Novel method for producing hypoallergenic wheat flour by enzymatic fragmentation of the constituent allergens and its application to food processing.
(1/11)
A novel method is proposed to produce hypoallergenic wheat flour suitable for patients allergic to wheat. Wheat flour was mixed with a cellulase solution, and the mixture was incubated at 50 degrees C for 1 h to hydrolyze the carbohydrate allergens. The hydrolysate was further incubated with actinase at 40 degrees C for 1 h while gently stirring to decompose the proteinaceous allergens. The product was evaluated for its allergenicity by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the results of which suggested negative allergenicity in most cases. The product changed to a batter state that was difficult to process by the usual methods. Gelatinization of the starch in the product and the addition of a surfactant were beneficial for food processing. (+info)
A mainstay of functional food science in Japan--history, present status, and future outlook.
(2/11)
The development of food science in the near future probably depends on the advance in functional food science, the concept of which was proposed first in Japan nearly 15 years ago. The new science has been internationally distributed and accepted as conceptually being beyond nutrition. In Japan, however, it traced a unique path of progress in the form of a product-driven rather than concept-driven science. Actually, a number of substances and products with potential for disease risk reduction rather than simply for health maintenance have been investigated for their body-modulating functions. Some of them have been applied in practice to the industrialization of functional foods in terms of "foods for specified health uses" legally defined by new legislation. A variety of sophisticated methods have been introduced as well, including the so-called "XYZ" evaluation system, database construction for assessment of the function, and even the DNA microarray technique. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) also commenced their scientific as well as political activity, with its spread to industries which almost simultaneously began to vigorously investigate functional food products for enlargement of the food market. With all of this as a background, the Japan Liaison of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) hold a function food science symposium on behalf of related scientific bodies including the Japan Section of the International Life Science Institute (ILSI). This paper is an overview compiled from 12 presentations made in the symposium, with the aim of internationally publicizing the activity of functional food science in Japan. (+info)
Differential Expression of Motivational Stimulus Properties by Dopamine in Nucleus Accumbens Shell versus Core and Prefrontal Cortex.
(3/11)
The response of extracellular dopamine (DA) and its relationship to motivational valence (positive or negative) and novelty of motivational stimuli was investigated by brain microdialysis in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core and prefrontal cortex (PFCX) of rats. Stimuli were elicited by intraoral infusion of 20% sucrose, sucrose plus chocolate, quinine, and NaCl solutions, feeding of a palatable food (Fonzies), or smelling of a predator (red fox) urine. Sucrose elicited appetitive reactions and increased DA in the PFCX but not in the NAc shell. An unfamiliar appetitive taste such as that of sweet chocolate and Fonzies, increased DA in all three areas. Habituation of the stimulatory DA response to intraoral chocolate or to Fonzies feeding was observed in the NAc shell after a single pre-exposure to the same taste or food; no habituation was observed in the NAc core nor in the PFCX. Aversive taste stimuli (quinine, saturated NaCl solutions) rapidly increased DA in the PFCX and in the NAc core, and this response did not undergo one-trial habituation. In the NAc shell, instead, no effect (10 min exposure) or a delayed, transitory increase of DA (5 min exposure) sensitive to one-trial habituation was obtained in response to the aversive taste (quinine and saturated NaCl) or olfactory (red fox urine) stimuli. These observations indicate that DA responsiveness is an integrated function of the motivational valence and novelty of stimuli in the NAc shell and an expression of generic motivational value in the NAc core and PFCX. (+info)
Role of FOSHU (food for specified health uses) for healthier life.
(4/11)
Proper combination of diet, exercise and rest is important for healthier life. Concerning diet in particular, proper balance of nutrient intake and avoidance of its excess or deficiency are essential to keep good health and thus, not to induce risks leading to lifestyle-related diseases. Even nutrients and functional ingredients in foods are chemical substances but we need to draw a line of demarcation between such substances based on long history of dietary habits and novel substances and/or xenobiotics. However, even FOSHU contains highly purified or concentrated functional ingredients present in ordinary foods and thus, it is very important to take safety issues into consideration. FOSHU is the only type of food product (not ingredients) that can carry health claims and is composed of functional ingredients that affect the structure/function (physiological functions) of the body. These food products are intended to be consumed for the maintenance/promotion of health or special health uses by people who wish to control specified health conditions, such as gastrointestinal conditions and blood pressure. Therefore, FOSHU products target healthy people and people in a preliminary stage of a disease or a borderline condition. When the products are manufactured or distributed, permission or approval from the government is required after rigorous evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of proposed specified health uses. To understand the outline overall, comprehensive knowledge on maintaining health is required, i.e., structure/function of human body, pathogenesis of diseases, role of dietary life, nutrients and their metabolism etc., as well as understanding mechanisms of the effectiveness of FOSHU, which ranges over pharmacology, medicine, and food and nutrition. (+info)
Economic analysis of a diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement for patients with type 2 diabetes.
