Iranian Journal of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology
Year:2015 | Volume:10 | Issue:1|Papers Count:13

Background and Objectives: Cellular senescence has been known as a tumor suppressor mechanism; however, some evidence shows that cellular senescence is an inducer factor for metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance and diabetes. In this study, the effect of senescence was assayed in the peripheral tissues of diet-induced obese rats.Materials and Methods: 30 male 5-week old wistar rats were randomly assigned into high-calorie diet through 416 kcal/100 g (researcher made) or control diet for 12 weeks. Weight changes, lipid profile, glucose, insulin levels and QUICKI (Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index) index were measured at the end of the 12th week. Also the tissue samples were isolated, and immune-blotting was performed to identify proteins P16INK4a and P53 (cell senescence markers).Results: P53 levels in the fat tissue and other peripheral tissues of obese rats were significantly higher compared to the control group. P16INK4a expression was increased only in fat tissue but protein was not expressed in other tissues. In the obese rats, the serum levels of glucose (183.60±34.90 vs. 152.40±15.48 P=0.019), cholesterol (60.70±6.88 vs.46.60±7.82 P<0.001) and triglyceride (124.60±46.43 vs. 57.20±24.02 P<0.001) were more than in the control group but The QUICKI index was significantly lower in the obese rats compared to the control group (p=0.01).Conclusion: Our results suggest that cell senescence in fat tissue can be predisposed to the development of insulin resistance and age-related diseases by generating some alternation in the fat tissue.

Background and Objectives: Major depression is a mood disorder, which diet, sleeping and physical activity play an important role in its etiology, progress and treatment. Food insecurity affects person' s spirit as a stressor, and because of its effect on individual's food intake; this study aimed to investigate the relationship between major depression and household food insecurity.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, food insecurity status was compared between 72 new diagnosed adult women with major depression (as case group) and 143 healthy adult women (as control group). Major depression was diagnosed by a psychiatrist through structured interview by diagnostic instrument DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder). Food insecurity and socioeconomic data were collected using HFIAS (Household Food Insecurity Access Scale) and general information questionnaire, respectively. Data were analyzed by SPSS18. Logistic regression was applied to determine the odds ratio for being depressed between different food insecurity degrees and socioeconomic status. Differences between quantitative and qualitative variables were examined by t-test, ANOVA and tests, respectively.Results: In the present study, a positive significant relationship was found between major depression and food insecurity, so that in the severe food insecurity group, the risk of major depression was 3.34 times more than in the food secure group (OR=3.34, %95CI=1.04-8.90, P=0.029), and with increasing food insecurity intensity, the likelihood of major depression was increased even after adjusting for the confounding factors. Physical activity, number of children and marital status were significantly related to major depression, too. Other variables such as education, birth order, BMI (Body Mass Index), income, house ownership, occupation of woman and her household head were included in the regression model, but no significant effect was found.Conclusion: This study showed high prevalence of food insecurity in major depressed Iranian women, and proved relation between food insecurity and depression that had been shown in the past studies in other countries.

Background and Objectives: Several studies have shown a high correlation of serum leptin with adipose tissue markers. However, its relationship with other environmental factors such as diet, physical activity and lipid profile in human is less clear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of leptin with anthropometric measurements, physical activity, lipid profile, and energy and macronutrient intake in patients with type 2 diabetes in Tehran.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 271 patients with type 2 diabetes were studied.Anthropometric measurements (body mass index, waist circumference, and percent body fat), energy and macronutrient intake (using a semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire), and physical activity level were determined. Also leptin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL levels were measured.Results: Leptin level was significantly higher in women than men (p=0.001). Leptin level showed a positive and significant correlation with anthropometric measurements (p=0.001), and a negative correlation with age (p=0.048, r=-0.10) and physical activity (p=0.04, r=-0.12) in all subjects. Also there was a significant and positive correlation between serum leptin and anthropometric measurements in men and women (p<0.05). In addition, leptin serum had a significant positive correlation with LDL in men (p=0.03, r=0.35) and with the percentage of calorie intake from protein in women (p=0.02, r=0.08). A negative and significant correlation was found between serum leptin level with physical activity level in women (p=0.04, r=-0.15), and with HDL in men (p=0.02, r=-0.25).Conclusion: This study showed that age, sex, anthropometric measurements (body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage), physical activity, LDL, HDL, and percentage of calorie intake from protein are related to leptin.

