Assessment of the Safe Consumption of Nuts in Terms of the Content of Toxic Elements with Chemometric Analysis

Nuts are characterized by high nutritional value and are recommended as a part of a healthy diet. At the same time, toxic elements could also be found in them. In this research, we measured the content of As, Cd, Pb and Hg in a wide variety of edible nuts. To determine the As content, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied. Cd and Pb were detected by the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry analytical technique (ETAAS) with Zeeman background correction, while atomic absorption spectrometry method (AAS) with the amalgamation technique in the case of Hg was used. The study material consisted of 120 samples without replications (10 for each subgroup) including the following nuts: Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecan nuts, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts. Indicators such as the target hazard quotient (THQ), cancer risk (CR) and hazard index (HI) were used to assess the health risk. The highest median As, Cd, Pb and Hg contents were observed for pistachios (192.42 µg/kg), pine nuts (238.40 µg/kg), peanuts (82.06 µg/kg) and pecans (82.06 µg/kg), respectively. The exceedance of the established limits was found in the case of Pb for nine samples: macadamia nuts (221.49 µg/kg; 2350.94 µg/kg; 2581.43 µg/kg), pine nuts (266.33 µg/kg), peanuts (1353.80 µg/kg) and pecans (2689.13 µg/kg, 2758.26 µg/kg, 2992.29 µg/kg and 3169.41 µg/kg). Extremely high (>2500 µg/kg) Pb content was found in 33% of studied pecans imported from the USA. The health risk indicators did not identify increased health risk. This research is significant considering the food safety issues and indicates the need to regularly control the content of toxic elements in food, as well as to establish the specific limits for heavy metals content in nuts. The chemometric analysis included cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). Cluster analysis made it possible to distinguish four subgroups on the basis of the ability to accumulate toxic elements: pine nuts, pecans, pistachios and other analysed nuts. PCA indicated primarily factor 1, distinguishing mainly pecans, macadamia nuts and peanuts. Chemometric analysis can be a useful tool in estimating the ability of different nut species to accumulate contaminants.     

螽斯总科三种昆虫营养成分的分析与评价

昆虫是动物界中的最大类群,生物量超过其它所有动物(包括人类在内)总量的10倍以上,而且具有世代短、繁殖快、蛋白质含量高、营养丰富等特点,是良好的潜在食物资源[1]。世界各地几乎都有以某些昆虫为食物的习惯,我国食用昆虫也有悠久的历史,可供利用的资源极为丰富。　　螽斯属直翅目(Orthoptera)、螽斯总科(Tettigonioidea)昆虫,通常作观赏及娱乐资源昆虫,在我国许多地方,也有饲用、食用和药用的传统[2～4]。药用时,干燥或新鲜全体入药,有清热解毒,息风止痛的功效。食用方法一是油炸(煎),螽斯捕捉后,去翅,将头揪下连同带出肠胃,洗净用盐水…     

分光光度法测定野菜中铁的含量

野菜植物无污染、无农药残毒、营养丰富,具有特殊风味,并且很多野菜还有医疗保健作用。用分光光度法直接测定野菜中铁的含量,方法简便快速准确,对指导人们合理食用野菜进行补铁及进一步开发野菜提供了可靠的理论依据。     

壳聚糖可食用膜对油豆角贮藏生理的影响

使用壳聚糖配制的涂膜液处理油豆角,通过测定涂膜的油豆角在贮藏期间呼吸强度、PPO、POD、MDA的变化,探讨油豆角在贮藏期间的生理变化规律.结果表明,涂膜处理后能推迟油豆角呼吸高峰的到来;同时,在贮藏期间,涂膜油豆角的呼吸强度、PPO、POD、MDA与对照组相比都有所降低.     

蚌埠市食用盐降碘前后儿童与孕妇碘营养状况调查

目的:调查居民食用盐降碘前后,蚌埠市儿童、孕妇的碘营养状况,为科学补碘、防治碘缺乏病提供依据.方法:选择食用盐降碘前后蚌埠市8~10岁学龄儿童及孕妇为研究对象,采集晨尿,采用WS/T107-2006尿中碘的砷铈催化分光光度测定法进行尿碘水平测定.并采用GB/T 13025.7中直接滴定法,对采集的居民食用盐进行碘含量分析.结果:2012年、2014年蚌埠市居民食用盐碘合格率分别为95.84%、98.43%,合格碘盐食用率分别为95.51%、98.38%.降碘前后,蚌埠市8~10岁儿童尿碘中位数分别为307.6 μg/L、264.5 μg/L,孕妇为219.6 μg/L、182.9 μg/L,食用盐降碘后蚌埠市儿童和孕妇尿碘水平均较降碘前明显降低(P<0.01).结论:食用盐降碘后蚌埠市儿童尿碘水平虽有所降低,但尿碘中位数仍处于碘摄入超适宜范围,部分儿童存在碘摄入过量问题;降碘前后孕妇尿碘中位数则均处于碘适宜范围,部分孕妇存在碘摄入不足.     

