Probiotics intake and metabolic syndrome: A proposal

Probiotics are practical tools to provide the modulation of microbiota. The ingestion of food or ingredients containing anti-inflammatory activity components as probiotics should be useful in obesity control and associated co-morbidities treatment. Metabolic syndrome is a metabolic dysfunction associated with visceral obesity and insulin resistance, in which the alterations in host-microbiota interactions play an important role. Besides diet and physical activity, new strategies are necessary to control metabolic syndrome, and as consequence improving quality of life. This article revises the actual knowledge concerning probiotic intake and obesity as a proposal to control metabolic syndrome.     

Assessment of caffeine intake in the Korean population

An improved method for the analysis of caffeine in foods by HPLC was validated by measuring several analytical parameters. The caffeine contents of 1202 products available from Korean markets were analysed. A consumption study was conducted by using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2010–12, to estimate the caffeine intakes of the Korean population. The mean intakes of caffeine from all sources in the general population and consumers were 67.8 and 102.6 mg day^?1 for all age groups, respectively. The 95th percentile intakes of the general population and consumers were 250.7 and 313.7 mg day^?1, respectively. In those aged 30–49 years, the caffeine intakes of the general population and consumers were highest at 25.5% (101.8 mg kg^?1 day^?1) and 36.6% (0.9 mg kg^?1 day^?1), respectively, compared with the maximum recommended daily intake (400 mg day^?1) for adults. In the general population, the main contributors to the total caffeine intake were carbonated beverage for the younger age groups and coffee for the adults. These data provide a current perspective on caffeine intake in the Korean population.     

Assessment of the dietary intake of propylene glycol in the Korean population

An improved method for the analysis of propylene glycol (PG) in foods using a gas chromatography-flame ionisation detector (GC-FID), with confirmation by GC-MS, was validated by measuring several analytical parameters. The PG concentrations in 1073 products available in Korean markets were determined. PG was detected in 74.1% of the samples, in a concentration range from the limit of detection (n.d., 0.39 μg ml^?1) to 12,819.9 mg kg^?1. The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2011–2013 reported the mean intake levels of PG from all sources by the general population and consumers were 26.3 mg day^?1 (0.52 mg kg^?1 day^?1) and 34.3 mg day^?1 (0.67 mg kg^?1 day^?1), respectively. The 95th percentile intake levels of the general population and consumers were 123.6 mg day^?1 (2.39 mg kg^?1 day^?1) and 146.3 mg day^?1 (2.86 mg kg^?1 day^?1), respectively. In all groups of the general population, breads were the main contributors to the total PG intake. These reports provide a current perspective on the daily intake of PG in the Korean population.     

Safety assessment of antioxidants and color fixatives for the Korean population using dietary intake monitoring

Food additives such as antioxidants and color fixatives are substances used in food intentionally for technical effect, such as decolorizing or intensifying the color of food. Based on the necessity of re-evaluating food additives for safety and to improve consumer perception, we conducted safety assessments for food additives according to the Risk Assessment Guidelines of the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. These safety assessments evaluated new risk information based on toxicology data and estimates of dietary intake exposures to food additives in comparison with the acceptable daily intake (ADI). Estimated daily intakes (EDI) of food additives were calculated using food consumption data for the Korean population derived from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and monitoring data based on the analysis of food additives in food products. Unlike contaminants, antioxidants and color fixatives are purposely added as food additives, and they are largely consumed in processed foods. Therefore, EDI was compared with ADI to investigate the likelihood of potentially hazardous effects in humans. The risk likelihoods of food additives, evaluated by comparing the EDI with the ADI, were less than 2% in the total population. Thus, exposure levels to antioxidants and color fixatives do not exceed the ADI. Based on the safety assessments conducted in this study, we estimate exposure to food additives to be within safe limits for all population groups.     

