Search

Objective: To compare the effect of a modified fat, monounsaturated-fat-enriched diet and a high-carbohydrate low-fat diet with high lycopene content on the serum concentration of lycopene and other carotenoids. Design: A randomised crossover dietary intervention study. Setting: Melbourne, Australia -- Healthy free-living men. Subjects: A total of 13 healthy males between the age of 20 and 70 y, recruited via advertisements in newspapers and university newsletter. Intervention: A randomised dietary intervention with two diets of 14 days each. The two diets were -- (1) high-fat monounsaturated-fat-enriched (MUFA) and (2) high-carbohydrate low-fat (HCLF). Both the diets contained the same basic foods and a controlled carotenoid content high in lycopene. Results: A significant increase in serum total lycopene occurred, by 126% on the MUFA diet (P<0.001) and 108% on the HCLF diet (P = 0.001). A reduction in serum cryptoxanthin (27% on MUFA diet and 25% on HCLF) and alpha-carotene (43% on the MUFA diet and 25% on the HCLF diet) was observed. No change was observed for the other carotenoids. Comparing the end of the two diets, no statistically significant difference was observed for lycopene or the other carotenoids . Conclusion: In all, 15% of energy from fat or 38% of energy from fat (predominantly monounsaturated fat) in the diet does not have a significant differential effect on serum lycopene. Sponsorship: The study was partially funded by the Grains Research Development Corporation, Canberra and Meadow Lea Foods Ltd, Mascot, Australia. HJ Heinz, Melbourne, Australia provided the tomato products and some funds for their carotenoid analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which investigated the effect of replacing lean meat with a soy product, tofu, on serum lipoprotein concentrations. Methods and materials; Results and discussion.

Decomposition of Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguiera parviflora and Sonneratia alba leaves was studied in situ using litter bags in both Cleared and Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR) mangrove forests in Peninsular Malaysia. A single exponential model best described the rate of decomposition for each species. All leaf species decomposed faster in the VJR site than in the Cleared site (R. apiculata P< 0.05, R. mucronata P < 0.01, B. parviflora P < 0.01, S. alba not significant and mixed bags P < 0.05). The rate of decomposition was species specific: Sonneratia alba leaves decomposed the fastest (P < 0.001) in both sites. The time in days required for the loss of half the initial dry mass (t50) was Cleared site: R. apiculata 76, R. mucronata 122, B. parviflora 122, S. alba 22, mixed 51; VJR: R. apiculata 43, R. mucronata 34, B. parviflora 70, S. alba 15 and mixed32. Increasing litter diversity, by mixing leaves of different species in bags, had no effect on decomposition rate. The mass of air controls showed an initial decline to 65% in 14 d but then remained fairly constant (t50=108 d). This initial loss may represent the leaching of dissolved organic matter. Water controls (mixed litter bags submerged in seawater) had a t50 of 10 d, a rate significantly different (P < 0.01) from air controls. Our results show that breakdown of leaf litter is site and species dependent. This affects ecological functioning of the mangrove ecosystem and may have implications for management and conservation of mangroves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]