Celiac disease diagnosis and gluten-free food analytical control

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy, characterized by an inappropriate T-cell-mediated immune response to the ingestion of certain dietary cereal proteins in genetically susceptible individuals. This disorder presents environmental, genetic, and immunological components. CD presents a prevalence of up to 1% in populations of European ancestry, yet a high percentage of cases remain underdiagnosed. The diagnosis and treatment should be made early since untreated disease causes growth retardation and atypical symptoms, like infertility or neurological disorders. The diagnostic criteria for CD, which requires endoscopy with small bowel biopsy, have been changing over the last few decades, especially due to the advent of serological tests with higher sensitivity and specificity. The use of serological markers can be very useful to rule out clinical suspicious cases and also to help monitor the patients, after adherence to a gluten-free diet. Since the current treatment consists of a life-long glutenfree diet, which leads to significant clinical and histological improvement, the standardization of an assay to assess in an unequivocal way gluten in gluten-free foodstuff is of major importance.

Food consumption, physical activity and socio-economic status related to BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio in adolescents

Objective: To examine the association between obesity and food group intakes, physical activity and socio-economic status in adolescents. Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2008. Cole’s cut-off points were used to categorize BMI. Abdominal obesity was defined by a waist circumference at or above the 90th percentile, as well as a waist-to-height ratio at or above 0?500. Diet was evaluated using an FFQ, and the food group consumption was categorized using sex-specific tertiles of each food group amount. Physical activity was assessed via a self-report questionnaire. Socio-economic status was assessed referring to parental education and employment status. Data were analysed separately for girls and boys and the associations among food consumption, physical activity, socio-economic status and BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio were evaluated using logistic regression analysis, adjusting the results for potential confounders. Setting: Public schools in the Azorean Archipelago, Portugal. Subjects: Adolescents (n 1209) aged 15–18 years. Results: After adjustment, in boys, higher intake of ready-to-eat cereals was a negative predictor while vegetables were a positive predictor of overweight/ obesity and abdominal obesity. Active boys had lower odds of abdominal obesity compared with inactive boys. Boys whose mother showed a low education level had higher odds of abdominal obesity compared with boys whose mother presented a high education level. Concerning girls, higher intake of sweets and pastries was a negative predictor of overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity. Girls in tertile 2 of milk intake had lower odds of abdominal obesity than those in tertile 1. Girls whose father had no relationship with employment displayed higher odds of abdominal obesity compared with girls whose father had high employment status. Conclusions: We have found that different measures of obesity have distinct associations with food group intakes, physical activity and socio-economic status.

Brewer's spent grain from different types of malt: Evaluation of the antioxidant activity and identification of the major phenolic compounds

The antioxidant activity and phenolic composition of brewer's spent grain (BSG) extracts obtained by microwave-assisted extraction from twomalt types (light and darkmalts) were investigated. The total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity among the light BSG extracts (pilsen, melano, melano 80 and carared)were significantly different (p b 0.05) compared to dark extracts (chocolate and black types), with the pilsen BSG showing higher TPC (20 ± 1 mgGAE/g dry BSG). In addition, the antioxidant activity assessed by 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and deoxyribose assays decreased as a result of increasing kilning temperatures in the following order: pilsen N melano N melano 80 N carared N chocolate N black. HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS/MS analysis indicated the presence of phenolic acids, such as ferulic, p-coumaric and syringic acids, as well as several isomeric ferulate dehydrodimers and one dehydrotrimer. Chocolate and black extracts, obtained frommalts submitted to the highest kilning temperatures, showed the lowest levels of ferulic and p-coumaric acids. These results suggested that BSG extracts from pilsen malt might be used as an inexpensive and good natural source of antioxidants with potential interest for the food, pharmaceutical and/or cosmetic industries after purification.

Wine and grape polyphenols — a chemical perspective

Phenolic compounds constitute a diverse group of secondary metabolites which are present in both grapes and wine. The phenolic content and composition of grape processed products (wine) are greatly influenced by the technological practice to which grapes are exposed. During the handling and maturation of the grapes several chemical changes may occur with the appearance of new compounds and/or disappearance of others, and consequent modification of the characteristic ratios of the total phenolic content as well as of their qualitative and quantitative profile. The non-volatile phenolic qualitative composition of grapes and wines, the biosynthetic relationships between these compounds, and the most relevant chemical changes occurring during processing and storage will be highlighted in this review.

