Phytochemical profile, nutritional composition of pomegranate peel and peel extract as a potential source of nutraceutical: A comprehensive review.

The current study focuses on Punica granatum L. (pomegranate) peel and peel extract and their use as functional foods, food additives, or physiologically active constituents in nutraceutical formulations. The pomegranate peel extract is a good source of bioactive substances needed for the biological activity of the fruit, including phenolic acids, minerals, flavonoids (anthocyanins), and hydrolyzable tannins (gallic acid). The macromolecules found in pomegranate peel and peel extract have been recommended as substitutes for synthetic nutraceuticals, food additives, and chemo-preventive agents because of their well-known ethno-medical significance and chemical properties. Moreover, considering the promises for both their health-promoting activities and chemical properties, the dietary and nutraceutical significance of pomegranate peel and pomegranate peel extract appears to be underestimated. The present review article details their nutritional composition, phytochemical profile, food applications, nutraceutical action, and health benefits.

Study of metabolic syndrome indicators in newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus type 2 patients in Pakistani population.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) being a biological abnormality confers the highest risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). AIM: To assess MetS indicators in the newly diagnosed T2DM Pakistani population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study (N = 123) with newly diagnosed T2DM patients (gender: both, MeanAge: 49.24 ± 6.84 years) was selected from Medical OPD, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. Basic profile, family history, and physical activity were recorded through a predesigned questionnaire, dietary intake through seven days Food Diary and Food Frequency Questionnaire. Blood pressure and selected clinical signs and symptoms were recorded. Anthropometric measurements included mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-and-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and conicity index. Lab parameters included fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, insulin levels, and lipid profile. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was computed to assess insulin resistance. RESULTS: Almost all parameters related to MetS were higher than normal. The prevalence of MetS was 59.7%. BMI, MUAC, and WHtR were independently associated with HOMA-IR, but WC, WHR, and the conicity index had no relationship MetS indicators. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of MetS was found to be 59.7% in newly diagnosed T2DM patients. MUAC was found to be a better parameter for the diagnosis of central obesity and insulin resistance in the selected population.

Nutritional health status: association of stunted and wasted children and their mothers.

BACKGROUND: Across the globe, 149 and 49 million children are stunted and wasted, respectively. Prevalence of stunting and wasting is 40.2 and 17.7% in children of Pakistan. Stunting and wasting are accompanied with genetics, dietary factor, lack of information, bottle feeding, illiterate parents, less birth interval, infection such as diarrhoea, low birth weight, mother suffering from malnutrition during pregnancy, breastfeeding, pharmaceutical, and hormonal, psychosocial, and low social-economic status. METHODS: Stunted and wasted children and their mothers were called on and detail discussions related to research plan were carried out. Informed consent was assured from mothers, for participation in the study. The demographics, anthropometrics, vital signs observations, body composition, clinical signs and symptoms, dietary intake and associated biomarkers (CBC, level of urea nitrogen in blood, serum albumin globulin and serum creatinine.) were tools for nutritional health status assessment. SPSS software was implied on data. RESULTS: The study found that 27.2% mothers were belonged to stunted children, 17.3% belonged to wasted children, and 50.9% belonged to those children who were suffering from both stunting and wasting condition.57.9% mothers who were illiterate belong to stunted and wasted children. CBC and Hb test was prominent, stunted and wasted children had Hb 9.88 mg/dL, whereas, their mothers had 10.8 mg/dL as average Hb. The average height and weight of stunted and wasted children was 68.6 cm and 7.11 kg respectively. Dietary patterns and diet quality of both mothers and children were poor, due to lack of affordability; they were not able to eat healthy food. CONCLUSION: Stunting and wasting ultimately resulted in poor growth and development of children. Most of children were anemic, they height and weight less than WHO growth standards. They had less knowledge and poor intake of food diet pattern so children growth was poor.

