Biological assay for thiamin of the "Carabao" variety of Philippine mango (Mangifera indica L.)

There are three varieties of mango commonly grown in the Philippines, namely: the carabao, the pico and the pahutan mangoes. Other types like the cabayo, corazon, linoboy, marianas and senora are occassionally found, besides other mangifera species like the bauno, juani and paho, which are also propagated but on a comparatively limited number. Among these different varieties, the carabao variety is conceded to be the best, due to its exceptionally fine flavorGreen and ripe Philippine mangoes of the Carabao variety, were assayed respectively for Vitamin B1 potency in international units, using the rat growth method recommended by Bulletin No. 27 of the U.S.P. Vitamin Committee. The results of the assay showed that the green carabao variety of Philippine mango has a potency of 20 international units of Vitamin B1 while the ripe mango contains 45 international units per 100 Gm. (Summary and Conclusion)

A brief review of the fundamentals of nutrition

The fundamentals of nutrition have been reviewed in a brief manner for the benefit of the busy medical practitioner. It is inevitable that in a brief review dealing with such a highly intricate subject as nutrition, with its ramifications in chemistry, medicine, dietetics, and other sciences, the author has had to omit much data, both general and detailed. For example, no allusion has been made to tests for vitamins, their properties, their relation to one another, or to the great number of experiments on different phases of nutrition. It is felt that this detailed information would be of great interest to the expert nutritionist but would serve little purpose for the busy practitionerIt will seen that human nutritional requirements include a combination of dietary essentials, namely the carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. Each of these essentials is as important as the others, although the spectacular nature of vitamins tends to overshadow the value of the other elements. The well-balanced diet should contain a sufficiency of all these nutrients for the enjoyment of optimum health and efficiency. It must be remembered, however, that they daily requirements given for each nutrient are approximate and tentativeFrom the review it is seen that most of the indispensable elements usually lacking in ordinary diets, especially in the diet of Filipinos, are found in certain foods like milk, eggs, leafy vegeratbles, liver and glandular organs, which are commonly called protective foods. Therefore, it is important that our diet, which consists chiefly of rice, should be supplemented by liberal amounts of these protective foods. Furthermore, the inclusion of meats as a source of protein should be encouraged as it has been shown that their proteins possess superior properties over plant proteins. Finally, it must be emphasized that if our daily diet is planned so as to include meats and the protective foods, the rest may be selected with a view to satisfying the appetite.(Conclusion)

Physicochemical factors affecting the breeding of Anopheles minimus var. flavirostris

A selected number of physicochemical factors were studied to determine their effect upon the breeding of A. minimus var. flovirostris, the chief vector of malaria in the Philippines. To this end, a comparison was made between one portion of a stream found to be constantly positive for A. minimus and another portion of the same stream consistently negative for the larvae of this mosquito. Comparisons were also made between two positive and two negative wells. The results of a total of 233 observations indicate the preference of A. minimus for water of high purity with high oxygen but low carbon dioxide contents. (Summary and conclusions)

Biological assay of Annato (Bixa Orellana) for Vitamin A activity

Biological assay of the crude petroleum ether extract of the annato showed that it contains 1300 I.U. of vitamin A activity per gram. As one gram of the oil extract is equivalent to about 50 grams of annato seeds it is obvious that annato is not a rich source of vitamin ATests for the presence of carotene in the crude oily extract by isolating this pigment by the phase separation method proved to be negativeThe water extract concentrate of the annato when assayed on rats for vitamin A activity by ther therapeutic and preventive methods of assay did not give any response, showing that coloring food preparations with this extract will not increase their vitamin A content. (Summary and Conclusions)