Nutritional Status of Patients with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis from a Tropical Area of Bolivia, and Implications for Zinc Bioavailability

Macro and micronutrient deficiencies are a significant problem among people in rural areas in developing countries. Deficiencies may lead to an impaired immune system making the organism vulnerable to infections and diseases. In this paper, the dietary intake, anthropometric measurements, zinc and copper levels in serum, of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are compared with a group of healthy controls and reference values. Results showed no significant differences in most nutrient intake or anthropometrics between patients and controls. However, serum zinc level of patients (80 μg/dl) was significantly lower (P 0.001) than in controls (85 μg/dl), likely explained by the presence of leishmaniasis. The median serum zinc level in both groups was below the reference values, even though their median zinc intake met the zinc recommendations from WHO. Consequently, besides the presence of leishmaniasis, serum zinc levels may be compromised by inhibitory components in their diet, such as phytates, as it is shown by the molar ratio phytate:zinc (Phy:Zn) that was between 11 and 19, while 15 is the level said to compromise zinc status. There were significant (P 0.05) negative correlations between serum zinc and Phy:Zn, for patients (r = - 0.413) and controls (r = - 0.410). In conclusion this study shows that patients with CL in Chapare, Bolivia had low serum zinc levels due to the leishmaniasis per se and the decreased zinc bioavailability in their diet. CL infection was not in direct association with the nutritional status indicated by the anthropometric or dietary assessments. However, dietary intake showed 5 essential nutrients below the nutrient recommendation in both groups.

Nutritional Status of Children with Intestinal Parasites from a Tropical Area of Bolivia,Emphasis on Zinc and Iron Status

Malnutrition and parasitic diseases are within the major issues in rural areas in developing countries. In this study, the nutritional status, dietary intake including mineral absorption inhibitor (phytate), hematological indicators and trace element status (zinc, iron) were evaluated and associated to the presence of intestinal parasites in a group of children from a rural area of Bolivia. The results showed that 96% of the children had intestinal parasites;7 types of parasites (Ascaris lumbricoides, Giardia lamblia, Ancylostoma duodenale, Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba coli, Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercolaris) were identified. Anthropometric measurements indicated that 37% of the children were stunted and 17% were underweight. Iron and zinc intake showed that 34% and 30% of children had inadequate intake of these nutrients respectively. Phytate: zinc molar ratios were between 6.5 and 21, and from 6.2 to 15 for phytate: iron, indicating that the absorption of zinc and iron might be compromised by the level of phytate in the diet. The serum zinc was below the lower cut-off in 87% of the children, indicating zinc deficiency. Moreover, a multiple regression model showed the significant effect of the presence of the parasite Giardia lamblia and phytate intake on the serum zinc levels. Regarding the iron status, 30% of the children presented with anemia and about 66% had iron deficiency;a simple linear regression model showed the significant negative effect of the presence of the parasite Ancylostoma duodenale on iron status. In conclusion, the levels of zinc and iron, which were low in this child population, were greatly affected by the presence of intestinal parasites;in addition, the consumption of plant-based diets with high levels of phytate also impaired the zinc absorption.

Size Reduction of Hydrophobically Modified Starch on Beads Mill： Effect of Dispersing Medium and Milling Time

The primary interest to this study was to investigate the effect of milling parameters on the size of hydrophobically modified starch particles, aiming to produce small, uniformly sized modified starch microspheres. Octie, a commercial product originated from cornstarch modified using Octenyl Succinate Anhydride （OSA）, was dispersed （3 wt%） using different media （water or ethanol） and subsequently wet-milled using a beads mill with zirconium beads at a rotation of 6,000 rpm up to 30 min. It was found that milling Octie in water dispersion for 3 min resulted in the smallest mean particle size （2.04 i 0.91 ktm）, compared to unmilled modified starch granules （15.2 ~ 6.0 lam）. Granular size and morphology changed considerably with further milling. For instance, very dense clusters with variable particle sizes （20.6 ~ 10.0 lam） were obtained after 30 min milling. As depicted by Scanning Electronic Microscopy, a large number of particles were apparently flattened during the milling process rather than broken, forming aggregates. Ultimately, within the range of experimental conditions tested, production of sub-micron modified starch particles was not possible.

Coconut Press Cake Alkaline Extract—Protein Solubility and Emulsification Properties

The solubility and the emulsification properties of a crude freeze dried alkaline protein extract (APE), 30% protein, obtained from coconut milk press cake by one step extraction at pH 11, were characterized at pH 2 to 11, and the cream and subnatant fractions of the emulsion studied by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The protein solubility followed U profile, showing a minimum at pH 3 to 4, close to but not identical to reported iso-electric points of 4 - 5 for many coconut protein fractions. The extract showed good capacity to form oil-in-water emulsion outside the low solubility pH range. The bands that appeared to play a role in the emulsification were found at 32 and 42 kDa in SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, but the most predominant absorbed band was at 23 kDa.

