Making All Medications Gluten Free

Gluten is found in food containing wheat, rye, and barley, and it may be introduced into medicines through the use of starch or any modified form of starch derived from these grains. The ingestion of gluten poses serious health hazards to people with celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and they must avoid the oral ingestion of gluten. In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration solicited information and public comments on ‘gluten in drug products.’ However, the ‘final rule’ that the Agency issued in 2013 involved only the voluntary ‘gluten-free’ labeling of food, and it did not include drug products. In this commentary, we are proposing that all drug products can and should be made gluten free. This is especially important since there is currently a global trade in medicines, and patients and health care providers do not know whether a product is gluten free or not unless they are labeled as such. All drug products can be made gluten free as there are many alternatives to gluten-containing starch that can be used as excipients during their formulation. Global collaborative efforts of regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and excipient manufacturers will be needed to implement a gluten-free medication policy and new regulatory guidelines.     

An in vitro study of the effect of some dietary components on calculus formation: regulation of calcium phosphate precipitation

OBJECTIVE: We studied the effects of food components on the in vitro formation of calcium phosphate precipitates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of food components, such as starch, soybean flour, fish meal, rapeseed oil, and coconut oil, on calcium phosphate precipitation were studied using a pH drop method. RESULTS: Although the addition of starch had no effect on the rate of precipitation of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP), it increased both the rate of transformation of ACP to hydroxyapatite (HAP) and the induction time (i.e. time for the initiation of transformation of ACP to HAP to occur); this was irrespective of the heat treatment of the starch. Amylopectin (insoluble constituent of starch) was effective in increasing the rate of HAP transformation, but amylose (soluble constituent of starch) was not. Oil specimen obtained from rapeseed (400 microl ml(-1)) increased the entire reaction of calcium phosphate precipitation, but that from coconut did not. Protein food, such as soybean flour and fish meal, decreased the rate of transformation of ACP to HAP and increased the induction time, while they had no effect on the rate of ACP precipitation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that carbohydrate and oil (both are staple diets for the humans) enhance oral calcification (dental calculus formation or re-mineralization of tooth enamel), while side dishes of protein food would decrease it.     

淀粉类黏合剂黏度曲线的测定

目的 测定不同类型淀粉类黏合剂的黏度曲线,确定其使用的最佳浓度范围。方法 探索不同类型淀粉的配制方法,采用数字旋转黏度计测定不同种类淀粉黏合剂在不同温度下的黏度并绘制黏度曲线图。结果 不同种类的淀粉制成淀粉浆的黏度差异较大;所考察的5种淀粉浆的黏度拐点温度范围为40~50℃;预胶化淀粉和部分预胶化淀粉适合采用煮桨法配制淀粉浆,其他3种淀粉适合采用冲浆法配制淀粉浆。结论 作为淀粉浆使用的最佳浓度范围分别是：玉米淀粉5%~8%,可溶性淀粉6%~8%,预胶化淀粉5%~8%,部分预胶化淀粉5%~8%,SWELSTARTMWB-1 1%~5%。     

A High-Fat Diet Differentially Affects the Gut Metabolism and Blood Lipids of Rats Depending on the Type of Dietary Fat and Carbohydrate

The aim of this model study was to investigate how selected gut functions and serum lipid profile in rats on high-fat diets differed according to the type of fat (saturated vs. unsaturated) and carbohydrate (simple vs. complex). The experiment was conducted using 32 male Wistar rats distributed into 4 groups of 8 animals each. For 4 weeks, the animals were fed group-specific diets that were either rich in lard or soybean oil (16% of the diet) as the source of saturated or unsaturated fatty acids, respectively; further, each lard- and soybean oil-rich diet contained either fructose or corn starch (45.3% of the diet) as the source of simple or complex carbohydrates, respectively. Both dietary factors contributed to changes in the caecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations, especially to the butyrate concentration, which was higher in rats fed lard- and corn starch-rich diets compared to soybean oil- and fructose-rich diets, respectively. The lowest butyrate concentration was observed in rats fed the soybean oil- and fructose-rich diet. On the other hand, the lard- and fructose-rich diet vs. the other dietary combinations significantly increased serum total cholesterol concentration, to more than two times serum triglyceride concentration and to more than five times the atherogenic index. In conclusion, a high-fat diet rich in fructose can unfavorably affect gut metabolism when unsaturated fats are predominant in the diet or the blood lipids when a diet is rich in saturated fats.     

微孔淀粉在丁香挥发油固化中的应用研究

目的:研究微孔淀粉吸附丁香挥发油的特性。方法:采用微孔淀粉吸附丁香挥发油,考察微孔淀粉用量对丁香酚收率、溶出度和热稳定性的影响。结果:微孔淀粉和挥发油质量比为2.5∶1时,固化粉末中丁香酚收率达到(91.03±0.56)%,丁香酚体外溶出度增加,热稳定性改善。结论:微孔淀粉适于固化丁香挥发油,具有推广价值。     

The State of Starch/Hydroxyapatite Composite Scaffold in Bone Tissue Engineering with Consideration for Dielectric Measurement as an Alternative Characterization Technique

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been widely used as a scaffold in tissue engineering. HA possesses high mechanical stress and exhibits particularly excellent biocompatibility owing to its similarity to natural bone. Nonetheless, this ceramic scaffold has limited applications due to its apparent brittleness. Therefore, this had presented some difficulties when shaping implants out of HA and for sustaining a high mechanical load. Fortunately, these drawbacks can be improved by combining HA with other biomaterials. Starch was heavily considered for biomedical device applications in favor of its low cost, wide availability, and biocompatibility properties that complement HA. This review provides an insight into starch/HA composites used in the fabrication of bone tissue scaffolds and numerous factors that influence the scaffold properties. Moreover, an alternative characterization of scaffolds via dielectric and free space measurement as a potential contactless and nondestructive measurement method is also highlighted.     

