Casey R. Johnson

Phenotyping Nutritional and Antinutritional Traits

Evolution of nutrient-rich food systems to calorie-focused production agriculture has created serious agricultural and human health issues: marginalization of traditional agricultural crops, greater dependence of agricultural inputs, and creation of both energy and micronutrient malnutrition. To date more than half of global human populations are suffering numerous health problems associated with excess calories and lack of essential micronutrients. Pulse crops, in particular lentils, are promising crops not only to improve human health but also to reduce agricultural inputs toward greater agricultural sustainability. In this book chapter, human micronutrient malnutrition issues, suggestions to reduce micronutrient deficiencies, promise of pulse crops using lentil as an example, lentil’s micronutrient and antinutrient profiles, nutrient analytical procedures, and the needs to shift our thinking from calorie-focused to nutrient-focused approaches are also presented.

Rice, Wheat and Maize Biofortification

Cereals are the major energy source for humans throughout the world and hold a prominent position in a balanced diet to meet up carbohydrate demand of the body. Most of the cereals are deficient in micronutrient and vitamins and continuous dependency on cereal based diets resulted in human malnutrition. Biofortification is a novel concept defined as the enrichment of micronutrients through conventional plant breeding and modern biotechnology. In this post genomic era, an enormous amount of genetic information is available for staple food crops. This genetic information could be used to improve nutritional quality of the staple food crops to provide nutritional requirements. During last few decades, cereal biofortification research has been significantly contributed to reduce malnutrition around the world. Knowledge of precise phenotyping and genetics of the traits are prerequisite before starting of a genetic biofortification program. The inheritance of major micronutrients and vitamins in rice, wheat and maize were reported to be polygenic and in most of the cases the quantitative trait loci were mapped in the genome. A few commercial cereal cultivars are developed so far using genetic biofortification technique. The ongoing biofortification programs are more competitive as newer perspective of food matrix came into picture. In this article we reviewed an overview of current global cereal biofortification efforts, global malnutrition issues, and the promise of biotechnology techniques to improve cereals as a whole food solution to combat global malnutrition issues.

Disparities in rural-vs-urban achievement of millennium development goals in Cambodia: implications for current and future child health

ABSTRACT Background: Cambodia has made significant economic, political, and health advancements with the implementation of the millennium development goals (MDG). Important gaps in child health still exist, however, and accurate assessments of lingering disparities within the country will be essential for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Aim: This investigation hypothesised that child-health improvements in rural areas of Cambodia continue to lag behind urban areas. The study objective was to identify specific disparities in rural achievement of MDG within Cambodia to direct future work in child health. Methods: Surveys were conducted in 230 rural households in four villages in Kampot and Kampong Speu provinces to assess risk factors contributing to lack of village-level achievement of MDG. National urban and rural data were used for comparison. Results: An under-5 death in the preceding year was reported by 11.5% (n = 26) of the households surveyed. Under-use of common public health interventions (vaccinations, clean drinking water, oral rehydration therapy, iodised salt, bed nets, antenatal care, and improved sanitation facilities) was observed in all villages. Under-use of the interventions was more common in rural than urban areas. Conclusion: Achievement of child-health-related MDG lags in rural areas of Cambodia. Child health risk factors varied widely among villages. Village-specific risk factors for which immediate action can be taken are a priority, particularly vaccination in Angkcheay and Takoa and clean drinking water in Pos Pong. Elimination of disparities in rural child health will ultimately require significant resource allocation in rural areas, e.g. improved sanitation facilities, piped water supply and sustained public health initiatives.

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) Diet Affects the Gut Microbiome and Obesity Markers in Rat

Lentil, a moderate-energy high-protein pulse crop, provides significant amounts of essential nutrients for healthy living. The objective of this study was to determine if a lentil-based diet affects food and energy intake, body weight, percent body fat, liver weight, and body plasma triacylglycerols (TGs) as well as the composition of fecal microbiota in rats. A total of 36 Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with either a standard diet, a 3.5% high amylose corn starch diet, or a 70.8% red lentil diet for 6 weeks. By week 6, rats fed the lentil diet had significantly lower mean body weight (443 ± 47 g/rat) than those fed the control (511 ± 51 g/rat) or corn (502 ± 38 g/rat) diets. Further, mean percent body fat and TG concentration were lower, and lean body mass was higher in rats fed the lentil diet than those fed the corn diet. Fecal abundance of Actinobacteria and Bacteriodetes were greater in rats fed the lentil or corn starch diets than those fed the control diet. Fecal abundance of Firmicutes, a bacterial phylum comprising multiple pathogenic species, decreased in rats fed the lentil and high-amylose corn starch diets vs the control diet. The lentil-based diet decreased body weight, percent body fat, and plasma triacylglycerols in rats and suppressed intestinal colonization by pathogens.

No camphor toxicity in Cambodian infants

Thiamine deficiency and beriberi are prevalent in Cambodia, although most infants with nonspecific clinical symptoms of beriberi, including tachypnea, lack echocardiographic evidence diagnostic of the disease. Camphor activates transient receptor potential vanilloid 3 (TRPV3), a nonselective ion channel expressed in the medial preoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus and thought to be important for thermo-sensitivity. Because camphorated ointments are used commonly among Cambodian infants, we hypothesized that topical camphor modulates thermoregulatory behaviors, causing beriberi-simulating tachypnea, separate from any influence of thiamine deficiency. We assessed 9 tachypneic and 10 healthy infants for Tiger Balm use and for presence of camphor in whole blood. However, no camphor was found in blood from any infants, indicating that camphor is unrelated to tachypneic illness in Cambodian infants.

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus): A Whole Food Rich in Prebiotic Carbohydrates to Combat Global Obesity

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is a cool season food legume that is high in protein (20–30%) and in a range of micronutrients (e.g., minerals, carotenoids, folates) but very low in phytic acid. Recent research indicates that lentil contains a wide array of low-molecular weight carbohydrates (LMWC) or prebiotic carbohydrates, such as monoand disaccharides, raffinose-family oligosaccharides (RFO), fructooligosaccharides (FOS), and sugar alcohols, and high-molecular weight resistant starches. Lentil provides more than 13 g of prebiotic carbohydrates per 100 g serving, and this level increases almost two-fold upon cooking, cooling, and reheating. In addition, prebiotic carbohydrate levels vary with lentil genotype and growing location/country. Intestinal microbiome and prebiotic studies suggest a prebiotic-rich, low-calorie diet can reduce the prevalence of obesity and related non-communicable diseases. Lentil thus represents a whole food source of prebiotics that can play a role in efforts to reduce obesity and non-communicable diseases. This chapter provides an overview of the current obesity-related health issues, holistic approaches to reduce obesity, worldwide lentil production, and the promise of pulses, mainly lentil, to be a whole food solution to combat global obesity. In addition, lentil’s superior LMWC profile and the genetic potential for further enrichment of prebiotic carbohydrates are briefly discussed.