Functional foods are foods that have a potentially positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. Proponents of functional foods say they promote optimal health and help reduce the risk of disease. Functional foods range from cereals and bars enriched with folic acid to your average tomato or cup of green tea, while nutraceuticals are more commonly sold in pill form. The level of consumption of the food that is required to achieve a beneficial effect on health is an important consideration. In particular, it should be possible to achieve the required level of intake of the functional food or ingredient within normal dietary patterns. Often, a food is termed functional because it contains a high amount of phytochemicals. These natural, active plant chemicals have been found to boost health. Phytochemicals are plentiful in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, soy foods, and many herbs and spices (parsley, chives, garlic and ginger). The presence of antioxidants in a food is another reason it can be termed “functional”. Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C, E, and the mineral selenium, work to destroy harmful particles in the blood that can lead to heart problems and other complications. Examples of foods with antioxidants include tea (catechins), wine or grape juice (resveratrol), berries (flavonoids such as quercetin), and maple syrup and citrus foods (flavonoids/limonoids). Functional foods may provide benefits in health terms, but should not be seen as an alternative to a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. In order to maximize health and wellbeing, Functional foods do not provide a miracle solution to health problems but may be useful to some people as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. Examples of functional foods that have hormonal effects, especially on sex hormones, are maple syrup, where it was found to be the administration of fortified meal with maple syrup (especially, at higher concentration 20 ml followed 10 ml) improved the primarily at the sperm parameters, hormones parameters level and activities of antioxidant enzymes that may be due to effect of sodium valproate on endocrine function in male rats. The high amount of phenolic and flavonoid compounds is likely to be responsible for the higher antioxidant activity of the maple syrup.

We will first of all start with a histolocal reminder of the membrane of the G.I.T and its constituents. Then we will discuss the G.I.T as an immunological barrier = the G.A.L.T. We will then pass onto the consequences of civilization diseases( intolerences,allergies,M.I.C …..) next we will talk about the immune response, the differentiation of lymphocytes, the secretion of IgA, Autoimmune diseases, the interest of prebiotics and probiotics, the relationship which exists between the Probiotics and the immunity. And for the conclusion: « Capital importance of the proper functioning of the G.I.T for the wellbeing of our patients.

The main purpose of packaging is to protect the packed products from the contamination, maintain the high quality level of the products over sufficient period during the distribution, storage, sale, and use. Products especially perishable foods are highly sensitive to oxygen. However, conventional transparent plastic films have poor oxygen barrier property and the technologies in the market to improve packaging’s oxygen barrier usually lead to high equipment investment, high energy consumption, and low transparency. To overcome this issue, two technologies have been developed by our group. For the first transparent oxygen-barrier packaging technology, natural source silicates have been successfully introduced into polymer layer to create torturous path of oxygen molecules to enhance its barrier against oxygen. The key technology here is to align all the plate-like silicate filler in one orientation. As shown in the cross-section view of the oxygen-barrier coating on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the plate-like silicate filler form a compact layer with high orientation on the PET film, which is simply implemented via standard doctor-blade coating process (Figure 1). With this technology, transparent polymer films with oxygen transmission rate less than 0.5 cc/m².day have been achieved. With the second technology, iron-based nanomaterials with high oxygen scavenging property have been developed and integrated into coating suspension to form transparent coating on plastic film. Such transparent coated films can achieve oxygen scavenging capacity about 8.8 cc/100 cm² and the transparency is not compromised much.

Aim: To compare the effect of 3-hourly (3-h) versus 2-hourly (2-h) feeding schedules on time to reach full feeds in neonates weighing less than 1500 grams.

Materials and Methods: This was a randomized trial conducted in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit, Surya Children’s Hospital Mumbai, India. We enrolled 120 preterm neonates with birth weights of 501 to 1500 g. The neonates were divided into 2 strata based on birth weight: 501 to 1000 g and 1001 to 1500 g. The neonates were randomized into 2 orogastric feeding schedules: 8 or 12 feeds (3-h or 2-h schedules, depending upon randomization), and a uniform feeding protocol was followed. Analysis was performed using the intention-to-treat principle. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi-square test. Continuous measures between groups were compared using 2-sample t test or Mann Whitney U test as appropriate. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21 software. P <0.05 was considered significant. Primary outcome measures were time (in days) to reach full feeds (defined as tolerance of 150 mL/kg/d of feeds for at least 48 h). Secondary outcome measures were time (in days) to attain birth weight; time (in days) to discharge; weight, length, and head circumference at discharge; incidence of feed intolerance, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), Intravascular hemorrhage (IVH), screen-positive sepsis, culture-positive sepsis, hypoglycemia, apnea, jaundice and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), duration of total parental nutrition (TPN) and nursing; and mortality.

