口香糖的“是是非非”

喜欢也好，不喜欢也罢，一块小小的口香糖能让人们嚼出这么丰富的感受，这大概是109年前发明口香糖的美国人里力所没有想到的吧。不过，虽然口香糖已经成为广受欢迎的大众消费品，有关它的是是非非却一直是人们争论的话题。     

A painful gum

Case study: This middle aged Malaysian man presented complaining of painful gums for a few months. He is known to have had epilepsy since childhood.     

Herbal-caffeinated chewing gum, but not bubble gum, improves aspects of memory

Research has shown that standard chewing gum can affect aspects of both attention and memory. The present study examined the effects of Think Gum^®, a caffeinated-herbal chewing gum, on both concentration and memory using a series of paper-based and online testing. Compared to standard chewing gum and a no-gum control, chewing caffeinated-herbal gum during testing improved aspects of memory, but did not affect concentration. The findings suggest that caffeinated-herbal chewing gum is an effective memory aid.     

Chewing gum to prevent postoperative ileus

Postoperative ileus is a commonly occurring complication after abdominal surgery. Reduced well-being and ileus related complications lead to extension of hospital stay. An early commencement of postoperative feeding to stimulate the digestive system is not always achievable in practice. Recent studies suggest that use of chewing gum can be effective in preventing postoperative ileus by a similar mechanism of action to early postoperative feeding. However, these studies were small in size and of varying quality. Recently the "Chewing gum study" ("Kauwgomstudie") to investigate the effect of general use of chewing gum after abdominal surgery has been started in the Netherlands.     

Hypocholesterolemic effect of gum acacia in men

Fifteen grams of gum acacia administered twice daily to seven hypocholesterolemic subjects for 30 days, reduced their serum cholesterol by approximately 10.4% but had little effect on HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, LDL+VLDL cholesterol was decreased significantly (p<0.05).     

21例药物性牙龈增生的治疗分析

目的:探讨药物性牙龈增生的治疗方法. 方法:选择21例药物性牙龈增生患者进行牙周基础治疗,手术治疗,观察疗效,复查指导.结果:经过0.5～1.5年的治疗,12例基础治疗即可达到满意效果,7例需手术治疗,效果较好,2例依从性差,复发.结论:药物性牙龈增生是可以通过积极的牙周治疗,得到治愈或明显减轻的.     

Specific effect of guar gum or gum arabic on adaptation of cecal digestion to high fiber diets in the rat

The objective of this work was to examine whether the nature of fiber may influence the cecal digestion in the rat fed hydrocolloids such as gums. Adaptation to a high fiber diet containing 15% guar gum (GG) or gum arabic (GA) was thus studied in rats previously adapted to a high starch fiber-free diet. Both gums elicited a marked enlargement of the cecum and a trophic effect on the cecal wall. The cecal pH dropped to 5.8, then plateaued to about 6.1. During the first days of adaptation, a part of GA escaped microbial degradation; thereafter the cecal pool of volatile fatty acids (VFA) was similar with both diets (approximately equal to 1000 mumol). GA promoted propionate-rich fermentations, whereas GG rather enhanced acetic and butyric fermentations. VFA absorption was higher with the gum diets than with the control diet, because blood flow increased in parallel to the weight of cecal wall. K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ were absorbed in large amounts from the cecum, particularly in rats fed the GA diet. With this diet, high concentrations of nonsoluble Ca2+ and phosphate (but low concentrations of soluble phosphate) were found in the cecum. The study indicates that gums have potent effects on digestion in the large bowel, and that there are specific effects of the different types of gums.     

Chewing gum can produce context-dependent effects upon memory

Two experiments examined whether chewing spearmint gum can affect the initial learning or subsequent recall of a word list. Comparing those participants in Experiment 1 who chewed gum at the learning or the recall phases showed that chewing gum at initial learning was associated with superior recall. In addition, chewing gum led to context-dependent effects as a switch between gum and no gum (or no gum and gum) between learning and recall led to poorer performance. Experiment 2 provided evidence that sucking gum was sufficient to induce some of the same effects as chewing.     

