Lipids, proteins, phenolic composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of seeds of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea l) cultivated in Tunisia

Fatty acid composition of peanut seed oil in four varieties cultivated in Tunisia showed that linoleic (C18:2), oleic (C18:1) and palmitic (C16) acids account for more than 84% for Chounfakhi and Massriya and for more than 85% of the total fatty acids of Trabilsia and Sinya seed oil respectively. Seed oil contents were significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) and did not exceed 48%. The study of total phenolics revealed that Chounfakhi contained more total phenolics (2.1 mg GAE/g DW), followed by the Massriya and Sinya cultivars (1.35 mg GAE/g DW for each); Trabilsia presented the lowest total phenolic content with 1 mg GAE/g DW. Considerable antiradical ability was found, especially in the Trabilsia peanut seed cultivar (IC50 = 1550 μg/ml), the Massriya and Sinya cultivars had, respectively, 720 and 820 mg/ml IC50. In the Massriya variety the sterol fraction showed antibacterial activity against Listeria ivanovii, Listeria inocua, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococus aureus, Enterococcus hirae and Bacillus cereus.

Culture conditions stimulating high gama-Linolenic acid accumulation by Spirulina platensis / Condições de cultura simulando o levado acúmulo de ácido gama-linolênico por Spirulina platensis

Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) production by Spirulina platensis under different stress-inducing conditions was studied. Submerged culture studies showed that low temperature (25ºC), strong light intensity (6 klux) and primrose oil supplement (0.8 percentw/v) induced 13.2 mg/g, 14.6 mg/g and 13.5 mg linolenic acid per gram dry cell weight respectively. A careful observation of fatty acid profile of the cyanobacteria shows that, oleic acid and linoleic acid, in experiments with varying growth temperature and oil supplements respectively, helped in accumulating excess γ-linolenic acid. In addition, cultures grown at increasing light regimes maintained the γ-linolenic acid to the total fatty acid ratio(GLA/TFA) constant, despite any change in γ-linolenic acid content of the cyanobacteria.

Estudou-se a produção de ácido γ-linolênico por Spirulina platensis em diferentes condições de estresse. Culturas submersas indicaram que temperatura baixa (25ºC), forte intensidade de luz (6 klux) e suplementação com óleo de prímula (0,8 por cento p/v) induziram a produção de ácido linolênico de 13,2 mg/g, 14,6 mg/g e 13,5 mg/g peso seco, respectivamente. Uma observação cuidadosa do perfil de ácidos graxos da cianobacteria indica que os ácidos oléico e linoléico, em experimentos com diferentes temperaturas de crescimento e suplementos de óleo, auxiliaram no acúmulo de excesso de ácido γ-linolênico. Além disso, as culturas obtidas em intensidades crescentes de luz mantiveram a relação ácido γ-linolênico/ácidos graxos totais constante, independentemente de qualquer mudança no conteúdo de ácido γ-linolênico da cianobactéria.

Evaluación de la situación de ácidos grasos esenciales y derivados de cadena larga en la dieta de lactantes menores de un año en Chile / Assessment of the status for essential fatty acids and long-chain derivatives in the diet of children younger than 1 year old from Chile

Los ácidos grasos esenciales (AGE) son precursores de ácidos grasos de muy larga cadena. Se concentran en el tejido nervioso, habiéndose sugerido que tienen un rol crítico en el desarrollo cerebral y visual. Se desconoce si la conversión de AGE a estos ácidos grasos es suficiente para sustentar una función óptima, por lo tanto es prioritario definir los requerimientos de AGE y sus derivados. Algunos autores sugieren incorporar estos ácidos grasos derivados en las fórmulas lácteas. Este artículo revisa y evalúa la ingesta aparente de ácidos grasos esenciales y derivados a partir de la fórmula láctea consumida por los lactantes beneficiarios del Programa Nacional de Alimentación Complementaria durante el primer año de vida, comparándola con las recomendaciones de lípidos recientemente propuestas. Se observó una ingesta deficitaria de ácido docosahexaenoico en lactantes alimentados con fórmulas lácteas no modificadas o sin adición de derivados de cadena larga.

Nutrition & health implications of palm oil in Indian diets.

To boost the edible oil production and attain self-sufficiency, one of the long-term strategies undertaken by the Indian government is promotion of palm oil production through oil palm cultivation. Compared to other traditional oils (except coconut oil) used in India, palm oil and palmolein have high saturated fatty acids and low linoleic acid levels. Studies conducted to evaluate the nutritional and health implications of substituting other oils with palmolein show that despite having low linoleic acid, the use of palm oil may not adversely affect the linoleic acid status of Indian population. Substitution of groundnut oil with palmolein in cereal based lactovegetarian diets providing about 30 per cent total fat calories, doubles the saturated fatty acids and reduces by half the linoleic acid content. The effects of this substitution in volunteers from the middle income group did not raise serum cholesterol and aggregability of platelets indicating that palm oil may not produce the deleterious effects associated with saturated fatty acids. The tocols present in palm oil are natural biological antioxidants and can therefore augment the antioxidant potential of Indian diets. Red palm oil is the richest natural source of carotenes which are powerful biological antioxidants. The major carotene in red palm oil is beta-carotene. Therefore, red palm oil can be used to prevent vitamin A deficiency which is widespread in India.

Acidos grasos esenciales en la producción actual de oleaginosas de la República Argentina: posibilidades futuras de diversificación / Essential fatty acids in the present vegetable oils production of the República Argentina: future possibiities in the diversification trends production

Se presenta un resumen de los logros alcanzados durante casi 50 años en un tema fundamental del conocimiento de las características de composición acídica de aceites vegetales de producción masiva en la república Argentina. Su desarrollo, en parte coincidente con la evolución del conocimiento analítico, ha sido de utilidad a la nutrición, normalización, legislación alimentaria, tecnología, uso y contralor de aceites vegetales y de pulpa de frutos. El progreso observado en los avances de modernas técnicas de la Biotecnología tiende a una apertura en la diversificación de la producción