Kiran Bains

Effect of germination periods and hydrothermal treatments on in vitro protein and starch digestibility of germinated legumes

Germination of legumes followed by hydrothermal treatments is an effective mean of improving nutritive value of legumes. The protein content of mungbean, chickpea and cowpea increased by 9–11, 11–16 and 8–11% after germination. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in protein content was observed on pressure cooking and microwaving in all three legumes. The carbohydrates decreased by 1 to 3% during soaking and 2 to 6% during germination. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) improvement in in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) was observed after soaking as well as after three germination periods. Germination resulted in an increase in IVPD from 15 to 25% in mungbean, 6 to 17% in chickpea and 6 to 17% in cowpea. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in IVPD was observed when raw sprouts of three legumes were subjected to pressure cooking and microwaving. In vitro starch digestibility (IVSD) increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) after germination, the percent increase being 8 to 12% in mungbean, 9 to 11% in chickpea and 10 to 13% in cowpea. The duration of germination had significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on IVSD. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) improvement in IVSD was observed when legume sprouts were subjected to pressure cooking and microwave cooking.

Traditional Cooked Vegetable Dishes as Important Sources of Ascorbic Acid and β-Carotene in the Diets of Indian Urban and Rural Families

Background Fresh vegetable produce is abundant during the winter season in Punjab. It is an important source of vitamins and minerals in the Punjabi diet, but the availability of ascorbic acid and β-carotene from the vegetables is altered to varying degrees when they are subjected to traditional household processing methods. Objective To determine the importance of traditional cooked vegetable dishes as sources of ascorbic acid and β-carotene among urban and rural families during the winter. Methods Information about vegetable consumption, storage, and cooking practices was collected from 60 families, 30 each from urban and rural areas of Ludhiana District, Punjab, India. Samples of the common cooked vegetable dishes were prepared in the laboratory by methods ascertained from the survey and analyzed for ascorbic acid and β-carotene. Results The average total daily per capita consumption of vegetables by urban and rural families was 411.7 and 365.9 g, respectively. Cooked vegetable dishes provided 68.7% of the total vegetable intake for urban families and 85.0% for rural families. On average, the edible portion constituted 78.9% of the weight of the vegetables. Ten cooked vegetable dishes that were most frequently consumed by the families (mustard saag, potato—spinach, potato—fenugreek, potato—brinjal, potato—cauliflower, potato—capsicum, potato—carrots, potato—beans, potato—peas, and cabbage—peas) were selected for preparation in the laboratory and nutritional analysis. The average concentrations of ascorbic acid and β-carotene in the cooked vegetable dishes were 46.0 mg/100 g and 794.2 μg/100g fresh weight, respectively. The percentage losses of ascorbic acid and β-carotene during preparation and cooking were 26.1% and 25.9%, respectively. Conclusions For adult Indian men and women, the recommended dietary allowance of ascorbic acid is 40 mg, and that of β-carotene is 2,400 μg. Cooked vegetable dishes provided 269.9% and 77.5% of the recommended dietary allowances of ascorbic acid and β-carotene, respectively, indicating that these dishes are good sources of these nutrients in the diets of both urban and rural families during the winter season.

Available lysine and digestible amino acid contents of proteinaceous foods of India.

Cereals and legumes are staple foods in India and are limiting in lysine and sulphur amino acids, respectively. Available lysine loss, due to Maillard-type reactions that may occur during food preparation, exacerbates the problem of lysine deficiency particularly in cereals. Consequently, determining the contents of digestible essential amino acids, particularly lysine, is important. True ileal digestibilities of most amino acids (including total and reactive lysine) were determined for ten food ingredients and eleven foods commonly consumed in India. Semi-synthetic diets each containing either an ingredient or the prepared food as the sole protein source were formulated to contain 100 g kg(-1) protein (75 g kg(-1) for rice-based diets) and fed to growing rats. Titanium dioxide was included as an indigestible marker. Digesta were collected and the amino acid content (including reactive lysine) of diets and ileal digesta determined. Available (digestible reactive) lysine content ranged from 1·9-15·4 g kg(-1) and 1·8-12·7 g kg(-1) across the ingredients and prepared foods respectively. True ileal amino acid digestibility varied widely both across ingredients and prepared foods for each amino acid (on average 60-92 %) and across amino acids within each ingredient and prepared food (overall digestibility 31-96 %). Amino acid digestibility was low for many of the ingredients and prepared foods and consequently digestibility must be considered when assessing the protein quality of poorer quality foods. Given commonly encountered daily energy intakes for members of the Indian population, it is estimated that lysine is limiting for adults in many Indian diets.

Iron and energy supplementation improves the physical work capacity of female college students.