Assessment of nutritional and metabolic profiles of pea shoots: The new ready-to-eat baby-leaf vegetable

Pea-shoots are a new option as ready-to-eat baby-leaf vegetable. However, data about the nutritional composition and the shelf-life stability of these leaves, especially their phytonutrient composition is scarce. In this work, the macronutrient, micronutrient and phytonutrients profile of minimally processed pea shoots were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of a 10-day storage period. Several physicochemical characteristics (color, pH, total soluble solids, and total titratable acidity) were also monitored. Standard AOAC methods were applied in the nutritional value evaluation, while chromatographic methods with UV–vis and mass detection were used to analyze free forms of vitamins (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS), carotenoids (HPLC-DAD-APCI-MSn) and flavonoid compounds (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn). Atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-AAS) was employed to characterize the mineral content of the leaves. As expected, pea leaves had a high water (91.5%) and low fat (0.3%) and carbohydrate (1.9%) contents, being a good source of dietary fiber (2.1%). Pea shoots showed a high content of vitamins C, E and A, potassium and phosphorous compared to other ready-to-eat green leafy vegetables. The carotenoid profile revealed a high content of β-carotene and lutein, typical from green leafy vegetables. The leaves had a mean flavonoid content of 329 mg/100 g of fresh product, mainly composed by glycosylated quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. Pea shoots kept their fresh appearance during the storage being color maintained throughout the shelf-life. The nutritional composition was in general stable during storage, showing some significant (p < 0.05) variation in certain water-soluble vitamins.

Utilization of food industry wastes for the production of zero-valent iron nanoparticles

The proper disposal of the several types of wastes produced in industrial activities increases production costs. As a consequence, it is common to develop strategies to reuse these wastes in the same process and in different processes or to transform them for use in other processes. This work combines the needs for new synthesis methods of nanomaterials and the reduction of production cost using wastes from citrine juice (orange, lime, lemon and mandarin) to produce a new added value product, green zero-valent iron nanoparticles that can be used in several applications, including environmental remediation. The results indicate that extracts of the tested fruit wastes (peel, albedo and pulp fractions) can be used to produce zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVIs). This shows that these wastes can be an added value product. The resulting nZVIs had sizes ranging from 3 up to 300 nm and distinct reactivities (pulp > peel > albedo extracts). All the studied nanoparticles did not present a significant agglomeration/settling tendency when compared to similar nanoparticles, which indicates that they remain in suspension and retain their reactivity.

Fresh-cut aromatic herbs: Nutritional quality stability during shelf-life

Fresh-cut vegetables are a successful convenient healthy food. Nowadays, the presence of new varieties of minimally processed vegetables in the market is common in response to the consumers demand for new flavours and high quality products. Within the most recent fresh-cut products are the aromatic herbs. In this work, the objective was to evaluate the nutritional quality and stability of four fresh-cut aromatic herbs. Several physicochemical quality characteristics (colour, pH, total soluble solids, and total titratable acidity) were monitored in fresh-cut chives, coriander, spearmint and parsley leaves, stored under refrigeration (3 ± 1 ºC) during 10 days. Their nutritional composition was determined, including mineral composition (phosphorous, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese and copper) and fat- and water-soluble vitamin contents. Total soluble phenolics, flavonoids and the antioxidant capacity were determined by spectrophotometric methods. The aromatic herbs kept their fresh appearance during the storage, maintaining their colour throughout shelf-life. Their macronutrient composition and mineral content were stable during storage. Coriander had the highest mineral and fatsoluble vitamin content, while spearmint showed the best scores in the phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant capacity assays. Vitamins and antioxidant capacity showed some variation during storage, with a differential behaviour of each compound according to the sample.

Desenvolvimento de Métodos de Extração de Resíduos de Antimicrobianos e Quantificação em Amostras Alimentares

O leite é um alimento complexo, pela sua composição rico em água, proteínas, lípidos, vitaminas e minerais. Devido ao seu alto valor nutricional é fundamental para a amamentação de crianças e animais em crescimento, pois fornece componentes fundamentais para o desenvolvimento e manutenção da saúde. Os antimicrobianos são amplamente utilizados como uma medida terapêutica no tratamento de infeções bacterianas, profilaxia e como promotores de crescimento (aditivos). A presença de resíduos de antimicrobianos no leite pode representar riscos para a saúde humana, como reações alérgicas em indivíduos hipersensíveis e resistências. Os objetivos deste estudo são o desenvolvimento de novos métodos de limpeza e de pré-concentração para amostras de leite, por meio de extração em fase sólida (SPE), com a finalidade de realizar uma melhor identificação e quantificação de antimicrobiana por Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Performance (HPLC). Todos os métodos desenvolvidos são de fácil execução, com taxas de recuperação dos agentes antimicrobianos viáveis, com uma percentagem de recuperação a partir de 85%. O método cromatográfico utilizado para a deteção e quantificação (HPLC-DAD) têm os limites de deteção (LD) entre 2.43ng / mL e 1.62ng / mL e os limites de quantificação (LQ) entre 7,36 ng / mL e 4.92 ng / mL, o que significa este método vai de encontro às diretrizes estipuladas pela União Europeia para os agentes antimicrobianos estudados. A combinação dos métodos propostos de limpeza e pré-concentração por SPE e multirresíduo por HPLC-DAD permite, por conseguinte, a deteção e quantificação de resíduos de antibióticos no leite, tornando esta uma alternativa importante e útil no processo de controlo de qualidade para a indústria de alimentos e outras área.

