Total Phenol Content and Antioxidant Potential of Traditional

Introduction: According to folklore and Ayurveda, many tubers and flour made from various plant parts, traditionally used to made breakfast meals, are rich in nutrients and polyphenols. The objective of the study was to determine the total phenolics content (TPC) and antioxidant potential of some tubers and foods made with seeds and other plant parts. Methods: The TPC in the extracts was determined according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method (mg Gallic acid equivalents (GAE/100g FW) and antioxidant activity by 2, 2’–Azino–bis (3- ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS)cation free radical decolouration assay (􀂗mol/g Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity; TEAC). Results: The TPC of raw and processed tubers ranged from 127-517 mg GAE/ 100g FW. Among the tuber varieties, Dioscorea alata, violet had the highest antioxidant potential. Among raw flour, Vateriaco pallifera had the highest phenolic content (1162) and lowest (79) was in Caryota urens. Antioxidant potential of raw and food prepared from indigenous flour ranged from 3-225􀂗mol/g TEAC with Vateriaco pallifera raw flour having the highest antioxidant potential (225􀂗mol/ g). Processing decreased both the phenolics and antioxidant potential significantly (P<0.05). A significant correlation was observed between polyphenolic content and antioxidant capacity in raw flour (r2=0.993). Conclusion: The traditional tubers and food prepared incorporating indigenous flour varieties are rich sources of phenols and antioxidants indicating their potential for utilisation in home food preparation and by the food industry.

Effect of Extent of Gelatinisation of Starch on the Glycaemic Responses of Carbohydrate Rich Breakfast Meals

Introduction: Previous studies have shown that roti and pittu, which are South Asian foods, when prepared with the same composition of wheat flour and coconut scrapings had significantly different (p<0.05) glycaemic index (GI) values. The only difference was in the processing where roti (GI 57) was dry-heated (roasted) and pittu (GI 80) was wet-heated (steam cooked). The present study was carried out to investigate the association between GI and the properties of starch during processing for the observed variations of GI values of roti and pittu prepared with different flour varieties. Methods: The characteristics of isolated starch granules, molecular size distribution pattern of carbohydrates, amylose, amylopectin contents and change in temperature during the cooking of ‘pittu’ and ‘roti’ were analysed. Results: The results indicate that the contribution to GI from starch gelatinisation correlates positively and corroborates with reported data. Thus the significantly low GI values of roti compared to pittu could be mainly attributed to less disintegrated and less swollen starch granules of flour used in the preparation of roti. This was observed irrespective of the variety of flour. Conclusion: This study confirms that wet heat gelatinises starch to a greater extent than dry heat and provides evidence of a possibility that foods processed using dry heat to be associated with lower GI values, than the wet processed foods if other factors are constant.

Sri Lankan Rice Mixed Meals: Effect on Glycaemic Index and Contribution to Daily Dietary Fibre Requirement

Introduction: The glycaemic index (GI) concept ranks starchy foods according to the blood glucose responses following ingestion. When considering commonly consumed Sri Lankan meals, only a few can be categorised as low GI. However, a significant negative correlation between the GI of Sri Lankan meals and fibre content has been observed indicating the potential to reduce the GI of meals by incorporating naturally occurring sources of fibre. Thus, the objective of this study was to study the effect of increased edible quantities of fibre on the GI of rice meals consumed in Sri Lanka. Methods: Meal 1 consisted of rice with several meal accompaniments (lentil curry, boiled egg, coconut gravy and Centella asiatica (gotukola) leaves salad). Meal 2 contained similar constituents as meal 1 and a Lasia spinosa (kohila) rhizome salad. The composition of meal 3 was similar to meal 2 but contained Trichosanthes cucumerina (snake gourd) salad instead of Lasia spinosa salad. Meal 3 contained similar fibre contents as meal 1 and similar meal size as meal 2. The glycaemic indices of the three meals were determined with healthy individuals (n=10, age =20-30 yrs, BMI=24±3 kg/m2) using bread as the standard. Results: Meals 1 and 3 contained total dietary fibre (TDF) contents of 15.2g. Meal 2 contained 16.3g TDF. The GI values of the three meals were 63±5, 57±5, 61±5 respectively and were not significantly different from one another (p>0.05). The GI of the rice mixed meal 2 was reduced by 9% when total edible dietary fibre content of the actual meal was increased by 7.2%. Conclusion: The study results show that the GI of rice mixed meals may be reduced by including naturally occurring sources of fibre with starchy staples while fulfilling daily dietary fibre requirement of an adult at low cost.

A Pilot Study on Wound Healing using an Antibacterial Steroidal Saponin

"Cost effective primary and secondary wound care is needed and have significant importance in current medicine. The steroidal saponin Flabelliferin B with a UV active binder attached (FB); isolated from palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer L.) has a known structure and proven antibacterial activity. The objectives of the study were to (i) study the effects of FB on male Wistar rats in relation to toxicity by wound healing (ii) study the toxicity of FB by the eye tests on rats and rabbits (iii) test the allergenic reactions by topical application of FB on healthy human skin by the ""patch test"" (iv) evaluate the feasibility of full scale clinical trial of the FB on infected wounds of humans. Toxic or other adverse effects on animals were not observed. Allergic reactions were also not observed on normal healthy human skin by the patch test. Having obtained ethical approval a prospective clinical trial was carried out in Colombo South Teaching Hospital. An ointment of 2FB was tested on wounds and ulcers with no subcutaneous tissue involvements. Human volunteers (n = 14) were employed in this study. Wound healing rates after treatment of FB ointment were monitored by measuring the percentage decline in wound area with time using normal standard hospital treatment as control. Microbiological tests by swabbing were carried throughout these experiments. The rate of wound healing was not significantly different from current hospital treatment (p = 0.512) and no allergic or other adverse symptoms were shown. It is concluded that it may be possible to use FB in treatment of wounds and ulcers with no subcutaneous involvement"

Wuchereria bancrofti: detection of microfilariae in asymptomatic microfilaremic individuals with Setaria digitata antigens.

A dot-ELISA for detection of microfilariae of Wuchereria bancrofti in an endemic area was developed. This test can differentiate the endemic normals from the microfilaraemic asymptomatic individuals. Antigens of molecular weight 130 and 52 kDa of the cattle filaria worm Setaria digitata were used for this test. It was observed that these two antigens were also present in the serum of asymptomatic microfilaraemic individuals.