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There is a steady worldwide rise in childhood obesity. With this there is also an increased risk for children to develop metabolic diseases later if not earlier in life. The support for this notion comes from dyslipidemia in children, abnormal glucose homeostasis, increased pro-oxidant and decreased anti-oxidant markers. Hyperuricemia is one such marker that is more common in obese children. Although, at early stages hyperuricemic children do not exhibit any disease, they are at a higher risk for developing metabolic diseases later in life. Therefore, the question arises, "Should we treat asymptomatic children for hyperuricemia?" Since our experience of long-term pharmacologic management of hyperuricemia is nonexistent, we recommend use of nutritional interventions to manage hyperuricemia in children. These may include lifestyle changes and better nutrition through inclusion of supplemental vitamin C, folic acid, dietary fiber, prebiotics and probiotics in diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a steady worldwide rise in childhood obesity. With this there is also an increased risk for children to develop metabolic diseases later if not earlier in life. The support for this notion comes from dyslipidemia in children, abnormal glucose homeostasis, increased pro-oxidant and decreased anti-oxidant markers. Hyperuricemia is one such marker that is more common in obese children. Although, at early stages hyperuricemic children do not exhibit any disease, they are at a higher risk for developing metabolic diseases later in life. Therefore, the question arises, "Should we treat asymptomatic children for hyperuricemia?" Since our experience of long-term pharmacologic management of hyperuricemia is nonexistent, we recommend use of nutritional interventions to manage hyperuricemia in children. These may include lifestyle changes and better nutrition through inclusion of supplemental vitamin C, folic acid, dietary fiber, prebiotics and probiotics in diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have examined the relative efficacy of the Maillard reaction products (MRPs) prepared by reacting chitosan with xylose, fructose, or glucose for their antimicrobial activities and preservation of fresh-cut beef. The MRPs exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial properties against E. coli, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibacterial activity of the three MRPs was dose dependent. Chitosan and its MRPs enhanced shelf life of fresh-cut beef as shown by changes in volatile base nitrogen, trimethylamine, and pH during storage. The order of their ability to preserve beef was fructose->glucose-MRPs>chitosan. Our results suggest that these MRPs could be used as novel promising preservatives in beef industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under certain conditions, chitosans can react with different types of reducing sugars to form various final Maillard reaction products (MRPs). In this study, the optimal reaction conditions were selected, and three different final MRPs (xylose- MRPs, fructose-MRPs, glucose-MRPs) were analyzed. The structure of the three MRPs was analyzed using fluorescence, ultraviolet, and infrared spectroscopic methods, and then the antioxidant activities of the three MRPs were determined. The results showed that the three MRPs have similar structure and function, and the antioxidant activities between them have certain regularity. Antioxidant activities were ranked as follows: xylose-MRPs>fructose-MRPs>glucose-MRPs, and this order was inversely proportional to their reaction time, that is, shorter the reaction time, higher the antioxidant activity, while longer the reaction time, lower the antioxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary fibers play an important role in the daily diet. Consuming fiber-rich foods have been associated with good health and prevention of various diseases. In the present study, bamboo shoots soluble dietary fiber (SDF) was extracted using enzymatic hydrolysis and acid-alkali soaking chemical method. The methods were compared and analyzed for water solubility, thermodynamic properties, and emulsifying property, and antioxidant activity with an aim to study the in vivo hypolipidemic effect of SDF extracted by the chemical method. The study indicated that the SDF sample extracted by enzymatic hydrolysis displayed good solubility (86.78 g/100 g), thermodynamic properties (ΔH = 180.4 J/g), rheological properties, better emulsifying (88.57%), and antioxidant properties [DPPH free radical scavenging ability (80.50%), hydroxyl radical scavenging ability (83.39%), and ABTS radical scavenging ability (57.94%)]. For in vivo experiments, SDF sample extracted by enzymatic hydrolysis could lower the body weight gain (7.10%) in hyperlipidemic mice, and decrease the total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels by 28.33%, 19.54%, and 39.02%, respectively, while, it could increase