Yearul Kabir

Functional Foods from Cereal Grains

Cereal grains and germs are good sources of various phytochemicals. The major phytochemicals present in cereal grains are: phenolic acids, flavones, phytic acid, flavanoids, coumarins, and terpenes. Cereal germs are good sources of ferulic acid, phytic acid, glutathione, and phytosterols. In addition, the cereal germ acontains the vitamins E, B1, B2, and B3, the minerals P, K, Mg, Ca, Zn, and S, and fiber. Because of its rich nutrient content, cereal germ would be a valuable ingredient for production of functional foods. Our article examines the feasibility of using constituents of selected cereal grains such as wheat, oat, psyllium, and barley in producing functional foods.

Vitamin A deficiency among adolescent female garment factory workers in Bangladesh

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among adolescent female factory workers in Bangladesh, and examine the association between various factors and vitamin A status. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: Garment factories in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Subjects: Three hundred and eighty eight adolescent girls aged 12–19 y from ten garment factories were selected randomly for the present study. Information on socio-economic conditions and usual pattern of dietary intake were obtained by interview. Anthropometric data and blood samples were collected following the interview. Results: By NCHS reference standard, 15.5% of the participants were thin (<90% Wt/Ht) and about 7% overweight (>120% Wt/Ht). In about 56%, serum vitamin A level was below the adequate level of 1.05 µmol/l, with 14% having vitamin A deficiency (<0.70 µmol/l). Forty four per cent of the participants were found to be anaemic (haemoglobin <120 g/l). Food frequency data on vitamin A rich foods revealed that a large percentage of the participants do not take eggs (41%), milk (64%), liver (85%) and sweet pumpkin (85%); while about 40% of the girls take dark green leafy vegetables (DGLV) and 17% take small fish at least four servings a week. The girls who consumed four or more servings per week of DGLV had significantly higher serum vitamin A level than the girls who took three servings or less. There was a significant positive association between the level of serum vitamin A and frequency of intake of DGLV (r=0.12; P=0.023). When age, level of education, per-capita income, haemoglobin concentration, serum protein concentration, menstruation at the time of blood collection, prevalence of current morbidity, frequency of intake of egg, milk, small fish, DGLV, liver and sweet pumpkin were accounted for by multiple regression analysis, a strong relationship was found for serum vitamin A concentration with age, menstruation, haemoglobin level and frequency of intake of DGLV. For every unit change in the frequency of consumption of DGLV, there was 0.013 µmol/l change in serum vitamin A level whilst taking other factors into account. Conclusion: The data show that there is a high prevalence of subclinical vitamin A deficiency among the adolescent female garment factory workers in Bangladesh, although the anthropometric indices suggest that they do not suffer from acute undernutrition. Consumption of DGLV appears to have an important relation with the vitamin A status of these girls. Sponsorship: University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and UNICEF, Dhaka (for HPLC).

Biodistribution and metabolism of orally administered octacosanol in rats.

The biodistribution and metabolism of [8-14C]-octacosanol in rats were investigated to understand the mechanism of increased physical exercise and motor endurance by octacosanol. After 14C-octacosanol administered, radioactivity of octacosanol was mainly found in adipose tissue, especially in brown adipose tissue. Absorption of octacosanol is very low and mainly excreted through feces. The radioactivity of octacosanol was also partly expired as 14CO2. About 49% of the administered dose were excreted through different pathways. Metabolites of octacosanol are present in the urine. Octacosanol may be partly oxidized and degraded to fatty acids through beta-oxidation.

Tissue distribution of (8-14C)-octacosanol in liver and muscle of rats after serial administration.

The present study investigates the metabolic disposition of octacosanol in liver and muscle of rats after serial doses administration. Three groups of experimental animals received various doses of (8-14C)-octacosanol (2.0 microCi/dose) orally through a stomach tube. When expressed per organ, the highest amount of radioactivity was found in the liver (9.5% of administered dose), followed by the digestive tracts (8.2%) and the muscle (3.5%) at all doses of administration. The radioactivity in all other tissues examined was insignificant (< 0.9% in each) at any time during this period. The radioactivity in liver disappeared rapidly after 2-dose administration, even when the doses were increased. In contrast, the muscle seemed to be able to store a considerable amount of octacosanol in response to doses of administration. In case of 9-dose serial administration, after 3 and 9 days the accumulation of radioactivity in muscle was higher than that of the liver, possibly due to slow elimination of radioactivity from muscle. By the time when radioactivity in liver and muscle was low (after 6 and 10 doses), the radioactivity of octacosanol in plasma reached a maximum, particularly after administration of 6 doses. The plasma concentration and the fecal excretion of the radioactivity of octacosanol reached a maximum at the third day after the oral 6 doses, which reflected not only the saturation of radioactivity uptake by liver and muscle but also the metabolism and excretion of octacosanol with time at the same period. The results are discussed in the light of the role of octacosanol in increasing muscle endurance in exercise.