Relationship between physical activity level and BMI among Pakistani labourers in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the level of physical activity of Pakistani labourers in Saudi Arabia, and to find its relationship with body mass index. Methods: The observational study was conducted inside the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from October 2017 to March 2018, and comprised Pakistani males aged 22-60 years doing unskilled and semi-skilled jobs. Body mass index was calculated, and the level of physical activity was assessed using the short form of International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: There were 130 subjects with mean age of 33.53±7.9 years. There were 109(83.8%) subjects aged <40 years, and 21(16.2%) were aged >40 years. Mean body mass index of the sample was 26.13±5.29kg/m². Overall, 71(54.6%) participants were insufficiently active having energy expenditure <600 metabolic equivalent of task in minutes per week. No statistically significant result was found when total energy expenditure was considered (p>0.05), but significant result was found for energy expenditure due to 'walk alone' (p<0.05). Significant correlation was found between profession and overall energy expenditure and job-related energy expenditure. Significant but weak positive correlation was found between body mass index and walk-related energy expenditure (r=0.279), (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Mean body mass index of the sample was high compared to South Asian cut-off values, and the level of physical activity was very low, but the findings failed to show an inverse relationship between physical activity level and body mass index.

Demographic Differences and Trends of Vitamin D Levels Among the Teenaged Girls in Balochistan.

Background Vitamin D is a vital micronutrient and plays a vital role in defining the bone mineral density of an individual. There are many factors that regulate the levels of vitamin D in our body. The deficiency in vitamin D leads to various complications, with the most important one weakening of bones. Adolescence defines the degree of bone mineral density, which reduces with the growing age in a gradual fashion. Methods The study was a cross-sectional study conducted in Zarghoon town, Quetta, Pakistan. A sample size of 142 was taken from urban and rural areas. Participants were adolescent girls falling in the age bracket of 13-18 years. The circulating level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D was assessed using the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technique. Data were analyzed with SPSS Version 20 (IBM Corp.). Results Overall, vitamin D deficiency was 32.4%, and 9.9 % of girls were found to be severely deficient, where the highest proportion belonged to urban samples. The prevalence rate of vitamin D insufficiency was 39.4%. The urban population had a higher prevalence of low levels of vitamin D. In urban respondents, 49.1% had an insufficient vitamin D level, 33.3% had a deficient vitamin D level, and 17.5% had a severely deficient vitamin D level. In rural respondents, 47.1% had normal vitamin D levels, 32.9% had insufficient vitamin D levels, 15.3% were deficient, and 4.7% were severely deficient. Conclusion It was concluded that vitamin D deficiency has a high prevalence among adolescent girls of school age. Additionally, it is more prevalent in urban areas than in rural areas.

Substance use disorders among older adults: A review of randomized controlled pharmacotherapy trials.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a growing problem among older adults. Acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone are United States Food and Drug Administration (referred to as FDA) approved for the treatment of alcohol use disorder, and buprenorphine is approved for the treatment of opiate use disorder among adults. However, the data on the use of these medications for the treatment of SUDs among older adults are unclear from randomized controlled trials (referred to as RCTs). A review of the literature indicates that there are only two RCTs that evaluated the use of pharmacologic agents for SUDs among older adults (≥ 50 years). One trial evaluated the use of naltrexone when compared to placebo for the treatment of alcohol use disorder among individuals, 50-70 years in age. The other trial evaluated the use of naltrexone or placebo as adjuncts with sertraline in the treatment of alcohol use disorder among individuals older than 55 years in age. Both trials indicated that the use of naltrexone reduced the rates of relapse among older adults with alcohol use disorder. However, we did not identify any RCTs that studied the use of buprenorphine, acamprosate, or disulfiram for SUDs among older adults. Based on available evidence, it would be safe to conclude that limited data indicate some efficacy for naltrexone in the treatment of alcohol use disorder among older adults. However, data from controlled trials on the use of other medications that are FDA approved for the treatment of SUDs among younger adults are nonexistent among older adults with SUDs.

PCR Based Detection of Phase Variable Genes in Pakistani Based Clinical Helicobacter pylori Strains.

