Podcast: Innovative Ingredients Fortified Nutrients Enriched Biscuits and Cookies: Quality and Sensory Analyses

Author(s):Niladri Chakraborty* and Rajat Chakraborty

Abstract:

Global suffering from COVID-19 has necessitated augmenting the immunity systems of humans through the consumption of macro-micro-nutrients and antioxidant-enriched fortified foods. In this article, fortifications of popular bakery products, viz. biscuits, and cookies, have been reviewed, encompassing the novel fortifying ingredients and innovative methods employed with an emphasis on the overall enrichment of the final product quality. A few notable features concerning novel fortified biscuits and fortified cookies have been decisively summarized. Wheat flour blended with 40% sesame-cake flour resulted in a fortified biscuit possessing higher protein (16.6%), crude fat (16.95%), and dietary fiber (8.2%) with acceptable sensory characteristics. About 9% toting up of chicken eggshell dried powder could result in high Ca content in biscuits with customary changes in texture and sensory properties. A remarkable 5% addition of bee pollen to wheat flour appreciably improved the nutrient compositions (carbohydrate 65.18%, protein 7.32%, and total dietary fiber 1.47%) along with high polyphenol and antioxidant potentials. Notably, mixing fish fillet protein concentrate with wheat flour could yield enhanced nutritional content (protein 14.63-19.52%, fat 16.2-16.5%), as well as augmented amino acids. Remarkably, wheat flour fortified with fermented jack bean flour resulted in an overall fortified biscuit with substantial carbohydrates, crude protein, fat, fiber, ash, and appreciable macro-micro mineral contents and sensory characteristics. Innovative fortified cookies were made by blending wheat flour or Brewer’s spent grain flour with one or more ingredients, e.g. full-fat soya, mushroom, cardamom powder, moringa leaves, coconut, sweet potato flour rendering amplified values of nutrients, superior physical properties, increased mineral and flavonoid contents and organoleptic qualities.

Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/3Rkqewn

Podcast: Amino acids profile in children with acute brucellosis

Author(s): Ahmet Guzelcicek, Nihayet Bayraktar and Mehmet Bayraktar*

Background: Many new cases of brucella infections are seen in Turkey every year, especially in March, April, and May, due to the consumption of local unpasteurized cheese. Amino acids profiles have not been studied in brucellosis so far.

Aims: The amino acid profiles may be affected by infectious diseases. Our study aims to evaluate the plasma amino acid profile in the progression of acute brucellosis. Methods: Plasma amino acid profile was performed by an 8045 LC-MS / MS device (Shimadzu 8045, Japan) using JASEM amino acid kit.

Results: Analysis of 45 amino acid profiles was made and results profiles showed significant differences in concentrations and types of amino acids in brucella patients. We observed a significant difference in terms of alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, isoleucine, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, tyrosine, valine, alpha-aminoadipic acid, alpha-amino-pimelic acid, argininosuccinic acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, this proline, 1-methylhistidine, 3-methylhistidine, hydroxylysine, hydroxyproline, cystine, serotonin, ethanolamine, and taurine (p-value < 0.05 for each). No significant differences were determined regarding asparagine, citrulline, histidine, leucine, alloisoleucine, lysine, methionine, serine, threonine, tryptophan, anserine, alpha aminobutyric acid, beta aminoisobutyric acid, beta-alanine, cystathionine, histamine, and 5-oh-trp (p-value > 0.05 for all).

Conclusion: Patients with brucellosis have a specific profile of amino acids which may reflect sequelae of pathological and metabolic biochemical changes in the disease process due to the growth of Brucella spp. in the human body leading to an imbalance of amino acid levels.

Read the Article here: http://bit.ly/3XL2WCv

Podcast: Research and Patents Status of Selected Phytochemicals Against Cancer: How Close and How Far?

Author(s):Homa Fatma and Hifzur R Siddique*

Background: Cancer is a global health issue and economic burden with a continuous increase in incidence and mortality. Over the years, the underlying molecular mechanism of cancers was thoroughly researched, leading to multiple drugs development. Unfortunately, most drugs have some serious drawbacks, such as therapy resistance and toxicity. Epidemiological studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has cancer-prevention properties, which shifted the attention to the potential role of phytochemicals in anti-carcinogenic activity.

Objective: To review the present status of phytochemicals research and patents in cancer prevention and chemosensitization.

