Application of 2-factorial design on the enhanced production of calcium gluconate by a mutant strain of Aspergillus niger.

Sixty-eight isolates of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger were examined for calcium gluconate production under submerged culture conditions in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks. The isolate Chem-15 was selected for improvement through ultraviolet (UV) light-induced mutagenesis. Among viable mutants, strain 32 exhibited the best gluconate productivity, and it was subjected to N-methyl N-nitro N-nitroso guanidine (NG) treatment. Mutant strain NG-7 gave the highest gluconate production (86.48g/L) which varied significantly (p0.05) from that of the wild type. The mutant was cultured overnight and plated on 5-fluorocytosine-PDA medium. Gluconate productivity was increased by 35% when the process parameters, incubation period (72h), initial pH (6.5), glucose as carbon source (15%), inoculum size (1.875x10(6)CFU/ml) and corn steep liquor (CSL) as nitrogen source (0.5%) were optimized using a 2-factorial Plackett-Burman design. Maximal glucose oxidase activity (28U/ml/min) was achieved at the optimal fermentation conditions with 26.5g/L DCM. The model terms were highly significant thus suggesting the potential commercial utility of the mutant (HS, df=3 approximately 0.0182).

In vivo (rat assay) assessment of nutritional improvement of peas (Pisum sativum L.).

This study was conducted to determine the nutritional value of peas (Pisum sativum L.) in raw and cooked form and when supplemented with chicken, mutton or beef. Peas had 3.0% lysine, which decreased to 0.6% on cooking. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) of the raw pea diet improved significantly on cooking (P < 0.05). True digestibility (TD) and net protein utilization (NPU) also showed significant improvement (P < 0.05). Supplementation of cooked peas with 15% poultry meat, mutton or beef improved PER significantly (P < 0.05). Higher PER, TD and NPU values were observed in diets supplemented with 15%-20% mutton or beef.

In vivo [rat assay] assessment of nutritional improvement of peas [Pisum sativum L.]

This study was conducted to determine the nutritional value of peas [Pisum sativum L.] in raw and cooked form and when supplemented with chicken, mutton or beef. Peas had 3.0% lysine, which decreased to 0.6% on cooking. Protein efficiency ratio [PER] of the raw pea diet improved significantly on cooking [P < 0.05]. True digestibility [TD] and net protein utilization [NPU] also showed significant improvement [P < 0.05]. Supplementation of cooked peas with 15% poultry meat, mutton or beef improved PER significantly [P < 0.05]. Higher PER, TD and NPU values were observed in diets supplemented with 15%-20% mutton or beef

Nutritional improvement of Lobia (Phaseolus vulgaris) by supplementation with poultry, mutton and beef meat.

The study was conducted to determine the nutritional value of Lobia (Phaseolus vulgaris) in raw and cooked forms and as effected by supplementation with different kinds of meat, i.e. poultry, mutton and beef at 10, 15 and 20% levels. Nutritional assessment of all the Lobia-containing diets (without or with supplementation) was made by chemical analysis as well as through rat assay. Lobia contained 20.43% of protein. Cooking resulted in minor changes in nutrients. It had 0.54% lysine which was reduced to 0.29% on cooking. All other amino acids also showed losses during cooking. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) of diets containing raw Lobia was 1.05 and significantly (P < 0.05) improved to 1.47 on cooking. True digestibility (TD) and net protein utilization (NPU) also showed a significant (P < 0.05) improvement in the case of cooked Lobia. Supplementation of Lobia with 20% of mutton or beef meat improved the PER significantly (P < 0.05) over unsupplemented diet containing cooked Lobia only. TD was improved from 74.9% in cooked to 84.3% in diets containing 20% mutton. Similarly NPU improved as a result of meat supplementation, from 40.7% in cooked to 53.4%. Higher PER, TD and NPU values were observed in diets containing Lobia supplemented with 20% level of mutton or beef.

Effect of cooking and supplementation with different kinds of meats on the nutritional value of mash (Vigna mungo).

