VARIATION IN THE SELENIUM CONTENT OF INDIVIDUAL BRAZIL NUTS

Brazil nuts are high in selenium content relative to other human foods. Since the limits between human selenium essentiality and toxicity are narrow, it is important to know the variation in selenium content of individual nuts. Analysis was performed on 72 individual nuts obtained in stores as shelled nuts in bulk and shelled and unshelled nuts in packages. Their average selenium content was 14.66 ppm with a range of 0.2 to 253.0. The agronomic and health aspects of these findings are discussed.     

Brazil nuts and associated health benefits: A review

Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse relationship between nut intakes and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The composition of lipids, minerals, and phytochemicals, and their associated health functions in Brazil nuts are critically reviewed. The nuts have high nutritive food value containing 60–70% oil and 17% protein. Brazil nuts contain abundant dietary antioxidants, especially selenium (Se). One single Brazil nut provides 160% of the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of selenium - perhaps the best source of Se from plant-based foods. Brazil nuts possess phenolics and flavonoids in both free and bound forms and are rich in tocopherol, phytosterols, and squalene. These compounds' possible beneficial effects are due to their antioxidant and antiproliferative activities, which are linked to a reduced risk for developing atherosclerosis and cancer.     

Tolerance of the preruminant calf for selenium in milk replacer

Calves were fed skim milk powder-based milk replacer containing either .2, 1, 3, 5, or 10 ppm selenium (added as sodium selenate) in the dry matter from 3 to 45 d of age to estimate the lowest amount of dietary selenium that would reduce calf performance and feed utilization. Only at the highest selenium (10 ppm) did calves show reduced average daily gain and feed efficiency and lower blood packed cell volume. Apparent digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen, and lipid, and plasma creatine phosphokinase activity were not affected by any of the selenium intakes. In general, selenium in blood, bile, duodenal mucosa, liver, kidney, and muscle reflected selenium intakes with liver and kidney reaching the highest selenium concentrations. Postmortem examinations of calves revealed no gross abnormalities for any of the selenium treatments. The preruminant calf is very tolerant of high inorganic selenium concentrations in skim milk powder-based milk replacer.     

One-step multiplex PCR method for the determination of pecan and Brazil nut allergens in food products

BACKGROUND: A one‐step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the simultaneous detection of the major allergens of pecan and Brazil nuts was developed. Primer pairs for the amplification of partial sequences of genes encoding the allergens were designed and tested for their specificity on a range of food components. RESULTS: The targeted amplicon size was 173 bp of Ber e 1 gene of Brazil nuts and 72 bp of vicilin‐like seed storage protein gene in pecan nuts. The primer pair detecting the noncoding region of the chloroplast DNA was used as the internal control of amplification. The intrinsic detection limit of the PCR method was 100 pg mL^?1 pecan or Brazil nuts DNA. The practical detection limit was 0.1% w/w (1 g kg^?1). The method was applied for the investigation of 63 samples with the declaration of pecans, Brazil nuts, other different nut species or nuts generally. In 15 food samples pecans and Brazil nuts allergens were identified in the conformity with the food declaration. CONCLUSION: The presented multiplex PCR method is specific enough and can be used as a fast approach for the detection of major allergens of pecan or Brazil nuts in food. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of excess iron in milk replacer on calf performance

Milk replacers containing 100, 500, 1000, 2000, or 5000 ppm iron were fed to 3-d-old calves for 6 wk to estimate the lowest amount of dietary iron (added as ferrous sulfate) that would reduce calf performance. Calves tolerated all iron treatments except 5000 ppm. At this intake calves showed reduced weight gains, DM intake, feed efficiency, and digestibility of DM and protein. There were no other signs of iron toxicity and no gross abnormalities were found on postmortem examination. Percent of dietary iron in feces increased with higher dietary iron and ranged from 65 to 84%. Elevated iron intakes caused relatively small increases in iron concentration of blood plasma, bile, kidney, heart, and muscle but marked increased in spleen and liver iron, particularly in liver for the 2000 and 5000 ppm treatments. At 100 ppm iron intake, nonheme iron in liver, spleen, and kidney was composed of similar proportions of ferritin and hemosiderin, but at 5000 ppm iron intake, hemosiderin predominated in these tissues. Thus, the preruminant calf tolerated between 2000 and 5000 ppm iron in milk replacer. At toxic iron intake, calf performance and feed efficiency were reduced; there was a characteristic change to higher liver than spleen iron; and hemosiderin became the predominant iron storage compound in both tissues.     

