Composition and nutritional value of traditional rural Iranian foods

There are a limited number of studies available on the composition and nutritional value of traditional rural foods in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this study, an attempt was made to collect information on these foods through a questionnaire by health workers in rural areas of northern, southern, eastern, western and central regions of the country. A total of 24 traditional rural foods and composite dishes were identified. Eshkeneh-daneh and ab-baneh contained high energy and protein contents among plant and mixed [plant and animal] foods, respectively. Their energy density and protein-energy ratio were very high. The calcium content was relatively high in ab-baneh, but the iron content rather low in both. Melon seed in eshkeneh-daneh and local nuts in ab-baneh were the main ingredients in these composite dishes

Standardisation of methods for the estimation of thiocyanate and iodine in foodstuff.

Thiocyanate content in vegetables has been estimated by passing the water extract of vegetables through an alumina column. The thiocyanate content in the eluate has been measured according to Johnston and Jones. Iodine content in the vegetables has been estimated according to a modified method of Acland. The results show the primarily the Cruciferae family vegetables contain higher concentration of thiocyanate.

Incidence of endrin residues in cucumber and its effects on the biological system of rats

The residue levels of Endrin were estimated in cucumber [Cucumis sativus] samples showed that 35.5% contained endrin residues ranging from 304.3 to 669.4 ug per 100 g vegetable. The calculated daily consumption of endrin by human population, thus falls between 13.1 and 28.7 ug per kg body weight. The disappearance of endrin in cucumber was also noted after spraying the insecticide in an experimental field. The residues persisted upto 14 days. Female albino rats receiving 28.7-ug endrin per kg body weight, accumulated endrin in their livers [5.47 ug/g] and its amount in the blood increased progressively [15.21 ug/ml] upto 28 days. The enzymes AST and ALT increased progressively, but no endrin was excreted in the faeces. The growth rate of rats as well as principal body organs, were adversely affected by the oral administration of the insecticide

Incidence of endrin residues in vegetables and its effects on biological system

The residue levels of Endrin were estimated for two vegetables, i.e., raddish [Raphanus sativus] and cabbage [Brassica oleracia]. Samples were collected from fields and markets. The disappearance of endrin in raddish was also noted after spraying. Ten percent of raddish and 30% samples of cabbage were found to contain large amounts of the insecticide ranging from 199.4 +/- 6.8 to 388.7 +/- 16.9 micro g per 100 g sample. The residues of the insecticide after spraying the raddish crop, persisted upto 10 days. The insecticide accumulated in the blood and livers of albino rats receiving three different doses of endrin orally. The growth rate was significantly affected