Antioxidants Properties,Physicochemical, and Sensory Quality Attributes of a New Soy-Based Beverage with Lemongrass and Lime Juice

This work aimed at developing a new soy-based beverage and studying the influence of formulation ingredients on its antioxidants, physicochemical, and sensory properties. For this purpose, mixed beverages with lemongrass, lime juice, and soymilk were formulated. Soy-based beverages showed differences in pH, ratio, and color as compared to mixed beverages without soy. Soymilk increased the phenolics content and the ABTS antioxidant capacity, while lemongrass aqueous extract increased the DPPH antioxidant capacity of soy-based beverages. The new soy-based beverage had good acceptance for all attributes and can be considered a viable alternative source of nutrients and bioactive compounds to consumers.     

Mycotoxicosis – diagnosis,prevention and control: past practices and future perspectives

Abstract

Mycotoxins pose severe health hazards in animals, humans, and poultry birds. More than 400 chemically different mycotoxins have been identified to date. Twenty-five percent of world’s crops are potentially contaminated with mycotoxins. Luckily, nature has provided the ruminants a unique property of inactivating and detoxifying most of the mycotoxins with the help of microflora and microfauna present within their ruminal fluid; however, unfortunately avian species lack such ability putting them at high risk to the deleterious effects of mycotoxins. This review elaborates different strategies for diagnosis, prevention and control of mycotoxins.     

Mixed Beverage of Fruits and Vegetables: Effect of Refrigerated Storage on Antioxidant Capacity and Acceptance

The aim of this work was to prepare a mixed beverage containing kale, ginger, coconut water, and orange, which is similar to the recipes found in the informal media, and to determine the effect of refrigerated storage on antioxidant, physical and chemical properties, ascorbic acid content, and sensory acceptance. The refrigeration of the mixed beverage for up to seven hours preserved the antioxidant properties, phenolic compounds, soluble solids, and titratable acidity but led to reduction of green color, pH, and ascorbic acid content. However, in the refrigeration for up to 25 hours, it was observed that antioxidant activity, color, pH, and ascorbic acid were not preserved. The beverage was considered appropriate by mean the sensory acceptance test, after microbiological analysis. The beverages refrigerated for 0, 13, and 25 hours were accepted, with maximum scores of 7 (10 cm scale), besides purchase intention above 3 on a 5-point scale.     

Levels of lipid peroxides and antioxidants in smokers and nonsmokers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between cigarette smoking and periodontal damage in terms of the levels of free radicals and antioxidants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-five healthy subjects in the age group 25-56 yr and with chronic moderate inflammatory periodontal disease (attachment loss of 3-4 mm) were selected. All subjects were matched with respect to the clinical parameters plaque index, gingival index and attachment loss. Of the 35 subjects, 25 were smokers (smoking a minimum of 15 cigarettes/day) and 10 were nonsmokers. Smokers were subdivided into three subgroups: group I (10 subjects smoking 15-20 cigarettes/day); group II (10 subjects smoking 21-30 cigarettes/day) and group III (five subjects smoking > 50 cigarettes/day). Gingival tissue (obtained during Modified Widman surgery) and blood samples were collected from each of the subjects and analyzed for the following parameters: lipid peroxide, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione and total thiol. RESULTS: The level of lipid peroxide was lowest in nonsmokers (2.242 +/- 0.775 in tissue and 1.352 +/- 0.414 in blood) and highest in smokers smoking > 50 cigarettes/day (6.81 +/- 1.971 in tissue and 4.96 +/- 0.890 in blood), both in tissue and in blood. The increase was statistically significant in all groups, except in tissue of group I smokers. Catalase showed a similar trend, where the levels increased from 0.245 +/- 0.043 in controls to 0.610 +/- 0.076 in group III smokers for tissue, and from 0.231 +/- 0.040 in controls to 0.568 +/- 0.104 in group III smokers for blood. The increase was statistically significant for all groups. Total thiol levels were also higher in smokers than in controls (0.222 +/- 0.050 in controls vs. 0.480 +/- 0.072 in group III smokers in tissue; 0.297 +/- 0.078 in controls vs. 0.617 +/- 0.042 in group III smokers in blood). Except for group I in both tissue and blood, the increase was statistically significant. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) level was higher in nonsmokers (2.406 +/- 0.477 in tissue and 2.611 +/- 0.508 in blood) than in group III smokers (1.072 +/- 0.367 in tissue and 0.938 +/- 0.367 in blood), both in tissue and in blood, but this was significant only in the case of blood and for group III smokers in tissue. The glutathione level in tissue was consistently lower in smokers than in controls, showing a decrease from 121.208 +/- 37.367 in controls to 46.426 +/- 14.750 in group III smokers, but the decrease was not significant in group I smokers. In the case of blood, the glutathione level dropped from 262.074 +/- 68.751 in controls to 154.242 +/- 51.721 in group III smokers, but was statistically significant only for group III smokers. CONCLUSION: The study results show that smoking increases the level of free radicals in periodontal tissues, which in turn may be responsible for the destruction seen in periodontal diseases.     