Determination of aflatoxin risk components for in-shell Brazil nuts

A study was conducted on the risk from aflatoxins associated with the kernels and shells of Brazil nuts. Samples were collected from processing plants in Amazonia, Brazil. A total of 54 test samples (40?kg) were taken from 13 in-shell Brazil nut lots ready for market. Each in-shell sample was shelled and the kernels and shells were sorted in five fractions: good kernels, rotten kernels, good shells with kernel residue, good shells without kernel residue, and rotten shells, and analysed for aflatoxins. The kernel?:?shell ratio mass (w/w) was 50.2/49.8%. The Brazil nut shell was found to be contaminated with aflatoxin. Rotten nuts were found to be a high-risk fraction for aflatoxin in in-shell Brazil nut lots. Rotten nuts contributed only 4.2% of the sample mass (kg), but contributed 76.6% of the total aflatoxin mass (µg) in the in-shell test sample. The highest correlations were found between the aflatoxin concentration in in-shell Brazil nuts samples and the aflatoxin concentration in all defective fractions (R ^2?=?0.97). The aflatoxin mass of all defective fractions (R ^2?=?0.90) as well as that of the rotten nut (R ^2?=?0.88) were also strongly correlated with the aflatoxin concentration of the in-shell test samples. Process factors of 0.17, 0.16 and 0.24 were respectively calculated to estimate the aflatoxin concentration in the good kernels (edible) and good nuts by measuring the aflatoxin concentration in the in-shell test sample and in all kernels, respectively.     

坚果的主要生物活性成分及其保健作用

坚果作为高档零食,其营养价值和保健功能也越来越受到人们的关注?本论文综述了常见坚果(如澳洲坚果、核桃、榛子、杏仁、松子、板栗、山核桃、开心果,日本核桃、巴西坚果、花生等)中的酚类(原花青素、酚酸、黄酮、单宁、烷基酚、维生素E等)?酸类?甾醇类、色素(类胡萝卜素、叶绿素等)、硒、糖苷、功能性脂肪酸等营养物质和生物活性成分,并阐述了食用坚果与预防心血管疾病?延年益寿?预防糖尿病?控制体重等保健作用的关系?这对于进一步研究坚果与健康的关系、正确挑选与消费坚果均具有较好的指导意义。     

Glutathione peroxidase activity, and content of total and soluble selenium in five bovine and porcine organs used in meat production

Glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity, and total and soluble selenium content were compared in five bovine and porcine organs. The highest GSHPx activity in porcine tissues was found in the liver (35.0 U/g), spleen (29.3 U/g) and kidney (27.3 U/g) with much lower values in the heart (1.8 U/g) and diaphragm (0.8 U/g). A different pattern with lower inter-organ variation in GSHPx activity was observed in cattle: kidney (8.5 U/g), spleen (8.0 U/g), heart (5.8 U/g), liver (4.0 U/g) and diaphragm (2.1 U/g). The total selenium content was similar in both species with the highest content in the kidney (1764 and 1665 ng/g; pig/bovine), followed by liver (533 and 307 ng/g), spleen (370 and 284 ng/g), heart (201 and 205 ng/g) and diaphragm (144 and 116 ng/g). The percentage of soluble selenium varied more among the pig organs (46–94%) than among bovine organs (61–75%). The results show a marked variation in the activity of the selenium-containing GSHPx among organs and species in spite of a similar rank order of selenium content in the two species. Since GSHPx has a role in food stability and the intake of selenium is marginal in many European countries, the results add to the background information concerning the use of selenium rich organs as human foods.     

Pesticide residues in foodstuffs in Great Britain. X. Bromide residues in maize, pulses and nuts

Results are presented for the determination of bromide residues in maize, in pulses and in four types of nuts sampled on arrival in British ports mostly during the five years up to June 1968. in the maize, which had been fumigated in the ships' holds before export, 75 % of the 155 samples examined contained less than 50 ppm but some contained more than 200 ppm. the problems of fumigating bulk maize and the extent to which variations in bromide residue are evened out during grain handling operations in the port granary are discussed. the samples of pulses generally contained less than 50 ppm but some samples of haricot beans contained more than 100 ppm. Out of 164 samples of groundnuts from 11 countries only one contained more than 200 ppm. Those containing more than 100 ppm came from countries in which nuts are sometimes fumigated more than once. None of the walnuts or almonds examined contained more than 100 ppm but two samples of Brazil nuts had more than this. Results are also presented for the increase in bromide residue after the fumigation of consignments in Britain and the reasons for the wide variations observed are discussed.     

