Search results

The purpose of this study is to compare the evolution of self-reported milk allergy in children and adults within the population of Fez-Meknes region, as well as to investigate the consumption of milk and its correlation to milk allergy.

It is a cross-sectional study conducted in Fez-Meknes region between April 2014 and March 2015 basing on a questionnaire completed by 3,068 children and 1,281 adults.

The results showed that food allergy was more reported among children (29.4 per cent) than adults (16.9 per cent). Milk allergy was reported by 5.3 per cent of children and 4.2 per cent of adults. Children reported mostly cutaneous manifestations (64.8 per cent) while adults reported mostly gastrointestinal manifestations (68.5 per cent). The consumption of milk showed a protective effect against the development of milk allergy (p < 0.001).

The consumption of milk was associated significantly with a low rate of milk allergy, especially in adults. However, the pasteurization of milk seemed to be correlated to increase milk sensitivity.

This review aims to provide synoptic documentation on acclaimed anecdotal plant-based remedies used by Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) communities to manage COVID-19. The theoretical approaches that form the basis for using the anecdotally claimed phytotherapies were reviewed against current scientific evidence.

In this paper plant-based remedies for managing COVID-19 were searched on social and print media to identify testimonies of people from different communities in LAC countries. Information was extracted, evaluated and reviewed against current scientific evidence based on a literature search from databases such as Journal Storage (JSTOR), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), SpringerLink, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar and Medline to explore the scientific basis for anecdotal claims.

A total of 23 medicinal plants belonging to 15 families were identified as phytotherapies used in managing COVID-19 in LAC communities.

The plant-based remedies contained valuable phytochemicals scientifically reported for their anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Anecdotal information helps researchers investigate disease patterns, management and new drug discoveries. The identified acclaimed plant-based remedies are potential candidates for pharmacological evaluations for possible drug discovery for future pandemics.

A hospital represents a special environment, serving health care to patients, and as a work environment for medical and other staff. The problems of the hospital environment, its risks and the prevention of nosocomial infections have become an important topic in activities concerning the environmental education of medical students at the Institute of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. Educational objectives were different, regarding knowledge, behaviour, attitude and social action. The hygienic level of the hospital ward was observed by students themselves, including microclimate assessment and evaluations. Microbial contamination and acoustic well‐being of the indoor air in a hospital ward were also assessed. Results from environmental investigations performed in several hospitals have shown improvement of microbial contamination in internal, surgical and neurological departments. We believe that if educational objectives targeted at the beginning of practical sessions are fulfilled then medical students will think and behave more pro‐environmentally.

A recent WHO working group concluded that efficient hand washing was more effective than health examinations of food handlers in maintaining high standards of hygiene

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize on the impact of endoscope in MHD peristaltic flow of Carreau fluid. Heat and mass transfer phenomena are comprised of Soret and Dufour effects. Influences of mixed convection and viscous dissipation are also accounted. Wall properties and convective boundary conditions are used.

The Navier–Stokes and energy equations used the lubrication approach. The reduced system of equations is executed numerically. The graphical illustration of velocity, temperature, concentration and heat transfer coefficient for various emerging parameters is discussed.

The response of Weissenberg number and power law index is decaying toward velocity and temperature. Moreover impression of Soret and Dufour number on temperature is quite reverse to that of concentration.

The titled problem with the various considered effects has not been solved before, and it is of special importance in various industries. The problem is original.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the probiotic addition (Lactobacillus paracasei ssp.) on the physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant capacity of white grape juice during refrigerated storage (4°C/28 days). This paper also aims to evaluate the survival of the probiotic culture in the product and under simulated gastrointestinal conditions.

Two formulations of white grape juices were evaluated, one with 2 per cent of probiotic culture addition and the other of pure juice.

The addition of probiotic culture resulted in products with a darker-reddish coloration (L* = 30.6-30.8 and a* = 0.6-0.9) and a lower content of total phenolic compounds (599-697 µg EAG mL⁻¹) (p = 0.05). However, it improved the color stability and maintained the antioxidant activity 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (p > 0.05). The viability of the probiotic culture (>10⁹ colony forming unit · 200 mL⁻¹) in the juice was maintained during 21 days of storage, but in simulated gastrointestinal conditions, the functional properties could be guaranteed during the 28 days of refrigerated storage.

The white grape juice is a suitable medium for incorporation of Lactobacillus paracasei.

The survival of the probiotic cultures to the simulated gastrointestinal tract may be significant, even if the product does not have the recommended minimum counts.