The study was conducted to determine the nutritional value of mash (Vigna mungo) in raw and cooked forms and as effected by supplementation with different kind of meat, i.e. poultry, mutton and beef at 10, 15 and 20% levels. Nutritional assessment of all mash-containing diets (without or with supplementation) was made by chemical analysis as well as through rat assay. Mash contained 23.83% protein. Cooking resulted in minor changes in nutrients. Mash had 1.79% lysine which was reduced by 35% on cooking. All other amino acids also showed losses during cooking. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) of diet containing raw mash was 1.9% and cooking improved it to 2.8%. True digestibility (TD) also showed a significant improvement. Supplementation of mash with different kinds of meat did not improve the PER significantly over unsupplemented diet containing cooked mash only. TD, however, was improved from 74.89% in cooked to 75.58-87.06% in supplemented diets. Similarly net protein utilization (NPU), as a result of meat supplementation, improved from 43.54% in cooked to 42.88%-51.96%. Higher PER, TD and NPU values were observed in diets containing mash supplemented with 20% level of different meats.

Nutritional value of mung bean (Vigna radiata) as effected by cooking and supplementation.

The study was conducted to improve the nutritional value of Mung (Vigna radiata) by supplementation with different kinds of meat. Diets were prepared using raw and cooked Mung and then cooked Mung was supplemented with poultry, mutton and beef at 10, 15, and 20 percent levels. Nutritional value of Mung was determined by chemical analysis as well as by rat assay. Mung had 25 percent protein and minor losses were observed during cooking. It had 1.21 percent lysine which was reduced by 43 percent on cooking. Other amino acids also showed losses during cooking. The Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) of diet containing Mung was significantly reduced on cooking (1.86 vs 1.40). On the contrary cooking resulted in some improvement of Net Protein utilization (NPU) and True Digestibility (TD) of the Mung based diets. Twenty percent level of different meats showed better results in terms of PER, NPU and TD.

Longitudinal study in biochemical composition of human milk during first year of lactation.

The composition (total solids, total protein, casein, coagulable proteins, lactose, fat, and ash) and mineral content (calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and copper) of human milk was estimated longitudinally for the first year of lactation. Concentration of various nutrients, except zinc and copper, remained nearly constant throughout the first year of lactation and did not show any specific trend of variation. Zinc and copper decreased linearly in the first 6 months. Milk composition was found identical to the data reported from developed countries.

Body weight of Pakistani infants reared on different feeding regimes.

A longitudinal study during the first year of life was conducted in Pakistani infants, to investigate the effect of feeding regimes on body weight. On an average, breast-fed infants showed better weight gain in the first six months. In the last six months of their first year, however, bottle-fed infants grew better. Breast-fed infants doubled their birth weight earlier than bottle- or combined-fed infants.

PIP: 916 randomly selected infants born in various hospitals in Faisalabad, Pakistan with no congenital abnormalities, were followed with weight monitoring and maternal interviews on feeding regimens, from 24 hours after birth to 12 months at 30 day intervals. Exclusively breast fed infants gained significantly more weight for the 1st 6 months of age (p0.01). Breast-fed infants also doubled their birth weight earlier, 4.5 months, than did bottle fed infants, 6-7 months for males and 5-6 months for females. Bottle-fed infants gained weight more rapidly than exclusively breast-fed infants for the 2nd 6 months of life. Children fed by breast and bottle gained weight at a rate intermediate between breast and bottle feeding. Average weight gains for the whole series was consistently inferior to the Harvard standards, as well as local standards at all time points. Mothers here typically give diluted milk by bottle until about age 6 months, then whole milk with solid food supplementation.

Energy utilization of supplemented cereal diets in human volunteers.

Energy utilization was studied in human volunteers using different diets containing wheat flour supplemented by groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), "masur" (Lens culinaris), mung (Phaseolus aureus) and gram (Cicer arietinum) flour. Digestible and metabolizable energies were determined for all the experimental diets. An improved energy digestibility was observed when wheat flour was supplemented with groundnut flour, and groundnut flour plus gram flour, i.e. 93.35 and 89.48%, respectively. Percent digestibility of energy for the other two experimental diets was 81.07% when wheat flour was supplemented with groundnut and "masur" flour. It was further depressed to 77.87% when wheat flour was supplemented with groundnut and mung flour.

Longitudinal study on head circumference of Pakistani infants in different socioeconomic groups.

Head circumference of Pakistani infants from different socioeconomic groups, was measured during the entire period of infancy. Growth curves for head circumference of local infants remained below the 25th percentile of the Harvard standard through out the first year. However, divergence from the standard increased as their age advanced. Head circumference was found to vary directly with socioeconomic status. It was concluded that smaller head circumference of the local infants was part of the overall growth depression caused by inadequate supplementary feeding and late introduction of solids to the infants' diet.