A 90-D Toxicity Study of Monascus-Fermented Products Including High Citrinin Level

Abstract: Monascus is one of the traditional fermentation fungi and has been used in many kinds of food for thousands of years. Although Monascus-fermented red mold rice performs cholesterol-lowering effects, blood pressure-lowing effects, and antioxidant effects, another metabolite, nephrotoxic and hepatotoxic citrinin, causes the concerns for safety. Various citrinin concentrations (1, 2, 10, 20, and 200 ppm) in the red mold rice are, respectively, estimated for safe use in animal tests. According to the results of serum biochemistry assays of liver and kidney in each group, citrinin did not reveal any nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, the results of histopathological slices of liver and kidney in each group did not show any significant differences from control histopathological findings. As a result, we presume that citrinin concentrations in Monascus-fermented products within 200 ppm will not affect the functions of liver and kidney or cause any nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. According to safety factor, it is proposed that 2 ppm citrinin in Monascus-fermented products may be a safe concentration.     

Influence of Selenium-Supplemented Torula Yeast Diets on Liver-Mediated Mutagenicity of Aflatoxin B1

To determine the effect of dietary selenium on the mutagenicity of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed rat chow or Torula yeast diets supplemented with 0.0, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 ppm Se as Na₂SeO₃, and the 9000 ×g liver supernatants were used in Salmonella/microsome mutagenesis assays. The rats were fed on the diets for 4 wk and, prior to killing, half the rats in each group received 80 mg phenobarbital/kg body weight in their drinking water for four consecutive days. Phenobarbital administration tended to increase the mutagenicity of AFB₁ in all dietary treatment groups. This increase was significant only in the chow-fed groups, however. Addition of selenium to the basal diet produced no significant effect on liver-mediated mutagenicity. The liver preparation from chow-fed animals which had received phenobarbital produced the highest mutagenicity of the samples tested.     

A novel real-time polymerase chain reaction method for the detection of macadamia nuts in food

A real-time PCR-based method for the detection of macadamia nuts (fruits of Macadamia integrifolia or M. tetraphylla or their hybrids) in food products is described. The method consists of DNA isolation by chaotropic solid phase extraction and subsequent PCR with macadamia-specific primers and a TaqMan fluorescent probe. The primers and the probe were targeted to the gene encoding for vicilin precursor. The method was positive for M. integrifolia and M. tetraphylla and negative for 16 other plant species used in food industry, including peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, and chestnuts. The DNA-based detection limit of the method was 1.45 pg. Using a series of model samples with defined macadamia nut contents, a practical detection limit of 0.02% (w/w) macadamia nuts was determined. Practical applicability of the PCR method was tested by the analysis of 14 confectionery samples. For all of the samples, results conforming to the labeling were obtained. The presented PCR method is useful for relatively fast, highly selective, and moderately sensitive detection of macadamia nuts in food samples.     

Critical points of Brazil nuts: a beginning for food safety,quality control and Amazon sustainability

BACKGROUND: One difficulty of self‐sustainability is the quality assurance of native products. This research was designed to study the risks and critical control points in the collection, handling and marketing of Brazil nuts from native forests and urban fairs in the Brazilian Amazon by characterisation of morphological aspects of fungi and posterior identification by molecular biology and determination of aflatoxins by high‐performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Several corrective actions to improve product quality were found to be necessary in both sites. Growth of fungi was observed in 95% of fragments of Brazil nuts from both sites during the between‐harvest period. Aflatoxin levels indicated that, although fungal growth was observed in both sites, only Brazil nuts from the native forest showed a high risk to human health (total aflatoxin level of 471.69 µg kg^?1). CONCLUSION: This study has shown the main issues related to the process design of Brazil nuts, supporting the necessity for research on new strategies to improve the quality of nuts. Also, the habit of eating Brazil nuts stored throughout the year may represent a risk to farmers. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Improvement of a sample preparation procedure for multi-elemental determination in Brazil nuts by ICP-OES