Methods: We explored the relevant published articles and patents to review the phytochemicals showing cancer preventive role in preclinical settings from 1997 onwards.

Results: We summarise the role of phytochemicals on anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, anti-metastatic, and pro-apoptotic activities in both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, phytochemicals might be an excellent chemosensitizing agent against chemoresistant cells and possibly one of the safest and most effective options for cancer therapy. However, one of the limitations of phytochemicals is their poor bioavailability and rapid excretion. Several analogs have been introduced to increase bioavailability, better biological efficacy, absorption, and retention. In fact, various phytochemicals and their analogs have been patented for their anti-cancerous properties.

Conclusion: This mini-review discusses various phytochemicals and their anti-cancerous and chemosensitizing roles. Due to their clinical relevance, recent trends in phytochemical extraction and exploration have shown that more and more phytochemicals are being patented.

Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3wC5jeT

Podcast: Basic Guidelines for Bacteriophage Isolation and Characterization

Author(s): Safia Samir*

Abstract:

The world is on the cusp of a post-antibiotic period. A century ago, before the advent of antibiotics, bacteriophage therapy was the treatment of choice for bacterial infections. Although bacteriophages have yet to be approved as a treatment in Western medicine, researchers and clinicians have begun to anticipate phage therapy. Bacteriophages are viruses that depend on bacterial cell metabolism to multiply. They offer a promising alternative to the use of antibiotics and an excellent antibacterial option for combating multidrug resistance in bacteria. However, not every phage is suitable for phage therapy. In particular, prophages should not be used because they can lysogenize host cells instead of lysing them. To offer adequate therapeutic options for patients suffering from various infectious diseases, a wide selection of different phages is needed. While there is no evidence of direct toxicity induced by phage particles, it is crucial to study mammalian cell–phage interactions. This requires phage preparations to be free of bacterial cells, toxins and other compounds to avoid skewing host responses. Negative staining of purified viruses and electron microscopy remain the gold standard in the identification of bacteriophages. Interestingly, genomics has greatly changed our understanding of phage biology. Bacteriophage genome sequencing is essential to obtain a complete understanding of the bacteriophages’ biology and to obtain confirmation of their lifestyle. Full genetic sequencing of bacteriophage will enable a better understanding of the phage-encoded proteins and biomolecules (especially phage lytic enzymes) involved in the process of bacterial cell lysis and death. Mass spectrometry can be used for the identification of phage structural proteins. The use of lytic phages as biocontrol agents requires the most appropriate and standard methods to ensure application safety. This review pursues recent research and methods in molecular biology for the isolation and characterization of phages to facilitate follow-up and implementation of work for other researchers. Patents related to this topic have been mentioned in the text.

Journal link: http://bit.ly/3GraUct

Podcast: http://bit.ly/3k2E0qY

Podcast: Contribution of Pharmaceutical Care to Person-centered Health Care and the Safety of Pharmacotherapy for Hospitalized Older Individuals in Brazil: An Investigative Single-arm Intervention Trial

Author(s): Alan Maicon de Oliveira*, Fabiana Rossi Varallo, João Paulo Vilela Rodrigues, Guilherme José Aguilar, Nereida Kilza da Costa Lima and Leonardo Régis Leira Pereira

Background: Adverse drug events (ADE) and medication errors (ME) provide large numbers of victims. Older people are more susceptible to these events, due to the continuing search for several chronic degenerative disease treatments. The Third Global Patient Safety Challenge announced the objective of reducing unnecessary polypharmacy, encouraging deprescription, and aiming to ensure the prescription of medications in an appropriate manner, based on the best evidence and taking into account the individual factors of people.

Objective: To evaluate whether Pharmaceutical Care (PC), when inserted in a geriatric ward and the context of person-centered health care, cooperates with the safety of pharmacotherapy in older individuals in Brazil.

Methods: This is an investigative, single-arm, preliminary study. Inclusion criteria: individuals aged ≥60 years and admitted to the geriatric ward between August 2019 to January 2020. The PC (with the practice of pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, medication reconciliation, and pharmacotherapy review) was made available to identify ADE and ME, as well as the associated factors and clinical outcomes, were analyzed.

