Search

Ginger is attributed with beneficial bioactivities. The aims of this study were to analyse the bioactive compounds in commercial ginger powders and assess acceptability and satiety responses to ginger-enriched wheat pasta in healthy human volunteers. Powders were extracted with methanol and extracts analysed by HPLC-UV/LC-MS. Results indicated that 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 10-gingerol and 10-shogaol were the principal bioactive components. The liking of pasta enriched with 1%, 3% and 5% (w/w) ginger powder was evaluated for four sensory attributes and overall liking using a 9-point hedonic scale. All pasta products were generally liked to a similar extent to the control, with the exception of the liking for colour of the pasta with 5% ginger (P < 0.02). Ten healthy subjects consumed two samples of equal weight: control and ginger-enriched pasta (3%), on two occasions. Subjective feelings of satiety were assessed pre-consumption, immediately after and for 2 h post-consumption using a 7-point intensity scale analysed using Rasch modelling. Results show that the ginger pasta sample had a similar satiety response compared to the control pasta up to 2 h after consumption. In conclusion, ginger-enriched pasta is generally accepted by consumers, but does not lead to higher satiety compared to the control.

Intuitive eating is an intrinsic ability to moderate the amount and type of food, promoting a healthy diet and self-regulation of one's own weight. Different instruments (IES-H, IES-T, IES-2) have been developed to assess intuitive eating between different population groups from different countries. The construct validity and invariance of the 23-item Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2) has been widely validated by Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis. However, these Classical Test Theory (CTT) methods have not always confirmed the same 4-factor structure.Rasch analysis, a Modern Test Theory method (MTT), has been used as an alternative approach to examine the psychometric properties of various health and medical instrument (HADS, KIDSCREEN-52, LANSS, MHRM). One significant difference between CTT and MT is the method of calculating a composite score. A CTT total sore is based on the summation of raw categorical scores, whereas these raw categorical scores are converted to interval-scaled measures into a Rasch composite score.Data was collected from 625 respondents was fitted to the Rasch Rating Scale Model. The data fitted the model adequately, as less than 5% and 1% of absolute standardised residuals were found to be ≥ 2 and ≥ 3, respectively. A Principle Component Analysis of Rasch residuals (PCAR) was used to determine the unidimensionality of the IES-2 and its subscales, after checking and adjusting for lack of item fit and proper rating scale functioning. PCAR indicated that all 23 items could not function as a single total unidimensional Rasch measure. However, the same item structure for the 4 subscales, originally proposed by Tylka and Kroon Van Diest, was confirmed by PCAR. The relationship between the respondents and the IES-2 items in each subscale could be explained using a Wright map, allowing both to be represented on the same logit scale.Statistical different levels of intuitive eating were determined for each subscale from a table representing the relationship between the lowest and highest possible raw scores and their Rasch measures. Wright maps showed the position of respondents between cut-off lines indicating different statistical levels along each unidimensional subscale of intuitive eating. The majority of respondents were classified into 2 out of 4 levels in the subscale Unconditional Permission to Eat, 3 out of 5 levels in Eating for Physical Rather Than Emotional Reasons, 3 out of 5 levels in Reliance on Internal Hunger and Satiety Cues and 2 out of 4 levels in Body-Food Choice Congruence.