The L513S polymorphism in medium-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 2 (MACS2) is associated with risk factors of the metabolic syndrome in a Caucasian study population

Enzymes of the medium-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (MACS) family catalyze the ligation of medium chain fatty acids with CoA to produce medium-chain-acyl-CoA. At least four members of the MACS gene family are clustered on human chromosome 16p12. Association studies in the Japanese Suita cohort of MACS polymorphisms and various phenotypes revealed the contribution of the Leu513Ser polymorphism in MACS2 to multiple risk factors of the metabolic syndrome. Here, we investigated the association between this polymorphism and different risk factors in the Caucasian Metabolic Intervention Cohort Kiel. Seven hundred and sixteen male subjects aged 45-65 years were recruited for a standard oral glucose tolerance test and the postprandial assessment of metabolic parameters after an oral metabolic tolerance test (oMTT; 1017 kcal, 51.6% fat, 29.6% carbohydrates, 11.9% protein). The MACS2 Leu513Ser polymorphism was determined by TaqMan-Assay in 705 subjects. Postprandial triglyceride levels following oMTT [area under the curve (AUC)] were significantly higher in subjects carrying the Ser allele compared to subjects homozygous for the Leu allele (1690 +/- 100 mg x h/dL versus 1514 +/- 39 mg x h/dL, p = 0.04). Significant differences between genotype groups were also found for fasting (108 +/- 1.9 mg/dL versus 104 +/- 0.66 mg/dL, p = 0.04) and postprandial (AUC 535 +/- 11 versus 512 +/- 4.0, p = 0.02) glucose levels as well as for high-density-lipoprotein, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Carriers of the Ser allele also show an increased risk of impaired glucose metabolism (OR: 1.48, 95% confidence interval: 0.98-2.27, p = 0.07), adiposity (1.8, 1.16-2.81, p = 0.01) and hypertension (1.5, 0.99-2.17, p = 0.06). In conclusion, our results suggest an involvement of the MACS2 Leu513Ser polymorphism in the development of the metabolic syndrome in Caucasian population. Additionally, the higher triglyceride and glucose levels after an oMTT support a possible functional impact of the polymorphism in vivo.     

Safety assessment of 16 sweeteners for the Korean population using dietary intake monitoring and poundage method

ABSTRACT

A sweetener is a food additive that imparts a sweet taste to food products. Sweeteners have been increasingly used in Korea since the approval of sodium saccharin and d-sorbitol in 1962. Unlike food contaminants, humans are exposed to food additives only through the consumption of processed food products. For exposure assessments of sweeteners, the dietary intakes of food products containing acesulfame-K, aspartame, saccharin-Na, and sucralose were determined, and the resulting calculated estimated daily intake (EDI) values were compared directly with each additive’s ADI. The poundage method was used to calculate the daily intake per capita for 12 additional sweeteners, such as lactitol, for which appropriate analytical methods for food products do not exist. The risk, as evaluated by comparing the EDI with the ADI, was determined to be 2.9% for acesulfame-K, 0.8% for aspartame, 3.6% for saccharin-Na, 4.3% for steviol glycosides, and 2.1% for sucralose. No hazardous effect was predicted for the other 11 sweeteners, including lactitol.     

Analysis of biotin in Korean representative foods and dietary intake assessment for Korean

Biotin is an important vitamin functioning as coenzyme in several carboxylase-mediated metabolic reactions. Total 105 foods were selected as the target samples, of those 75 samples were highly and frequently consumed by Korean and the others were potently high biotin content foods. HPLC with the triple column system had been optimized and applied for the analysis of biotin in various food samples. The foods with the biotin concentration over 0.10 μg/g were 13 kinds of foods such as soybean (2.037 μg/g), soy milk (0.591 μg/g), pork liver (0.455 μg/g), etc. The total daily biotin exposure per person via average and the 95^th percentile food intake was 44.656 and 169.416 μg, respectively. The Korean staple food, rice contributed as fifth diet for biotin intake (3.433 μg/person/day) following soybean (9.167 μg/person/day) > milk (6.018 μg/person/day) > soy milk (4.433 μg/person/day) > beer (4.428 μg/person/day).     

脂肪酸作为我国中老年人群代谢综合征生物标记的研究综述

我国中老年人群代谢综合征患病率日趋增加,其与高碳水化合物、低脂肪以及精粮比例过高的膳食特点有关。在对脂肪酸与代谢综合征相关性的研究中,血浆磷脂、血清甘三酯、胆固醇酯、脂肪组织和红细胞膜中的脂肪酸等被用来研究与代谢综合征的相关性。依据我国中老年人群日趋增加的代谢综合征患病率,结合我国膳食特点,对特定脂肪酸与代谢综合征的相关性进行综述,以期对我国中老年人群的代谢综合征进行防控。     