high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by 39.50%. Due to its lipid lowering effect in mice, it can be further exploited as a potential source of additive for the development of bamboo-based functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the radio protective activity of mulberry leaves in mice irradiated by X-rays (6.0 Gy, at a dose of 2.0 Gy min- 1). Mice were randomly divided into four groups, namely the control group, irradiation control, experimental group (regular chow containing 5% (w/w) mulberry leaves powder), and positive group (orally administered with Leucogen tablets) for eight weeks. All the mice except control group were exposed to the X-rays. The spleen index and liver indices, splenocyte proliferation index, and determination of micronucleus number in bone marrow in mice were conducted. The activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and malondialdehyde, were also determined. The results indicated that the administration of mulberry leaves has shown radio protective effects in mice irradiated by X-ray under in vivo conditions. However, underlying mechanism remains unclear but appears to be mediated by the antioxidant activity of the mulberry leaves and modulation of the immune system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research was designed to analyze the effect of water-soluble mulberry fruit polysaccharide (MFP) against alloxan induced hyperglycemia in diabetic mice. The DEAE-cellulose52 column chromatography was used to separate the polysaccharide and the largest eluting peak obtained was recognized as MFP-2. Further, with High-Performance Gel Chromatography (HPGPC), the MFP-2 was demonstrated as a heteropolysaccharide, and its average molecular weight was designated as 3.0x10s Da. MFP-2 from mulberry fruit was composed of glucose (34.8%), talose (25.47%), arabinose (22.78%), galactose (8.60%), mannose (4.49%) and fructose (3.87%). The oral administration of midberry polysaccharides for four weeks in diabetic animals could reduce the blood glucose levels of hyperglycemia mice. The results suggest that the polysaccharide obtained in present study has effective hypoglycemic activity against alloxan diabetes. Thus, mulberry fruit-derived polysaccharide can act as a potent anti-hypoglycemic agent, and these observations may support the applicability of this polysaccharide as therapeutic adjuvant or the beneficial health food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grape is a rich source of a number of bioactives such as reducing sugars, soluble protein, total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanin, resveratrol, malondialdehyde, H2O2 as well as antioxidant (ascorbate peroxidase) and pro-oxidant (lipoxygenase) enzymes. With the exception of soluble protein, the concentrations (per g fresh grape) of reducing sugars, total phenolics, anthocyanin, and resveratrol were much higher in skin than pulp. Also the activities of both ascorbate peroxidase and lipoxygenase were higher in skin than pulp. Except for total phenolics, anthocyanin and resveratrol, total amount of all components were higher in pulp fraction of grape. In this communication, we have examined the stability of these bioactives and enzymes in skin and pulp of grape during storage. During storage, the contents of reducing sugars, soluble protein, total phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanin displayed a decreasing trend; on the other hand, the contents of resveratrol increased dramatically. The contents of malondialdehyde and H2O2 showed relative increasing trend; whereas, the activities of ascorbate peroxidase and lipoxygenase increased during the first 3-4 weeks followed by a steady decrease. This study may pave a way for exploration of Kyoho grape as a functional ingredient for the wine and food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SC-CO2) of oil from okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) seed was performed and compared using screw press expression (SPE) and solvent extraction (SE) methods. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the parameters of SC-CO2 extraction. The statistical analysis proved that the quadratics of pressure, the interactions between pressure and CO2 flow rate, the linear term of pressure and extraction time, influenced the oil yield to a highly significant level. The optimal extraction condition for oil yield within the experimental range of the variables researched was at 299.08 bar, 14.88L/h, 40.73°C and 93.89 min. At this condition, the yield of oil was predicted to be 17.16%. The okra seed oils yields extracted by SC-CO2, SE and SPE are 17.17%, 18.21% and 15.92%, respectively. There are no significant differences in the compositions of the oils extracted from these three methods. The four main components of all oils are linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the oil extracted by SPE is higher than those by SC-CO2 and SE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]