Results: 60 participants were included. It was found that, on hospital admission, 93.3% of them were polymedicated and 86.7% had a history of using potentially inappropriate medications (PIM). ADE and ME were detected in 43 individuals (71.7%) and, in total, 115 incidents were identified, with drugs that act on the nervous system associated with them (31.9%). Acceptance of the PC’s recommendations reached the rate of 85.2%. Polypharmacy (p=0.03) and the presence of multiple diseases (p=0.03) had an effect on the presentation of ADE and ME. The number of medications in use decreased in the comparison between admission and hospital discharge (p<0.0001).

Conclusion: This investigative study indicated that ADE and ME are linked to the polypharmacy in use at the beginning of hospitalization. On the other hand, we showed that the PC (inserted in the multidisciplinary team) contributed to the deprescribing of medications at hospital discharge. Therefore, the PC can provide improvements in this scenario.

Trial Registration: Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (registration number: RBR-34f2px4).

Watch the podcast here: http://bit.ly/3GfRuXH
Read the full article: http://bit.ly/3VRB51K

A Podcast by Sari Goldstein Ferber: When the Mind Comes to Live Inside the Body: The Ontogeny of the Perceptual Control Clock

Author(s):Sari Goldstein Ferber*, Ronny Geva and Aron Weller

Abstract

In this editorial, we discuss the neurobiological processes underlying the early emergence of awareness that we term the “when” and “how” the mind comes to live inside the body. We describe an accumulative developmental process starting during embryonic life and continuing to fetal and postnatal development, of coupling of heart rate, body movements, and sleep states on the behavioral level with underlying mechanisms on the structural, functional, cellular, and molecular levels. A developmental perspective is proposed based on Perceptual Control Theory (PCT). This includes a developing sequence of modules starting from early sensing of neural intensities to early manifestation of human mindful capacities. We also address pharmacological treatments administered to preterm infants, which may interfere with this development, and highlight the need to consider this potential “side effect” of current pharmaceuticals when developing novel pharmacogenomic treatments.

View the Podcast here: https://bit.ly/3Ui1lBG

Read the article: https://bit.ly/3h4P2um

Podcast – Extraction Methods for Obtaining Natural Blue Colorants

Author(s): Juliana M. Prado*, Priscilla C. Veggi, Grazielle Náthia-Neves and M. Angela A. Meireles

Podcast By : Dr. Juliana M. Prado

Website: https://eurekaselect.net/article/94578

Background: Blue is a color not often present in food. Even so, it is especially attractive to children. Today, most blue coloring agents used by the food industry are synthetic. With increasing health issues concern by the scientific community and the general population, there is a trend to look for natural alternatives to most synthetic products. There only exist few natural blue colorants, which are presented in a literature survey, along with the methods currently used for their recovery from natural sources. The best extraction methods and process parameters for the extraction of blue anthocyanins, iridoids and phycocyanin are discussed.

Methods: A literature survey was conducted to detect the main sources of blue colorants found in nature. The focus was on the extraction methods used to recover such molecules, with the objective of finding efficient and environmentally safe techniques for application at industrial level, and, thus, allowing the production of natural blue colorants at scale high enough for food industry consumption.

Results: The main natural blue colorants found in literature are anthocyanins, phycocyanin, and genipin. While anthocyanins can be recovered from a variety of plants, the source of phycocyanin are algae, and genipin can be obtained specifically from Gardenia jasminoides Ellis and Genipa americana L. Several extraction techniques have been applied to recover blue colorants from such sources, from classical methods using organic solvents, to more sophisticated technologies as ultrasoundassisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, pressurized liquid extraction, high-pressure extraction, and enzyme-assisted extraction.

Conclusion: There is great potential for anthocyanins, phycocyanin and genipin use as natural food additives with health benefits, besides imparting color. However, the technologies for the colorants recovery and application are not mature enough. Therefore, this area is still developing, and it is necessary to evaluate the economic feasibility of the proposed extraction processes, along with the safety and acceptance of colored food using these additives. Read out more at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7_Xnl4TNDo&feature=youtu.be

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Podcast – Importance of Pharmacist in Oxaliplatin Hepatotoxicity Associated with Inadequate Nutritional Diet

Journal Name: Current Nutrition & Food Science

Author(s): Iago D.L. Cavalcanti*, Diogo T. Costa, Andreza T. de Aguiar Silva, Adrya L. Peres, Cynthia G. de Oliveira Coimbra.

