Effects of propiconazole on physiological and biochemical properties of Panax notoginseng and dietary risk assessment / 中国中药杂志

To study the residue and dietary risk of propiconazole in Panax notoginseng and the effects on physiological and bioche-mical properties of P. notoginseng, we conducted foliar spraying of propiconazole on P. notoginseng in pot experiments. The physiolo-gical and biochemical properties studied included leaf damage, osmoregulatory substance content, antioxidant enzyme system, non-enzymatic system, and saponin content in the main root. The results showed that at the same application concentration, the residual amount of propiconazole in each part of P. notoginseng increased with the increase in the times of application and decreased with the extension of harvest interval. After one-time application of propiconazole according to the recommended dose(132 g·hm~(-2)) for P. ginseng, the half-life was 11.37-13.67 days. After 1-2 times of application in P. notoginseng, propiconazole had a low risk of dietary intake and safety threat to the population. The propiconazole treatment at the recommended concentration and above significantly increased the malondialdehyde(MDA) content, relative conductivity, and osmoregulatory substances and caused the accumulation of reactive oxygen species in P. notoginseng leaves. The propiconazole treatment at half(66 g·hm~(-2)) of the recommended dose for P. ginseng significantly increased the activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD), peroxidase(POD), and catalase(CAT) in P. notoginseng leaves. The propiconazole treatment at 132 g·hm~(-2) above inhibited the activities of glutathione reductase(GR) and glutathione S-transferase(GST), thereby reducing glutathione(GSH) content. Proconazole treatment changed the proportion of 5 main saponins in the main root of P. notoginseng. The treatment with 66 g·hm~(-2) propiconazole promoted the accumulation of saponins, while that with 132 g·hm~(-2) and above propiconazole significantly inhibited the accumulation of saponins. In summary, using propiconazole at 132 g·hm~(-2) to prevent and treat P. notoginseng diseases will cause stress on P. notoginseng, while propiconazole treatment at 66 g·hm~(-2) will not cause stress on P. notoginseng but promote the accumulation of saponins. The effect of propiconazole on P. notoginseng diseases remains to be studied.

Gender specific variation in risk factors of gallstone disease among adult patients

Background: Gallstone disease (GSD) is a common gastrointestinal disease diagnosed in patients presented with abdominal pain. The present study was aimed to find the association between demographic, personal, behavioural and dietary factors and GSD by gender among adult population for suggesting specific gender wise intervention to control GSD.Methods: Case-control study was conducted in 120 cases and same number of controls. Data was collected on a self-designed pretested “interview schedule”. To measure the strength of association OR was calculated by matched pair analysis using McNemar’s test.Results: Among 120 study subjects, 83 cases were females and 37 were males. Strength of association was found to be significantly higher for family h/o GSD in females (OR=8), physical inactivity (OR=8), waist-hip ratio (OR=4.2), calorie intake more than recommended dietary allowance (RDA) (OR=2.09), and diabetes (OR=4) as compare to males OR=3, OR=2.8, OR=2.5, OR=1.43, OR=2.33 respectively.Conclusions: Family h/o GSD, physical inactivity, high waist-hip ratio, calorie and fat intake more than RDA, protein intake less than RDA, hypertension and diabetes were found to be potential risk factors for the development of GSD in females. Consumption of smokeless tobacco, physical inactivity, non-vegetarian diet and intake of fats more than RDA were risk factors for GSD in males.

Dietary risk factors of non-communicable diseases among industrial common workers: a cross-sectional study

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and morbidity throughout the world. Unhealthy diet is a risk factor for NCDs. There is a lack of studies on the prevalence of dietary risk factors among the industrial population in India particularly in North East India.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among industrial workers of a major industry in Assam. The sample size was 330 considering a prevalence of 50% and 95% confidence interval, and a design effect of 1.5. Data was collected using methods described in WHO STEPS instrument v3.1.Results: A total of 318 subjects consented to participate in the study. Consumption of less than 5 servings of fruit and/or vegetables on average per day was observed in majority 98.4% of the study participants. In a typical week, fruits and vegetables were consumed on 2.99 and 6.89 days respectively. Mean number of servings of fruit consumed on average per day was 0.5 and for vegetables were 2.33.46 (14.5%) of the study participants added extra salt always or often to their food before eating or while eating. 132 (41.5%) of the study participants always or often ate processed foods high in salt.Conclusions: Inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables was observed in 98.4% of industrial workers included in the study. Increasing awareness among this population about adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables to prevent NCDs is necessary.