Background and Objectives: Studies suggest a possible protective role of vitamin D against breast cancer. This study aimed to assess the relationship between vitamin D intake and risk of breast cancer in Iranian women.Materials and Methods: A total of 135 new cases of breast cancer and 135 matched controls were included in the study. The data on breast cancer risk factors, sunlight exposure and use of vitamin D supplements were obtained through demographic questionnaire. To measure the intake of energy, macronutrients, calcium, and vitamin D we used a 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.Results: The mean dietary intake of vitamin D in the cases was significantly lower than the control group (24 vs.30.56 IU/day) (P=0.001). The risk of developing breast cancer was 2.5 times (61%) lower for those in the highest quartile of dietary intake of vitamin D compared to those in the first quartile (OR=0.392, 95%CI=0.196-0.784). This inverse association was marginally significant in the premenopausal women (OR=0.39, 95%CI=0.151-1.006), but not in the postmenopausal women. Overall, the total intake of vitamin D from foods and supplements was not associated with breast cancer risk, in both the premenopausal and postmenopausal women.Conclusion: Dietary intake of vitamin D may have a protective role against breast cancer, especially in premenopausal women.

Background and Objectives: Osteoporosis and bone fractures are major health problems because of the large health care costs associated with their clinical consequences. Fruits and vegetables and some nutrients abundant in them have been shown to affect bone formation and resorption. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of increasing fruit and vegetable intake on bone resorption and formation in postmenopausal osteopenic women.Materials and Methods: Overall, 52 postmenopausal women (aged 50-60 years) participated in the present single-blind randomized clinical trial. The subjects were randomly assigned into intervention (daily extra 400 grams fruits and vegetables for 12 weeks) or control (with no dietary change from habitual intake) groups. Fruits and vegetables were delivered to the intervention group weekly and free of charge. Serum osteocalcin and crosslaps were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention.Results: Forty-five participants completed the study. Fruit and vegetable intake in the intervention group increased significantly compared to the baseline and also compared to the control group (p<0.0001). Increasing fruit and vegetable intake for 12 weeks reduced serum osteocalcin by 15% and crosslaps by 4%. The reduction was not statistically significant after adjustment for the confounding factors.Conclusion: Increasing fruit and vegetable intake may not reduce bone turnover in postmenopausal osteopenic women. Longer duration clinical trials are recommended to clarify whether fruit and vegetable intake can benefit bone metabolism and health in postmenopausal osteopenic women.

Background and Objective: Flowability is one of the most important physical characteristics of powders, and under given circumstances, affects a large number of industrial applications. Environmental conditions during the processing or transport including temperature, humidity, electrostatic charge and time can critically affect the flowability of powders. The aim of this study was to investigate the spray drying parameters such as inlet air temperature, maltodextrin concentration and storage time on the physical and flowability characteristics of spray-dried malt extract.Materials and Methods: In this study, a pilot-scale spray dryer was employed for drying the produced products. Process variables were inlet air temperature and maltodextrin concentration (DE=18-20). Maltodextrin as drying aid was used in 20, 30 and 40% (w/w) concentrations based on the wet weight of malt extract. Inlet air temperatures of 140, 160 and 180oC in a co-current regime with feed were used. The effect of production conditions and particle size on the flowability indices (Hausner ratio, static angle of repose and compressibility index) during storage of the samples was investigated in a closed environment (RH=44% using a saturated solution of magnesium nitrate) (p<0.05).Results: Flowability of the powders was drastically reduced during the storage time due to the hygroscopicity. Furthermore, the results showed that by increasing the inlet air temperature and maltodextrin concentration, the particle size was increased, while stickiness and hygroscopicity significantly (p<0.05) were reduced leading to an increase in the powders’ flowability.Conclusion: An inlet air temperature of 180oC and a maltodextrin concentration of 40% had the most contribution on the physic-chemical characteristics and flowability of the powders during the storage time.

Background and Objectives: One of the main problems of bread industry is waste of these products. But today the availability of packaging film with a wide range of physical and chemical properties could reduce the amount of waste. It seems that by choosing an appropriate packaging and management environment of packed samples, it is also the shelf life and quality of gluten-free bread would be increased.Materials and Methods: In this study, the effect of temperature (10 and 25oC), relative humidity of storage (50 and 75%), and type of wrapper packaging (modified polypropylene (OPP), polyethylene terephthalate, aluminum, low density polyethylene (PAP), polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, and low density polyethylene (PPP)) in order to maintain the quantity and quality of gluten-free sorghum bread was evaluated. In order to measure the crust color, Image J software was used.Results: With increasing temperature and decreasing relative humidity, the moisture content, water activity, L* value, b* value, and overall acceptability were decreased and the firmness and a* value was increased. However, PAP, PPP and OPP packaging had, respectively, the best performance to maintain the quality characteristics of sorghum gluten free bread specially postpone the staling rate.Conclusion: Using the appropriate packaging film and storage in optimal conditions, in addition to maintaining the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the final product, platitude/staling is one of the most problems in getting a fresh product to the celiac disease is reduced.