Effects of a home-based exercise program in body composition, abdominal fat and lipid profile in patients with coronary artery disease

Introduction: Coronary artery disease and aging seems to be associated with a sedentary lifestyle, contributing to increased abdominal fat and consequently metabolic complications. The exercise can break this cycle by stimulating lipolysis and the use of fatty acids. In Europe there is still a lack of cardiac rehabilitation programmes in hospitals, therefore, this study aims to demonstrate the advantages of implementing home-based exercise programmes, as well as, their effects on cardiovascular prevention. This study analyzed the effects of a home-based exercise programme, in patients with coronary artery disease (myocardial infarction for 1 year), in body composition, abdominal fat, lipid profile. Methods: An ongoing randomized controlled trial with a sample of 20 participants were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 10) and control groups (n = 10). Intervention group performed a specific exercise programme during 8 weeks, consisting of ten home based exercises taking into account flexibility, muscle endurance and strength as well as cardiovascular endurance. Skinfolds thickness were measure to calculate the percentage of total fat: Skinfolds used were suprailiac, abdominal horizontal and vertical. Body mass index calculation and blood tests for lipidic profile were performed. Results: After eight weeks the intervention group decreased significantly the percentage of total fat (p < 0.05), the suprailiac skinfold (p < 0.05), the abdominal horizontal and vertical skinfold (p < 0.05) when compared with control group. In the intervention group it was observed after 8 weeks a significant decrease in body mass index, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. Conclusions: Home-based exercise programme influenced body composition, abdominal fat and lipid profile. These results highlight the importance of implementing home based exercises that are easy and cheap to implement in cardiac patients, in order to promote health and reduce cardiovascular risk factors.

Desenvolvimento de métodos de extração de resíduos de antimicrobianos e quantificação em amostras alimentares

O leite é um alimento complexo, pela sua composição rico em água, proteínas, lípidos, vitaminas e minerais. Devido ao seu alto valor nutricional é fundamental para a amamentação de crianças e animais em crescimento, pois fornece componentes fundamentais para o desenvolvimento e manutenção da saúde. Os antimicrobianos são amplamente utilizados como uma medida terapêutica no tratamento de infeções bacterianas, profilaxia e como promotores de crescimento (aditivos). A presença de resíduos de antimicrobianos no leite pode representar riscos para a saúde humana, como reações alérgicas em indivíduos hipersensíveis e resistências. Os objetivos deste estudo são o desenvolvimento de novos métodos de limpeza e de pré- concentração para amostras de leite, por meio de extração em fase sólida (SPE), com a finalidade de realizar uma melhor identificação e quantificação de antimicrobiana por Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Performance (HPLC). Todos os métodos desenvolvidos são de fácil execução, com taxas de recuperação dos agentes antimicrobianos viáveis, com uma percentagem de recuperação a partir de 85%. O método cromatográfico utilizado para a deteção e quantificação (HPLC-DAD) têm os limites de deteção (LD) entre 2.43ng / mL e 1.62ng / mL e os limites de quantificação (LQ) entre 7,36 ng / mL e 4.92 ng / mL, o que significa este método vai de encontro às diretrizes estipuladas pela União Europeia para os agentes antimicrobianos estudados. A combinação dos métodos propostos de limpeza e pré-concentração por SPE e multirresíduo por HPLC-DAD permite, por conseguinte, a deteção e quantificação de resíduos de antibióticos no leite, tornando esta uma alternativa importante e útil no processo de controlo de qualidade para a indústria de alimentos e outras área.

Detection of Arah1 (a major peanut allergen) in food using an electrochemical gold nanoparticle-coated screen-printed immunosensor

A gold nanoparticle-coated screen-printed carbon electrode was used as the transducer in the development of an electrochemical immunosensor for Ara h 1 (a major peanut allergen) detection in food samples. Gold nanoparticles (average diameter=32 nm) were electrochemically generated on the surface of screen-printed carbon electrodes. Two monoclonal antibodies were used in a sandwich-type immunoassay and the antibody–antigen interaction was electrochemically detected through stripping analysis of enzymatically (using alkaline phosphatase) deposited silver. The total time of the optimized immunoassay was 3 h 50 min. The developed immunosensor allowed the quantification of Ara h 1 between 12.6 and 2000 ng/ml, with a limit of detection of 3.8 ng/ml, and provided precise (RSD <8.7%) and accurate (recovery >96.6%) results. The immunosensor was successfully applied to the analysis of complex food matrices (cookies and chocolate), being able to detect Ara h 1 in samples containing 0.1% of peanut.