Various sample preparation procedures, such as common wet digestions and alternatives based on solubilisation in aqua regia or tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, were compared for the determination of the total Ba, Ca, Cr, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, Se, Sr and Zn contents in Brazil nuts using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). For measurement of Se, a hydride generation technique was used. The performance of these procedures was measured in terms of precision, accuracy and limits of detection of the elements. It was found that solubilisation in aqua regia gave the best results, i.e. limits of detection from 0.60 to 41.9 ng ml^?1, precision of 1.0–3.9% and accuracy better than 5%. External calibration with simple standard solutions could be applied for the analysis. The proposed procedure is simple, reduces sample handling, and minimises the time and reagent consumption. Thus, this can be a vital alternative to traditional sample treatment approaches based on the total digestion with concentrated reagents. A phenomenon resulting from levels of Ba, Se and Sr in Brazil nuts was also discussed.     

Predominant mycobiota and aflatoxin content in Brazil nuts

The Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) is an economically important product to the Brazilian Amazon. Currently, its marketing is being affected by the high incidence of aflatoxins (AF) produced by potentially aflatoxigenic fungi associated with its seeds. In this context, the purpose of this study was to determine which part of the nut contributes to contamination by aflatoxins and to identify the mycobiota in Brazil nut samples. Unshelled and shelled nuts were analyzed by measuring the total count of filamentous fungi (Aspergillus sections Flavi, Nigri and Circumdati) in sanitised and non-sanitised treatments. The isolates identified as Aspergillus section Flavi, the major producers of AF, were plated for determination of their aflatoxigenic potential. To perform the AF analysis, samples of Brazil nuts were treated separately. The AF from the shell and kernel were extracted by chloroform and analysed by the HPLC-FD system in isocratic mode. The Aspergillus section Flavi count was 21.67% lower. The production of AF by the isolated fungi was 30% for sanitised and 23.8% for non-sanitised samples. The concentrations obtained of AFB₁ and AFG₁ were higher than those of AFB₂ and AFG₂. The AFB₁ concentrations of shelled nuts and shell samples were 35.0 and 1.78 μg/kg, respectively. AFB₂ and AFG₂ were detected only in shelled nut samples. The HPLC-FD analysis presented limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of 0.2 and 0.4 μg/kg, respectively.     

Active edible coatings with Boldo extract added and their application on nut products: reducing the oxidative rancidity rate

Brazil and Cashew nuts were coated with pure (gelatin, chitosan, sodium caseinate) or blended (gelatin:chitosan, gelatin:sodium caseinate) coating solutions, with and without Boldo‐of‐Chile extract. Brazil nuts exhibited lower moisture content (1.6%) and higher fat content (56.5%) when compared to Cashew nuts (4.7% and 45.5%, respectively). Similar content (≈37.0%) of oleic and linoleic fatty acids was displayed by Brazil nuts, in contrast to Cashew nuts, which showed 64.9% of oleic and 17.5% of linoleic fatty acids. Sodium caseinate solution displayed higher instability index, which was significantly reduced when using gelatin. Coating thickness (20 μm) of the nuts was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy analysis. A lower transmission rate of oxygen was observed in blended films with Boldo extract. Lastly, due to the oxygen barrier effect and the addition of Boldo extract, the coatings protected Brazil and Cashew nuts against oxidation, when compared with the unprotected samples, during 120 days of storage.     

Determination of aflatoxin risk components for in-shell Brazil nuts

A study was conducted on the risk from aflatoxins associated with the kernels and shells of Brazil nuts. Samples were collected from processing plants in Amazonia, Brazil. A total of 54 test samples (40 kg) were taken from 13 in-shell Brazil nut lots ready for market. Each in-shell sample was shelled and the kernels and shells were sorted in five fractions: good kernels, rotten kernels, good shells with kernel residue, good shells without kernel residue, and rotten shells, and analysed for aflatoxins. The kernel:shell ratio mass (w/w) was 50.2/49.8%. The Brazil nut shell was found to be contaminated with aflatoxin. Rotten nuts were found to be a high-risk fraction for aflatoxin in in-shell Brazil nut lots. Rotten nuts contributed only 4.2% of the sample mass (kg), but contributed 76.6% of the total aflatoxin mass (μg) in the in-shell test sample. The highest correlations were found between the aflatoxin concentration in in-shell Brazil nuts samples and the aflatoxin concentration in all defective fractions (R(2)=0.97). The aflatoxin mass of all defective fractions (R(2)=0.90) as well as that of the rotten nut (R(2)=0.88) were also strongly correlated with the aflatoxin concentration of the in-shell test samples. Process factors of 0.17, 0.16 and 0.24 were respectively calculated to estimate the aflatoxin concentration in the good kernels (edible) and good nuts by measuring the aflatoxin concentration in the in-shell test sample and in all kernels, respectively.     