Background and Objectives: Oxidative stability is one of the most significant parameters in maintaining the quality of olive oil during the storage time. The confidence of the stability and quality of olive oil is a great concern for producers and sellers. Therefore, this study aimed at modeling of the oxidation stability of olive oil by using artificial neural network (ANN) in order to improve the quality control process of this product.Materials and Methods: In the present study, a Feed-forward Neural Network (FF-ANN) was used to estimate the oxidative stability of olive oils during storage. In the neural network structure, the parameters of acidity, peroxide value (PV) specific extinction coefficient K232, phenolic compounds, structure of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were used as input variables, and the extinction coefficient k270 was used as the output variable.Results: The Feed-Forward-Back-Propagation network using the Tangent Sigmoid transfer function, Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm, and ten neurons in the hidden layer with lowest mean square error, and the best regression coefficient was determined as the best neural model. The regression coefficients of the best FF-ANN model in (30-120-210-300-420) days were 0.936, 0.955, 0.957, 0.974 and 0.9769, respectively and the mean square errors were 0.0057, 0.0015, 0.0012, 0.0046, and 0.0062, respectively.Conclusion: Our analysis demonstrated that FF-ANN was a powerful tool capable to predict oxidative stability of olive oils during the storage time.

Background and Objectives: Functional prebiotic products have many additional health effects on the gastro-intestinal system. Due to the high consumption of pasta products in Iran during the last decade, pasta fortification with non-digestible oligosaccharides seems to be integral. Resistant starch can tolerate enzyme hydrolyzation and high moisture and temperature of pasta production line. The aim of the present study was to formulate a macaroni product with resistant starch type 2 and compare its physical, rheological, cooking and sensory properties with the control sample.Materials and Methods: Semolina flour and industrialized water were used to produce macaroni. Resistant starch type two (Hi-maize260TM) -based macaroni was incorporated in four proportions (w/w): 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 g/100 g. After dough was produced in the extruder under 60cmHg, it was dried in appropriate conditions. Physical, rheological, cooking and sensory properties were analyzed and compared with control sample.Results: Replacement of resistant starch type two (RS2) with semolina resulted in a significant reduction in moisture. The color of final macaroni was brighter in 10%RS2 (p<0.05). Cooking loss and absorption of water were significantly reduced (p<0.01). Textural analysis of the cooked samples declared that RS2 caused a significant increase in hardness and cohesiveness; while it reduced adhesiveness and chewiness of the final product (p<0.01). The results of sensory evaluation showed no negative effects on the RS samples; while it reduced adhesiveness (p<0.05).Conclusion: We observed that the macaroni fortified with 7.5 g/100g RS2 was the best product from both the technological and sensory points of view.

Background and Objectives: Milk and dairy products in many parts of the world constitute a major part of the human diet. This nutrient is composed of various elements such as calcium, potassium, chlorine, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, etc. In animal nutrition, some heavy and dangerous metals like lead, arsenic and cadmium are transmitted through animal feed to the milk. The purpose of this study is introducing Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) method for identifying and determining the element concentrations in pasteurized and raw cow milk.Materials and Methods: This research was done on six types of milk from different milk factories, and raw milk from a dairy industry in 2013. Each of these milks was analyzed 7 times by using LIBSCAN100 system and Plasus Specline software.Results: In this research, the mean concentration of five major elements (calcium, phosphor, potassium, magnesium, and sodium), four partial elements (zinc, copper, and Iron), and three heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and arsenic) was determined. The variations of mean concentration of different elements in the pasteurized samples are as follows:Ca: [1000-11000mg/g], K: [0-13000 mg/g], Mg: [100-3000 mg/g], P: [0-1800 mg/g], Na: [200-3000 mg/g], Zn: [300-28100 mg/g], Cu: [100-10600 mg/g], Se: [1-113 mg/g], Fe: [100-8900 mg/g], Cd: [0.110-0.690mg/g], Pb: [0.1-0.84 mg/g], As: [0-0.860 mg/g].Conclusion: In this research, a new high speed non-destructive analytical method with no need to initial preparation is introduced. The results of analyze showed that the concentrations of nutrient elements are close to RDI factor, and the concentrations of toxic elements are under the PTWI threshold.