Cross-cultural adaptation and reproducibility of the EPIC-Norfolk food frequency questionnaire in young people living in Croatia.

AIM: To translate and adapt the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for use in Croatia, and to assess the reliability and reproducibility of the Croatian version of the EPIC-Norfolk FFQ. METHODS: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed according to published recommendations. Reliability was assessed in 140 respondents (61 men; age range 8-40 years) divided into three groups: young adults, pregnant women, and children and adolescents. Reproducibility was assessed in the group of young adults (32/61 men), who completed the questionnaire on two occasions three months apart. RESULTS: The EPIC-Norfolk FFQ showed good reliability (Cronbach alpha=0.874). Most nutrient intakes showed good reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] between 0.7 and 0.9). Poor reproducibility was observed for alcohol (ICC=0.337), and moderate reproducibility was observed for beta-carotene (ICC=0.692) and total carbohydrates (ICC=0.698). Nutrient intakes measured by FFQ on two occasions did not significantly differ. CONCLUSION: The Croatian version of the EPIC-Norfolk FFQ can be a useful tool for assessing dietary intakes in young people in Croatia and possibly in neighboring countries with similar languages and dietary habits.

Enhanced Microvascular Adaptation to Acute Physical Stress and Reduced Oxidative Stress in Male Athletes Who Consumed Chicken Eggs Enriched with n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Antioxidants-Randomized Clinical Trial.

This randomized interventional study aimed to determine the effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, selenium, vitamin E, and lutein supplementation in the form of enriched chicken egg consumption on microvascular endothelium-dependent vasodilation, oxidative stress, and microvascular response to an acute strenuous training session (ASTS) in competitive athletes. Thirty-one male athletes were assigned to a control (n = 17) or a Nutri4 group (n = 14) who consumed three regular or enriched chicken eggs per day, respectively, for 3 weeks. Significantly enhanced endothelium-dependent responses to vascular occlusion (PORH) and iontophoresis of acetylcholine (AChID) were observed in the Nutri4 group but not in the control group after egg consumption. Formation of peroxynitrite and hydrogen peroxide in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as well as serum concentration of 8-iso prostaglandin F2α, decreased in the Nutri4 group while remaining unchanged in controls. PORH and AChID were reduced post-ASTS compared with pre-ASTS, both before and after the diets, in both groups. However, the range of PORH responsiveness to ASTS (ΔPORH) increased after consumption of enriched eggs. These results suggest that consumption of enriched chicken eggs has a beneficial effect on microvascular endothelium-dependent vasodilation and the reduction of oxidative stress levels in competitive athletes. Also, microvascular adaptation to the ASTS was improved after consumption of Nutri4 eggs.

Sodium-to-Potassium Ratio as an Indicator of Diet Quality in Healthy Pregnant Women.

This study aimed to investigate diet quality in healthy pregnant women based on the Na-to-K ratio from 24 h urine sample and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), to compare dietary micro- and macronutrient intake with current nutritional recommendations (RDA), and to investigate whether gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with Na-to-K ratio and diet quality during pregnancy in general. Sixty-four healthy pregnant women between 37 and 40 weeks of gestation participated in the study. Participants' GWG, body composition, molar 24 h urine Na-to-K ratio, and FFQ data on average daily total energy, food groups, and micro-/macronutrient intake were obtained. A Na-to-K ratio of 2.68 (1.11-5.24) does not meet nutrition quality and is higher than the WHO recommendations due to excessive sodium and insufficient potassium intake. FFQ Na-to-K ratio was associated with a higher daily intake of soups, sauces, cereals, fats, and oils and a low intake of fruit and non-alcoholic beverages. A total of 49% of pregnant women exhibited excessive GWG, which was attributed to the increase in adipose tissue mass. GWG was not associated with total energy but may be the result of insufficient physical activity during pregnancy. Daily intake of vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, niacin, riboflavin, calcium, iron, and zinc was suboptimal compared to RDA.

White Wine-Induced Endothelium-Dependent Vasorelaxation in Sprague-Dawley Rats.

