Alimentos y gastronomía de cercanía: ¿un valor en alza? / Nearby food and gastronomy: a rising value?

Introducción: a partir de las definiciones de "alimento", "gastronomía" y "cercanía", puede establecerse que la cercanía alimentaria es aquella que acorta la distancia en tiempo y espacio a lo largo de toda la cadena alimentaria. La gastronomía de cercanía invita a disfrutar del "conjunto de los platos y usos culinarios propios de un determinado lugar". Objetivos: el presente artículo aporta una respuesta a la cuestión de si los alimentos y la gastronomía de cercanía constituyen un valor en alza en el siglo xxi. Métodos: se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de artículos y publicaciones de organismos nacionales e internacionales que describen las demandas del consumidor en materia de alimentos y gastronomía. Estas reclamaciones podrían concretarse en los siguientes términos: proporcionar alimentos saludables y de calidad organoléptica, contribuir al desarrollo sostenible y reducir el despilfarro de alimentos, conservar los patrimonios culturales alimentarios y generar un turismo gastronómico sostenible, mantener nuestros paisajes y su diversidad genética, reforzar la cohesión social y dotar a los alimentos y a la gastronomía de un significado y una identidad y, por último, restablecer la confianza del consumidor en la alimentación. Resultados: los alimentos y la gastronomía de cercanía brindan una oportunidad que contribuye a satisfacer las demandas del consumidor en materia de alimentación y gastronomía en el comienzo de este nuevo siglo. Conclusiones: las oportunidades que puede proporcionar este tipo de alimentos y de gastronomía deben ponerse en valor, de tal manera que los consumidores reflexionen sobre ellas y valoren la posibilidad de modificar sus hábitos alimentarios

Introduction: based on the definitions of "food", "gastronomy" and "proximity", it can be established that proximity food is that which reduces time and distance throughout the food chain. Proximity gastronomy invites us to enjoy the "set of dishes and culinary traditions specific to a certain location". Objectives: the aim of this article is to address the question of whether the relevance of proximity food and gastronomy is increasing in the twenty-first century. Methods: a literature review of articles and publications of national and international organisations was made, which describe the demands of consumers in terms of food and gastronomy. These demands may be summarised as follows: provide healthy food of organoleptic quality; contribute to sustainable development and reduce food waste; preserve cultural food heritage and promote sustainable gastronomy tourism; preserve our landscapes and their genetic diversity; reinforce social cohesion and attribute meaning and identity to food and gastronomy; and, restore confidence in food. Results: proximity food and proximity gastronomy offer an opportunity that contributes to satisfy the consumer demands in terms of diet and gastronomy at the beginning of the new century. Conclusions: the opportunities that this type of food and gastronomy can offer should be communicated and emphasized, enabling consumers to reflect on them and giving them the chance to modify their food habits

Hydration of vinyl ether groups by unsaturated glycoside hydrolases and their role in bacterial pathogenesis

Many pathogenic microorganisms invade mammalian and/or plant cells by producing polysaccharide-degrading enzymes (lyases and hydrolases). Mammalian glycosaminoglycans and plant pectins that form part of the cell surface matrix are typical targets for these microbial enzymes. Unsaturated glycoside hydrolase catalyzes the hydrolytic release of an unsaturated uronic acid from oligosaccharides, which are produced through the reaction of matrix-degrading polysaccharide lyase. This enzymatic ability suggests that unsaturated glycoside hydrolases function as virulence factors in microbial infection. This review focuses on the molecular identification, bacterial distribution, and structure/function relationships of these enzymes. In contrast to general glycoside hydrolases, in which the catalytic mechanism involves the retention or inversion of an anomeric configuration, unsaturated glycoside hydrolases uniquely trigger the hydrolysis of vinyl ether groups in unsaturated saccharides but not of their glycosidic bonds (AU)

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Ecotoxicología y acción toxicológica del mercurio / Mercury ecotoxicology and toxic action

