Fermented Soy Products and Their Potential Health Benefits: A Review.

In the growing search for therapeutic strategies, there is an interest in foods containing natural antioxidants and other bioactive compounds capable of preventing or reversing pathogenic processes associated with metabolic disease. Fermentation has been used as a potent way of improving the properties of soybean and their components. Microbial metabolism is responsible for producing the ß-glucosidase enzyme that converts glycosidic isoflavones into aglycones with higher biological activity in fermented soy products, in addition to several end-metabolites associated with human health development, including peptides, phenolic acids, fatty acids, vitamins, flavonoids, minerals, and organic acids. Thus, several products have emerged from soybean fermentation by fungi, bacteria, or a combination of both. This review covers the key biological characteristics of soy and fermented soy products, including natto, miso, tofu, douchi, sufu, cheonggukjang, doenjang, kanjang, meju, tempeh, thua-nao, kinema, hawaijar, and tungrymbai. The inclusion of these foods in the diet has been associated with the reduction of chronic diseases, with potential anticancer, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, anticholesterol, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. These biological activities and the recently studied potential of fermented soybean molecules against SARS-CoV-2 are discussed. Finally, a patent landscape is presented to provide the state-of-the-art of the transfer of knowledge from the scientific sphere to the industrial application.

Chitooligosaccharides antagonize the cytotoxic effect of glucosamine.

Chitooligosaccharides (COS) are partially hydrolyzed compounds derived from chitosan that exhibit a number of biological activities, including antitumor, antibacterial and antifungal properties. In this work, we examined the cytotoxicity of pure COS and oligomers A, B and C (solutions composed of different amounts of COS) produced by enzymatic hydrolysis using a crude enzyme extract produced by the fungus Metarhrizium anisopliae. The antiproliferative effect of these molecules was analyzed using tumor cell lines (HepG2 and HeLa cells) and in a normal cell line (3T3). The antioxidant activity was analyzed in several in vitro experiments. Glucosamine showed higher toxicity (approximately 92%) to all cell lines studied. However, the oligomers obtained after hydrolysis demonstrated no toxic effects on the normal cells (3T3). Furthermore, we showed that a small amount of other COS can decrease the cytotoxic effect of glucosamine against 3T3 cells, indicating that glucosamine could be used as an antitumor drug in the presence of other COS. In addition, different effects were found in antiproliferative assays, which depended on the COS composition in the oligomers (A, B and C), showing that a combination of them may be essential for developing antineoplastic drugs. Superoxide anion scavenging was the main antioxidant activity demonstrated by the COS and oligomers. This activity was also dependent on the oligomer composition of the chitosan hydrolysates. Further work will identify the ideal proportions of COS and glucosamine for maximizing the effects of these biological activities.

Chitosanase production by Paenibacillus ehimensis and its application for chitosan hydrolysis

The chitosanase production by Paenibacillus ehimensis was studied in submerged cultures and the chitosan hydrolysis was evaluated by using these enzymes without purification. The bacterium produced inducibles enzymes after 12 h of growth in a culture medium containing 0.2 percent (w/v) of soluble chitosan as carbon source. The enzyme production was strongly repressed by the presence of glucose. The production started as soon as the available sugars finished in the culture medium. The maximum level of chitosanase activity was 500 U.L-1 at 36°C after 36 h incubation. The crude enzyme was optimally active at pH 6.0 and 55°C and in these conditions, the enzyme presented good stability (6 days). The enzyme without purification was used to hydrolyze the chitosan which resulted chitooligosaccharides between 20 and 30 min of reaction.

A produção de quitosanases pelo Paenibacillus ehimensis foi estudada em culturas submersas e a hidrólise da quitosana foi realizada utilizando essas enzimas sem purificação. As enzimas foram obtidas após 12 horas de crescimento desta bactéria em meio de cultivo contendo 0,2 por cento (p/v) de quitosana solúvel como fonte de carbono. A produção das enzimas foi fortemente reprimida na presença de glicose, sendo obtida após o consumo total dos açúcares disponibilizados no referido meio de cultivo. A máxima atividade quitosanolítica foi obtida após 36 horas de cultivo a 36ºC, atingindo valores de 500 U.L-1. As enzimas utilizadas no extrato bruto apresentaram melhores atividades quando submetidas a condições de pH e temperatura de 6,0 e 55ºC, respectivamente, e nessas condições permaneceram estáveis durante 6 dias. Essas enzimas sem serem submetidas aos processos de purificação foram utilizadas para hidrolisar a quitosana, obtendo os quito-oligossacarídeos entre 20 e 30 minutos de reação.

Analysis of advertisements of infant food commercialized in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil / Análise das propagandas de alimentos infantis comercializados na cidade de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

The advertising about maternal milk substitutes has been pointed as one of the factors responsible for the breastfeeding low rates. In this way, legal support was created to assure that the use of such products would not interfere on the healthy breastfeeding habit of the population. This study, developed between June 2006 and May 2008 in the city of Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, analyzed the food advertisements divulged under the validity of Law # 11.265/2006, which controls in Brazil the food commercialization and the publicity addressed to parents or keepers of nursling and children in the first childhood. 220 advertisements, being 141 of technical-scientific nature, and 79 for strictly commercial promotion, were collected and evaluated according to legal requirements. The results from this analysis showed that 100 percent of the advertisements of technical-scientific nature overstepped the clause V; 18.4 percent the clause IV and 14.2 percent the clauses I, II and III of article 19th of Law # 11265/2006. In 42 percent of the advertisements strictly for commercial promotion, the mandatory information mentioned at clauses I and II of the article 5th were not shown. In 8.7 percent of the advertisements containing such information, it was placed in an area that embarrassed its identification and reading, due to used fonts size and/or color; similarly as occurred with the information required by article 19th, in the advertisements of technical-scientific nature.

A propaganda de substitutos do leite materno tem sido apontada como um dos fatores responsáveis pelos baixos índices da amamentação. Neste sentido, dispositivos legais foram criados para assegurar o uso desses produtos, sem que haja interferência no aleitamento materno. Este estudo objetivou analisar propagandas de alimentos abrangidos pela Lei nº 11.265/2006, que regulamenta a comercialização e publicidade de alimentos para lactentes e crianças de primeira infância no Brasil, no período de junho 2006 a maio de 2008, na cidade de Natal/RN. Foram coletadas 220 propagandas, sendo 141 de material técnico-científico e 79 de promoção comercial que foram avaliadas quanto às exigências legais. O resultado desta análise demonstrou que 100 por cento das propagandas veiculadas em material técnico-científico infringiram o inciso V; 18,4 por cento o inciso IV e 14,2 por cento os incisos I, II e III do artigo 19 da Lei nº 11.265/2006. Em 42 por cento das promoções comerciais não foram veiculadas as informações obrigatórias constantes dos incisos I e II do artigo 5º. Em 8,7 por cento das que continham essas informações, estas estavam postas em local que dificultava sua identificação e leitura devido ao tamanho e cor das letras, semelhantemente ao ocorrido com as informações exigidas pelo artigo 19 nas propagandas veiculadas em material técnico-científico.