Effects of dietary vegetable oils and varying dietary EPA and DHA levels on intestinal lipid accumulations in Atlantic salmon

High dietary content of vegetable oil (VO) has been associated with increased intestinal lipid accumulations in fish. The extent of this in aquacultured Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and its health effects are not certain. Samples were therefore collected from two separate feeding trials to investigate the effect of high dietary VO on intestinal lipid accumulations in Atlantic salmon. In the first trial, the fish were fed diets high in plant protein and with fish oil or ~80% of the fish oil replaced with either olive oil, rapeseed oil or soybean oil in a land‐based experimental set‐up. The second trial was performed in sea cages under commercial production conditions, and the fish were fed two dietary concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (9.7% or 5.5% EPA + DHA of total fatty acids). Neither dietary VO nor variations in EPA and DHA led to any significant effects on intestinal health or lipid accumulations. There were, however, indications of a delayed lipid transport in the rapeseed oil‐fed fish of the first trial, possibly caused by high dietary ≥18‐carbon fatty acids and low dietary 16:0 fatty acid and cholesterol.     

Impact of irrigation water quality on soil nitrifying and total bacterial communities

Disturbance induced by two contrasting irrigation regimes (groundwater versus urban wastewater) was evaluated on a sandy agricultural soil through chemical and microbial analyses. Contrary to wastewater, groundwater displayed very high nitrate contents but small amounts of ammonium and organic matter. Despite these strong compositional shifts, soil organic carbon and nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium contents were not significantly different in both types of irrigated plot. Moreover, neither microbial biomass nor its activity, determined as fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis activity, was influenced by irrigation regimes. Bacterial community structure, assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S ribosomal DNA fragments, was also weakly impacted as molecular fingerprints shared an overall similarity of 85%. Ammonia-oxidizing bacterial community (AOB) was monitored by DGGE of the functional molecular marker amoA gene (alpha subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase). Surprisingly, no amoA signals were obtained from plots irrigated with groundwater, whereas signal intensities were high in all plots under wastewater. Among the last, compositional shifts of the AOB community were weak. Overall, impact of irrigation water quality on soil chemistry could not be evidenced, whereas effects were low on the total bacterial compartment but marked on the AOB community.     

Diachronic (1979–2003) analysis of rice genetic diversity in Guinea did not reveal genetic erosion

Greater insight into the dynamics of genetic resources of crop plants is needed in order to pinpoint detrimental evolutionary patterns and draw up conservation priorities. Temporal evolution of rice genetic diversity was monitored in Maritime Guinea where subsistence-oriented agriculture prevails. Diachronic comparison was performed between samples collected in six villages during the 1979/1982-period and in 2003, based on the names and number of varieties inventoried and the polymorphism of microsatellite markers. The number of varieties appeared not to be comparable between the two dates, due to differences in the collection methods. The varietal composition had evolved very substantially between the two collection dates. Many long-duration varieties present in 1979/1982 had been abandoned and several improved varieties had been introduced. The mean number of alleles per locus and per accession was significantly higher in accessions collected in 2003. Pairwise comparisons of the mean number of alleles per locus in 1979/1982–2003 homonymous accession pairs indicated higher intra-accession diversity for the 2003 collections. Genetic differentiation, measured with the F _ST values, was very high and significant for more than 80% of these pairs of accessions. The overall genetic differentiation between accessions from the two collections dates was also significant. Significant changes were also observed for allelic composition. However, alleles specific of each collection date had much lower frequency, compared to alleles common to the two collection dates. These results suggest that rice genetic diversity in Maritime Guinea has been maintained or even enhanced. Old collections of crop genetic resources are often not exhaustive enough to undertake perfect diachronic comparison. New methods to utilize this historical data for diversity monitoring are needed.     

Aetiological factors and perception of anaemia in Tunisian women of reproductive age

OBJECTIVES: To identify aetiological factors in anaemia and to explore knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards anaemia. DESIGN: Two cross-sectional surveys and sixteen focus group discussions. SETTING: The two regions with the highest prevalence of anaemia in Tunisia, Greater Tunis (GT) and the South West (SW). SUBJECTS: Two representative samples of 687 (GT) and 729 (SW) women of reproductive age; 108 women were included in focus group discussions. RESULTS: Among anaemic women, 63.4% in the GT region and 80.2% in the SW displayed iron deficiency (ID). Genetic haemoglobinopathies accounted for 10.0% and 3.6% of the cases of anaemia in the two regions, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, the major factors for iron-deficiency anaemia were low dietary Fe intake (OR = 5.0, 95% CI 3.0, 8.4), drinking tea after eating (OR = 3.4, 95% CI 2.0, 5.7) and pica (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.1, 3.9). Most of the women related anaemia to the following causes: malnutrition, lack of hygiene, and their heavy workload and responsibilities in the household. Many women connected anaemia with hypotension. Few established a relationship between ID and anaemia. They had confidence in their doctor for treatment, but many complained they were not given sufficient information. Low dietary Fe intake, inappropriate food practices and inadequate perceptions contribute to the aetiology of anaemia in women. CONCLUSIONS: These results point out to the need for a strategy combining food fortification, Fe supplementation for pregnant women, nutritional education for the general public and at-risk specific target groups, and training of health professionals.     

