Stray Dogs (Mongrels) Are Potent Reservoir of Drug-Resistant Pathogens: A Study in Peri-Urban Areas of Kolkata, India.

This study depicts the drug-resistance and phylogenomic characteristics of 365 Escherichia coli (EC) and 76 Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) isolated from stray dogs (293) in and around Kolkata, India. Initial screening found 59 isolates, including 48 E. coli and 11 KP multidrug resistant, which included 33 extended-spectrum ß-lactamase, 41 AmpC ß-lactamase and 18 metallo-ß-lactamase producers carrying blaNDM-1 (11) and blaNDM-5 (7) genes. Majority of them had the resistant genes such as blaCTX-M (33), blaTEM (18), blaSHV (4), blaOXA (17), blaFOX (2), blaDHA (2), blaCITM (15), blaCMY-2 (13), blaGES (2) and blaVEB (2), qnrS (15), qnrB (3), aac-6'-Ib-cr (14), tetA (26), tetB (14), sul-1 (25), armA (2) and rmtB (6), in addition to adherence genes such as csgA (33), fimA (27), fliC (13), sdiA (33), rcsA (38), and rpoS (39). They also carried plasmid of diverse replicon types of which IncFIA and FIB were the most frequent. Phylogrouping categorized most of the MDR E. coli in phylogroup A (20), B1 (14), and B2 (6). Enterobacteriaceae repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) showed genetic diversity of multidrug resistant isolates irrespective of their origin, resistance, and virulence types, differentiating the EC in five clades (A-E) and KP in four clades (A-D). As these stray dogs, which had no history or scope of previous antimicrobial therapy, were found to have contracted potential antimicrobial resistance pathogens, the role of environment in spread of such pathogens and further possibility of human infections cannot be ruled out.

Effect of feeding Bengal gram residual forage-based pelleted total mixed ration on growth performance, nutrient availability, carcass traits and composition in finisher Barbari kids.

The study aimed to assess the impact of feeding Bengal gram residual forage-based pelleted Total Mixed Ration (TMR) with varying concentrate (C) to roughage (R) ratios on feed intake, nutrient utilization, growth, and carcass characteristics in Barbari kids. Sixteen weaned male Barbari kids (av. age, 233 ± 11 days; weight, 13.86 ± 0.76 kg) were divided into two groups (T1 and T2), each receiving different pelleted diets (TMR) with distinct concentrate to roughage ratios (T1 with 60:40; T2 with 40:60). The kids were fed for 133 days, and a digestion trial was conducted at the end of the study. After completion, all kids were slaughtered. Although, kids under T1 consumed higher (P < 0.001) amount of dry matter, and crude protein compared to T2, which was due to a higher concentrate to roughage ratio in T1. But, the average daily body weight gain (ADG) of finisher kids was 88.53, and 79.83 g/d/kid in T1 and T2, respectively; however, the difference was non-significant. Digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, and total carbohydrate was also greater in T1 compared to T2. Total digestible nutrients intake was higher (P < 0.001) in T1; similarly intake of digestible energy, and metabolizable energy were significantly increased (P < 0.01) in T1 compared to T2. Concentrations of volatile fatty acids and NH3-nitrogen were also enhanced (P < 0.05) in T1 compared to T2. We observed similar carcass weight, and dressing percentage in both groups, and carcass composition remained unaffected. The pelleted diet containing greater ratio of concentrate: roughage (60:40) had no additional benefits in terms of ADG, and carcass traits in finisher kids. Therefore, it may be concluded that the Bengal gram residual forage-based pelleted TMR diet containing C40: R60 (TDN 57.13%, DCP 7.64%, ME 9.11MJ/kg feed) is suitable for optimizing growth performance with desirable carcass traits, and meat composition in finisher Barbari kids reared under the intensive system.

The synergistic ramification of insoluble dietary fiber and associated non-extractable polyphenols on gut microbial population escorting alleviation of lifestyle diseases.