The vasodilatory activity and polyphenolic content of commercially available white wine is low compared to red wines. This study assessed the vasodilator potential of white wines produced by four different fermentation processes: (1) white wine produced by the standard procedure; (2) grapes left to macerate completely for 30 days; (3) grapes left to macerate up to half of unfermented sugar; and (4) wine produced by cooling the must. All tested wine samples were analyzed for their phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and ethanol content. Vasodilation was examined in the norepinephrine pre-contracted isolated rat aortas of male Sprague-Dawley rats randomly exposed to cumulative concentrations (0.1‱ to 8‱ final dilutions in organ baths) of each of the tested wine samples with or without quercetin and/or gallic acid supplementation, in the absence/presence of NOS inhibitor L-NAME. Standard procedure and the procedure involving must cooling gives wine with lower phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and lower vasodilator potential, respectively. L-NAME inhibited vasodilation to all wine samples. Quercetin with or without gallic acid supplementation restored vasodilation. Results show that vasodilation to white wine is NO-dependent and suggest the possibility of increasing the antioxidant capacity and vasodilatory potential of white wine using different production procedures, depending on quercetin content.

The effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids-enriched hen eggs consumption on IgG and total plasma protein N-glycosylation in healthy individuals and cardiovascular patients.

This study determined the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs)-enriched hen eggs consumption on immunoglobulin G (IgG) and total plasma protein N-glycan profiles and inflammatory biomarkers level in healthy individuals (N = 33) and cardiovascular (CV) patients (N = 21). Subjects were divided to Control-Healthy and Control-CV subgroups [consumed three regular hens' eggs/daily (249 mg n-3 PUFAs/day)], and n-3 PUFAs-Healthy and n-3 PUFAs-CV subgroups [consumed three n-3 PUFAs-enriched hen eggs/daily (1053 mg n-3 PUFAs/day)] for 3 weeks. Serum-free fatty acids profile and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin 6 and 10 (IL-6, IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor alpha were measured. Total plasma protein and IgG N-glycome have been profiled before and after dietary protocols. Serum n-3 PUFAs concentration significantly increased following n-3 PUFAs hen eggs consumption in both n-3 PUFAs-Healthy and n-3 PUFAs-CV. IL-10 significantly increased in both Healthy subgroups, whereas no change occurred in CV subgroups. Derived IgG N-glycan traits: bisecting N-acetylglucosamine (B) significantly decreased in n-3 PUFAs-Healthy, whereas agalactosylation (G0) and core fucosylation (CF) significantly increased in Control-Healthy. Derived total plasma protein N-glycan traits: high branching glycans, trigalactosylation, tetragalactosylation, trisialylation, tetrasialylation and antennary fucosylation significantly decreased, whereas G0, monogalactosylation (G1), neutral glycans (S0), B, CF and oligomannose structures significantly increased in n-3 PUFAs-CV. Digalactosylation significantly decreased, and G0, G1, S0, disialylation, B and CF significantly increased in Control-CV. n-3 PUFAs consumption alters IgG N-glycan traits and IL-10 in healthy individuals, and total plasma protein N-glycan traits in CV patients, by shifting them toward less inflammatory N-glycosylation profile.

High salt intake shifts the mechanisms of flow-induced dilation in the middle cerebral arteries of Sprague-Dawley rats.

The goal of the present study was to examine the effect of 1 wk of high salt (HS) intake and the role of oxidative stress in changing the mechanisms of flow-induced dilation (FID) in isolated pressurized middle cerebral arteries of male Sprague-Dawley rats ( n = 15-16 rats/group). Reduced FID in the HS group was restored by intake of the superoxide scavenger tempol (HS + tempol in vivo group). The nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin, and selective inhibitor of microsomal cytochrome P-450 epoxidase activity N-(methylsulfonyl)-2-(2-propynyloxy)-benzenehexanamide significantly reduced FID in the low salt diet-fed group, whereas FID in the HS group was mediated by NO only. Cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA (but not protein) expression was decreased in the HS and HS + tempol in vivo groups. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and VEGF protein levels were increased in the HS group but decreased in the HS + tempol in vivo group. Assessment by direct fluorescence of middle cerebral arteries under flow revealed significantly reduced vascular NO levels and increased superoxide/reactive oxygen species levels in the HS group. These results suggest that HS intake impairs FID and changes FID mechanisms to entirely NO dependent, in contrast to the low-salt diet-fed group, where FID is NO, prostanoid, and epoxyeicosatrienoic acid dependent. These changes were accompanied by increased lipid peroxidation products in the plasma of HS diet-fed rats, increased vascular superoxide/reactive oxygen species levels, and decreased NO levels, together with increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and VEGF. NEW & NOTEWORTHY High-salt (HS) diet changes the mechanisms of flow-induced dilation in rat middle cerebral arteries from a combination of nitric oxide-, prostanoid-, and epoxyeicosatrienoic acid-dependent mechanisms to, albeit reduced, a solely nitric oxide-dependent dilation. In vivo reactive oxygen species scavenging restores flow-induced dilation in HS diet-fed rats and ameliorates HS-induced increases in the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and expression of its downstream target genes.