Increased evidence for the health benefits of probiotics for health restoration coupled with the consumer's inclination towards a safe, natural and cost-effective substitute for drugs have led application of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent and are rapidly moving in clinical usage. In this context, this article attempts to highlight the potential of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent.

Endeavor has been made to explore the significance of probiotics for the modulation of gut ecology and their action. Potentiality of probiotics for their exploitation as a pharmaceutical agent has also been justified. Limitations of probiotic therapy and the various considerations for probiotic therapy have also been delineated.

Probiotic organisms influence the physiological and pathological process of the host by modifying the intestinal microbiota, thereby affecting human health. Beneficial effects of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent seem to be strain and dose dependent and more efficacious with their early introduction. Combination of various probiotics proved to be more efficacious than single strain for exhibiting prophylactic activities.

Reviewed literature indicated that it is difficult to generalize for the beneficial effect of all probiotics for all types of diseases as efficacy of probiotics is strain-dependent and dose-dependent and its clinical application needs long-term investigations.

Clinical trials have displayed that probiotics may alleviate certain disorders or diseases in humans especially those related to gastro-intestinal tract.

Ingestion of fermented dairy products containing probiotic cultures may provide health benefits in certain clinical conditions such as antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, rotavirus-associated diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory bowel syndrome, allergenic diseases, cancer, Helicobacter pylori infection and lactose-intolerance. Application of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent is recommended.

Iron deficiency is a common condition even in countries with a high economic standard. The presence of iron deficiency implies a lack of balance between the iron which can be absorbed from the diet and the daily iron requirement. This is particularly likely to occur at those ages where the physiological needs are greatest, i.e. during the times of rapid growth, and in women during reproductive life due to the extra demands of menstruation and pregnancy. Iron deficiency is also likely to occur in any circumstance in which there is pathological blood loss, for example from bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract from causes such as piles, peptic ulcers and so on. In the tropics one of the commonest causes of iron deficiency is blood loss due to hookworm infestation.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the antioxidant properties of two phenolic-rich varieties of Nigerian local rice and their anti-cholinesterase potential after in vitro-simulated gastrointestinal digestion, with the aim of establishing their actual antioxidant and nutraceutical potential after their passage through the gastrointestinal tract upon consumption.

Two local rice varieties, commonly referred to as “Gboko” and “Ofada” rice commonly grown in Benue State, a middle belt region of Nigeria and south western regions of Nigeria, respectively, were locally processed. Each of the processed grains were divided into two portions; one portion was left uncooked, while the second portion was boiled conventionally as eaten, dried and subsequently milled into powder. The milled samples of the raw and boiled rice were treated with acidified methanol to obtain the methanol extracts; another portion of each samples was subjected to in vitro enzyme digestion using standard methods to mimic human digestion; and the third portion was treated using the same scheme of in vitro digestion without the sets of enzyme which was used to serve as a control for enzyme treatment. The quali-quantitative phenolic profiles of the two local varieties were carried out with the aid of high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) method. The antioxidant potential and anti-cholinesterase action of the methanolic extracts, the simulated in vitro digested model and the enzyme-treated controls of the rice samples were determined using standard methods and data obtained were subjected to ANOVA; the differences of means were separated using Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT).

The quali-quantitative assessment of phenolic compounds in the two studied local varieties revealed the presence of some phenolic acids and flavonoids, with a decreased level of most of the identified phenolic compounds after boiling. In vitro enzyme-digested rice for both raw and boiled rice samples showed significantly higher total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, ferric-reducing antioxidant power, 2, 2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS+) scavenging and NO− inhibitory activities than the aqueous-methanolic extracts and the enzyme-treated controls. The aqueous-methanolic extracts displayed a higher 1, 1 diphenyl-2-picrylhdrazyl radical scavenging activity and inhibited Fe2+-induced lipid oxidation in rat’s brain and liver homogenate than that displayed by the in vitro enzyme-digested samples. In vitro enzyme-digested and boiled “Gboko” and “Ofada” rice and raw “Ofada” rice have the potential of inhibiting acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity. While methanolic extracts of raw and boiled “Ofada” and “Gboko” rice exhibited the potential to inhibit butrylcholinesterase activity. The result of this paper indicates that the selected rice varieties possess antioxidant capacities which are better released after the simulated in vitro enzyme digestion; the result also showed the anti-cholinesterase potential of the studied rice grains and, therefore, they can be considered as nutraceutical health supplements.

The paper has demonstrated the antioxidant potentials of the phenolic-containing two Nigerian local rice varieties and established their anti-cholinesterase potential after simulated in vitro enzyme digestion.