Abstract:

A 40 years old male with colorectal cancer, with an unbalanced hypercaloric diet, attempted, on his own initiative, to gain weight, without nutritional follow-up, during chemotherapy treatment with oxaliplatin protocols, without pharmaceutical guidance. When initiating the new protocol, with oxaliplatin/irinotecan combination therapy, he presented symptomatology suggestive of hepatic injury during the administration of oxaliplatin. When performing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the total abdomen, hepatic nodules were identified indicating lesions resulting from the chemotherapy treatment, and blood tests indicated Aspartate aminotransferase levels in 55 U/L and Alanine aminotransferase in 68 U/L. The patient underwent partial hepatectomy for the removal of the nodules and was currently in clinical care, presenting a frame stable but non-therapeutic possibility. This case highlights the importance of interaction among health professionals, reinforcing the need for multiprofessional approaches to better patient response to antineoplastic treatment. Read out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhLWxweew54&feature=youtu.be

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Podcast – The Ability of Blood Plasma to Inhibit Catalase in the Presence of Chloride

Journal Name: Current Enzyme Inhibition

Author(s): Vladimir Titov*, Anatoly Osipov, Anatoly Vanin.

Abstract:

Aims: To find out the origin of so-called nitrite – like substance (NLS) that appears in the blood plasma in patients with inflammatory diseases and the mechanism of its occurrence. To justify the possibility of registering its appearance in the blood as a highly sensitive indicator of leukocyte activation.

Background: The need for a simple, sensitive and specific method of early diagnosis of inflammation, the key stage of which is the activation of white blood cells.

Objective: To find out the origin of so-called nitrite – like substance (NLS) that appears in the blood plasma in patients with inflammatory diseases before the onset of clinical signs. This substance is able to inhibit catalase in the presence of chloride which is typical for nitrite and nitrosoamines. Methods: The catalase activity was determined by the calorimetric method based on the control of the kinetics of heat production accompanying hydrogen peroxide decomposition.

Results: Blood plasma contains deposited nitric oxide included in various nitrosyl iron complexes. These complexes effectively interact with the superoxide produced by activated leukocytes. This interaction produces a number of substances that have the ability to inhibit catalase in the presence of chloride. These substances retain the ability to inhibit in the system: hemoglobin-iron chelator, or hemoglobin-mercury salt. Such properties are characteristic of nitrite and nitrosoamines. Normally, these substances are present in plasma in trace amounts. 700 activated cells per microliter (10 times less than normal in human blood) are enough to transform about 30% nitrosyl iron complexes contained in plasma into NLS.

Conclusion: The appearance of NLS is a very sensitive indicator of leukocyte activation. Read out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWvKV1736HM&feature=youtu.be

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Podcast – The Molecular Diversity Scope of Urazole in the Synthesis of Organic Compounds

Journal Name: Current Organic Synthesis

Author(s): Ghodsi M. Ziarani*, Fatemeh Mohajer, Razieh Moradi, Parisa Mofatehnia.

Podcast By: Fatemeh Mohajer

Abstract:

Background: As a matter of fact, nitrogen as a hetero atom among other atoms has had an important role in active biological compounds. Since heterocyclic molecules with nitrogen are highly demanded due to biological properties, 4-phenylurazole as a compound containing nitrogen might be important in the multicomponent reaction used in agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Considering the case of fused derivatives “pyrazolourazoles” which are highly applicable because of their application for analgesic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic activities as HSP-72 induction inhibitors (I and III) and novel microtubule assembly inhibitors. It should be mentioned that spiro-pyrazole also has biological activities like cytotoxic, antimicrobial, anticonvulsant, antifungal, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and cardiotonic activities.

Objective: Urazole has been used in many heterocyclic compounds which are valuable in organic syntheses. This review disclosed the advances in the use of urazole as the starting material in the synthesis of various biologically active molecules from 2006 to 2019.

Conclusion: Compounds of urazole (1,2,4-triazolidine-3,5-dione) are the most important molecules which are highly active from the biological perspective in the pharmaceuticals as well as polymers. In summary, many protocols for preparations of the urazole derivatives from various substrates in multi-component reactions have been reported from different aromatic and aliphatic groups which have had carbonyl groups in their structures. It is noted that several catalysts have been synthesized to afford applicable molecules with urazole scaffolds. In some papers, being environmentally friendly, short time reactions and high yields are highlighted in the protocols. There is a room to synthesize new catalysts and perform new reactions by manipulating urazole to produce biologically active compounds, even producing chiral urazole component as many groups of chiral urazole compounds are important from biological perspective. Read out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyH12zDLr8M&feature=youtu.be

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