ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity due to the consumption of excess calories is a severe problem in developed countries. In a previous investigation on toddlers, hospital laboratory measurements showed an association of food-demand behavior with constant lower blood glucose before meals than for scheduled meals. We hypothesize that maternal scheduling of meals for toddlers results in excess energy intake compared to feeding only on demand (previously "on request"). OBJECTIVE: We tested the cross-sectional null hypothesis of no difference in energy intake between scheduled (automatic) and demanded meals (administered after evaluation) in 24 mother-toddler (21 months old at entry) pairs with chronic, nonspecific diarrhea presenting at a clinic. We tested the same hypothesis in a subset of 14 toddlers by measuring the resting (sleeping) metabolic rate 4 hours after lunch, as well as the total daily energy expenditure (TEE) in 10 toddlers. METHODS: We trained mothers to recognize meal demands (as in the previous investigation) and to provide food in response, but required no blood glucose measurements before meals. Energy intake was assessed by a 10-day food diary, resting metabolic rate (RMR) by respiratory analyses (indirect calorimetry) in 14 toddlers, and TEE by doubly labeled water in 10 toddlers. Their blood parameters, anthropometry, and number of days with diarrhea were assessed before training and 50 days after training. RESULTS: RMR decreased from 58.6 ± 7.8 to 49.0 ± 9.1 kcal/kg/d (P < 0.001) and TEE decreased from 80.1 ± 6.9 to 67.8 ± 10.0 kcal/kg/d (P < 0.001). Energy intake decreased from 85.7 ± 15.3 to 70.3 ± 15.8 kcal/kg/d (P < 0.001). The height Z-score increased significantly, while weight growth was normal. Toddlers entering the study over the median RMR decreased their RMR significantly more than those below the median RMR (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Scheduled meal suspension induces meal demand frequency to increase. Demanded meals are associated with significantly lower energy intake, RMR, and TEE than scheduled meals. Feeding on demand may be an effective skill in a strategy for reducing excess energy intake in the long term and in regulating body weight in toddlers and children.
ABSTRACT
A novel stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the assay of diacerhein in bulk forms. Diacerhein was found to degrade in alkaline and acidic conditions and also under oxidative stress. The drug was stable to dry heat and in presence of light. Resolution of drug, its potential impurities and degradation products were achieved on a RP18 (endcapped) column utilizing 0.1 M phosphoric acid and methanol (40:60, v/v) as eluent at the detection wavelength of 254 nm. The validation studies were carried out fulfilling International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) requirements. The procedure was found to be specific, linear, precise (including intermediate precision), accurate and robust.
Subject(s)
Anthraquinones/analysis , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/analysis , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods , Drug Stability , Anthraquinones/chemistry , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/chemistry , Calibration , Chemistry, Pharmaceutical/methods , Chromatography , Drug Contamination , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Mass Spectrometry , Methanol/pharmacology , Models, Chemical , Oxidative Stress , Pharmaceutical Preparations/analysis , Phosphoric Acids/pharmacology , Quality Control , Sensitivity and Specificity , Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet , Technology, Pharmaceutical/methods , Time FactorsABSTRACT
A HPTLC-densitometric method, based on an external standard approach, was developed in order to obtain a novel procedure for routine analysis of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) in flaxseed with a minimum of sample pre-treatment. Optimization of TLC conditions for the densitometric scanning was reached by eluting HPTLC silica gel plates in a horizontal developing chamber. Quantitation of SDG was performed in single beam reflectance mode by using a computer-controlled densitometric scanner and applying a five-point calibration in the 1.00-10.00 microg/spot range. As no sample preparation was required, the proposed HPTLC-densitometric procedure demonstrated to be reliable, yet using an external standard approach. The proposed method is precise, reproducible and accurate and can be employed profitably in place of HPLC for the determination of SDG in complex matrices.