Addiction to the nicotine gum in never smokers

Background  

Addiction to nicotine gum has never been described in never smokers or in never users of tobacco.     

Partially hydrolyzed guar gum: clinical nutrition uses

OBJECTIVE: This paper provides a review of research on partially hydrolyzed guar gum that is relevant to clinical nutrition practice. METHODS: All relevant papers published on partially hydrolyzed guar gum were reviewed and the results summarized. RESULTS: Partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) is a water-soluble dietary fiber with a wide range of uses in clinical nutrition. Its low viscosity allows its use in enteral products and beverages. PHGG can be added to enteral formulas and food products as a dietary fiber source. PHGG provides the benefits associated with dietary fiber ingestion. Addition of PHGG to the diet reduced laxative dependence in a nursing home population. PHGG also reduced the incidence of diarrhea in septic patients receiving total enteral nutrition and reduced symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. PHGG also increased production of Bifidobacterium in the gut. CONCLUSION: The ease of use of PHGG and its clinical effectiveness make it a good choice in clinical nutrition practice.     

A semi-fluid gellan gum medium improves nematode toxicity testing

This study examined an alternative test medium for nematodes that use gellan gum as the gelling agent instead of agar. The semi-fluid consistency of the gel-like component nematode growth gellan gum (CNGG) supports three-dimensional distribution of the nematodes and food bacteria, but still allows free movement of the former. Moreover, flexible preparation of the medium and easy recovery of the test organisms are possible. Here, the effects of the nematicides ivermectin (pharmaceutical) and aldicarb (pesticide) and of the metal cadmium on the growth and reproduction of the free-living nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans and Panagrolaimus cf. thienemanni were studied in CNGG media. Results were compared to those obtained with the standard liquid test media in order to evaluate the applicability of CNGG for nematode toxicity testing. The sensitivity of P. cf. thienemanni to all three substances was found to be higher than that of C. elegans, but both nematodes showed the highest sensitivity to ivermectin exposure. This raises concerns about the risk posed by the pharmaceutical to non-target nematodes. In contrast to ivermectin bioassays carried out in CNGG medium, those conducted in liquid medium resulted in wide-ranging variability between and within replicates. Thus, CNGG seems to be particularly valuable for testing hydrophobic substances with a high sorption affinity as it favors their sorption to food bacteria and minimizes contact with the surfaces of the test vessels. However, the medium was less suitable for deriving toxicity thresholds for cadmium and may likewise not be an appropriate choice for testing other metals. The medium introduced herein was shown to be appropriate for sublethal nematode toxicity testing and likely provides a convenient environment for testing other nematode species. Besides improved testing of hydrophobic substances, CNGG also offers advantages for long-term studies, such as full life-cycle experiments, in which fresh medium is regularly needed. Moreover it may be beneficial for testing other poorly soluble or insoluble substances, such as nanoparticles.     

Effects of guar gum in male subjects with hypercholesterolemia

Fourteen male subjects with hypercholesterolemia received daily supplementation with granulated guar gum or placebo, 15 g/day, during 12 wk in a double-blind, cross-over trial. A statistically significant reduction in serum total cholesterol (7.27 +/- 0.24 versus 8.23 +/- 0.26 mmol/l, mean +/- SEM, p less than 0.01) which was mainly due to a reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (4.70 +/- 0.19 versus 5.32 +/- 0.23 mmol/l, p less than 0.05) was observed after 6 wk on guar gum as compared with placebo. Between 6 and 12 wk on guar gum the serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels increased in most subjects, and after 12 wk the difference from placebo was no longer statistically significant. Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were unaffected by guar gum. Serum and lipoprotein triglycerides showed no significant changes during the study, and the body weight of the subjects remained unchanged. Serum calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and iron levels, and urinary calcium excretion were not affected by guar gum supplementation. No severe side effects were observed, necessitating reduction of the dose or stopping the treatment. It is concluded that the hypocholesterolemic effect of guar gum seems to decrease during prolonged dietary supplementation. Further controlled studies are needed before the dose response and the long-term effects of guar gum in hypercholesterolemia can be evaluated.