Most of the pertinent research which aims at exploring the therapeutic effects of polyphenols usually misapprehends a large fraction of non-extractable polyphenols due to their poor aqueous-organic solvent extractability. These polymeric polyphenols (i.e., proanthocyanins, hydrolysable tannins and phenolic acids) possess a unique property to adhere to the food matrix polysaccharides and protein sowing to their structural complexity with high glycosylation, degree of polymerization, and plenty of hydroxyl groups. Surprisingly resistance to intestinal absorption does not hinder its bioactivity but accelerates its functionality manifolds due to the colonic microbial catabolism in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby protecting the body from local and systemic inflammatory diseases. This review highlights not only the chemistry, digestion, colonic metabolism of non-extractable polyphenols (NEPP) but also summarises the synergistic effect of matrix-bound NEPP exerting local as well as systemic health benefits.

Sophorolipids: A comprehensive review on properties and applications.

Sophorolipids are surface-active glycolipids produced by several non-pathogenic yeast species and are widely used as biosurfactants in several industrial applications. Sophorolipids provide a plethora of benefits over chemically synthesized surfactants for certain applications like bioremediation, oil recovery, and pharmaceuticals. They are, for instance less toxic, more benign and environment friendly in nature, biodegradable, freely adsorb to different surfaces, self-assembly in hydrated solutions, robustness for industrial applications etc. These miraculous properties result in valuable physicochemical attributes such as low critical micelle concentrations (CMCs), reduced interfacial surface tension, and capacity to dissolve non-polar components. Moreover, they exhibit a diverse range of physicochemical, functional, and biological attributes due to their unique molecular composition and structure. In this article, we highlight the physico-chemical properties of sophorolipids, how these properties are exploited by the human community for extensive benefits and the conditions which lead to their unique tailor-made structures and how they entail their interfacial behavior. Besides, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of these sophorolipids. We also review their physiological and functional attributes, along with their potential commercial applications, in real-world scenario. Biosurfactants are compared to their man-made equivalents to show the variations in structure-property correlations and possible benefits. Those attempting to manufacture purported natural or green surfactant with innovative and valuable qualities can benefit from an understanding of biosurfactant features structured along the same principles. The uniqueness of this review article is the detailed physico-chemical study of the sophorolipid biosurfactant and how these properties helps in their usage and detailed explicit study of their applications in the current scenario and also covering their pros and cons.

Effect of Bamboo Essential Oil on the Oxidative Stability, Microbial Attributes and Sensory Quality of Chicken Meatballs.

This study explores the efficacy of bamboo essential oil (BEO) incorporated at 15 ppm (T1, BEO-I) and 30 ppm (T2, BEO-II) on the overall physicochemical and oxidative stability, microbial deterioration, and sensory acceptability of meatballs stored for 20 days under refrigerated conditions. Analysis of various parameters, including physicochemical quality, color (CIE L*, CIE a* and CIE b*), generation of oxidative products (TBARS), microbial growth, and sensory acceptability of meatballs were evaluated at 5-day intervals. In addition, the total phenolics and flavonoid content of BEO were estimated, and fatty acids were determined by Gas chromatography (GC.) To gain insights into the biological activities of the BEO, antioxidant assays were determined in vitro using various methods. The antibacterial activity of BEO was also evaluated against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative (Vibrio cholera, Salmonella Typhimurium, Shigella flexneri, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacterial strains. The BEO contained a good quantity of total phenolics and flavonoids. In addition, the oil exhibited very potent antioxidant activity scavenging reactive oxygen and other such species, effectively showing IC50 at a very minimal concentration. Further, the BEO exhibited a strong antibacterial effect with MICs within 2 µL and MBCs from 5 to 7 µL for Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria, respectively. At both the concentrations used, BEO did not show any negative effect on the color of cooked meatballs but rather increased the microbiological and oxidative stability during the overall storage period. Meatballs treated with BEO had considerably reduced oxidative changes in terms of TBARS levels compared to the control. The total viable microbial count was lowest in BEO-treated meatballs and the highest in control. Both control and treated meatballs had a desirable flavor and good acceptability. The sensory attributes and aroma of treated meatballs were better and acceptable during the storage study, whereas the control samples were disliked by the panelists on 15th day. From this study, it can be concluded that bamboo essential oil could be used as a benign and non-toxic preservative to improve the quality and shelf life of cooked meatballs stored under refrigerated conditions.

Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bacteriocins: Novel Biotechnological Approach for Biopreservation of Meat and Meat Products.

Meat and meat products are perishable in nature, and easily susceptible to microbial contamination and chemical deterioration. This not only results in an increased risk to health of consumers, but also causes economic loss to the meat industry. Some microorganisms of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) group and their ribosomal-synthesized antimicrobial peptides-especially bacteriocins-can be used as a natural preservative, and an alternative to chemical preservatives in meat industry. Purified or partially purified bacteriocins can be used as a food additive or incorporated in active packaging, while bacteriocin-producing cells could be added as starter or protective cultures for fermented meats. Large-scale applications of bacteriocins are limited, however, mainly due to the narrow antimicrobial spectrum and varying stability in different food matrixes. To overcome these limitations, bioengineering and biotechnological techniques are being employed to combine two or more classes of bacteriocins and develop novel bacteriocins with high efficacy. These approaches, in combination with hurdle concepts (active packaging), provide adequate safety by reducing the pathogenicity of spoilage microorganisms, improving sensory characteristics (e.g., desirable flavor, texture, aroma) and enhancing the shelf life of meat-based products. In this review, the biosynthesis of different classes of LAB bacteriocins, their mechanism of action and their role in the preservation of meats and meat products are reviewed.

Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern, Clustering Mechanisms and Correlation Matrix of Drug-Resistant Escherichia coli in Black Bengal Goats in West Bengal, India.

A cross-sectional study covering four agro-climatic zones of West Bengal, India, was carried out to understand the risk-factors, antimicrobial resistance mechanism and clustering of the resistance characteristics of Escherichia coli isolated from healthy (170) and diarrhoeic (74) goats reared under intensive (52) and semi-intensive (192) farming practices. Of the 488 E. coli isolates, the majority, including the extended spectrum (n: 64, 13.11%) and AmpC ß-lactamase (ACBL) (n: 86, 17.62%) producers, were resistant to tetracycline (25.2%), followed by enrofloxacin (24.5%), cefotaxime (21.5%) and amikacin (20.5%). Statistical modelling revealed that the isolates from diarrhoeic animals (p < 0.001) are likely to be more ACBL-positive than those from the healthy counterparts. Similarly, cefotaxime (p < 0.05) and enrofloxacin-resistance (p < 0.01) were significantly higher in diarrhoeic goats and in goats reared intensively. The isolates (n = 35) resistant to multiple drugs revealed the presence of ß-lactamase [blaCTXM-1-(21), blaSHV-(7), blaTEM-(3), blaCMY-6-(1), blaCITM-(3)]; quinolone [qnrB-(10), qnrS-(7), aac(6')-Ib-cr-(3)]; tetracycline [tetA-(19), tetB-(4)] and sulphonamide resistance determinants [sul1-(4)]; multiple plasmids, especially those belonging to the IncF and IncI1 replicon types; and active acrAB efflux pumps. Further, two isolates harbored the carbapenem resistance (blaNDM-5) gene and eight were strong biofilm producers. This first ever study conducted to unravel the status of AMR in goat farming reveals that not only the intensive farming practices but also certain clinical ailments such as diarrhoea can increase the shedding of the drug-resistant isolate. The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) E. coli in goats, particularly those that are carbapenem resistant, is a cause for concern that indicates the spread of such pathogens even in the livestock sub-sector generally considered as naive.

Effect of supplementation of phytogenic feed additives on intake, in vitro fermentation, growth performance and carcass traits in weaned Barbari kids reared under intensive feeding.

