Assessing the iodine status of children, availability and awareness of iodised salt, use of salty condiments and flavoring in households in Zia community, Huon District, Morobe Province Papua New Guinea

@#The strategy of fortifying food grade salt with iodine has been globally successful in increasing iodine intake and significantly reducing the prevalence of iodine deficiency. In addition, the consumption of salt through processed foods is increasing in many countries. The major objectives of the current study were to assess the iodine nutritional status among school children, the availability and awareness of iodized salt, the use of salty condiments and flavorings in households in a remote Zia community. This was a school and community based prospective cross-sectional study carried out in February 2020. The study population included 6 to 12 years old school children in five schools in Zia. Simple random sampling was used to select the children. Salt samples were collected from randomly selected households in the community. Discretionary salt intake was also assessed in a sub-set of households. The size of the thyroid gland of the children was assessed by a single specialist endocrinologist using the standardized procedure for palpation and grading, after which a single urine sample was collected from the children after obtaining informed consent from their parents. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to assess the awareness and use of iodized salt in the households. The iodine content in salt samples was measured using the single wavelength semi-automated WYD Iodine Checker Photometer. The urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was measured by isotopic dilution, using 129I as a spike. The 127I/129I ratio was measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS) (quadrupole ICP-MS iCap). The volume of urine required per run was 0.3ml. The mean iodine content of the salt samples from the Households was 31.7 ± 5.9mg/kg. The daily per capita discretionary intake of salt was 5.7 ± 2.2g. The calculated per capita discretionary intake of iodine was 126.5 ± 48.8μg per day. The Median UIC among the children was 147.5μg/L, which indicates normal iodine status at the time of this study. A total of 44.5% of all the children had palpable goiter (grade 1). This may indicate long-standing prevalence of mild status of iodine deficiency. Majority of the households (93.9%) used Maggi Kakaruk stock cubes to make their food salty compared to 90.9% that used salt. Instant noodles/2-minute noodles are the best wheat based alternative processed foods that should be fortified with iodine. Salt and Maggi Kakaruk stock cubes are the two optimal food vehicles for fortification with iodine in this remote community.

Efeitos do sal de ervas sobre a pressão arterial e a excreção de sódio urinário de pessoas com hipertensão / Effects of herbal salt on blood pressure and urinary sodium excretion in people with hypertension

A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar os efeitos da substituição do sal de cozinha por sal de ervas sobre os valores de pressão arterial e excreção de sódio urinário de pessoas com hipertensão arterial. Trata-se de um estudo de abordagem quantitativa e delineamento quasi-experimental, tipo "cross-over", com amostra de hipertensos cadastrados em três unidades públicas de saúde de um município do estado de Mato Grosso. A coleta de dados foi realizada no período de maio de 2020 a maio de 2022. Por meio de entrevista, foi aplicado o questionário para identificação das variáveis sociodemográficas e o "Questionário de Adesão a Medicamentos - Qualiaids" (QAM-Q). Posteriormente, foi realizada a avaliação antropométrica e a medida casual da pressão arterial. A pesquisa foi dividida em três etapas: Etapa 1 - os participantes permaneceram em uso habitual do sal de cozinha, durante sete dias; Etapa 2 - os participantes fizeram uso exclusivo de cinco gramas de sal por dia, durante 10 dias; Etapa 3 - os participantes usaram exclusivamente o sal de ervas para o preparo das refeições, durante 10 dias. Em todas as etapas, foi realizada a Monitorização Residencial da Pressão Arterial (MRPA) e a dosagem de sódio urinário. As análises descritivas foram realizadas por meio do pacote estatístico IBM Statistical Package for Social Science - SPSS®, versão 25.0. O teste ANOVA foi utilizado para comparações entre as médias pareadas. Os resultados foram expressos como valores médios, desvio padrão (dp), mínimo, máximo e mediana. Para diferença estatística foi considerado p<0,05. Participaram do estudo 24 indivíduos, com idade média de 63,2 ± 10 anos, a maioria mulheres (54,2%), que convivem com companheiro (70,8%), de cor da pele autodeclarada branca (54,2%), com média de 7,6 anos de estudo e aposentados (45,8%). Em relação às variáveis clínicas, houve predomínio de participantes com pressão arterial ótima (45,8%), na categoria sobrepeso (45,8%), com risco cardiovascular elevado segundo relação cintura-estatura (87,5%) e risco muito elevado de acordo com a medida da circunferência da cintura (54,1%); 62,5% se mostraram aderentes ao tratamento. Na comparação entre as três etapas, observou-se redução significante nos valores de Pressão Arterial Sistólica (p=0,003) e Pressão Arterial Diastólica (p=0,001), sem diferença nas variáveis consumo de sal (p=0,66) e excreção de sódio urinário (p=0,66). Ainda que o uso do sal de ervas seja uma estratégia não medicamentosa interessante e inovadora para o controle da pressão arterial, os participantes não aderiram de forma expressiva à intervenção proposta. De qualquer forma, salienta-se que a monitorização do consumo de sódio é primordial para a avaliação do uso do sal pela população, tendo em vista a implementação de medidas visando a redução da pressão arterial e a prevenção de eventos cardiovasculares

