Site of administration and duration of feeding oleamide to cattle on feed intake and ruminal fatty acid concentrations.
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Two experiments were conducted to determine effects of oleamide on feed intake and ruminal fatty acids when the oleamide was introduced in the feed vs through a ruminal fistula (Exp. 1) or the oleamide was fed for an extended (9-wk) length of time (Exp. 2). In Exp. 1, four nonlactating Holstein cows, each fitted with a ruminal cannula, were fed four diets in a 4 x 4 Latin square design. Each period lasted 2 wk. Diets consisted of 48% corn silage and 52% concentrate on a DM basis. One diet contained no added fat (control) and a second diet contained 4.2% oleic acid. The remaining two diets were designed to expose cows to 4.2% amide (as oleamide) either through the feed (AF) or by administering oleamide into the rumen (AR) each day through the ruminal cannula. The AF diet reduced DMI similarly to results reported previously for lactating dairy cows and sheep. Intake of the oleic acid diet was intermediate between the control and AF diets. Dry matter intake was reduced by AR similarly to the AF diet. The acetate:propionate ratio in samples of ruminal contents was reduced by oleic acid but not by AF or AR. In Exp. 2, 12 steers were divided into three equal groups of two Angus and two Simmental x Angus crosses, and each group was assigned a diet containing either no added fat (control), 4% oleamide, or 4% high-oleic canola oil. All steers had ad libitum access to feed and water. Dry matter intake by steers fed the canola oil diet was not different from that by steers fed the control diet when averaged over the first 3 wk, the last 3 wk, or over the entire 9-wk study. Oleamide reduced DMI 4 kg/d over the first 3 wk of the study. However, DMI of the oleamide diet consistently increased over the 9-wk study, resulting in wk 7 to 9 DMI that was not different from that of steers fed the control diet. These results show that the reduction in feed intake when oleamide is added to cattle rations can be attributed more to physiological responses than to an undesirable unique taste or odor of the oleamide. In finishing beef steers, the decreased intake induced by oleamide was most severe during the first 1 or 2 wk of feeding but gradually lessened over time until it nearly returned to normal by wk 9. (+info)
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children: rationale for its integrative management.
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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder in children. ADHD is characterized by attention deficit, impulsivity, and sometimes overactivity ("hyperactivity"). The diagnosis is empirical, with no objective confirmation available to date from laboratory measures. ADHD begins in childhood and often persists into adulthood. The exact etiology is unknown; genetics plays a role, but major etiologic contributors also include adverse responses to food additives, intolerances to foods, sensitivities to environmental chemicals, molds, and fungi, and exposures to neurodevelopmental toxins such as heavy metals and organohalide pollutants. Thyroid hypofunction may be a common denominator linking toxic insults with ADHD symptomatologies. Abnormalities in the frontostriatal brain circuitry and possible hypofunctioning of dopaminergic pathways are apparent in ADHD, and are consistent with the benefits obtained in some instances by the use of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and other potent psychostimulants. Mounting controversy over the widespread use of methylphenidate and possible life-threatening effects from its long-term use make it imperative that alternative modalities be implemented for ADHD management. Nutrient deficiencies are common in ADHD; supplementation with minerals, the B vitamins (added in singly), omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, flavonoids, and the essential phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS) can ameliorate ADHD symptoms. When individually managed with supplementation, dietary modification, detoxification, correction of intestinal dysbiosis, and other features of a wholistic/integrative program of management, the ADHD subject can lead a normal and productive life. (+info)
Studies on the effects of polydextrose intake on physiologic functions in Chinese people.
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BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that polydextrose has physiologic effects similar to those of dietary fiber. OBJECTIVE: Ingestion of 4, 8, and 12 g polydextrose/d was studied to determine the physiologic effects in Chinese subjects. DESIGN: In a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study, we evaluated the effects of polydextrose ingestion on clinical biochemistry indexes, glycated hemoglobin, glucose tolerance, the glycemic index, bowel function, stool weight and pH, short-chain fatty acid production, fecal microflora, and cecal mucosa cell proliferation. RESULTS: Polydextrose had no significant effect on blood biochemistry indexes. Ingestion of 12 g polydextrose plus 50 g glucose resulted in a glycemic index of 89% (compared with a glycemic index of 100% after ingestion of 50 g glucose). Bowel function (frequency and ease of defecation) improved significantly and there were no reports of abdominal distention, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, or hypoglycemia. Fecal weight (wet and dry) increased and fecal pH decreased proportionally to polydextrose intake. Short-chain fatty acid production-notably that of butyrate, isobutyrate, and acetate-increased with polydextrose ingestion. There were substantial changes in fecal anaerobes after polydextrose intake. BACTEROIDES: species (B. fragilis, B. vulgatus, and B. intermedius) decreased, whereas LACTOBACILLUS: and BIFIDOBACTERIUM: species increased. The cecal mucosa whole-crypt labeling index increased, with colonocyte proliferation mainly occurring in base compartments, which provided an indirect confirmation of butyrate production in the colon. CONCLUSION: Polydextrose ingestion had significant dietary fiber-like effects with no laxative problems. (+info)
Naringin glycosides alpha-glucosylated on ring B found in the natural food additive, enzymatically modified naringin.