Twenty-four weaned male Barbari kids (age 144.67 days; weight 11.99 ± 0.49 kg) were divided equally into three groups (T1, T2, and T3) in order to investigate the effect of supplementation of phytogenic feed additives (herbal mixture) in the complete pelleted feed on growth performance, in vitro rumen fermentation and carcass quality in kids reared under stall-fed condition. Treatment groups were as follows: T1, concentrate mixture (40%) plus arhar (Cajanus cajan) straw (60%) in total mixed ration (TMR) form fed ad libitum; T2, T1 diet in complete feed pellets form fed ad libitum; and T3, T1 diet in complete feed pellets form supplemented with herbal mixture (Tulsi/Haldi/Amla/Arni; ratio 1:1:1:1 on DM basis) at 0.5% in complete feed fed ad libitum. The experimental kids in each group were allowed for feeding for 8 months by following the respective feeding schedule. Rumen fermentation pattern under in vitro system was also studied using the same three diets as substrates. After 240 days of feeding, all goats were slaughtered following standard protocol. Total body weight gain (kg) and average daily gain (ADG, g/day/kid) were 18.57, 22.26, and 23.06 kg, and 79.91, 101.49, and 100.18 g in T1, T2, and T3 treatments, respectively. Pelleting of TMR (T2) and supplementation of herbal mixture in pelleted feed (T3) increased (P < 0.001) average daily weight gain in Barbari kids compared to T1 (TMR). Average dry matter intake (DMI, g/day/kid) during growth trial was greater (P < 0.05) in T3 (1079.17) than T1 (849.76) and T2 (968.76). Feed conversion efficiency was 8.92, 9.48, and 8.68% in T1, T2, and T3, respectively. The difference was statistically non-significant among the treatments. Supplementation of herbal mixture in the complete pelleted substrate had adjunct effect on improvement of TCA-precipitable-N and total VFAs in the incubation medium under in vitro system. Carcass weight (kg) tended to increase in finisher kids under T2 (16.58) and T3 (16.70) than T1 (14.61), but the variation was non-significant. The dressing percentage was similar among three treatments. Similarly, the muscle protein, fat, and cholesterol contents remained unaffected by different dietary treatments. Therefore, it may be concluded that densification of feeds in the form of complete pelleted feed and further supplementation with potential phytogenic feed additives increased total DMI and ADG and tended to enhance meat production potential in finisher Barbari kids without changing the meat chemical composition.

Photocatalytic performance and interaction mechanism of reverse micelle synthesized Cu-TiO2 nanomaterials towards levofloxacin under visible LED light.

The degradation performance of Cu-TiO2 nanomaterials towards levofloxacin (LFX) antibiotic was investigated under an environmentally benign visible LED light source. Cu-TiO2 nanomaterials were prepared using the reverse micelle sol-gel method with different copper content ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 wt% concerning titania. Characterization of Cu-TiO2 samples was performed by XRD, TEM, UV-Vis, BET, ICP-MS, FTIR and XPS techniques. 0.5 wt% Cu-TiO2 showed crystallite size below 6 nm, surface area (69.85 m2/g) and significant visible light absorption capacity. Both Cu1+ and Cu2+ are formed in lower Cu-doped TiO2 samples, whereas only Cu2+ is present in higher Cu-doped TiO2 samples as evident in XPS analysis. 0.5 wt% Cu-TiO2 has shown the optimum photocatalytic degradation of 75.5% under 6 h. of a visible light source. FTIR analysis of LFX adsorbed Cu-TiO2 materials indicated the pollutant-catalyst interaction, where the declining trend was observed in photocatalytic degradation efficiency for higher Cu-doped TiO2 samples due to copper-LFX complex formation. Copper-LFX complexes are formed due to the presence of Cu2+ in higher Cu-doped TiO2 nanomaterials, which might have hindered the photocatalytic activity under visible light. Effects of initial pollutant concentration, catalyst loading and visible light intensity on the degradation of LFX are studied. Photocatalytic degradation pathways of LFX using best performing Cu-TiO2 material were also proposed based on the LC-MS analysis.

The molecular and metabolic program by which white adipocytes adapt to cool physiologic temperatures.