BACKGROUND: The distribution pattern of phase-variable genes varies from strain to strain and from region to region. The present study was carried out to investigate the distribution pattern of phase-variable genes within Pakistan-based Helicobacter pylori strains and to analyze and compare them with strains prevalent in other parts of the world. OBJECTIVES: To determine the distribution pattern of phase-variable genes in H. pylori strains circulating in Pakistan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Biopsy samples were collected from 85 symptomatic patients suffering from various upper gastrointestinal tract symptoms. The biopsy specimens were chopped, then inoculated on H. pylori-specific media and incubated in a Campylobacter Gas Generating kit. Positive isolates were further confirmed via staining and biochemical procedures. Primers were designed for five phase-variable genes using OligoCalc, an oligonucleotide properties calculator (version 3.26) according to parameters stipulated in the literature. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on all positive isolates to determine the presence or absence of phase-variable genes. RESULTS: On culturing, the prevalence of H. pylori infections in the samples was 44.7%. The prevalence was higher in females than in males, and it increased with age. PCR amplification revealed that the hsdR gene was present in 79% of samples, while the mod and ß-subunit genes were present in 16% and 30% of samples, respectively. The streptococcal M protein gene was found in 79%, while the fliP gene was prevalent in 56%. CONCLUSIONS: The distribution patterns of phase-variable genes in Pakistani H. pylori strains were found to be somewhat different. The dominant prevalence of the hsdR gene was an interesting finding, considering its role in bacterial defense in both micro- and macroenvironments.

Perspective of surface active agents in baking industry: an overview.

Different researchers have previously used surfactants for improving bread qualities and revealed that these compounds result in improving the quality of dough and bread by influencing dough strength, tolerance, uniform crumb cell size, and improve slicing characteristics and gas retention. The objective of this review is to highlight the areas where surfactants are most widely used particularly in the bread industries, their role and mechanism of interaction and their contribution to the quality characteristics of the dough and bread. This review reveals some aspects of surface-active agents regarding its role physiochemical properties of dough that in turn affect the bread characteristics by improving its sensory quality and storage stability.

Characterization of new exopolysaccharides produced by coculturing of L. kefiranofaciens with yoghurt strains.

This project was designed to study the coculturing affect of exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing strains Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens (L.k) ZW3, with non EPS producing strains L. bulgaricus (L.b) and Streptococcus thermophilus (S.t) in three different combinations: L.k+L.b, L.k+S.t, and L.k+L.b+S.t. FTIR analysis revealed presence of strong stretch in regions of 3400, 2900 and 1647cm(-1) which is characteristic of a typical polysaccharide. Co-cultured EPSs were composed of glucose, galactose, arabinose and xylose; and their sugar compositions were different from ZW3 polysaccharide that was mainly composed of gluco-galactan. Peak temperature for L.k+L.b, L.k+S.t, L.k+S.t+L.b and ZW3 polymers were 90.59, 87.61, 95.18 and 97.38°C, respectively. Thermal analysis revealed degradation temperature of 326.44, 294.6, 296.7 and 299.62°C for L.k+L.b, L.k+S.t, L.k+S.t+L.b and ZW3 polymers, respectively. SEM and AFM analysis divulged that three cocultured EPSs had different surface morphology than ZW3 polymer. Since co-cultured polymers have different structure than the polymer produced exclusively by EPS producing strain, it can be safely concluded from the study that co-culturing can be one way to change the structure of polymers. Coculturing of L. kefiranofaciens with non-EPS producing strains resulted in yoghurt with increased viscosity and delayed syneresis.

Kefir and health: a contemporary perspective.

Kefir and its related products are renowned nutraceutical dairy products produced through fermentation of yeasts and bacteria naturally present in grains of kefir. The nutritional attributes of this self-carbonated beverage are due to presence of vital nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and some nutraceutical components. Antimicrobial activity, better gut health, anticarcinogenic activity, control on serum glucose and cholesterol, control on lactose intolerance and better immune system can be achieved through its regular consumption. Moreover, on the one side kefir is good dietetic beverage, and of particular interest of athletes, and on the other side the whole kefir is good for feeding small babies and pre-schoolers for good tolerance against disease and quick weight gain. Lots of works have been done on kefir from a health point of view. This study summarizes all the data that have been compiled to date. The purpose of this review is to gather information about microbiological, chemical, nutritional, and therapeutic aspects of kefir and kefir-like products to provide justification for its consumption. This review leads us to conclude that kefir begins a new dawn of food for the mankind.