Investigation of the association between dietary fibre, protein and fat with Manganese content in food

Manganese deficiency may cause severe health disorders and is becoming prevalent in societies that are rapidly urbanising. Determining the Manganese contents and its relationship with the intake of protein, fibre and fats is important; which may allow people to select Manganese rich foods based on their major macronutrients. A cross-sectional study including detailed dietary assessment for two weeks, followed by proximate analysis of regularly consumed diets was conducted using 1200 adults from three different social segments as; lecturers/teachers (400), managerial employees in the private sector (400), and houses wives (400). Each social segment was assumed to elicit different lifestyles and different daily Manganese and Macronutrient intake levels. Most frequently consumed food items by them and their respective portion sizes were identified. Those were prepared using mostly practiced cooking methods and chemically analysed for proximate compositions of fat, protein, dietary fibre and Manganese contents. Regression and general liner models were used to estimate the association between protein, fibre and fat intake and Mn levels. The average daily protein, fibre and fat intakes were 53.51, 36.85 and 41.85 grams respectively. The average Manganese intake was 1.87 grams. There were significantly negative association between dietary Manganese levels and fat intake (ß=-0.041, p \u3c 0.00). Increased dietary fat intake was associated with low levels of Manganese (ß=-0.041, p \u3c 0.00) for all social segments. Higher protein (ß=0.019, p=0.01) or fibre intake (ß=0.013 p=0.002) reduced the risk of Manganese deficiency. Overall, dietary Manganese elicited a positive correlation with proteins and fibre in foods, but a negative correlation with dietary fat. © 2020 Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology

Extraction of phenolics from Azadirachta indica flowers: Process optimization using response surface methodology

Azadirachta indica is a well-known tree for the medicinal use of its leaves, barks and flowers. It has been identified as a rich source of phenolics which attribute to its medicinal properties. However, these phenolics should be extracted appropriately to effectively utilize them in various applications. This study focused on maximizing the extraction yield of total phenolics and total anthocyanins along with maximum 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity from edible flowers of A. indica as a function of solid:liquid ratio, ethanol concentration, extraction temperature and time. The data was subjected to response surface methodology and the corresponding second order polynomial models were generated. The results showed that the polynomial models for all responses were significant, did not show lack of fit and presented determination of coefficients above 95%. This indicates the suitability of the models for prediction purposes. Using desirability function, the optimum extraction process parameters to obtain maximum values of all responses were found to be solid:liquid ratio 1:32.2, ethanol concentration 42.72%, extraction temperature 55 °C and time 39.25 minutes. Under these optimal conditions, the experimental values for total phenolic content was 85.44±2.41 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry weight, total anthocyanin content was 44.32±2.75 µg cyanidin-3-glucoside per gram of dry weight and DPPH radical scavenging activity was 31.43±1.67%. These values were in close agreement with the predicted values and did not show any significant difference (p<0.05). The identified optimized conditions could be used to extract phenolics from A. indica flowers in a cost effective and efficient manner

Effect of Different Cooking Methods on Polyphenols, Carotenoids and Antioxidant Activities of Selected Edible Leaves

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cooking (boiling, steaming, and frying) on polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids and antioxidant activity of six edible leaves. The total antioxidant capacity of the fresh and cooked leaves was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and singlet oxygen scavenging assays. The results revealed that frying caused a reduction in major bioactives and antioxidant activities in all leafy vegetables tested. However, steamed and boiled leaves of C. auriculata and C. asiatica have shown greater levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity compared with fresh leaves. Polyphenol and flavonoid contents of boiled S. grandiflora and G. lactiferum were higher than that of their fresh form. Boiled and steamed O. zeylanica and S. grandiflora have shown higher carotenoids. Boiled and steamed leaves of P. edulis have shown higher antioxidant activity. The impact of cooking on the changes in bioactive concentrations and antioxidant capacities are dependent on the species and the method of cooking

Determination of glycaemic response of a novel cane sugar product incorporated with phyllanthus emblica and zingiber officinale extracts

© 2019, Malaysian Journal of Nutrition. Introduction: The use of natural plant extracts to reduce blood glucose response has been practised from ancient times, although their industrial applications are rare. For the convenience of typical cane sugar consumers, selected tropical plant extracts were incorporated with cane sugar to make a low glycaemic sugar product. Methods: This study compared the glycaemic responses of a commercially available product (Product 1) containing seven herbal extracts; fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum), turmeric (Curcuma longa), black pepper (Piper nigrum), ginger (Zingiber officinale), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) and pomegranate (Punica granatum) against a novel product (Product 2) that was made by incorporating only two plant extracts that were cheaper and readily available in the local market-gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) and ginger (Zingiber officinale). Extracts were incorporated with cane sugar to make a series of crystallised solid sugar products and the formulae with the best sensory attributes was selected (Product 2). The glycaemic indices of both products were determined by standardised methodology using 12 healthy volunteers in a randomised crossover study. Results: The mean glycaemic index (GI) value for sugar in Product 1 was 49±9 and in Product 2 was 38±9. Both results elicited significantly (p \u3c 0.05) lower GI values than normal cane sugar (GI=65). The novel cane sugar product (Product 2) was far more superior compared to the commercially available product (Product 1) in reducing blood glucose response. Conclusion: Incorporation of suitable herbal extracts to cane sugar and foods like rice and wheat flour may be a suitable option to reduce their glycaemic impact