Although visceral adipocytes located within the body's central core are maintained at approximately 37°C, adipocytes within bone marrow, subcutaneous, and dermal depots are found primarily within the peripheral shell and generally exist at cooler temperatures. Responses of brown and beige/brite adipocytes to cold stress are well studied; however, comparatively little is known about mechanisms by which white adipocytes adapt to temperatures below 37°C. Here, we report that adaptation of cultured adipocytes to 31°C, the temperature at which distal marrow adipose tissues and subcutaneous adipose tissues often reside, increases anabolic and catabolic lipid metabolism, and elevates oxygen consumption. Cool adipocytes rely less on glucose and more on pyruvate, glutamine, and, especially, fatty acids as energy sources. Exposure of cultured adipocytes and gluteal white adipose tissue (WAT) to cool temperatures activates a shared program of gene expression. Cool temperatures induce stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) expression and monounsaturated lipid levels in cultured adipocytes and distal bone marrow adipose tissues (BMATs), and SCD1 activity is required for acquisition of maximal oxygen consumption at 31°C.

Edible Mushrooms as Functional Ingredients for Development of Healthier and More Sustainable Muscle Foods: A Flexitarian Approach.

Consumers are increasingly interested in nutritious, safe and healthy muscle food products with reduced salt and fat that benefit their well-being. Hence, food processors are constantly in search of natural bioactive ingredients that offer health benefits beyond their nutritive values without affecting the quality of the products. Mushrooms are considered as next-generation healthy food components. Owing to their low content of fat, high-quality proteins, dietary fibre and the presence of nutraceuticals, they are ideally preferred in formulation of low-caloric functional foods. There is a growing trend to fortify muscle food with edible mushrooms to harness their goodness in terms of nutritive, bioactive and therapeutic values. The incorporation of mushrooms in muscle foods assumes significance, as it is favourably accepted by consumers because of its fibrous structure that mimics the texture with meat analogues offering unique taste and umami flavour. This review outlines the current knowledge in the literature about the nutritional richness, functional bioactive compounds and medicinal values of mushrooms offering various health benefits. Furthermore, the effects of functional ingredients of mushrooms in improving the quality and sensory attributes of nutritionally superior and next-generation healthier muscle food products are also highlighted in this paper.

Companion Animals Emerged as an Important Reservoir of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae: A Report from India.

The emergence and spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are perceived as a serious public-health threat world-wide. Despite sporadic reports, no systemic study has been carried out on CRE in companion animals in Indian subcontinent. In total, 237 canine specimens collected from five veterinary polyclinics in and around Kolkata were analyzed for isolation, antimicrobial resistance profiling and molecular characterization of carbapenem-resistant (CR) E. coli. Of the 29 CR isolates, 19 were identified as metallo-ß-lactamase producers (MP-CRE) and 10 as metallo-ß-lactamase non-producers (MNP-CRE). Eleven of them were extended spectrum ß-lactamase and/or AmpC type ß-lactamase producers and harboured fluoroquinolone-, tetracycline-, sulfonamide- and aminoglycoside-resistant genes. Beside uropathogenic virulence determinants, they carried the adhesion factors mediating biofilm production which was remarkably higher in 6 MP-CRE and one MNP-CRE isolates. Although the CRE were of diverse origin including the healthy and the diseased dogs, these were more frequently isolated from canine pyometra. The MP-CRE harboured plasmids of IncF and IncA/C types. Phylo-type B1 was observed in 38% of the CR isolates, followed by A0 in 31% and rest were attributed to A1 and D1. The Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR) revealed that these isolates were genetically diverse and constituted of a heterogenous population. Detection of CRE in pet dogs despite the fact that carbapenems are not used in animals in India emphasizes the need for active surveillance to identify the transmission and dynamics of such pathogens in companion animals.

Application of Pomegranate by-Products in Muscle Foods: Oxidative Indices, Colour Stability, Shelf Life and Health Benefits.

In recent years, considerable importance is given to the use of agrifood wastes as they contain several groups of substances that are useful for development of functional foods. As muscle foods are prone to lipid and protein oxidation and perishable in nature, the industry is in constant search of synthetic free additives that help in retarding the oxidation process, leading to the development of healthier and shelf stable products. The by-products or residues of pomegranate fruit (seeds, pomace, and peel) are reported to contain bioactive compounds, including phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, dietary fibre, complex polysaccharides, minerals, vitamins, etc. Such compounds extracted from the by-products of pomegranate can be used as functional ingredients or food additives to harness the antioxidant, antimicrobial potential, or as substitutes for fat, and protein in various muscle food products. Besides, these natural additives are reported to improve the quality, safety, and extend the shelf life of different types of food products, including meat and fish. Although studies on application of pomegranate by-products on various foods are available, their effect on the physicochemical, oxidative changes, microbial, colour stabilizing, sensory acceptability, and shelf life of muscle foods are not comprehensively discussed previously. In this review, we vividly discuss these issues, and highlight the benefits of pomegranate by-products and their phenolic composition on human health.

