Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 21, Issue 2, 2025

Enteral feeding is essential for hospitalized patients unable to consume oral nutrition. However, it poses a risk of bacterial contamination, leading to infections and increased morbidity and mortality.

Studies have shown that contaminated enteral feeds are associated with longer hospital stays and worsened patient outcomes. Common pathogens include Gram-negative bacilli (e.g., Serratia spp., Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp.), coagulase-negative staphylococci, and Clostridium difficile. Preventing contamination requires identifying and mitigating potential routes. This comprehensive approach encompasses careful practices during production, storage, preparation, and administration of enteral feeds.

Early initiation of enteral feeding has also been linked to lower infection rates. Standardized protocols, hand hygiene adherence, routine monitoring for infection signs, and ongoing staff education are crucial for safe enteral feeding. Further research is needed to better understand risk factors for contamination and evaluate the effectiveness of preventive interventions.

Addressing these knowledge gaps can significantly improve the quality of enteral feeding and reduce infection burden in hospitalized patients.

Inappropriate infant feeding practices are a factor in malnutrition in western Côte d'Ivoire, which can cause several problems. In fact, in this part of the country, 26% of children under the age of 5 are undernourished, and 6% of these children are wasted. In order to assess knowledge and practices regarding infant feeding, this survey was carried out among mother-child pairs at the Regional Hospital Center (RHC) of Man.

This was a descriptive survey carried out from February to March 2023 in the therapeutic nutrition unit of the paediatric department of the RHC of Man. The target population consisted of 250 mother-child pairs attending the unit. The questions mainly focused on the sociodemographic characteristics of the infants, the socio-economic characteristics of the household, supplementary feeding, and information channels related to nutrition and feeding of children aged between 6 and 24 months.

The age group of 12 to 18 months was the most representative (40%), with a female predominance (56%). Exclusive breastfeeding was practiced in only 42% of infants, with early introduction of water in 63.6% between 4 and 6 months. A total of 98.8% of infants were up to date with their vaccination schedules, and 36.4% received medical follow-up. Diversification began before 6 months in 62% of infants, and in the majority of cases, cereal-based porridge was introduced between 4 and 6 months. The introduction of vegetables and meat was delayed, occurring between 7 and 12 months (42.4%) and between 13 and 18 months (28%) respectively. Breastfeeding cessation occurred in 23.6% between 13 and 18 months. The most common difficulties in supplementary feeding were childhood illness (38%) and children's refusal to eat (26%).

Inadequate practices and introduction of complementary foods were noted in the majority of cases. Hence, there is an urgent need to educate mothers on WHO recommendations regarding infant feeding diversification.

Thanks to its rich polyphenols and antioxidant content, Cistus incanus is a natural healthy ingredient.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of 0-7.5 (v/v) C. incanus extract supplementation on probiotic yogurt's physicochemical, sensory, and microbiological characteristics.

Color, pH, texture profile analysis, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, fat, protein, syneresis, water holding capacity, and scanning electron microscopy analyses were performed, as well as rheological, microbiological, and sensory analyses.

As the amount of extract increased, dry matter, protein, fat, water holding capacity, phenolic content, antioxidant activity, pH, ash, a*, b*, and firmness values increased, whereas titrable acidity and syneresis values of yogurts significantly decreased (p<0.05). The probiotic bacteria count of the yogurts enriched with C. incanus was >7 log CFU/mL. The samples containing 5% extract received the highest scores from the panelists.

It is possible to produce probiotic yogurt with functional properties using C. incanus extract, which is a rich source of antioxidant compounds.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen protected from antibiotics' harmful effects by various mechanisms. One of the most important mechanisms is the activation of exudation systems. Therefore, identifying such targets in food contaminating bacteria can help us target them and eliminate bacteria resistant to several drugs, making food safe. Therefore, the present study aimed to trace Mex A and Mex B efflux pump genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from dairy products in Qom City, Iran.

300 samples of raw milk, 30 samples of pasteurized milk, and 30 samples of local cream were collected. After a 24-hour culture on nutrient agar and blood agar and performing warm staining, confirmatory biochemical tests were performed to identify bacteria. The disk method was used according to CLSI guidelines to determine the antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Then Mex A and Mex B efflux pump genes were detected using specific primers with PCR technique.

117 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from 300 raw milk samples, and 7 strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Out of 117 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates, 51 isolates (43.5%) had Mex A gene and 10 isolates (8.5%) had Mex B gene. Three isolates had both Mex A and Mex B genes. Among the strains with resistance to ciprofloxacin (7 isolates), 4 isolates did not have any of the genes. One isolate had Mex A and Mex B genes; 2 isolates were Mex A positive and Mex B negative, and Mex B positive and Mex A negative isolates were not observed.