Mucosa-associated bacteria in two middle-aged women diagnosed with collagenous colitis

AIM:To characterize the colon microbiota in two women histologically diagnosed with collagenous colitis using a culture-independent method.METHODS:Biopsies were taken from the ascending colon and the total DNA was extracted.Universal bacterial primers were used to amplify the bacterial 16S rRNA genes.The amplicons were then cloned into competent Escherichia coli cells.The clones were sequenced and identified by comparison to known sequences.RESULTS:The clones could be divided into 44 different phylotypes.The microbiota was dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes.Seven phylotypes werefound in both patients and constituted 47.5% of the total number of clones.Of these,the most dominating were clones similar to Bacteroides cellulosilyticus,Bacteroides caccae,Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron,Bacteroides uniformis and Bacteroides dorei within Bacteroidetes.Sequences similar to Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Clostridium citroniae were also found in both patients.CONCLUSION:A predominance of potentially pathogenic Bacteroides spp.,and the presence of clones showing similarity to Clostridium clostridioforme were found but the overall colon microbiota showed similarities to a healthy one.Etiologies for collagenous colitis other than an adverse bacterial flora must also be considered.

Abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in the colon mucosa in diverticular disease

AIM To compare gut bacterial diversity and amount of Enterobacteriaceae in colonic mucosa between patients with and without diverticular disease(DD).METHODS Patients in a stable clinical condition with planned elective colonoscopy were included. Blood samples and colon mucosa biopsies were collected at the colonoscopy. Study questionnaires including questions about gastrointestinal symptoms were completed by the patients and physicians. DNA from mucosa samples was isolated and the amount of Enterobacteriaceae was estimated using PCR assay. Terminal restriction frag mentlength polymorphism was applied to assess microbial diversity. Diversity was estimated by calculations of richness(number of terminal restriction fragments) and Shannon-Wiener and Simpson's indices. RESULTS A total of 51 patients were included, 16 patients with DD [68(62-76) years] and 35 controls [62(40-74) years] without any diverticula. Patients with DD had significantly higher levels of Enterobacteriaceae than those without DD(P = 0.043), and there was an inverse relationship between the amount of Enterobacteriaceae and the Simpson's index(rs =-0.361, P = 0.033) and the Shannon-Wiener index(rs =-0.299, P = 0.081). The Simpson's index(P = 0.383), Shannon-Wiener index(P = 0.401) or number of restrictions fragments(P = 0.776) did not differ between DD and controls. The majority of patients experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, and 22 patients(43.1%) fulfilled the criteria for irritable bowel syndrome, with no difference between the groups(P = 0.212). Demography, socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits, inflammatory biomarkers, or symptoms were not related to the amount of Enterobacteriaceae or bacterial diversity. CONCLUSION Patients with DD had higher amount of Enterobacteriaceae in the colon mucosa compared to patients without diverticula.

Predictability of the Consistency of Porridges Using Mixtures of Different Flours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictability of the consistency of blended porridges based on the volume fractions of separate porridges made from orange-fleshed sweet potato, cowpea, dehulled soybean, dehulled sorghum and maize flour (dehulled, commercial and germinated). Accurate predictions could be made for 13 of the 21 blends investigated. The consistency of porridge consisting of mixtures of cowpea with orange-fleshed sweet potato, and cowpea with dehulled soybean was lower than expected, and was attributed to the different size distributions of the swollen flour particles. Blends containing germinated maize showed significantly lower consistency than expected in both porridges with starchy continuous phase and porridges with proteinaceous continuous phase. It was thus concluded that both amylolytic and proteolytic activity are of importance in the ameliorating effects of germinated maize.

Heat Induced Gels from Coconut Press Cake Proteins

Freeze-dried coconut press cake powder (CPP), 43% w/w protein, was used to investigate the heat-induced gelation by heating in rheometer to 75℃ in a wide range of pH values, from 4 to 9. Low strain oscillatory method applied the measure visco-elastic propertieson 15% w/w CPP. The gel strength was also assessed by a texture analyzer. SDS-PAGE electrophoresis was conducted to identify the proteins evolved in the gel network structure and the gel micro-structure was also evaluated. At low pH, the CPP proteins formed soft (elastic modulus <100 Pa) particulate gels prone to syneresis, with aggregate size of the order of 4.2 micrometers. In the alkaline region, homogenous gels were induced by heating. Gel strength started to increase dramatically from 64℃ to 67℃, for pH 9 and pH 8 respectively, reaching the maximum gel elastic modulus over 1000 Pa at pH 9. The SDS-PAGE showed that the polypeptide sub-unities at 24, 32 - 34 and 53 kDa were the most prominent in gelation.

Indigestible fraction of guava fruit:Phenolic profile,colonic fermentation and effect on HT-29 cells

Guava fruit is rich in phenolic compounds(PCs),whose metabolic fate has not been explored.Non-digestible carbohydrates and PCs in whole guava(WG)and seedless guava(SG)were submitted to an in vitro colonic fermentation,followed by evaluation of the anti-proliferative activity of the fermentation extracts in HT-29 cancer cell lines.The main PCs in both samples were(+)-gallocatechin and gallic acid,while procyanidin B was the most abundant one associated with soluble indigestible fraction and quercetin predominated in the insoluble indigestible fraction.The fermentability index at 24 h was 78.84%in WG and 84.74%for SG,near to the value for raffinose used as reference,with butyric acid as the main short chain fatty acids(SCFA)produced.The greatest antiproliferative effects were observed in the SG at 12 h of fermentation and WG at 24 h of fermentation.These results allow to suggest consumption of guava fruit,either with or without seeds,as a feasible way to maintain colonic health.