Effect of pulsed-light treatment on milk proteins and lipids

Pulsed-light treatment offers the food industry a new technology for food preservation. It allows the inactivation of numerous micro-organisms including most infectious foodborne pathogens. In addition to microbial destruction, one can also question whether pulsed-light treatment induced conformational changes in food components. To investigate this question, the influence of pulsed-light treatment on protein components of milk was evaluated by using UV spectroscopy, spectrofluorometry, electrophoresis, and determination of amino acid composition. Pulsed-light treatment resulted in an increase of UV absorbance at 280 nm. The intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence of beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) showed a 7 nm red shift after 10 pulses. SDS-PAGE showed the formation of dimers after treatment of BLG by 5 pulses and more. No significant changes in the amino acid composition of proteins and lipid oxidation were observed after pulsed-light treatment. The obtained results indicated changes in the polarity of the tryptophanyl residue microenvironment of BLG solutions or changes in the tryptophan indole structure and some aggregation of studied proteins. Hence, pulsed-light treatment did not lead to very significant changes in protein components; consequently, it could be applied to process protein foods for their better preservation.     

Formation of lipid oxidation and isomerization products during processing of nuts and sesame seeds

The aim of the present study was to quantify some nutritional and safety quality parameter changes that take place in nuts (roasting) and sesame seeds (dehulling, roasting, milling, and sterilization) during processing. Such evaluation was based on chemical analysis of various indicators of lipid alteration in raw and processed pistachios, almonds, peanuts, and tahina. Lipid oxidation was assessed by the evolution of lipid oxidation products including hydroperoxides, p-anisidine, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, as well as carboxymethyllysine (CML) and trans fatty acids (tFAs). All these parameters were significantly affected by the different processing stages, especially by roasting and sterilization (tahina). Nut roasting and sesame heat treatment increased the primary (hydroperoxides) and secondary (aldehydic compounds) lipid oxidation products, with the p-anisidine value reaching 6-11.5 and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances 3-5 mg/kg (equiv of malondialdehyde) in the different end products. In addition, roasting led to the formation of CML (between 12.7 and 17.7 ng/mg) and tFAs (between 0.6 and 0.9 g/100 g) in nuts and tahina, which were absent in the raw material. Roasting parameters appear as the critical factor to control to limit the CML and tFA formation in the final product.     

Quantification of alkylresorcinol metabolites in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with coulometric electrode array detection

This study presents the optimization and validation of a rapid protocol for quantifying alkyresorcinol (AR) metabolites 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA) and 3-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-propanoic acid (DHPPA) in plasma, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a coulometric electrode array detector. Syringic acid (SyrA) serves as the internal standard. The new method is simple and could be used in large epidemiological studies. The summed AR metabolite concentrations measured in plasma correlate significantly with the summed urinary AR metabolite concentrations (R = 0.613; p < 0.001) and with the summed intact AR (C17:0-C25:0) concentrations in plasma (R = 0.686; p < 0.001). Additional investigation is needed to clarify whether the two plasma AR metabolites are useful as biomarkers of whole-grain intake and helpful in the exploration of the association between whole-grain cereal intake and human diseases.     

Antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties of marennine, a blue-green polyphenolic pigment from the diatom Haslea ostrearia (Gaillon/Bory) Simonsen responsible for the natural greening of cultured oysters

Among microalgae, the marine diatom Haslea ostrearia has the distinctive feature of synthesizing and releasing, into the surrounding environment, a blue-green polyphenolic pigment called marennine. The oyster-breeding industry commonly makes use of this natural phenomenon for the greening of oysters grown in the ponds of the French Atlantic coast. This article reports the in vitro antioxidant properties of pure marennine. Two kinds of evaluation systems were adopted to test the antioxidative activity of marennine: antioxidant capacity assays (beta-carotene and thymidine protection assays and iron reducing power assay) and free radical scavenging assays (DPPH*, O2*-, and HO*). In almost all cases, marennine exhibited significantly higher antioxidative and free radical scavenging activities than natural and synthetic antioxidants commonly used in food, as shown by comparing median effective concentration (EC 50) values, for each test independently. This medium molecular weight polyphenol (around 10 kDa) from microalgae is thus a potentially useful natural antioxidant. Because of its blue-coloring property and water solubility, it could also be used as a natural food-coloring additive.     

Use of digestate as an alternative to mineral fertilizer: effects on growth and crop quality

Nowadays, the recycling of organic wastes represents a key factor for improving soil and crop quality with socio-economic and environmental benefits. In recent years, the production of digestate significantly increased with a crescent need to be sustainable disposal. The use of digestate as soil amendment has been widely studied but few researches evaluated the digestate effects on crop quality. Since it has been proven that digestate increased soil fertility, we hypothesized that it could increase crop quality as organic fertilizers do. To verify this hypothesis, we analyzed the effects of two digestates on Cucumber quality. Cucumber was chosen because it is an important old crop used worldwide as fresh food, and in cosmetic and pharmaceutic industries. Results showed that digestates increased its content of phenols and flavonoids with antioxidant activity. Neohesperidine and hesperitin with well-known antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties as well as naringin and narirutin with the power of reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular complications were manifested only in digestate amended cucumbers. These results highlighted the potentiality of digestates not only as crop growth promoter but also as phytochemical inducers representing a good option for the production of high-quality food with reduced chemical mineral fertilizer inputs.