Isoflavones in food supplements: chemical profile, label accordance and permeability study in Caco-2 cells

Consumers nowadays are playing an active role in their health-care. A special case is the increasing number of women, who are reluctant to use exogenous hormone therapy for the treatment of menopausal symptoms and are looking for complementary therapies. However, food supplements are not clearly regulated in Europe. The EFSA has only recently begun to address the issues of botanical safety and purity regulation, leading to a variability of content, standardization, dosage, and purity of available products. In this study, isoflavones (puerarin, daidzin, genistin, daidzein, glycitein, genistein, formononetin, prunetin, and biochanin A) from food supplements (n = 15) for menopausal symptoms relief are evaluated and compared with the labelled information. Only four supplements complied with the recommendations made by the EC on the tolerable thresholds. The intestinal bioavailability of these compounds was investigated using Caco-2 cells. The apparent permeability coefficients of the selected isoflavonoids across the Caco-2 cells were affected by the isoflavone concentration and product matrix.

Molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for ochratoxin A detection in food samples

A novel electrochemical sensor for ochratoxin A (OTA) detection was fabricated through the modification of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). The MWCNTs dramatically promoted the sensitivity of the developed sensor, while polypyrrole (PPy) imprinted with OTA served as the selective recognition element. The imprinted PPy film was prepared by electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of OTA as a template molecule via cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrochemical oxidation of OTA at the developed sensor was investigated by CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The developed MIP/MWCNT/GCE sensor showed a linear relationship, when using DPV, between peak current intensity and OTA concentration in the range between 0.050 and 1.0 μM, with limits of detection (LOD) and quantification of 0.0041 μM (1.7 μg/L) and 0.014 μM (5.7 μg/L) respectively. With the developed sensor precise results were obtained; relative standard deviations of 4.2% and 7.5% in the evaluation of the repeatability and reproducibility, respectively. The MIP/MWCNT/GCE sensor is simple to fabricate and easy to use and was successfully applied to the determination of OTA in spiked beer and wine samples, with recoveries between 84 and 104%, without the need of a sample pre-treatment step.

Phenolic compounds from olive mill wastes: Health effects, analytical approach and application as food antioxidants

Background Over the years, food industry wastes have been the focus of a growing interest due to their content in high added-value compounds. A good example are the olive oil by-products (OOBP), which retain a great amount of phenolic compounds during olive oil production. Their structure and biological properties justify their potential use as antioxidants in other food products. The efficient recovery of phenolic compounds has been extensively studied and optimized in order to maximize their reintroduction in the food chain and contribute to a higher valorization and better management of wastes from olive oil industry. Scope and approach This paper reviews the most representative phenolic compounds described in OOBP and their biological properties. New extraction procedures to efficiently recover these compounds and the most advanced chromatographic techniques that have been used for a better understanding of the phenolic profile of these complex matrices are also referred. Finally, this paper reports the main applications of OOBP, with emphasis on their phenolic content as natural antioxidants for food applications. Key findings and conclusions Besides their antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds from OOBP have also shown antimicrobial and antitumoral properties. Their application as food antioxidants requires new extraction techniques, including the use of non-toxic solvents and, in a pilot scale, the use of filters and adsorbent resins. The inclusion of phenolic compounds from OOBP in some food matrices have improved not only their antioxidant capacity but also their sensory attributes.

Effects of the Mediterranean diet and exercise in subjects with coronary artery disease

Introduction The association of the Mediterranean diet and exercise appears to have a protective role, reducing cardiovascular risk. This study investigated the effects of education sessions on the Mediterranean diet and an exercise program in modifying eating behaviors, body composition and abdominal fat. Methods An experimental study was performed on 20 subjects with known coronary heart disease randomly assigned to experimental (n=10) and control (n=10) groups. Both groups received education sessions on the Mediterranean diet, but the experimental group also followed an eight-week program of specific exercises. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was administered to analyze food intake, bioimpedance was used to measure weight, fat mass and lean mass, and waist circumference was measured to calculate waist-to-height ratio. Results After eight weeks, protein (p<0.05) and cholesterol (p<0.05) intake in the experimental group had decreased significantly compared with the control group. Between the beginning and end of the study, there were significant decreases in the control group in carbohydrate (p<0.05) and saturated fat intake (p<0.05). In both groups the percentage of total fat (p<0.05) and fat mass (p<0.05) was significantly decreased. In the experimental group the waist-to-height ratio was significantly reduced (p<0.05). Conclusion The Mediterranean diet reduced carbohydrate and saturated fat intake, reflected in reduced fat mass. The association of the exercise program showed additional benefits in reduction of protein and cholesterol intake and abdominal fat.