemented with clinoptilolite had positive effects on some mineral parameters

Nigella sativa - a Plant with Personality in Biochemistry and Experimental Medicine Researches

Last decades often presented references to traditional medicine, or culinary use of natural resources for a better health status, prevention or treatment of different diseases. One of the natural plants came lately in the researches as a miracle salve: Nigella sativa. Also commonly known as black cumin, the most use of this plant are the seeds, such as, as powder, as oil extract, or as hydro or alcoholic extracts. Culinary usage of N. sativa is referring to the seeds used as spice. Medical usage of this plantis mostly used as oil or extracts administrated orally or intraperitoneal. The best demonstrated bioactive component is thymoquinone, an alkaloid, monotherpenoid compound, that seems to be the key of medical benefits of N. sativa. Experimental medicine proved that seeds of black cumin have health enhancement and pharmaceutical effects, being used in various disseases (cardiac, digestive and respiratory diseases; hepatic and renal tonic; inflammations; reproductive and neural disorders, analgesic; appetite stimulant; cancer prevention and treatment; spasmolytic and diabetes. Seeds (as powder, oil or hydro, alcoholic extracts) have been demonstrated that have antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antitumoral, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory action. N. sativa is easy to cultivate, storing, and offering diver potential of use as seed, seed oil, different type of seed extracts