Biological utilization of insect infested wheat stored in different storage structures

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) was stored in jute bag, peru, metal bin and polyethylene bag for 6 months. Infested wheat was fed to the rats for 40 days. Effect of incorporation of uninfested and infested wheat stored in different storage structure on feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency ratio (FER), protein efficiency ratio (PER), biological value (BV), true protein digestibility (TPD), net protein utilization (NPU), net protein ratio (NPR) and weight of liver, kidney and spleen was observed. Inclusion of insect infested wheat stored in different storage structure had significant (P > 0.05) effect on the biological utilization of wheat protein. Diets prepared from wheat stored in jute bag and peru had significantly higher insect infestation which resulted in lower values for feed intake, weight gain, FER, PER, BV, TPD, NPU, NPR. Weight of liver, kidney and spleen also decreased as compared to the control diets and the diets prepared from wheat stored in metal bin and polyethylene bags.     

Correlation between sensory and chemical markers in the evaluation of Brazil nut oxidative shelf-life

Sensory analysis is one of the most suitable processes for measuring oxidative damage and determining the shelf-life of nuts, but it is an expensive and time-consuming methodology. Thus, our objective was to correlate sensory data and chemical markers obtained during the accelerated oxidation of Brazil nuts and to determine the chemical parameters values associated with the sensory shelf-life of the nuts as established by the consumers. Brazil nuts were kept at 80 °C for 21 days. At intervals of 2 days, the oxidized odor of the samples was analyzed by nine trained panelists using a discriminative scale, and the oil was extracted to quantify the chemical parameters. A high (r > 0.95) and significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between the sensory data and the hydroperoxide concentration (PV), para-anisidine value (pAV), hexanal content, and α- and γ-tocopherol concentrations. When compared with fresh samples, sensory identification of oxidized odor occurred on the 4th day, noticeably earlier than changes in chemical markers (12th day). Consumers rejected the nuts after 12 days of storage, which corresponded to PV = 18.8 meq kg⁻¹ oil, pAV = 7.68, hexanal = 48.95 μmol 100 g⁻¹ oil, α-tocopherol = 15.01 mg kg⁻¹ oil, and γ + β-tocopherol = 73.88 mg kg⁻¹ oil. Our study suggests that simple spectrometric methods, such as PV and pAV, can be used to estimate the oxidative shelf-life of nuts based on sensory analysis.     

Microbiological and aflatoxin evaluation of Brazil nut pods and the effects of unit processing operations

Harvesting of Brazil nuts not only helps to preserve the Amazon rainforest but also provides income to individuals who would otherwise have little means of making a livelihood. Recently, the European Community has tightened the quality requirements for Brazil nuts, particularly with regard to aflatoxin levels and microbiological contamination. The objectives of this research were to gain a better understanding of the origin of aflatoxins on Brazil nuts and to microbiologically evaluate some of the operations involved in processing. In this regard, five Brazil nut pods were aseptically picked from trees located in each of three concessions of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest (Madre de Dios province). The exteriors of the pods and the nuts were examined for yeast and molds, including Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, and for bacteria, including Salmonella and Escherichia coli. Brazil nuts obtained from various commercial process operations located in Peru were similarly evaluated. Exteriors of all Brazil nut pods did not contain A. parasiticus, and only pods from one concession yielded A. flavus isolates. All isolates tested were aflatoxigenic (630 to 915 ppb total aflatoxin). Coliforms, E. coli, and salmonellae were not recovered from any of the pods. Whole, in-shell nuts obtained after opening the pods yielded no A. flavus or A. parasiticus. Aflatoxins were not detected (detection limit 1.75 ppb) in any of the nuts. Whole, in-shell and shelled nuts from various process operations were all positive for A. flavus but negative for E. coli and salmonellae. Soaking of whole, in-shell nuts before cracking or shelling increased coliform numbers, whereas levels of A. flavus decreased. In order to gain a better understanding of the sanitary performance of the unit process operations, additional evaluations should be conducted on product lots processed on different days. Also, the microbiology of product processed from common lots should be followed through the various unit operations and compared.