Characterization of crude extract prepared from Indian curd and its potential as a biopreservative.

The adverse effects of chemical preservatives used to prevent food spoilage have led to the search for various biopreservatives. Considering this, a study was undertaken to prepare crude extract (CE) from Indian curd (a fermented dairy product) and characterized it in terms of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities against some common food-borne bacteria. The CE exhibited well pronounced antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus and Salmonella typhimurium. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CE was recorded for 2-fold concentrated solution prepared from a 10-fold stock. The CE exhibited a significantly higher (p < 0.05) antioxidant and antimicrobial activities compared to its fractions. The CE was found to be heat stable (up to 100 ℃ for 30 min) and exhibited a significant (p < 0.05) increase in activity at pH 2-7 and in combination with 2% citric acid solution. Trypsin treatment suggested it to be of proteinaceous in nature. The antibacterial activity of CE remained intact at 4 ℃ for seven days, whereas non-significant (p > 0.05) changes in its activity were noted during storage at -20 ℃ for 30 days. The curd sample used for preparation of CE, when tested for bacteriocin production and subsequent antimicrobial activity, did not show inhibition against S. typhimurium. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of CE and its fractions revealed multi-banding pattern. By virtue of its bioactivities observed, CE can be explored as a promising food biopreservative.

Application of nanoemulsion-based approaches for improving the quality and safety of muscle foods: A comprehensive review.

Recently, there has been growing interest in implementing innovative nanoscience-based technologies to improve the health, safety, and quality of food products. A major thrust in this area has been to use nanoemulsions because they can easily be formulated with existing food ingredients and technologies. In particular, oil-in-water nanoemulsions, which consist of small oil droplets (<200 nm) dispersed in water, are being utilized as delivery systems for various hydrophobic substances in foods, including nutrients, nutraceuticals, antioxidants, antimicrobials, colors, and flavors. In this article, we focus on the application of nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for improving the quality, safety, nutritional profile, and sensory attributes of muscle foods, such as meat and fish. The article also critically reviews the formulation and fabrication of food-grade nanoemulsions, their potential benefits and limitations in muscle food systems.

Application of Enoki Mushroom (Flammulina Velutipes) Stem Wastes as Functional Ingredients in Goat Meat Nuggets.

The impact of different amounts (2%, 4% and 6%) of enoki (Flammulina velutipes) mushroom stem waste (MSW) powder on the physicochemical quality, color and textural, oxidative stability, sensory attributes and shelf-life of goat meat nuggets was evaluated. These mushroom by-products (MSW powder) contained a good source of protein (13.5%), ash (8.2%), total phenolics content (6.3 mg GAE/g), and dietary fiber (32.3%) and also exhibited the potential to be strong antioxidants, due to their good metal chelating ability (41.3%), reducing power (60.1%), and free radical scavenging activity (84.2%). Mushroom stem waste improved (p < 0.05) the emulsion stability, dietary fiber, ash and phenolics content of nuggets compared to control. Although no significant differences (p > 0.05) in expressible water and textural properties were observed among the formulations, but MSW powder improved the water holding capacity and slightly decreased the hardness. Further, the inclusion of MSW significantly (p < 0.05) improved the oxidative stability and shelf-life of treated nuggets by reducing lipid oxidation during the nine-day storage period. Again, the inclusion of MSW did not negatively affect the color and sensory attributes of treated meat nuggets. Overall, our results suggest that enoki mushroom stem waste (4%) can be used as a value-added functional ingredient to produce nutritionally improved and healthier meat products.

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) peel as antioxidant dietary fibre on quality and lipid oxidation of chicken nuggets.

