Gloria Arroyo

Role of buckwheat diet on rats as prebiotic and healthy food

Abstract The objective of this research is to assess if the buckwheat (BW) could behaves as a prebiotic and be considered as healthy food. Buckwheat is a nutritional food, rich in essential aminoacids, fatty acids, vitamins B1and B2 and also a good source of minerals, which may produce beneficial effects on health. For our investigation, a total of twenty, 12-week-old Wistar Hannover rats was used and the animals were fed for 30 days. The body-weight was lower in the BW diet than control with significant differences (P ≤ 0.05). No significant differences were found in the weight of the organs (liver, spleen, kidney and heart). Microbial analysis and detection were carried out on Enterobacteria, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacilus and Bifidobacteria in the rats intestine. The results showed an increase of aerobic mesophilic and lactic acid bacteria content in the BW diet when compared to control, with significant differences (P ≤ 0.05). In the BW diet, we also observed a slight decrease of Enterobectaria and less pathogenic bacteria. Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus salivarius and Bifidobacterium infantis were found in both diets, but only Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium spp and Bifidobacterium lactis were found in addition in the buckwheat diet. All these results confirm that BW could possibly be considered as a prebiotic product. Glucose content was measured in the blood. Uric acid, total protein, HDL and LDL lipids, cholesterol, triglycerides, alkaline phosphatase and mineral content were also measured in the serum. The glucose and uric acid content were similar in both diets and no significant differences were observed for the total proteins, albumin and mineral content. The alkaline phosphatase decreased in the BW diet, but no significant difference (P ≥ 0.05) was found when compared to control. Buckwheat could as well be considered as a healthy food due to the diminution on total cholesterol with significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) when compared to control.

Response of rats to the intake of tofu treated under high-pressure

Abstract As searching continues for an answer as to how products treated under HP could affect the health of human beings, this work has focused on the differences between three types of diets (control, untreated and treated tofu under HP) on a total of 30, 12-week-old, Wistar Hannover female rats. Different assays were carried out and the results showed that the increase in body-weight in the rats fed with tofu diets was significantly lower (P≤0.05) than control, but no significant differences were found between both tofu diets. The weights of the organs of rats (liver, spleen and kidneys) fed with both tofu diets were lower than control rats, but were lowest in those fed with a treated tofu diet. The concentration of metal ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Zn2+ and Fe2) in the serum in both tofu diets showed an increase in magnesium, potassium and iron, but iron increased more in the treated tofu diet. No differences were found in the shear-force of shinbone. The concentration of glucose, total proteins and albumin decreased and uric acid, bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase increased in rats fed with tofu diets as compared to control rats. Alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly elevated in both tofu diets and a significant difference (P≤0.05) was found between both tofu diets. Cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were lower in animals fed with tofu diets and significant differences were found in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol between control and tofu diets. The triglycerides and HDL-phospholipids were also lower in the tofu diets. The final results revealed that, in general, it seems that tofu treated under high pressure is not harmful to health. However, some significant differences occurred in rats fed with both tofu diets in comparison to the control diet, but only the activity of alkaline phosphatase presented significant differences (P≤0.05) between untreated and treated tofu diets.