Physical properties, sensory acceptance, postprandial glycemic response, and satiety of cereal based foods enriched with legume flours: a review.

Legumes are rich in proteins and widely consumed around the world. Their consumption has been associated with improved glycemic and lipidemic profile and positive alterations of gut microbiota. These beneficial effects have created a growing scientific interest in the role of legume-enriched foods on the promotion of human health. The aim of this review was to critically record the studies examining the nutritional value and textural properties of these products, as well as their efficacy on lowering postprandial glucose response and satiety. Reviewed data have shown that cereal products with high nutritional value are formulated when fortified with legume flours. The postprandial glucose response appears to be ameliorated and the enriched foods have a medium or a low glycemic index, however not enough data are presented referring to the appetite hormones responses. Textural properties are affected by the addition of legumes and occasionally, when substitution level is high, the final product has not acceptable odor and appearance. To overcome this barrier, particular food processes such as fermentation, extrusion and addition of hydrocolloids, are used and have shown great results on the textural and sensory properties of the final products. The development of healthy legume-enriched cereal-based products is of great importance for the increase of legume consumption and the promotion of public health.

Amino acid-enriched plant-based RUTF treatment was not inferior to peanut-milk RUTF treatment in restoring plasma amino acid levels among patients with oedematous or non-oedematous malnutrition.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) with adequate quality protein is used to treat children with oedematous and non-oedematous severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The plasma amino acid (AA) profile reflects the protein nutritional status; hence, its assessment during SAM treatment is useful in evaluating AA delivery from RUTFs. The objective was to evaluate the plasma AAs during the treatment of oedematous and non-oedematous SAM in community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) using amino acid-enriched plant-based RUTFs with 10% milk (MSMS-RUTF) or without milk (FSMS-RUTF) compared to peanut milk RUTF (PM-RUTF). Plasma AA was measured in a non-blinded, 3-arm, parallel-group, simple randomized controlled trial conducted in Malawi. The RUTFs used for SAM were FSMS-RUTF, MSMS-RUTF or PM-RUTF. A non-inferiority hypothesis was tested to compare plasma AA levels from patients treated with FSMS-RUTF or MSMS-RUTF with those from patients treated with PM-RUTF at discharge. For both types of SAM, FSMS-RUTF and MSMS-RUTF treatments were non-inferior to the PM-RUTF treatment in restoration of the EAA and cystine except that for FSMS-RUTF, methionine and tryptophan partially satisfied the non-inferiority criteria in the oedematous group. Amino-acid-enriched milk-free plant-source-protein RUTF has the potential to restore all the EAA, but it is possible that enrichment with amino acids may require more methionine and tryptophan for oedematous children.

Bioactive proteins and phytochemicals from legumes: Mechanisms of action preventing obesity and type-2 diabetes.

The Fabaceae family of plants include a variety of seeds with multiple shapes, sizes, and colors; with a great diversity of bioactive compounds found in legume seeds. Legumes are an excellent source of protein, peptides and phytochemicals which are present in significant amounts. These bioactive compounds have been reported to reduce the risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. In this narrative review, we discuss the biological potential of bioactive compounds found in legumes and the health benefits associated with their consumption as an alternative approach in the management of NCD. Current extraction methods, characteristics of the bioactive compounds, and different in vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the bioactivity of legume bioactives are reviewed and discussed.

Belowground microbes mitigate plant-plant competition.

Dimorphandra wilsonii, a Cerrado endemic Fabaceae tree, is threatened by land-use changes. The few remaining individuals occur in areas dominated by alien grasses like Urochloa decumbens. We tested the impact of nitrogen (N) availability and symbionts' presence on mitigating the effects of competition from U. decumbens. Dimorphandra wilsonii seedlings were 50-week pot-cultivated under limiting (3mM) or non-limiting (10mM) N, with or without U. decumbens, and inoculated or not with a N-fixer (Bradyrhizobium sp.) and an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF - Glomus etunicatum), both forming symbioses in the field. Since D. wilsonii seedlings grew more and 'lost' fewer nutrients under the symbionts' presence, symbionts mitigated plant-plant competition. Under limiting N, inoculated D. wilsonii seedlings grew more (despite no nodulation), but N fixation was only suggested when inoculated D. wilsonii seedlings competed with U. decumbens. D. wilsonii13C, and substrate's carbon and respiration suggest that only the microbes performing key functions received plant carbon. Under non-limiting N, inoculated D. wilsonii seedlings became enriched in 13C, substrate accumulated carbon and microbial respiration increased, suggesting a more generalist microbial community. Data suggest inoculating D. wilsonii seeds/seedlings with AMF and N-fixers as a conservation measure. However, long-term field-studies need to confirm these conclusions.

Chinese Milk Vetch as Green Manure Mitigates Nitrous Oxide Emission from Monocropped Rice System in South China.