In this study, the efficacy of dragon fruit peel (DFP) powder as antioxidant dietary fibre (ADF), at two different concentrations (T1-1.5% and T2-3.0%), on quality improvement and susceptibility to lipid oxidation of chicken nuggets during 20 days of refrigerated storage was assessed. DFP, rich in dietary fibre (56.91%) with higher insoluble dietary fibre, phenolics (36-39 mgGAE/100 g) content and possessing good radical scavenging activity as well as reducing power, contained 10.36% protein, 4.48% fat and 2.34% ash. HPLC analysis revealed presence of high concentrations of gallic and ferulic acid, among the phenolics. Incorporation of DFP in nuggets although decreased the pH but improved emulsion stability as well as cooking yield and had higher protein, ash and lower fat content. Further, the treated nuggets had significantly (p < 0.05) higher dietary fibre and total phenolics content than control. Incorporation of DFP decreased the hardness, gumminess and chewiness and improved (p < 0.05) the products' redness values. Sensory evaluation of the products revealed significant improvement in the appearance score and non-significant (p > 0.05) increase in the scores of other attributes compared to control samples. DFP significantly decreased lipid peroxidation, odour scores and microbial load in chicken nuggets during 20 days of storage period. From the study, it could be deduced that DFP rich in bioactive components had positive influence on the nutritional quality of chicken nuggets and could also be used as ADF in muscle food without affecting the quality and acceptability of products.

Drumstick (Moringa oleifera) Flower as an Antioxidant Dietary Fibre in Chicken Meat Nuggets.

The present work investigated the efficacy of Moringa flower (MF) extract to develop a functional chicken product. Three groups of cooked chicken nuggets-control (C), T1 (with 1% MF) and T2 (2% MF)-were elaborated and their physicochemical, nutritional, storage stability and sensory attributes were assessed during refrigerated storage at 4°C up to 20 days. In addition, MF extracts were characterised in terms of chemical composition, total phenolic content and its components using high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD), dietary fibre and antioxidant capacity. MF contained high protein (17.87 ± 0.28 dry matter), dietary fibre (36.14 ± 0.77 dry matter) and total phenolics (18.34 ± 1.16 to 19.49 ± 1.35 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry matter) content. The treated nuggets (T1 and T2) had significantly enhanced cooking yield, emulsion stability, ash, protein, total phenolics and dietary fibre compared to control. Incorporation of MF extract at 2% not only significantly reduced the redness/increased the lightness, but also decreased the hardness, gumminess and chewiness of the product compared to control. Moreover, the addition of MF extract significantly improved the oxidative stability and odour scores by reducing lipid oxidation during storage time. Sensory attributes of nuggets were not affected by the addition of MF extract and the products remained stable and acceptable even on 15th day of storage. These results showed that MF extract could be considered as an effective natural functional ingredient for quality improvement and reducing lipid oxidation in cooked chicken nuggets.

Serum Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Middle Childhood and Body Mass Index Change Through Adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) status in childhood may be associated with adiposity development. OBJECTIVE: To assess associations of serum PUFA biomarkers in childhood with change in body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z scores (BMIZ) through adolescence. METHODS: We quantified serum PUFA at ages 5 and 10 years among 418 children from Santiago, Chile. BMI was measured at 5, 10, and 16 years. We compared BMIZ change through age 16 years between quartiles of PUFA at 5 and 10 years and PUFA change 5-10 years by fitting growth curves from mixed effects models. RESULTS: At age 5 years, serum docosahexaenoic acid was inversely associated with BMIZ change from ages 5 to 16 years. At age 10 years, arachidonic acid (AA) was nonlinearly positively related to BMIZ change from ages 10 to 16 years. Change in AA and the Δ5-desaturase (D5D) activity index between 5 and 10 years were each positively associated with BMIZ change from ages 10 to 16 years. Change in eicosapentaenoic acid was inversely associated with change in BMIZ. CONCLUSIONS: Serum long-chain n-3 PUFA in middle childhood were associated with less BMI gain through adolescence, whereas AA and D5D activity was related to greater BMI gain.