(5/11)
This study extends nutritional intervention results reported by short-term clinical trials of a diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement by assessing the ten-year impact of the interventions on patient outcomes and costs compared to usual care. We developed and validated a computer simulation of type 2 diabetes based on published data from major clinical trials. The model tracks patients through microvascular and macrovascular health states and reports cumulative costs and quality adjusted life years. We modeled different scenarios that include a diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement as part of a structured lifestyle intervention, and also as the only difference between the intervention and usual care treatment groups, and compared them to usual care with diet and physical activity recommendations. We used sensitivity analysis to explore the robustness of results. When a diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement is the only treatment difference and is considered an equal cost meal replacement, the diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement interventions are less costly and more effective than usual care. As an added cost meal replacement, the diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio between $50,414 and $55,036 depending on improvement in percent glycated hemoglobin. A hypothetical lifestyle intervention using a diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $47,917. The diabetes-specific nutritional meal replacement was found to be cost-effective under the various conditions simulated. (+info)
A GC-EI-MS-MS method for simultaneous determination of seven adulterants in slimming functional foods.
(6/11)
Treatment of moderate acute malnutrition with ready-to-use supplementary food results in higher overall recovery rates compared with a corn-soya blend in children in southern Ethiopia: an operations research trial.
(7/11)
BACKGROUND: Moderate and severe acute malnutrition affects 13% of children <5 y of age worldwide. Severe acute malnutrition affects fewer children but is associated with higher rates of mortality and morbidity. Supplementary feeding programs aim to treat moderate acute malnutrition and prevent the deterioration to severe acute malnutrition. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to compare recovery rates of children with moderate acute malnutrition in supplementary feeding programs by using the newly recommended ration of ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) and the more conventional ration of corn-soya blend (CSB) in Ethiopia. DESIGN: A total of 1125 children aged 6-60 mo with moderate acute malnutrition received 16 wk of CSB or RUSF. Children were randomly assigned to receive one or the other food. The daily rations were purposely based on the conventional treatment rations distributed at the time of the study in Ethiopia: 300 g CSB and 32 g vegetable oil in the control group (1413 kcal) and 92 g RUSF in the intervention group (500 kcal). The higher ration size of CSB was provided because of expected food sharing. RESULTS: The HR for children in the CSB group was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.99), which indicated that they had 15% lower recovery (P = 0.039). Recovery rates of children at the end of the 16-wk treatment period trended higher in the RUSF group (73%) than in the CSB group (67%) (P = 0.056). CONCLUSION: In comparison with CSB, the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition with RUSF resulted in higher recovery rates in children, despite the large ration size and higher energy content of the conventional CSB ration. (+info)
Effects of cultivar and process variables on dynamic-mechanical and sensorial behavior of value-added grape-based smoothies.
(8/11)
The effects of either cooking temperature (45, 80, and 100 degrees C) or inclusion of seed particles on the dynamic-mechanical and sensorial properties of value-added Crimson seedless, Black Pearl, or Baresana grape-based smoothies were studied. The inclusion of seed particles resulted in significant increases of the phenolic content, both in Black Pearl and Baresana, but it did not affect in a negative way the sensorial characteristics of smoothies whereas it caused an increase of the viscoelastic behavior of Black Pearl and a slight decrease in Baresana grape-based smoothies. In particular, the investigated rheological parameters were the loss and storage modulus. Moreover, the loss tangent value (the ratio between loss and storage modulus) remained unchanged, indicating a pseudoplastic behavior of all samples, independent on the process conditions. The smoothies produced from Crimson grapes at the intermediate temperature (80 degrees C) showed sensorial and rheological characteristics similar to those manufactured at 45 degrees C and better than those manufactured at 100 degrees C. (+info)