Dietary Issues and Challenges on Cardiometabolic Health in Korea: From a Viewpoint of a National Nutrition Surveillance System

A national nutrition surveillance system is an essential instrument for the detection of nutrition and nutrition-related health problems that can assist on policy implementation. The role of nutritional surveillance in detecting trends of nutritional problems and predicting their risks has become more important as its strong scientifically based method and evidences may provide insights on chronic disease risks. In this review, we attempted to identify dietary issues of Korean cardiometabolic disease (CMD) based on the national nutrition surveillance system and addressed gaps and limitations in the system. In addition, an alternative way on how the system can overcome these problems with the view of ultimately improving public health in Korea was discussed.

Dietary Risk Factors for Sporadic Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease: A Confirmatory Case-Control Study.

Aims: This study’s primary purpose was to determine whether earlier findings suggesting an association between sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of humans and specific dietary components could be replicated. The a priori hypotheses were that consumption of (i) foods likely to contain organ tissue and (ii) raw/rare meat are associated with increased sCJD risk. Study Design: Population-based case-control study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA; 4 years. Methodology: An 11-state case-control study of pathologically confirmed, definite sCJD cases, matched controls, and a sample of control-surrogates was conducted. Ninety-six percent (106/110) of the case data was obtained in 1991-1993, prior to variant CJD publicity. Results: Using control self-responses, consumption of hot dogs, sausage, pepperoni, kielbasa, "other" canned meat, poultry liver, any stomach/intestine, beef stomach/intestine, any organ tissue, and beef organ tissue was individually associated with increased sCJD risk; odds ratios (OR) ranged from 2.4 to 7.2 (0.003 <p<0.025). Rare/raw meat consumption was associated with sCJD (OR=2.0; p<0.05). Greater consumption of hot dogs, bologna, salami, sausage, pepperoni and kielbasa was associated with significantly higher risk. The OR for gizzard consumption was 7.6, p<0.04. Bologna, salami, any liver, beef liver and pork stomach/intestine were marginally associated with sCJD: ORs ranged from 1.7 to 3.7; 0.05 <p< 0.10. Brain consumption was not associated with an elevated risk. Analyses using control-surrogate data indicate that use of the control self-responses did not bias the results away from the null hypothesis. Conclusions: The a priori hypotheses were supported. Consumption of various meat products may be one method of transmission of the infectious agent for sCJD.

Dietary Risk Assessment for Pesticide Residues of Vegetables in Seoul, Korea

This paper specifically discusses the risk assessment on the pesticide residues in vegetables collected from traditional markets, big marts and departments in the southern part of Seoul. Vegetable samples were 6,583 cases from January to December in 2009. Monte-Carlo simulation was used to calculate the uncertainty for the risk index using pesticide residues, average dietary intake for vegetables and acceptable daily intake. Deterministic risk indexes were 7.33% of diethofencarb, 5.13% of indoxacarb, 3.96% of EPN, 3.92% of diniconazole and 3.09% of chlorothalonil, respectively. And other pesticides were below 3%. Distributions of risk indexes obtained by the Monte-Carlo simulations were similar to the deterministic values, even though the confidence intervals for 95% were very wide. We confirmed that health risks caused by eating vegetables exceeded maximum residue limits of pesticide are very low and the population is generally safe, judging from the risk indexes located between 0.07 to 9.49%.

Crystalline composition and etiologic factors of kidney stone in Thailand : update 2007.