Based on the results, among the studied isolates, the Mex A gene was more abundant. In addition, no significant relationship was found between the existence of Mex A and Mex B genes and ciprofloxacin resistance.

Quinoa was cultivated in different parts of the world because of the water crisis. On the other view, proteins from plant sources have attracted significant interest. One of the sustainable protein sources is quinoa protein.

The aim of this study was to isolate quinoa protein and determine physicochemical properties for its use in the food industry.

Quinoa Protein Isolates (QPIs) were separated from Quinoa Seed (QS) varieties (Black-QS, Q12-QS, and Titicaca-QS). The particle size, FTIR, SEM, emulsion activity and stability, protein solubility, and gelation properties were assessed.

The Q12-QPI had the highest average particle size, 945 μm. The Black-QPI and Titicaca (T)-QPI had a higher protein content (87.32 ± 1.93, 87.84 ± 1.62% w/w), respectively, and a more condensed structure. The surface morphology of Black-QPI and T-QPI showed regular flat and compact surfaces with some small aggregates. Black-QPI had the most negative zeta potential charge (-38.8 ± 0.03) and stability among the TQPIs. Emulsion capacity was equal among the samples, but emulsion stability was the greatest value (34.48 ± 8.1) in T-QPI. The protein solubility ratio was 70.72, 70.0, and 69.27% in Q12-QPI, T-QPI, and Black-QPI, respectively. The higher elastic performance of Q12-QPI and T-QPI than Black-QPI was seen during the heating steps in the gelation stage.

The suitable nutritional and functional resources of Titicaca quinoa protein make it an appropriate candidate to use as a safe food additive.

COVID-19 has caused a high health burden worldwide and increased the need to identify factors affecting its risk. Fruits and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet and immune system function. This study investigated the associations between fruit and vegetable intake and COVID-19 incidence in a large sample of Iranian adults.

In this cross-sectional study, we used data from 9189 participants of Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and Taghzieh Mardom-e-Yazd (TAMIZ) study aged 20 to 70 years. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).

After adjusting for confounding variables, we found that higher intake of total fruit (OR: 0.42, CI: 0.20–0.83, P-trend =0.05), fresh fruit (OR: 0.46, CI: 0.23– 0.92, P-trend =0.04), green leafy vegetables (OR: 0.48, CI: 0.24–0.96, P-trend =0.08), and vitamin C (OR: 0.38, CI: 0.17– 0.81, P-trend =0.02) were associated with lower odds of COVID-19. No significant associations were observed for fruit juice, dried fruit, fruit compote, cruciferous vegetables, yellow vegetables, total vegetables and dietary fiber intake.

Our study suggests that higher consumption of fresh fruit, total fruit, green leafy vegetables, and dietary vitamin C may reduce the risk of COVID-19. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and provide evidence-based nutritional recommendations. Furthermore, the current study's findings could be important for similar pandemics.

Functional constipation (FC) is characterized by infrequent and hard bowel movements, often accompanied by difficulty and pain during the passage. It has been suggested that an imbalanced microbiome contributes to the development of FC. One potential intervention is post-colonoscopy probiotic supplementation, which could create a favorable environment for FC patients.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of probiotic supplementation on relieving constipation in FC patients.

The current study was a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (RCT) involving 78 patients with FC. Participants were randomly assigned to either the probiotic (n=39) or placebo groups (n=39). They received two capsules of either probiotic or placebo for 12 weeks. The assessment of bowel habit was based on ROME-IV criteria, which included anal obstruction feeling, defecation frequency, hard stool, painful defecation, force pushing, manual maneuvers, incomplete emptying, and total score. In addition, primary outcomes also included variables related to the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS).

Probiotic supplementation significantly decreased the ROME-IV total score and its other components, with the exception of defecation frequency, when compared to the placebo group (13.93± 0.57 vs. 17.77± 0.60; P<0.001). Furthermore, the risk of type I stool (RR: 0.036; 95% CI: 0.004-0.331) and II stool (RR: 0.076; 95% CI: 0.019-0.309) was significantly decreased in the probiotic group.

Despite some controversies surrounding the effects of probiotic supplementation on FC treatment, this RCT concluded that probiotic supplementation can improve bowel habits in FC patients.

Clinical Trials (IRCT ID: IRCT20210817052219N1).