Results: A total of 215 neonates were assessed for eligibility, of which 95 were excluded. Hence, 120 neonates were enrolled in the trial. There was no significant difference in time (in days) to reach full feeds in the 2-h versus 3-h groups (9.53 ± 4.26 v/s 9.85 ± 5.48; P = 0.73). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in most of the secondary outcomes. However the total time spent per day in feeding was significantly lesser in the 3-h feeding schedule group (P = 0.04). Subgroup analysis revealed that among the neonates in the lower birth weight strata (501 to 1000 gms), those fed 2 hourly reached full feeds earlier compared with those fed 3-hourly (2-h group: 11.24 ± 2.88 d vs 3-h group: 14.14 ± 4.98 d; P = .041).

Conclusions: There was no significant difference in time to reach full feeds in all the neonates, irrespective of whether they were fed 2-h or 3-h. However, neonates < 1000 g reached full feeds earlier when fed more frequently (2-h feeding schedule).

 

Nami (Dioscorea hispida Dennst) is an underutilized tuber because of its inherent high alkaloids and hydrogen cyanide composition, and low protein content. Due to the drawbacks and limitations of this tuber, this study aimed to utilize detoxified nami flour in cookie processing and fortified it with protein using different types of legume flour. A 2, 3 Simplex Lattice Design was used to determine the optimum combination of composite flour of soybean, mung bean, and white bean that would enrich the protein content of nami cookies.  The optimum protein-enriched nami cookie showed a level of 61.7% soybean flour, 25.53% white bean flour and 12.77% mung bean flour providing at least 12.1% protein at the price of ₱6.9/ 40g pack. Particularly, each 40-gram serving will also provide 13.2% of the total recommended energy intake (RENI) and 51% of the recommended protein requirement of children aged 4-6 years. Ultimately, consumer preference test showed that the optimum product can fairly compete in the market compared with non-altered ingredient cookies.

A nutraceutical is considered to be food or part of a food that has medical or health benefit, including the prevention and treatment of disease. It is essential to optimize formulations to provide the optimal benefit to humans. The present study deals with the development of suitable dosage forms for poorly water-soluble nutraceutical. Resveratrol (RES) is a poorly water-soluble drug and its oral bioavailability is very low. A new self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) has been successfully developed to improve the solubility and oral absorption of RES. Suitable compositions of SMEDDS formulation were screened via solubility studies of RES. The optimal formulation of SMEDDS was comprised of 1:2.3 ratio of oil (caprylic capric triglycerides) and surfactant (Cremorphor RH 40). The solubility of RES (47.5 mg/g) significantly increased in SMEDDS. The self-microemulsifying liquid containing RES was adsorbed into colloidal silicon dioxide, mixed with HPMC, gas generating agent (sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid), lactose and micro crystalline cellulose and transformed into tablets by direct compression. Theoptimized tablet formulation showed a controlled release of RES over and 12 h period.

The most powerful antioxidant in your body designed to protect you from over 100 chronic illnesses. Your body produces its own antioxidants, including Glutathione to combat free radicals. However, as you age, your body’s production of Glutathione begins to rapidly decrease starting in your mid-20’s. While popular theory suggests that you can consume supplements that contain Glutathione, this is much less effective since Glutathione, when consumed, is too easily oxidized in the digestive system and therefore, resistant to being absorbed. The most effective method to help the body kick start production of its own Glutathione from within is to deliver precursor amino acids in the optimal ratios that are needed as the key building blocks. Recognizing the significant benefits of these amino acids, Vísi has now created the product, Immunití, with the optimal ratio of the amino acids plus the vital phytonutrients in its Arctic Immunití Blend (AI Blend). The Problem: free radicals are the biggest enemy of your body Every day, your cells are being attacked by free radicals that naturally occur in our environment from such things as air pollution, first- and second-hand cigarette smoke, stress, exercise, alcohol, radiation, and more. These attacks make your cells susceptible to weakness and mutation. Science has shown that free radicals lead to inflammation which leads to virtually every chronic illness, premature aging, and a feeble immune system. The Solution: Immunití’s Glutathione builder and other phytonutrients found in Immunití, help protect your cells from damage and can actually reverse the harmful effects of free radicals.