A nutritionally controlled study was conducted on two groups of 15 female college students aged 16 to 20 years, selected from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. the girls were either anemic (hemoglobin 7.7 g/dl) but energy adequate (AEA), or anemic (hemoglobin 7.4 g/dl) and energy deficient (AED). the AEA group was given iron supplementation (60 mg iron/day) for 6 to 9 months along with 100 mg of ascorbic acid, and the AED group was given iron as well as energy supplementation for 3 months. There was a significant (p < .01) increase in weight, body mass index, mid-upper-arm circumference, and body fat in the AED group after iron–energy supplementation. Hemoglobin, serum iron, transferrin saturation, total iron-binding capacity, and unsaturated iron-binding capacity were below normal in both groups; however, after iron and iron–energy supplementation, there was a significant (p < .01) increase, and these indices were in the normal range. There was a significant (p < .01) increase in exercise time and maximum work load tolerance after iron and iron–energy supplementation. Combined energy and iron deficiency had a greater adverse effect on physical work capacity than energy or iron deficiency alone.

Effect of Household Processing on the In Vitro Bioavailability of Iron in Mungbean (Vigna Radiata)

Background Mungbean (Vigna radiata) is a major source of energy and protein in developing countries, especially for the vegetarian population. Improvement of the bioavailability of iron in mungbean by common household processes could make a significant contribution to the nutrition of people in countries where iron-deficiency anemia is widespread. Objective The study was conducted to determine the effect of common household processes on nutritional and antinutritional factors as well as in vitro bioavailability of iron in mungbean. Methods Mungbean was subjected to various domestic processes such as dehulling, pressure cooking, germination, and fermentation. The effects of these processes on proximate composition, antinutritional factors (phytin phosphorus, polyphenols, and neutral detergent), and iron, including ionizable iron, were determined. Results No significant change in crude protein content was observed. There was a significant (p≤.05) increase in fiber content after germination. Ash content decreased significantly (p≤.05) after all processing methods. The processing methods resulted in a significant (p≤.05) reduction in phytin phosphorus and polyphenols. Pressure cooking significantly (p≤.05) decreased the neutral detergent fiber, whereas fermentation and germination increased it. The phytate:iron molar ratio of processed mungbean revealed that the maximum reduction was in germinated and fermented samples. Ascorbic acid content increased significantly (p ≤ .05) after germination. The in vitro bioavailability of iron in raw mungbean was 7.32%. All of the processing methods resulted in an increase in iron bioavailability in vitro; the maximum bioavailability was in germinated cooked mungbean (12.52%), followed by fermented cooked mungbean and germinated raw mungbean (both 11.04%). Conclusions Suitable processing techniques can improve the in vitro bioavailability of iron from mungbean. If mungbean products with enhanced iron bio-availabilty are developed, they could help improve the iron status of the population.

Measurement of energy cost of selected household and farm activities performed by rural women.

A nutritional study was carried out on 30 rural, low-income women, aged 25 to 35 years, in the village of Dhandra, Ludhiana District, Punjab, India, to measure the energy cost of selected household and farm activities. The mean weight, mid-upper-arm circumference, and triceps skinfold thickness were below the reference standards. A negative energy balance among the subjects indicated their poor energy status. The energy costs of selected household and farm activities were assessed by the Caltrac personal activity computer. The energy costs of household activities—making dough, making chapatis, grinding masala, hand pumping, washing utensils, sweeping, mopping, washing the floor, mud pasting, and washing clothes—were 0.0306. 0.0281, 0.0595, 0.0337, 0.0266, 0.0424, 0.0530, 0.0331, 0.0634, and 0.0453 kcal/kg/min, respectively. The energy costs of farm activities— collecting fodder, chaffing fodder, milking, making dung cakes, picking sag, harvesting wheat, bundling wheat, picking paddy, brooming paddy, and separating paddy—were 0.0472, 0.0372, 0.0530, 0.0270, 0.0337, 0.0623, 0.0374, 0.0411, 0.0370, and 0.0744 kcal/kg/min, respectively. All selected activities were categorized as light, except for grinding masala, mopping, mud pasting, harvesting wheat, separating paddy, and milking, which were categorized as moderate on the basis of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) physical activity ratios. The Caltrac gave lower values for the energy costs of most of the activities. Although it is simpler and less costly, the Caltrec must be calibrated against methods of measuring oxygen consumption for similar activities.

Diet and Physical Activity in Relation to Metabolic Syndrome among Urban Indian Men and Women

The relationship of diet and physical activity with metabolic syndrome (MS) was studied among 60 male and female (40–60 y) urban Indian MS patients. Intake of green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, fruits and milk were significantly (p ≤ .01) associated with reduced fat mass and waist circumference and increased lean body mass. Energy, carbohydrates, and fat intakes were significantly (p ≤ .01) correlated with increased body fat and waist circumference and reduced lean body mass. Energy, total and saturated fat intake were positively and significantly (p ≤ .05; .01) correlated with total cholesterol. Total fat was also significantly (p ≤ .05; .01) correlated with increased systolic blood pressure (r = 0.33), serum triglycerides (r = 0.33), LDL-C (r = 0.29) and VLDL-C (r = 0.28). Increased TDEE was significantly (p ≤ .01) associated with decreased body fat and waist circumference (r = 0.53 and 0.60) and increased lean body mass (r = 0.68).