The present research aimed to analyze the effects of replacing table salt with herbal salt on blood pressure values and urinary sodium excretion in people with hypertension. This study has a quantitative approach and quasi-experimental design, "cross-over" type, with a sample of hypertensive patients registered in three public health units in a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso. Data collection was carried out from May 2020 to May 2022. Through an interview, the questionnaire to identify sociodemographic variables and the "Medication Adherence Questionnaire - Qualiaids" (QAM-Q) were applied. Subsequently, anthropometric assessment and casual blood pressure measurements were performed. The research was divided into three stages: Stage 1 - the participants kept the usual use of table salt for seven days; Stage 2 - participants made exclusive use of five grams of salt per day for ten days; Stage 3 - participants used only herbal salt to prepare meals for 10 days. Residential blood pressure monitoring and urinary sodium measurement were performed at all stages. Descriptive analyzes were performed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Science - SPSS® program, version 25.0. The One Way test was used for comparisons between the paired mean values. Results were expressed as mean values, standard deviation (sd), minimum, maximum, and median. For statistical difference, p<0.05 was considered. Participated in the research 24 individuals, with a mean age of 63.2 ± 10 years, most of them was women (54.2%), who live with a partner (70.8%), self-declared white skin color (54.2%), with an average of 7.6 years of formal education and retired (45.8%). Regarding clinical variables, it was observed a predominance of participants with optimal blood pressure (45.8%), in the overweight category (45.8%), with high cardiovascular risk according to the waist-to-height ratio (87.5%), and very high risk according to waist circumference measurement (54.1%), 62.5% were adherent to the treatment. When comparing the three stages, there was a significant reduction in the values of systolic blood pressure (p=0.003) and diastolic blood pressure (p=0.001), with no difference in the variables salt consumption (p=0.66) and urinary sodium excretion (p=0.66). Although the use of herbal salt is an interesting and innovative non-drug strategy for blood pressure control, participants did not significantly adhere to the proposed intervention. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the monitoring of sodium consumption is essential for the evaluation of the use of salt by the population and to implement measures aimed at reducing blood pressure and preventing cardiovascular events

Research Progress on Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Effects of Piperis Fructus / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Piperis Fructus is the dried nearly ripe or ripe fruit of Piperaceae, which is an important spice material and a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), it is widely used in the world. It is recorded to possess the efficacy of warming spleen and stomach for dispelling cold, depressing Qi and dissolving phlegm. Piperis Fructus mainly contains amide alkaloids with piperine as the main ingredient and volatile oil dominated by monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids, which have a wide range of biological activities, such as anti-cancer, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, etc. By referring to relevant papers at home and abroad, the researches on chemical compositions from different parts and pharmacological effects of Piperis Fructus in recent 5 years were summarized and analyzed. It was found that Piperis Fructus has great potential for drug development as a TCM with homology of medicine and food, which can provide a reference for further research and comprehensive utilization of Piperis Fructus.

Isolation of bacteriocin - producing lactic acid bacteria from 'Ugba' and 'Okpiye', two locally fermented nigerian food condiments

In this work, 100 samples each of 'ugba' and 'okpiye' were evaluated for the presence of bacteriocin producing lactic acid bacteria. Thirty strains showing antibacterial activity against at least one of the indicator organisms were selected from a total of 752 colonies isolated from the condiments. Out of the 30, only five strains retained activity after the pH of the broth supernatant was adjusted to 6.5. When evaluated by the agar-well diffusion assay, the spectra of inhibitory activity showed that Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive indicator organism tested, while Listeria monocytogenes was the most resistant. One strain (UG 2) was active against Escherichia coli. The assays using the cell-free supernatant of the cultures showed that the bacteriocins were completely inactivated by the proteolyses as well as by the chloroform treatment. In ethanol, the activity of the compounds was only partially modified. When incubated in a water bath at 80°C for 30 min, no significant activity loss was recorded. The antimicrobial activity of the bacteriocins produced by the lactic acid bacteria has potential for use in biopreservation of condiments against the spoilage and food - borne pathogens.

Dietary spices in health and diseases (II).

Dietary spices influence various systems in the body such as gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, reproductive and nervous systems resulting in diverse metabolic and physiologic actions. As inheritors of a long tradition of the use of spices in diet as well as in indigenous medicines we know that these are treatments often honed over centuries with well-established reputations for efficacy. A rigorous review of these manifold beneficial effects may provide a fair basis for prescription in many clinical conditions where confirmed modern drug treatments do not exist or as adjunct therapy to reduce the dosage or the risk of side effects. This essay attempts to adjudicate the traditional use of dietary spices based on factual research evidence for their multivalent actions as health promoting dietary additives as well as putative therapeutic agents.