Monocropped rice system is an important intensive cropping system for food security in China. Green manure (GM) as an alternative to fertilizer N (FN) is useful for improving soil quality. However, few studies have examined the effect of Chinese milk vetch (CMV) as GM on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from monocropped rice field in south China. Therefore, a pot-culture experiment with four treatments (control, no FN and CMV; CMV as GM alone, M; fertilizer N alone, FN; integrating fertilizer N with CMV, NM) was performed to investigate the effect of incorporating CMV as GM on N2O emission using a closed chamber-gas chromatography (GC) technique during the rice growing periods. Under the same N rate, incorporating CMV as GM (the treatments of M and NM) mitigated N2O emission during the growing periods of rice plant, reduced the NO3- content and activities of nitrate and nitrite reductase as well as the population of nitrifying bacteria in top soil at maturity stage of rice plant versus FN pots. The global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) of N2O from monocropped rice field was ranked as M

Antifungigrama para comprovar o potencial de ação dos extratos vegetais hidroglicólicos sobre Candida sp. (Berkhout) / Etest to confirm the action potential of plant hydroglycol extracts on Candida sp. (Berkhout)

A candidíase vaginal é uma doença causada, na maioria das vezes, pelo fungo do gênero Candida sp, que habita o trato gastrintestinal e geniturinário da espécie humana e pode tornar-se patogênico sob determinadas condições. A maioria dos indivíduos desenvolve defesas imunológicas que impedem a proliferação e desenvolvimento de candidíase localizada ou disseminada. Embora a causa exata do aumento de espécies não-albicans seja desconhecida, há evidências de que a própria terapia antifúngica possa estar contribuindo para o processo. Linhagens de C. glabrata são mais resistentes aos imidazólicos do que a C. albicans, sendo necessária uma concentração 10 vezes superior de miconazol para eliminar a C. glabrata quando comparada a C. albicans. Foi realizado um antifungigrama testando o potencial de ação de produtos vegetais sobre o fungo Candida sp. Foi observado que, ocorreu inibição do fungo no contato com os extratos hidroglicólicos das plantas Arctium lappa L., Calendula officinalis L., Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville e Tabebuia avellanedae Lorentz ex Griseb. A importância deste trabalho reside na possibilidade de desenvolvimento de tratamento complementar, menos agressivo, de menor custo e sem toxidade, o que possibilitaria melhor qualidade de vida para portadoras de candidíase vaginal recorrente ou não.

Vaginal candidiasis is a disease caused, in most cases, by the fungus of the genus Candida sp., which inhabits the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of the human species and can become pathogenic under certain conditions. Most individuals develop immune defenses that prevent the proliferation and the development of localized or disseminated candidiasis. Although the exact cause of the increase in non-albicans species is unknown, there is evidence that antifungal therapy itself may have contributed to it. Strains of C. glabrata are more resistant to imidazole than C. albicans, and a 10-fold higher concentration of miconazole is required to eliminate C. glabrata compared to C. albicans. Etest was performed by testing the action potential of plant products on the fungus Candida sp. Inhibition of the fungus occurred when it was in contact with the hydroglycol extracts of plants Arctium lappa L., Calendula officinalis L., Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville and Tabebuia avellanedae Lorentz ex Griseb. The importance of this study lies in the possibility of developing a complementary treatment, less aggressive, of lower cost and without toxicity, which would allow better life quality for women with vaginal candidiases that are recurrent or not.

Selecting plants and nitrogen rates to vegetate crude-oil-contaminated soil.

Phytoremediation can be effective for remediating contaminated soils in situ and generally requires the addition of nitrogen (N) to increase plant growth. Our research objectives were to evaluate seedling emergence and survival of plant species and to determine the effects of N additions on plant growth in crude-oil-contaminated soil. From a preliminary survival study, three warm-season grasses--pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.), sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense [Piper] Stapf [Piper]), and browntop millet (Brachiaria ramosa L.)--and one warm-season legume--jointvetch (Aeschynomene americana L.)--were chosen to determine the influence of the N application rate on plant growth in soil contaminated with weathered crude oil. Nitrogen was added based on total petroleum hydrocarbon-C:added N ratios (TPH-C:TN) ranging from 44:1 to 11:1. Plant species were grown for 7 wk. Root and shoot biomass were determined and root length and surface area were analyzed. Pearlmillet and sudangrass had higher shoot and root biomass when grown at a TPH-C:TN (inorganic) ratio of 11:1 and pearlmillet had higher root length and surface area when grown at 11:1 compared with the other species. By selecting appropriate plant species and determining optimum N application rates, increased plant root growth and an extended rhizosphere influence should lead to enhanced phytoremediation of crude-oil-contaminated soil.

Biophysical basis of growth promotion in primary leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris L. by hormones versus light: solute accumulation and the growth potential.

Rapid cell enlargement in primary leaves of bean is induced by bright white light (WL), gibberellic acid (GA3) or the cytokinin N6-benzyladenine (BA). In previous studies it has been show that all three agents cause an increase in wall extensibility, although by different mechanisms. Here we examine the effects of the three growth promoters on the osmotic potential difference (delta Psi), the accumulation of solutes (delta TSC), the wall yield threshold (Y) and the growth potential (delta Psi -Y). With GA3 and BA, but not WL, there was a rapid decline in delta Psi as measured by the osmotic concentration of expressed sap. Unlike WL, neither GA3 nor BA promoted the accumulation of osmotic solutes. The decline in delta Psi, however, was apparently counteracted by a decline in Y since the growth potential, as measured by the external-osmoticum method, remained unchanged. It is concluded that WL, GA3 and BA all promote cell enlargement of bean leaves by increasing one cellular growth parameter, wall extensibility. Only WL, however, promotes osmotic adjustment during growth.