Objective: The etiology of kidney stone is multifactorial including environmental, behavioral and genetic. Insights about predisposing causes and mineral composition are mandatory for better management of kidney stone disease. The present hospital-based study aims to explore the mineral constituents and etiologic risks of kidney stones in Thai patients from the four geographic regions of the country. Method: Two hundred and fifty six kidney stone patients from four geographic regions of Thailand, including the northeastern (n=103), the northern (n=81), the central (n=47) and the southern (n=25) were recruited in this study. Of these, 144 patients completed the food frequency questionnaire to assess the kidney stone risk. Mineral composition of stones were analyzed by Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry. Results: Kidney stone frequently affected peoples aged 40-49 years. Only 31.9 % of patients had a positive family history of renal stone. Calcium oxalate (CaOx) stone was the most prevalent type (73.8 %). Uric acid (UA) stone was found in 16.0 % commonly affected peoples aged 60-70 years. Mixed stones, notably CaOx mixed with calcium phosphate (CaP), were more prevalent than pure stones. The food frequency questionnaire data showed that 59.7 % of stone patients consumed less than two liters of water per day. Low intakes of fruits and vegetables were notably present. In contrast, high consumption of rice was observed in over 65 % of stone patients. Conclusion: CaOx mixed with CaP was the most prevalent stone type. UA stone was more likely to occur in the elderly. Kidney stone patients were found to consume less-than-adequate amounts of water, food high in carbohydrates, along with low consumtion of fruits and vegetables. These dietary habits might be risk factors in stone development among the Thai population.

Dietary Risk Factors Associated with Hypertension in Patients / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was performed to determine the dietary risk factors associated with hypertension. The hypertensive group were composed of 112 hypertensive patients (male 53, female 59) who first visited the hypertension clinic and had been diagnosed as having primary hypertension (SBP > or = 140 mmHg or DBP > or = 90 mmHg). The regular visitors or the subjects on special diets or medical therapies were excluded. The normal group consisted of as subjects (male 41, female 54) matched with age and socioeconomic levels. The subjects having higher intakes (above the 75 percentile) in energy, protein, iron, vitamin A or C showed significantly higher hypertension risk estimated with odds ratio after the covariance factors (age, sex and BMI) were adjusted. More than 2400 mg of sodium (6 g of salt) intake was associated with significantly higher risk of hypertension (odds ratio: 1.773, CI: 1.014 - 3.014 for SBP > or = 140 mmHg; odds ratio: 2.373, CI: 1.359 - 4.215 for DBP > or = 90 mmHg). Hypertensive group showed significantly increased intakes of vegetables and fish and shell fish compared to the normal group. When the vegetable intakes were classified into Kimchi, fresh vegetables and cooked vegetables with seasoning, the hypertensive group was observed as having higher intakes of Kimchi and cooked vegetables with seasoning. The intakes of highest quartile for vegetables (> or = 327 g/day)(odds ratio: 3.164, CI: 1.740 - 5.752), fish and their products (> or = 102 g/day)(odds ratio: 2.756, CI: 1.486 - 5.109), grains(> or = 311 g/day)(odds ratio 2.393, CI: 1.186 - 4.832), meats and their product (> or = 106 g)(odds ratio: 2.210, CI: 1.225 - 3.987) compared to the lower were significantly associated with the higher risk of hypertension estimated with DBP (> or = 90 mmHg) after covariance factors were adjusted. In conclusion, our findings confirm that higher intake of energy or sodium are associated with the increased risk of hypertension. Because increased intake of vegetable or fish was associated with the higher risk of hypertension, in contrast with the finding of western countries, choosing or preparation of vegetables or fish with reduced salt is recommended.