食用油过氧化脂质变化及对小鼠机体的影响

研究在不同温度、光照等贮存条件下猪油、色拉油中过氧化脂质（ｌｉｐｉｄｐｅｒｏｘｉｄｅｓ，ＬＰＯ）的变化规律，并初步探讨了不同贮存条件的食用油灌小鼠胃，对其机体产生的影响。结果表明：（１）食用油的ＬＰＯ：两种食用油的ＬＰＯ均随时间、温度及光照的增加而升高，其中猪油主要受温度影响，而色拉油受温度和光照共同影响。（２）小鼠肝、脑的ＬＰＯ：除猪油避光组外，实验组与对照组均有显著性差异，且各实验组之间也有不同程度的差异。     

食用淀粉空囊的质量标准研究

目的：建立食用淀粉空囊质量标准。方法：按照GB/T 1.1-2009标准的结构和编写给出的规则起草,参考GB/T 29343-2012木薯淀粉以及GB 2713-2015淀粉制品有关卫生标准等拟定淀粉空囊质量标准。结果：拟定了感官、理化、微生物限度以及致病菌控制项目。结论：本质量标准的建立,将为淀粉空囊在食品中的应用提供质量保障。     

Molecular-cellular mechanisms of the formation of long-term memory in the edible snail

This short review, based mainly on our own studies, summarizes data on the molecular-cellular mechanisms of non-associative and associative forms of learning (sensitization and classical conditioning) in the edible snail. A hypothesis is proposed which suggests that learning in defensive behavior command neurons in the edible snail is activated by a complex metabolic response specific for the type of conditioned habit. Excitation arriving at the neuron, in addition to activating second messenger systems, initiates the synthesis of short-lived (1–3 h) protein molecules which are specific (in the case of conditioning) or relatively specific (in the case of sensitization) for particular synaptic inputs. When training is inadequate, its effect can disappear from the point at which these proteins are degraded. When learning is better fixed, its effects last for several days (for sensitization) or significantly longer periods of time (for conditioning). Prolonged retention of habits should correspond to the situation of self-maintaining synthesis of long-lived protein molecules, which control the synthesis of synapse-specific short-lived regulator molecules. P. K. Anokhin Science Research Institute of Normal Physiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow. Translated from Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal im. I. M. Sechenova, Vol. 81, No. 8, pp. 18–23, August, 1995.     

Ethnobotany of Food Plants in the High River Ter Valley (Pyrenees,Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula): Non-Crop Food Vascular Plants and Crop Food Plants with Medicinal Properties

The present study reports a part of the findings of an ethnobotanical research project conducted in the Catalan region of the high river Ter valley (Iberian Peninsula), concerning the use of wild vascular plants as food and the medicinal uses of both wild and cultivated food plants. We have detected 100 species which are or have been consumed in this region, 83 of which are treated here (the remaining are the cultivated food plants without additional medicinal uses). Some of them, such as Achillea ptarmica subsp. pyrenaica, Convolvulus arvensis, Leontodon hispidus, Molopospermum peloponnesiacum and Taraxacum dissectum, have not been previously reported, or have only very rarely been cited or indicated as plant foods in very restricted geographical areas. Several of these edible wild plants have a therapeutic use attributed to them by local people, making them a kind of functional food. They are usually eaten raw, dressed in salads or cooked; the elaboration of products from these species such as liquors or marmalades is a common practice in the region. The consumption of these resources is still fairly alive in popular practice, as is the existence of homegardens, where many of these plants are cultivated for private consumption.     

An ecological systems perspective: Its application to nutrition policy,program design and evaluation†

The ecological systems perspective is presented as an ideal model for nutrition policy formulation as well as nutrition program design and evaluation. Current nutrition policy statements in the United States are complex and unwieldy for program implementation. Action statements such as the “Dietary Goals for the U.S.” will probably not be successful because they are not based on a solid theoretical framework nor are they linked to any national policy goals which would facilitate their accomplishment.

Current nutrition program stategies may be categorized into: those programs focusing on environmental alteration or those focused at the level of the individual consumer, such as nutrition education. Each type of program strategy is unlikely to achieve ultimate success because the focus is one system or the other. By adopting an ecological systems perspective as a basic theoretical framework for nutrition policy and programs, more consistent success for improving the nutritional status of the American people might be expected.