Lung cancer risk in relation to nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, CYP2A6 and CYP1A1 genotypes in the Bangladeshi population

BACKGROUND CYP1A1, CYP2A6 and CHRNA5 are biologically plausible genes as risk factors for lung cancer but no studies have been reported in the Bangladeshi population. METHODS We conducted this study to determine the prevalence and role of CYP1A1, CYP2A6 and CHRNA5 polymorphisms together with tobacco smoking in the development of lung cancer in Bangladesh. A case-control study was carried out on 106 lung cancer patients and 116 controls to investigate three allelic variants of the CYP1A1 gene-rs4646903, rs1048943 and rs1799814; 2 variants of CYP2A6 (CYP2A6*1B1, CYP2A6*4) and 1 variant of CHRNA5 (rs16969968) using Polymerase Chain Reaction Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. RESULTS Lung cancer risk was estimated as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using unconditional logistic regression models adjusting for age, sex and smoking. A significantly elevated lung cancer risk was associated with heterozygous, mutant and combined heterozygous plus mutant variants of CYP1A1 rs4646903. A significant association was also found for heterozygous and heterozygous plus mutant variants of rs1048943 which was in linkage disequilibrium with rs4646903. The risk of lung cancer was decreased significantly in individuals carrying at least one CYP2A6 deletion (CYP2A6*4) allele. No association with lung cancer risk was found for CHRNA5 rs16969968. When stratified by smoking, the effects of CYP1A1 and CYP2A6 polymorphisms on lung cancer susceptibility were found to be significant only in heavy smokers who had smoked 40 pack years or more (54% of all cases) but no associations were seen for lighter smokers. No association was also found with any polymorphism in the non-smokers in this study. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the CYP1A1*2B allele (rs4646903 and rs1048943) is associated with an increased lung cancer risk and CYP2A6*4 is associated with a decreased lung cancer risk in the study population.

EFFECTS OF SHRIMP (MACROBRACIUM ROSENBERGII)-DERIVED CHITOSAN ON PLASMA LIPID PROFILE AND LIVER LIPID PEROXIDE LEVELS IN NORMO- AND HYPERCHOLESTEROLAEMIC RATS

1 The effects of chitosan (CS) derived from the exoskeleton of the shrimp Macrobracium rosenbergii on bodyweight, plasma lipid profile, fatty acid composition, liver lipid peroxide (LPO) levels and plasma levels of glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) were determined in normocholesterolaemic (NC) and hypercholesterolaemic (HC) Long Evans rats. 2 The NC rats were fed a diet containing 2% CS and the HC rats were fed a diet containing 2 and 4% CS for 8 weeks. Chitosan significantly reduced bodyweight gain only in HC + 4% CS rats compared with HC rats, but not in NC + 2% CS or HC + 2% CS rats. 3 Chitosan reduced plasma total cholesterol in the HC + 2% CS, HC + 4% CS and NC + 2% CS rats; however, low density lipoprotein–cholesterol decreased only in the first two groups. High‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol (HDL‐C) increased in the HC + 4% CS rats by 24% compared with the HC + 2% CS group and by 30% compared with HC rats; however, HDL‐C did not increase in the NC + 2% CS group compared with NC rats. The level of plasma triglycerides decreased significantly only in HC + 2% CS rats compared with HC rats. 4 Chitosan significantly decreased plasma levels of arachidonic acid in the HC + 2% CS and HC + 4% CS groups, with a concurrent increase in the molar ratio of total unsaturated fatty acid (TUFA) to total saturated fatty acid (TSFA). 5 Moreover, CS increased liver LPO levels without affecting plasma levels of GPT. Liver LPO levels were positively correlated with the TUFA/TSFA molar ratio. 6 The present study suggests that dietary CS decreases the atherogenic lipid profiles of both NC and HC rats and reduces the bodyweight gain of HC rats.

