Umami and the foods of classical antiquity.

Umami is the taste of foods that are rich in glutamic acid and 2 ribonucleotides, 5'-inosinate and 5'-guanylate. This distinctive taste of modern Eastern cuisine, which is finding a receptive audience in the Western hemisphere, characterized many dishes that ancient Romans consumed >2000 y ago. Romans enjoyed numerous foods that are identified today as containing significant amounts of natural umami substances and frequently used fish sauce as a condiment in their recipes. Fish sauce imparted to Roman dishes a moderately salty, slightly fishy taste that combines synergistically with other foods to create the umami flavor. Fish sauce derives from the hydrolysis of fish in the presence of salt primarily through endogenous enzymic proteolysis. Its simple production process, low cost, and ability to enhance the taste of many foods has made it the basic condiment for traditional dishes consumed in many Southeast Asian countries. Fish sauce also has important nutritional value, primarily in the form of amino acids. Because ancient Romans made fish sauce in the same way and with the same resources as modern fish sauce producers of Southeast Asia, the amino acid profiles of the 2 products are probably nearly identical. Archaeological sources indicate that fish-processing centers operated throughout the Mediterranean area, and processed fish was an important element in long-distance trade. A close study of the remains of the Roman city of Pompeii indicates that fish sauce was a thriving business that rendered the popular condiment accessible to people of all social classes.

[Historical review on chemical and medical studies of globefish toxin before World War II].

"Fugu," a species of globefish has eaten by Japanese people for a long time, so globefish poisoning in Japan has been prevalent. Figures are shown in the Annual Food Poisoning Report collected and issued by health service authorities of Japanese Government since 1879. These reports prompted Dr. Yoshizumi Tahara, National Institute of Hygienic Sciences to conduct a chemical investigation of the toxic substance of globefish in 1884. However, the analysis was very difficult and his report of investigation was delayed. Before publication of the report of Dr. Tahara, pharmacological and toxicological studies of globefish poisoning were reported by three research groups from the Facultly of Medicine, University of Tokyo in 1889. These reports concluded that globefish poison has curare-like activity and its distribution was limited to specific organs such as the ovaries and the liver. Dr. Tahara successfully isolated the poison from aqueaous extract of ovaries of globefish by precipitation with lead acetate in the presence of ammonia. He presented the results at the monthly meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan in July 1894. He continued the studies and established an improved method for extraction and purification suitable for large-scale production. Finally, he confirmed that globefish contains only one toxic substance and named it Tetrodotoxin (TTX) in 1909. He elucidated the chemical nature of TTX as follows: 1) TTX is an amorphous hygroscopic powder and its character is neither alkaloid nor protein. 2) The possibility of TTX being a protamine was excluded by chemical analysis. Before the discovery ot TTX, according to folklore, globefish was regarded as medicine for leprosy because flesh of globefish contaminated with a sublethal dose of toxic substance alleviated the neuralgia of patients affected with leprosy. The clinical effect of TTX prepared by Tahara's method to suppress severe neuralgia due to leprosy and to reduce muscle spasms due to tetanus were reported by dermatologists in 1911. TTX was also given to patients with rheumatoid arthritis due to its analgesic effect. Thus, injectable TTX was manufactured and distributed by Sankyo Co., Ltd. from 1913. In terms of purity, the TTX preparation manufactured by Tahara's method seemed to be much more crude than the crystalline TTX obtained by Professor Tsuda and Dr. Kawamura in 1952. According to their report, the LD50 of the preparation for clinical use manufactured by Tahara's method was 4-5 mg/kg mouse compared to 4-6 microg/kg mouse of crystalline TTX.

El paichi (Arapaima Gigans Cuvier) o pirarucu: pescado alimento básico para de la población amazónica / Paichi or piriarucu: fish basic food for amazonic population

Informa generalidades del pez paichi, su importancia biológica, valor alimenticio nutritivo, importancia económica, medidas técnicas de su reproducción y cultivo, conservación y fomento, textos de dispositivos legales protectores de los recursos naturales vivos de la selva peruana