Patulin in apple juices: Incidence and likely intake in an Indian population

The quality and safety of Ayurvedic formulations has become a serious issue, as this Indian system of medicine is used by 80% of the Indian population. Hence, the present study was performed to evaluate heavy metals contents by flame atomic absorbance spectroscopy (AAS) measurements and confirmation by inductive coupled plasma–mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). A total of 78 formulations (56 herbal, 19 herbometallic and 3 metallic) were sampled. In herbal formulations, lead in 19.6% (11/56), cadmium in 21.4% (12/56), mercury and arsenic in 5.3% (3/56) were above the limit. Lead in 52.6% (10/19) of samples, cadmium in 26.3% (5/19) and mercury and arsenic contained in one herbometallic sample was above the limit. Heavy metals in all metal formulations were above the WHO limit. Significant batch variation was observed. The analytical results of flame AAS and ICP-MS did not differ significantly in the range of measurements in this study, which proves that both methods are satisfactory for estimation of heavy metals in these type of samples.     

Polychlorinated naphthalenes in foods: estimated dietary intake by the population of Catalonia,Spain

Concentrations of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) were measured in foodstuffs randomly acquired in seven cities of Catalonia, Spain. A total of 108 samples, belonging to 11 food groups (vegetables, tubers, fruits, cereals, pulses, fish and shellfish, meat and meat products, eggs, milk, dairy products, and oils and fats), were analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). The levels of tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and hepta-CNs, those of octachloronaphthalene, and the mean sum concentration of tetra-octa-CN were determined. The highest concentration of total PCNs was found in oils and fats (447 pg/g), followed by cereals (71 pg/g), fish and shellfish (39 pg/g), and dairy products (36 pg/g). In general, tetra-CN was the predominant homologue in all food groups except for fruits and pulses, which had greater proportions of hexa-CNs. The dietary intake of total PCNs was subsequently determined. For calculations, recent data on consumption of the selected food items were used. Intake of PCNs was estimated for five population groups of Catalonia: children, adolescents, male and female adults, and seniors. When the dietary intake of total PCNs was expressed in nanogram per kilogram of body weight per day, it was age-dependent, with the highest and lowest values corresponding to children (1.65) and seniors (0.54), respectively. The largest contribution to the daily PCNs intake came from oils and fats and from cereals. The result of the current study is the first published report concerning human exposure to PCNs through the diet.     

Feed intake,milk yield,and metabolic parameters prior to left displaced abomasum in dairy cows

As left-displaced abomasum (LDA) often occurs in cows with high contents of fat in the liver (fatty liver), a postpartum fatty liver-inducing regimen was applied to 16 cows. The main interest of the study was whether there were productive or metabolic changes in cows prior to LDA. Therefore, feed intake and milk production were monitored and blood samples were collected from the cows. The LDA occurred in 4 out of 16 dairy cows that were included in the feeding regimen. Compared to cows not developing LDA, LDA-cows had a significantly lower feed intake, 6.5 kg/d less, and milk production, 8 kg/d less, prior to clinical diagnosis of LDA. In the 10-d period preceding clinical diagnosis of LDA, blood concentrations of calcium, glucose, and insulin were significantly lower, whereas blood concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids and beta-hydroxybutyrate, as well as aspartate aminotransferase activities were significantly elevated compared to cows not developing LDA. These preclinical changes may play an important role in the pathogenesis of LDA. It is not certain, however, whether there is a causal association between these parameters and LDA.     

益生菌改善代谢综合症研究进展

益生菌是广泛应用于食品中的对人体健康有益的活的微生物。近年随着代谢综合征发病率逐年升高,越来越多的研究显示益生菌良好的改善代谢综合征的作用。肠道菌群失调与代谢综合征的发生发展密切相关,而益生菌则可逆转这种肠道菌群分布。动物实验和临床实验均显示,益生菌(尤其是乳杆菌和双歧杆菌),具有良好的改善代谢综合征的功效,表现出减肥、降血脂、降血压和降血糖等作用。研究显示益生菌通过抑制脂肪合成和加强脂肪分解,保护胰岛β细胞和提高胰岛素敏感性而加快葡萄糖转运,增加胆固醇转化和增加胆汁酸排出、释放血管紧张素转化酶抑制肽等途径发挥对代谢综合征的调节作用。本文就益生菌改善代谢综合征的研究进行综述,为益生菌在功能食品领域的进一步研发与利用提供参考。     