The up-regulation of heme oxygenase-1 expression in human gingival fibroblasts stimulated with nicotine

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor in the development and further progression of periodontal diseases. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is known as a stress-inducible protein and functions as an antioxidant enzyme. There is limited information on the expression of HO-1 in smoking-associated periodontal disease. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of nicotine on the expression of HO-1 protein in cultured human gingival fibroblasts in vitro and further to compare HO-1 expression in gingival tissues obtained from cigarette smokers and non-smokers in vivo. METHODS: Western blot assay was used to investigate the effects on human gingival fibroblasts exposed to nicotine. In addition, antioxidants catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) were added to test how they modulated the effects on nicotine-induced HO-1 expression. Gingival biopsies taken from the flap surgery of 20 male patients with periodontal disease (10 cigarette smokers and 10 non-smokers) were examined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The exposure of quiescent human gingival fibroblasts to 10 mm nicotine resulted in the induction of HO-1 protein expression in a time-dependent manner (p < 0.05). The addition of glutathione (GSH) precursor NAC inhibited the nicotine-induced HO-1 protein expression (p < 0.05). However, SOD and catalase did not decrease the nicotine-induced HO-1 protein expression (p > 0.05). The results from immunohistochemistry demonstrated that HO-1 expression was significantly higher in cigarette smokers (p < 0.05). HO-1 was noted in the basal layers of epithelium, inflammatory cells, and fibroblasts in specimens from cigarette smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results suggest that HO-1 expression is significantly up-regulated in gingival tissues from cigarette smokers, and nicotine may, among other constituents, be responsible for the enhanced HO-1 expression in vivo. The regulation of HO-1 expression induced by nicotine is critically dependent on the intracellular GSH concentration.     

慢性精神分裂症患者颈动脉粥样硬化状况及影响因素

目的:探讨慢性精神分裂症患者颈动脉粥样硬化状况及其影响因素。方法:对162例慢性精神分裂症患者行颈动脉超声检查,根据颈动脉内膜中层厚度(IMT)分为颈动脉硬化组及颈动脉正常组;对两组的临床资料、血非酶抗氧化物(白蛋白、胆红素、尿酸)及超敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)水平进行比较。结果:颈动脉超声检查发现33例(20.4%)患者颈动脉粥样硬化;颈动脉硬化组的年龄、病程、服氯氮平和奥氮平、合并高血压、糖尿病及高脂血症比例高于颈动脉正常组(P均0.05);血尿酸水平低于颈动脉正常组,hs-CRP水平高于颈动脉正常组(P均0.05)。结论:慢性精神分裂症患者颈动脉粥样硬化发生率较高,可能与服用药物类型及低尿酸有关。