Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 8, Issue 3, 2012

The Araucaria angustifolia (Bertolini, Otto Kuntze) tree belongs to the family Araucariaceae and is known as Brazilian pine. The female strobilus consists of seeds (the edible part of A. angustifolia) and bracts (non-developed seeds). These bracts, which represent approximately 80% of the female strobilus, have no use. It has previously been suggested that the dietary intake of antioxidants could be a useful strategy to redu Read More

This paper assesses whether the elements Ca, Na, Mg, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn are present in adequate concentrations viable for human use in the two common medicinal plants Tamarindus indica L. and Hibiscus sabdiffora L. The plants were collected from markets in Aswan, Egypt. The extraction processes were soaking, infusion (the addition of boiling water) and boiling the plants. Samples of the water extraction were t Read More

Breast milk protects neonates from infections, prevents allergies, enhances cognitive and social development, and guards against later development of illnesses including multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. Because mother's milk is the sole source of nutrition for newborns when bacteria first colonize the gut and establish mutualistic microbial biofilms, milk is expected to contain components which help the microb Read More

Lettuce is a popular leafy vegetable and plays an important role in American diet and nutrition. Crisphead lettuce has much lower nutrient content than leaf and romaine types. As the synthesis or absorption of many nutrients is light dependent, the lower nutritional value of crisphead lettuce is in large part due to the enclosure of its leaves in a head structure. In addition to varietal differences, nutritional quality of lettuce may b Read More

Ghrelin was recently identified as the first endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptors (previously known as orphan receptors). Two major molecular forms of ghrelin are found in the stomach and plasma: acyl ghrelin with O-n-octanoylated serine at position 3 and des-acyl ghrelin. Interestingly, these distinct molecular forms play contrasting roles in ingestive behavior, upper gastrointestinal motility, and gast Read More

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer's type dementia (AD) are leading causes of death amongst aged people, with rates expected to rise due to increased longevity. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids may contribute to the development and maintenance of the functional capacities of the brain and reduced levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may be indicative of an increased risk of AD. Moreover, epidemiological stu Read More

A chronic oxidative stress is a typical feature of Down Syndrome (DS, trisomy 21), the major cause of mental disability in humans. In this paper we report the first experimental evidence that iron toxicity may contribute to build up the pro-oxidative microenvironment that characterizes trisomic tissues, using intact erythrocytes as the model system. Blood samples were obtained from trisomic patients and healthy controls in paed Read More

The seeds of Jatropha curcas (jatropha), which contain 27-40% oil, are an important source for bio-diesel production. For making bio-diesel production profitable, it is desirable to use the seed meal generated as a byproduct for producing animal feed. Although jatropha seed meal contains 50-62% protein, it is not suitable as an animal feed without additional processing because one of the seed meal proteins, curcin Read More

Organic farmers raise poultry and rabbits in British Columbia using ethnoveterinary remedies and natural feedstuffs. These ethnoveterinary practices were documented from interviews and a participatory workshop. This paper includes the plants used for respiratory conditions, nutrition and dental care of rabbits. Some of the plants have been used in animal and human health for centuries such as Echinacea spp., Cheno Read More