Relationship between yoghurt consumption and components of metabolic syndrome: A cross-sectional study in the west of Iran

The association between total, low-fat, and whole-fat yoghurt consumption with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components was assessed using a cross-sectional study for which 973 adults were selected using a randomised-multistage-cluster sampling method. Dietary intake was assessed using of a validated, 168 food-item, self-administrated, semi-quantitative food-frequency-questionnaire. Consumption (servings per week) of yoghurt among individuals with and without MetS were 4.5 ± 3.9, and 5.8 ± 5.9, respectively (p < 0.001), and for high-fat yoghurt were 2.1 ± 2.9, and 3.1 ± 5.8, respectively (p < 0.001). Yoghurt consumption was inversely associated with the risk of high triacylglycerol concentration after adjustment for confounders. After adjustment for potential confounders, by differentiation between low- and high-fat yoghurts, there was no significant association with MetS. However, low-fat yoghurt was significantly associated with abdominal adiposity and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG). Low-fat yoghurt consumption was associated with a lower risk of FPG and abdominal adiposity.     

Prostaglandin E synthase 2 (PTGES2) Arg298His polymorphism and parameters of the metabolic syndrome

The prostaglandin E synthase 2 (PTGES2) gene maps to a locus linked to obesity and is involved in the synthesis of the antilipolytic compound prostaglandin E(2). In a recent study, we found an association of the minor PTGES2 Arg298His allele and lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and Cooperative Health Research in the Augsburg Region (KORA) cohorts. Here, we employed our Metabolic Intervention Cohort Kiel (MICK) to assess the influence of the PTGES2 Arg298His polymorphism on a wider scale of parameters of the metabolic syndrome and postprandial metabolism. In comparison to subjects homozygous for the Arg allele, carriers of the His-allele showed significantly lower fasting insulin (geometric mean +/- SEM: 11.8 muU/mL, 11.41-12.25 versus 13.0, 12.71-13.33; p = 0.023), lower postprandial insulin levels after an oral glucose tolerance test (area under the curve 77.2, 74.07-80.52 versus 81.2, 78.8-83.63; p = 0.023) and lower homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-insulin-resistance (3.030, 2.909-3.157 versus 3.346, 3.257-3.438; p = 0.041) and HOMA-beta-cell-function (107.2, 104.04-110.52 versus 117.2, 114.65-119.71; p = 0.019). Adjustment for body mass index (BMI) resulted in a loss of these significant differences. BMI tended to show lower values in His-allele carriers, (p = 0.067). In conclusion, risk-reducing effects of the minor His allele of the PTGES2 Arg298His polymorphism could be mediated partly by lowered BMI.     

鮸鱼肌肉和副产物营养组成分析及评价

为分析淡水鱼不同部位中甘油三酯脂肪酸的含量与位置分布,本文以草鱼、青鱼、鲫鱼等淡水鱼为代表,经过固相萃取、专一性脂肪酶酶解,再利用气相色谱法测试了四个不同部位（头部、尾部、背部、内脏）中脂肪酸在甘油三酯Sn-1,2,3上的含量及位置分布。结果显示：三种淡水鱼共检测到21种脂肪酸,单不饱和脂肪酸（monounsaturated fatty acids,MUFAs）含量在29.58%~49.48%,除草鱼和青鱼内脏外,三种鱼类其余各部位甘油三酯Sn-1,3位置上MUFAs的含量显著高于Sn-2位（P<0.05）;多不饱和脂肪酸（polyunsaturated fatty acids,PUFAs）含量范围为17.51%~46.55%,除草鱼背、尾部以及青鱼头、内脏,其他样品中甘油三酯Sn-2位置上PUFAs的含量显著高于Sn-1,3位（P<0.05）;三种淡水鱼中,花生四烯酸（arachidonic acid,ARA）在甘油三酯上位置分布均匀,二十碳五烯酸（eicosapentaenoic acid,EPA）主要分布于Sn-1,3位上,二十二碳五烯酸（docosapentaenoic acid,DPA）和二十二碳六烯酸（docosahexaenoic acid,DHA）主要分布于Sn-2位上。因此,不同淡水鱼以及不同部位脂肪酸组成不同,相同脂肪酸在不同淡水鱼不同部位甘油三酯上的位置分布也存在差异。