Indian culinary plants enhance glucose-induced insulin secretion and glucose consumption in INS-1 β-cells and 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Six Indian plants, commonly used as culinary plants, herbs or spices (kikar; jamun; neem; harad; fenugreek; bitter gourd), were screened and compared for their antidiabetic potential in vitro. Aqueous plant extracts were prepared and assessed for their effect on the insulin secretion activity of rat pancreatic INS-1 β-cells and glucose consumption in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes in order to study their specific mechanisms of action. The effect of the plant extract concentration (25-1000μg/ml) on insulin release and glucose consumption was also studied. All the extracts had a significant stimulatory effect on the insulin secretion of INS-1 cells. In the presence of kikar extract (100μg/ml), an increase of 228% in insulin release was recorded compared to the control (5.6mM glucose) whereas that was 270% and 367% in the presence of kikar and jamun extracts (500μg/ml), respectively. 3T3-L1 cells treated with jamun extract (100μg/ml) exhibited the highest increase in glucose consumption by the cells (94%, compared with the control) followed by harad (53%) and fenugreek (50%) extracts. A significant inhibitory effect of the fenugreek, kikar and jamun extracts on glucose diffusion across a dialysis membrane suggested that these extracts could partly act by decreasing glucose absorption in the small intestine. The results showed that a combination of these plants in diet could help in the management of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Interplay between Proteins and Metabolic Syndrome- A Review

ABSTRACT Metabolic syndrome is characterized by hypertension; hyperglycemia; hypertriglyceridemia; reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and abdominal obesity. Abundant data suggest that, compared with other people, patients meeting these diagnostic criteria have a greater risk of having substantial clinical consequences, the two most prominent of which are the development of diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease. The metabolic syndrome is a health issue of epidemic proportions. Its prevalence in the world continues to increase, hand in hand with that of obesity. Protein, on the other hand, is the foundation of cell-building, especially in muscle tissue. The body needs protein to build not only muscle cells, but the cells of major organs, skin and red blood cells. For people with metabolic syndrome, one of the other functions of protein is to slow down the absorption of carbohydrates. When proteins are consumed with carbohydrates, it takes longer for the digestive system to break down that meal. This means that the sugar created from those carbohydrates is released at a slower rate, preventing spikes in both blood sugar and insulin. As the understanding of the metabolic syndrome evolves, it is likely that more comprehensive therapeutic options will become available.

Physical Fitness in Relation to Energy and Iron Status of Female College Students

Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional problem in the world. We determined the prevalence of iron deficiency, anaemia, and iron-deficiency anaemia in 652 high-school students (340 girls and 312 boys) who were selected by stepwise random sampling from 16 high schools in Jolfa, East Azerbaijan. Iron deficiency was defined as having transferrin saturation and/or serum ferritin values below normal. Anaemia was defined as having haemoglobin levels below normal. Iron-deficiency anaemia was taken to be the combination of both. The prevalences of iron deficiency, anaemia, and irondeficiency anaemia were 60.7%, 12.6%, and 11.5%, respectively. The respective prevalences of these conditions were 66.5%, 13.6%, and 13% in girls and 54.5%, 11.6%, and 10.3% in boys. The prevalences of these conditions were higher among 15and 16-year-old boys than among girls. Among boys, age was inversely related to the prevalence of iron deficiency (r = –0.88, p < .05) and anaemia (r = –0.79, p < .07). Among girls, age was directly related to the prevalence of anaemia (r = 0.96, p<.001) and iron-deficiency anaemia (r = 0.99, p < .001).A nutritional survey was conducted on 150 female college students (75 boarders and 75 day scholars) aged 18 to 23 years at the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, India. The mean weight, mid-upper-arm circumference, and triceps skinfold thickness were below normal, but the mean height and body fat were in the normal range. The body mass index showed that 50% of the subjects were normal, 21% were low normal weight, and 21% had a mild energy deficiency. The average daily consumptions of energy and of iron were 1,776 ± 22 kcal and 14.5 ± 0.2 mg, respectively; both were inadequate. The daily total energy expenditure was 1,824 ± 9 kcal, yielding a negative energy balance of 48 ± 10 kcal/day. The average haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels were below normal, while serum iron was in the low normal range. Low iron intake and haemoglobin levels confirmed an unsatisfactory iron status of the subjects. The combined deficiency of energy and iron appeared to have a worse effect on physical fitness than energ...