Se realiza una revisión de la presencia del mercurio en las cadenas tróficas, apartir de sus fuentes de contaminación, tanto naturales como antropogénicas, sumetabolismo en el ser humano, así como de los efectos tóxicos que producen lasdistintas especies de mercurio, su interés como contaminante y su tratamiento

This work is a revision of the presence of mercury in the nutritional chains, ;;from its sources of contamination, their metabolism, as well as of the poisonous ;;effects that produce the different mercury species, their interest like polluting ;;agent and its treatment

Vanadium - An element both essential and toxic to plants, animals and humans?

El vanadio fue descubierto por el mineralogista español A. M. del Río, enMéxico, en los años de 1802/1803. La corteza terrestre de 16 km de espesor contiene110 mg de vanadio por kg. A través de los combustibles fósiles se difundenanualmente en el medio ambiente 110.000 toneladas de vanadio. Con ayuda deplantas indicadoras se puede determinar la oferta local de vanadio.El vanadio es esencial para varias especies de algas, hongos y bacterias fijadorasde nitrógeno. La apoenzima de la peroxidasa de bromo, yodo y cloro necesitael vanadio para la formación de la holoenzima.La necesidad normativa de vanadio relativa al ser humano asciende a > 10 μg/día y el de la fauna a 10 μg/kg de la materia seca del forraje.Hay que distinguir entre los efectos farmacológicos, nutritivos y tóxicos delvanadio. Son raras las intoxicaciones por el vanadio. El vanadio frena la ATP-asade Na+ - K+ y abre los canales de potasio de la membrana de los eritrocitos. Los10-20 mg/día se consideran como valor límite del consumo de vanadio. Mayoresdosis provocan trastornos gastrointestinales e implican con frecuencia tincionesverdes de las mucosas (por ejemplo, de la lengua), alteraciones hematológicas yconcentraciones reducidas de la cisteína en los pelos y en las uñas

Vanadium was discovered in 1802/1803 by the Spanish mineralogist A. M. del Río in Mexico. Vanadium are present in the earth’s crust at an average concentration of 110 mg/kg. Vanadium is concentrated mainly in mafic rocks (basalt 200-250 mg/kg) and shales (100-130 mg/kg), lowest concentrations were found in limestones and dolomites (10-45 mg/kg). The average vanadium content of soils worldwide have been calculated to vary from 18 (peat) and 115 mg/kg (Rotliegende weathering soils). Burning of fossil fuels caused about 110000 t V/a to enter the atmosphere globally. With help of indicator plants (wheat, rye, red clover) the local plant bioavailable vanadium offer is to investigate. All foodstuffs, rich in starch and sugar and of animals are poor in vanadium (5- 40 μg V/kg dry matter, dm); mushrooms and leafy vegetable contain higher levels of vanadium (100 to > 1000 μg V/kg dm). Beer and wine (30 to 45 μg/l deliver much vanadium. In Germany and Mexico women with mixed diet take in 10 to 20 μg V/ day and men 20 to > 35 μg V/day. The high intake results from the higher beer consumption of men. Vegetarians take in significantly more vanadium. The vanadium concentration of organs and milk is not homeostatically regulated. Most tissues of the fauna reflect the vanadium status. Faecal excretion of the nutritional vanadium intake amounts to 96% in men and non lactating women and to 79 in lactating women. On an average, adults of both sexes and with either form of diet eliminate 4% of the vanadium intake renally. Lactating women secret 17% of the vanadium intake into the milk. Vanadium is essential for several species of green algae, fungi and nitrogenfixing microorganisms. The inactive apoenzymes of bromoperoxidase, iodoperoxidase and chloroperoxidase can be reconstituted by vanadium to active haloenzymes. The normative vanadium requirement for animals is with 3 mg/day. Higher doses can induces diarrhea, green tongues, haematological changes and lowered cysteine content in hair and nails