Recent Patents on Food, Nutrition & Agriculture - Volume 6, Issue 1, 2014

Genetically modified crops (GMCs) have been planted world wide since 1990s, but the potential insecurity of selectable marker genes raises the questions about GMC safety. Therefore, several researches have been conducted on marker gene safety issues and recently several patents have been issued on this subject. There are two main approaches to achieve this goal: seeking the biosafety selectable marker and eliminatin Read More

It is speculated that genetically modified food (GMF)/genetically modified organism (GMO) is responsible for infertility development. The risk linked with a wide use of GMFs/GMOs offers the basic elements for social criticism. However, to date, it has not been justified whether the bad effects are directly resulted from products of genetic modifications or trans-genesis process. Extensive experience with the risk assessment of whol Read More

It is known that the Mediterranean diet (MD), which is characterized by high consumption of vegetables, fruits, cereals, beans, nuts, and olive oil, moderate consumption of fish, white meat, eggs, dairy products, and alcohol, and low consumption of red meat, processed meats, and foods rich in sugars or fats, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancers. Previous epi Read More

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), are gaining importance in agriculture as well as the production of food and feed. Along with the development of GMOs, health and food safety concerns have been raised. These concerns for these new GMOs make it necessary to set up strict system on food safety assessment of GMOs. The food safety assessment of GMOs, current development status of safety and precise tra Read More

The Pacific countries are small in land mass and therefore represent one of the most fragile ecosystems. Due to the isolation of these island counties, these are home to unique species of plants and animals as well as crop varieties and landraces. Biosafety issues in the Pacific countries, therefore, require special attention to take these factors into account. The issues are shared with other small island nations such as the Read More

Sialic acid is a carbohydrate moiety of Κ-casein glycomacropeptide (GMP), which is a 64 amino acid residue C-terminal sialylated phosphorylated glycopeptide released from Κ-casein by the action of chymosin during cheese making. GMP lacks aromatic amino acids including phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. Because of its unique amino acid composition and various biological activities, GMP is thought to be a potential Read More

Crop damage and consequent loss in productivity associated with arthropod pests represent the most serious threats to the world economy. Different methods have been used in the past to control arthropod pests; however, the increase in incidences of resistance to pesticides, food safety concerns, and concerns related to environmental impact associated with the use of chemical pesticides have led to the recent ex Read More

Aggrecan is a cartilage specific proteoglycan containing chondroitin sulfate (CS) and keratan sulfate (KS). CS is an acidic polysaccharide having wide range of applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. CS is extracted from cartilage by tissue proteolysis with an exogenous proteinase or by activating endogenous proteinases (autolysis) to release aggrecan-peptides from the tissue. This review is focused on t Read More

Hesperidin, a flavanone glycoside consisting of the flavone hesperitin bound to the disaccharide rutinose, is found in highly nutritious foods, such as oranges, tangelos, tangerines, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits. Exogenous hesperidin has been shown to influence a wide variety of biological functions, including induction of apoptosis and suppression of proliferation in human cancer cells; inhibition of tumor development in var Read More

In this research the composition of fatty acids and saturated fatty acids at the sn-2 position [SFA (sn-2)] of triacylglycerols was determined in 9 samples of extra virgin olive oil from different regions of Iran, including Gilan, Golestan, Zanjan, and Qazvin in the north, Kermanshah in the west and Fars in the south of Iran. The analysis was performed using gas chromatography according to the standard methods of the Internati Read More