Efficacy of wheat-based biscuits fortified with microcapsules containing ferrous sulfate and potassium iodate or a new hydrogen-reduced elemental iron: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial in Kuwaiti women

Adverse sensory changes prevent the addition of highly bioavailable ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) to most wheat flours. Poorly absorbable reduced Fe powders are commonly used. Encapsulation of FeSO4 can overcome these sensory changes, but the particle size of commercial compounds is too large to be used by flour mills. The first objective of the study was to measure the efficacy in wheat flour of two newly developed Fe compounds, an H-reduced Fe powder (NutraFine RS; North America Höganäs High Alloys LLC, Johnstown, PA, USA) and small particle-sized (40 microm) encapsulated FeSO4. As a second objective, the microcapsules were evaluated as a vehicle for iodine fortification. A randomised, double-blind controlled intervention trial was conducted in Kuwaiti women (n 279; aged 18-35 years) with low body Fe stores (serum ferritin (SF) < 25 microg/l) randomly assigned to one of three groups (20 mg Fe as NutraFine RS, 10 mg Fe as encapsulated FeSO4 and 150 microg iodine, or no fortification Fe) who consumed wheat-based biscuits 5 d per week. At baseline and 22 weeks, Hb, SF, transferrin receptor, urinary iodine and body Fe stores were measured. Relative to control, mean SF in the encapsulated FeSO4 group increased by 88 % (P < 0.001) and body Fe stores increased from - 0.96 to 2.24 mg/kg body weight (P < 0.001), while NutraFine RS did not significantly increase SF or body Fe stores. The median urinary iodine concentration increased from 140 to 213 microg/l (P < 0.01). NutraFine RS added at double the amount of Fe as FeSO4 was not efficacious in improving Fe status. The newly developed microcapsules were highly efficacious in improving both Fe stores and iodine status.

Relationship between perceived body image and recorded body mass index among Kuwaiti female university students.

The associations between body image and attitudes toward obesity and thinness and their associations with measured body mass index (BMI) among female students of Kuwait University (n = 137) was examined in 2008. The body image perceptions were assessed using nine female silhouettes figures. The difference between current perceived body image (PBI) and ideal body image (IBI) was used as a measure of body image dissatisfaction (BID). Students tended to have a bigger PBI and smaller IBI than would be expected from their BMI category, leading to high levels of BID in each BMI category. PBI, IBI, BID, RBI were highly correlated with each other, and BMI was significantly correlated with each of them. The coefficients of these associations were not significantly altered in multiple regression analysis by the addition of potential confounding variables, such as age, marital status, physical activity, dieting behavior, parental education, and family size. These results suggest that PBI and a desire to be thinner were strongly related to BID and that thinness is becoming more desired in Kuwaiti society than the plump body image of the past.

Activation of p53/ATM-dependent DNA damage signaling pathway by shiga toxin in mammalian cells

In this report, we studied the role of DNA damage signaling pathway in shiga toxin (STX)-induced mammalian cell death. Shiga toxin 1 exhibited cytotoxic activity in different mammalian cells such as HeLa cells, mouse embryo fibroblasts, and Caco-2 cells (a human intestinal primary fibroblast cell line). STX-1 was found to induce the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria, nuclear condensation, and fragmentation of chromosomal DNA. STX-1 activated DNA damage signaling as determined by induction of H2AX phosphorylation and cleavage of PARP. Inhibition of caspase-3 reduced STX-1-induced phosphorylation of H2AX and nuclear condensation. It was also found that STX-1-induced p53 expression, and activated ATM in mammalian cells. STX-1-induced nuclear condensation significantly reduced in p53-, and ATM-knockout cells suggesting an involvement of p53 and ATM in transducing signals produced by STX in inducing apoptosis in mammalian cells. This is the first demonstration of involvement of ATM/p53 in STX-inducing mammalian cell death.

Antioxidant properties of ten high yielding rice varieties of Bangladesh

Objective To study total phenolic content and antioxidant properties of 80% methanol extracts of ten high yielding rice varieties, five each from two different seasons namely aman and boro of Bangladesh.