Effect of Sago Starch Modifications on Polystyrene/Thermoplastic Starch Blends

The preparation of polystyrene/thermoplastic starch (PS/TPS) blends was divided into three stages. The first stage involved the preparation of TPS from sago starch. Then, for the second stage, PS was blended with TPS to produce a TPS/PS blend. The ratios of the TPS/PS blend were 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, and 80:20. The final stage was a modification of the composition of TPS/PS blends with succinic anhydride and ascorbic acid treatment. Both untreated and treated blends were characterized by their physical, thermal, and surface morphology properties. The obtained results indicate that modified blends have better tensile strength as the adhesion between TPS and PS was improved. This can be observed from SEM micrographs, as modified blends with succinic anhydride and ascorbic acid had smaller TPS dispersion in PS/TPS blends. The micrograph showed that there was no agglomeration and void formation in the TPS/PS blending process. Furthermore, modified blends show better thermal stability, as proved by thermogravimetric analysis. Water uptake into the TPS/PS blends also decreased after the modifications, and the structural analysis showed the formation of a new peak after the modification process.     

Laser-Assisted High Speed Machining of 316 Stainless Steel: The Effect of Water-Soluble Sago Starch Based Cutting Fluid on Surface Roughness and Tool Wear

Laser-assisted high speed milling is a subtractive machining method that employs a laser to thermally soften a difficult-to-cut material’s surface in order to enhance machinability at a high material removal rate with improved surface finish and tool life. However, this machining with high speed leads to high friction between workpiece and tool, and can result in high temperatures, impairing the surface quality. Use of conventional cutting fluid may not effectively control the heat generation. Besides, vegetable-based cutting fluids are invariably a major source of food insecurity of edible oils which is traditionally used as a staple food in many countries. Thus, the primary objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the effects of water-soluble sago starch-based cutting fluid on surface roughness and tool’s flank wear using response surface methodology (RSM) while machining of 316 stainless steel. In order to observe the comparison, the experiments with same machining parameters are conducted with conventional cutting fluid. The prepared water-soluble sago starch based cutting fluid showed excellent cooling and lubricating performance. Therefore, in comparison to the machining using conventional cutting fluid, a decrease of 48.23% in surface roughness and 38.41% in flank wear were noted using presented approach. Furthermore, using the extreme learning machine (ELM), the obtained data is modeled to predict surface roughness and flank wear and showed good agreement between observations and predictions.     

利用马铃薯淀粉制备止血材料方法

目的：利用马铃薯淀粉为原料制备一种具有无毒性、无刺激性、价格低廉、吸水速率快、止血时间短的多微孔多聚糖止血材料。方法：将马铃薯生淀粉经过糊化、酶解、乳化交联、溶剂萃取、洗涤、喷雾干燥筛分、灭菌包装．制成多微孔多聚糖止血微球。结果：制成了止血微球、止血气雾剂、止血粉末3种多微孔多聚糖止血材料：颗粒粒径在50～80txm,均分子量在100000-1900000;吸水倍率在20～100倍;电子显微镜下显示呈圆形或卵圆形微球颗粒．大小均匀。结论：多微孔多聚糖止血材料具有无毒性、无刺激性、价格低廉、吸水速率快、止血时间短的优点,且原料来源丰富、吐产工芦简单可行右广阔酌应用箭导     

中分子羟乙基淀粉联合小剂量尿激酶治疗急性脑分水岭梗死的疗效观察

目的 观察中分子羟乙基淀粉联合小剂量尿激酶治疗急性脑分水岭梗死（CWI）患者的临床疗效.方法 68例CWI患者随机分为两组,对照组（n=34）在常规治疗措施基础上加用小剂量尿激酶,观察组（n=34）在常规治疗措施基础上加用中分子羟乙基淀粉、小剂量尿激酶联合治疗.比较两组治疗总有效率,治疗前后神经功能缺损程度（NIHSS）和Barthel指数变化情况.结果 观察组治疗总有效率（88.24％）明显高于对照组（67.65％） （x2=7.383,P＜0.05）;两组患者治疗前NIHSS、Bar-thel比较差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）,随治疗时间延长,NIHSS逐渐降低,Barthel逐渐升高,且观察组降低和升高较对照组更为显著（P＜0.05）;两组治疗期间未见严重不良反应发生.结论 中分子羟乙基淀粉联合小剂量尿激酶治疗CWI疗效显著,可明显改善神经功能缺损程度和日常生活能力,值得临床推广应用.