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The constituents of the natural food additive, enzymatically modified naringin, were structurally analyzed. Four constituents were isolated from the glucoamylase-treated sample. An NMR analysis revealed that two of them were novel compounds having 4'-O-alpha-glucosyl moieties on ring B of the naringenin aglycone. Both the aglycone and the glucose moiety in naringin are shown to be simultaneously glucosylated. (+info)
Improving iron absorption from a Peruvian school breakfast meal by adding ascorbic acid or Na2EDTA.
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BACKGROUND: Iron-fortified school breakfasts have been introduced in Peru to combat childhood iron deficiency. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated whether iron absorption from a school breakfast meal was improved by increasing the ascorbic acid content or by adding an alternative enhancer of iron absorption, Na2EDTA. DESIGN: In a crossover design, iron absorption from test meals was evaluated by erythrocyte incorporation of 58Fe and 57Fe. The test meals (wheat bread and a drink containing cereal, milk, and soy) contained 14 mg added Fe (as ferrous sulfate) including 2.0-2.6 mg 58Fe or 4.0-7.0 mg 57Fe. RESULTS: Geometric mean iron absorption increased significantly from 5.1% to 8.2% after the molar ratio of ascorbic acid to fortification iron was increased from 0.6:1 to 1.6:1 (P < 0.01; n = 9). Geometric mean iron absorption increased significantly from 2.9% to 3.8%, from 2.2% to 3.5%, and from 2.4% to 3.7% after addition of Na2EDTA at molar ratios relative to fortification iron of 0.3:1, 0.7:1, and 1:1, respectively, compared with test meals containing no added enhancers (P < 0.01; n = 10 for all). Iron absorption after addition of ascorbic acid (molar ratio 0.6:1) was not significantly different from that after addition of Na2EDTA (molar ratio 0.7:1). CONCLUSIONS: Ascorbic acid and Na2EDTA did not differ significantly in their enhancing effects on iron absorption at molar ratios of 0.6:1 to 0.7:1 relative to fortification iron. Additional ascorbic acid (molar ratio 1.6:1) increased iron absorption significantly. Increasing the molar ratio of Na2EDTA to fortification iron from 0.3:1 to 1:1 had no effect on iron absorption. (+info)
Prebiotics: preferential substrates for specific germs?
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A prebiotic is "a non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or the activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon." The premise is based on the hypothesis that the large gut in humans contains bacteria that are beneficial or detrimental to health. Although this generalization probably gives too simplistic a view of gut microbiology, it is a feasible working concept. Currently, food components that seem to exert the best prebiotic effects are inulin-type fructans. In pure culture, most species of bifidobacteria are adapted to the utilization of these nondigestible oligosaccharides but many other bacteria are also capable of metabolizing them. Clearly, these studies of pure bacteria are of limited use unless their results are supported by the results of studies using mixed cultures. Indeed, as many components of the gut microbiota as possible should be measured to indicate a true prebiotic effect. Simple stimulation of bifidobacteria is insufficient to demonstrate an effect; the effects on other gut microorganisms in vivo with human volunteers is necessary. Adjustment of the composition and activities of the colonic microflora so that health-promoting activities are optimized remains key in functional food development. New methods are being applied extensively to human gut microbiology and promise the degree of reliability required to detect subtle changes in colonic microflora composition and to correlate such changes with health benefits. This is a review of the present state of knowledge concerning prebiotics, with emphasis on the criteria used for classification, mechanisms of selective growth stimulation, and physiologic effects. (+info)
Prebiotic digestion and fermentation.
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Prebiotics, as currently conceived of, are all carbohydrates of relatively short chain length. To be effective they must reach the cecum. Present evidence concerning the 2 most studied prebiotics, fructooligosaccharides and inulin, is consistent with their resisting digestion by gastric acid and pancreatic enzymes in vivo. However, the wide variety of new candidate prebiotics becoming available for human use requires that a manageable set of in vitro tests be agreed on so that their nondigestibility and fermentability can be established without recourse to human studies in every case. In the large intestine, prebiotics, in addition to their selective effects on bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, influence many aspects of bowel function through fermentation. Short-chain fatty acids are a major product of prebiotic breakdown, but as yet, no characteristic pattern of fermentation acids has been identified. Through stimulation of bacterial growth and fermentation, prebiotics affect bowel habit and are mildly laxative. Perhaps more importantly, some are a potent source of hydrogen in the gut. Mild flatulence is frequently observed by subjects being fed prebiotics; in a significant number of subjects it is severe enough to be unacceptable and to discourage consumption. Prebiotics are like other carbohydrates that reach the cecum, such as nonstarch polysaccharides, sugar alcohols, and resistant starch, in being substrates for fermentation. They are, however, distinctive in their selective effect on the microflora and their propensity to produce flatulence. (+info)
Consideration of possible legislation within existing regulatory frameworks.
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Legislation on a particular food or on a particular claim to be used in connection with a food require a definition of the food and unequivocal requirements for the use of the claim. The definitions of prebiotics and probiotics presently place these terms between the categories for conventional foods and foods for special dietary uses. Because probiotics and prebiotics, as a group, do not fulfill the criteria for special dietary uses, they have to comply with the rules and laws for conventional foods even if the requirements for the use of the terms prebiotic and probiotic include effects on body functions. These effects on the health and wellness of the consumer and to stimulatory activity, eg, body defense mechanisms, can be used in claims that should underline the importance of the total dietary pattern. It is suggested that setting up rules for the use of the terms prebiotic and probiotic is preferable to creating new food standards. (+info)