The Nutritional Intakes of the Colorectal Cancer Patients in Daegu, Kyungpook Area Korea

The present study was conducted to analyze the status of food and nutrients intakes of the colorectal cancer patients in the Daegu.Kyungpook area and to find dietary risk factors related to the occurrence of colorectal cancer in this community. The case subjects (123) were selected from the patients recently diagnosed as colorectal cancer at Kyungpook National University Hospital, the control subjects (182) were selected from the patients of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the same hospital and from the healthy volunteers who did not have any gastrointestinal diseases. The food consumption survey was done by individual interviews using semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and nutrients intakes were analysed by CAN program. The results of the study suggested that dietary factors which are speculated as the risk factors of colorectal cancer in Daegu.Kyungpook area were high consumption of cereals and oils, low consumption of fruits and mushrooms, high consumption of energy and fat, especially animal fat, low consumption of dietary fiber, high percentage of energy intake from cereals and potatoes, high intakes of protein, fat, vitamin A and cholesterol from egg, low intake of calcium from vegetables, and high intake of iron from meats and eggs. These findings might be useful for the nutrition education to prevent colorectal cancer in the community. However it is recommended to conduct more extensive and systematic survey to reconfirm these dietary risk factors under taking into consideration of the dietary characteristics in this region.

The Nutritional Intakes of the Stomach Cancer Patients in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk Areas, Korea / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The present study was conducted to evaluate the food and nutrients intakes of stomach cancer patients in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas in order to find out the dietary risk factors for stomach cancer. The subjects of the study were 102 patients who had recently been diagnosed with stomach cancer at the Gyeongbuk National University Hospital. The control subjects were 105 people including patients from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and healthy volunteers who did not have any gastrointestinal diseases. Estimates of nutrients intakes were determined from the food intake frequency data obtained by individual interviews using questionnaires. The mean daily calorie intakes of the control and the case groups were not significantly different. However the energy intake from protein was significantly higher in the case group as compared to the control group. With regard to the nutrients intakes, the case subjects consumed significantly higher amounts of nutrients such as protein, calcium, sodium, phosphorus and niacin than the control group. The case group showed a tendency to consume higher amount of protein, fat, calcium and iron from animal food sources. In the present study dietary factors which were suspected as being risk factors for stomach cancer included high consumption of animal foods, specific nutrients such as protein, sodium and niacin, specific food groups such as meat, spices, and low consumption of fruits and mushrooms. Therefore, it is recommended that more extensive and systematic surveys be conducted to confirm the risk factors for stomach cancer, taking into consideration the dietary cultural characteristics of this region.

Evaluation of Dietary Risk Factors for Abnormal Serum Cholesterol in Korean Sedentary Male Adults / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study investigated whether dietary factors are more influential factor than other health behavior such as drinking, smoking and exercise on abnormal serum cholesterol level inspite of Korean dietary pattern differences compared to Europeans and Americans. A double case control study model has been used for the study design. One model consisted of high blood cholesterol cases and control. the other model consisted of low blood cholesterol cased and controls. 5.398 sedentary male workers who had taken medical examinations at a university hospital were used as the study subjects. Out of the study subjects, 36individuals with high blood cholesterol cases and 30 individuals with low blood cholesterol cases were selected. For the 66 individual control selection, the individual control selection, the individuals matching method was adopted. The food frequency method was used to collect the data for assessment of the dietary factors. A standardized questionnaire was used to investigate other health behavior. logistic regression analysis was employed to measure the relative importance between the factors considered. There were no statistically significant differences observed in nutrients consumption or other health behavior among the low, normal and high blood cholesterol groups, An overmatching effect had been suspected as the cause of those findings. However, the results of logistic regression analysis to identify the factors influencing high serum cholesterol showed that odd ratios of dietary factors such as tocopherol(3.0) and saturated fatty acid(1.6) were higher than I. I of smoking and 1.2 of drinking. Similar results were also observed incases of low serum cholesterol. The above findings imply that although the dietary pattern is quite different from that of Europeans and America, the dietary factor is still a significant factor for abnormal blood cholesterol in Koreans. Therefore, the dietary risk factor identified in high fat consumption populations are still relevant for the relatively healthy Korean as guideline for preventive health practices.