Microbiota of Iberian dry-cured ham as influenced by chemical composition, high pressure processing and prolonged refrigerated storage.

The effect of high pressure processing (HPP) on the microbiota of ripened Iberian ham of different water activity, salt concentration and intramuscular fat content was investigated before and after a 5-month refrigeration period. At the beginning of the refrigeration period, the only significant effects of chemical composition were those of water activity on psychrotrophs and Micrococcaceae in untreated hams, and of the salt-in-lean ratio on lactic acid bacteria in HPP-treated hams. At the end of the refrigeration period, the only significant effect was that of intramuscular fat content on moulds and yeasts in HPP-treated samples. All microbial groups were significantly affected by HPP, with reductions ranging from 1.7 to 2.0 log cycles after treatment. A significant recovery of all microbial groups took place in HPP-treated hams during the refrigeration period, with increases ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 log cycles. In spite of this recovery, microbial levels in HPP-treated hams remained significantly lower than in untreated hams. Staphylococcus accounted for 93.4% of Iberian ham bacterial isolates, with S. equorum as the most abundant species. Representatives of the Tetragenococcus, Carnobacterium and Streptomyces genera, not previously reported in dry-cured ham, were also isolated. Most of the yeast isolates (75.0%) were identified as Debaryomyces hansenii.

Fatty acid profile and oxidation tests of fat extracted from yogurt using rose hip seed oil.

BACKGROUND: Yogurt is a dairy product with a high nutritional value. However, like all milk products, it contains milk fat and is rich in saturated fatty acids. It would be desirable to enrich dairy products in poly- unsaturated fatty acids to increase dietary intake amongst consumers and improve their health. Also, some LAB bacteria are able to produce CLA and CLnA isomers from linoleic and linolenic acids. The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical properties and fatty acid profile of yogurt with the addition of 3.5% of rose hip seed oil. METHODS: Yogurt was made from skimmed milk and yogurt starter culture YC-180 Ch. Hansen (Denmark), with the addition of 3.5% of rose hip seed oil. The peroxide value, acid value, iodine value, TBA rate and fatty acid profile were determined in fat extracted from the yogurt after 1 and 14 days of storage and in fresh rose hip seed oil. The fatty acid profile was determined using gas chromatographic methods with mass spectrometric detectors. RESULTS: Fat extracted from the yogurts had lower levels of peroxides than the fresh oil. It was more acidic and the iodine value was higher than in the fresh oil. Rose hip seed oil enriched the product with polyunsaturated fatty acids. After 14 days of storage, linoleic and linolenic acid levels had increased. Moreover, the content of myristic and palmitic acids had decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The rose hip seed oil added to the yogurt was less susceptible to oxidation. The content of un- saturated fatty acids in the yogurt increased with the addition of the oil, making yogurt with rose hip seed oil an excellent source of Ω-3 and Ω-6 fatty acids. Conjugated linoleic (CLA) and linolenic (CLnA) acids were not detected. However, yogurt manufactured with appropriate adjunct cultures and with the correct oil addition could be a natural source of CLA and CLnA in the human diet.

Yeast inoculation as a strategy to improve the physico-chemical and sensory properties of reduced salt fermented sausages produced with entire male fat.

Yeast inoculation of dry fermented sausages manufactured with entire male fat was evaluated as a strategy to improve sausage quality. Four different formulations with entire male/gilt back fat and inoculated/non-inoculated with Debaryomyces hansenii were manufactured. The use of entire male back fat produced the highest weight losses, hardness and chewiness in dry sausages. Consumers clearly distinguished samples according to drying time and D. hansenii inoculation while the use of entire/gilt back fat was not highly perceived. The presence of androstenone and skatole was close to their sensory thresholds. Androstenone was not degraded during the process but skatole was affected by yeast inoculation. D. hansenii growth on the surface regulated water release during ripening, reduced hardness and chewiness in entire male sausages and resulted with similar texture to gilt sausages. Yeast inoculation inhibited lipid oxidation providing fruity odours and less oxidized fatty sausages in the sensory analysis. The effectiveness of yeast to mask boar taint was demonstrated by sensory analysis.

Pharmacokinetics and relative bioavailability of clofazimine in relation to food, orange juice and antacid.

BACKGROUND: Clofazimine is potentially useful for the treatment of disease due to multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as leprosy and certain chronic skin diseases. Its pharmacokinetics have been incompletely characterized. This study was conducted to explore issues relating to bioavailability in the presence of food, orange juice, and antacid. METHODS: A 5 drug regimen consisting of clofazimine, cycloserine, ethionamide, para-aminosalicyclic acid, and pyridoxime was administered to healthy subjects four times using a four period cross-over design with two weeks washout between treatments. Subjects also received orange juice, a high fat meal, aluminum/magnesium antacid, or only water in random order with the drug regimen. The pharmacokinetics of clofazimine were assessed using individual- and population-based methods and relative bioavailability compared to fasting administration was determined. RESULTS: Clofazimine exhibited a sometimes prolonged and variable lag-time and considerable variability in plasma concentrations. From the population analysis (one-compartment model), the mean oral clearance was 76.7 l/h (CV=74.2%) and mean apparent volume of distribution was 1470 l (CV=36.3%). The first-order absorption rate constant ranged from 0.716 to 1.33 h(-1) (pooled CV=61.7%). Residual (proportional) error was 49.1%. Estimates of bioavailability compared to fasting administration were 145% (90% CI, 107-183%) for administration with high fat food, 82.0% (63.2-101%) for administration with orange juice, and 78.5% (55.1-102%) for administration with antacid. CONCLUSION: Administration of clofazimine with a high fat meal provides the greatest bioavailability, however, bioavailability is associated with high inter- and intra-subject variability. Both orange juice and aluminum-magnesium antacid produced a reduction in mean bioavailability of clofazimine.

Altered calcium-binding ability of plasma proteins as the cause of hypocalcemia in lepromatous leprosy.

This paper reports a study performed on 10 lepromatous leprosy outpatients and on the same number of age- and sex-matched contacts. All of the lepromatous patients were hypocalcemic, but plasma levels of ionized calcium and the acid-base status were normal. The average daily food intake assessed through a questionnaire revealed adequate nutrition of patients and controls. Plasma proteins and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and intestinal absorption of calcium were discarded as the causes of the hypocalcemia. In vitro experiments designed to investigate the effect of hydrogen ion concentration on the equilibrium between calcium ion and proteins revealed that, at normal pH values, plasma proteins from lepromatous leprosy patients bind a smaller fraction of total plasma calcium than those from controls. This phenomenon produces a normal concentration of ionized calcium that determines a normal parathyroid status as indicated by the normal urinary excretion of hydroxyproline and plasma concentrations of alkaline phosphatase (total and bone isoenzyme) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase.

Effects of dietary composition on growth of M. leprae in mouse footpads.

The number of bacteria per mouse footpad were measured at intervals beginning with the third month in male, weanling BALB/c mice infected with M. leprae and fed for a period of 6 months to test the effects of diet on multiplication of bacteria. The mean bacteria count per footpad in mice remaining at 6 months in the two high fat diets was higher (p = 0.014) than the mean of the two low fat diets. Likewise, the pooled mean bacterial count of mice fed the two diets of animal origin had a tendency to a higher mean bacterial count compared to mice fed the two diets of plant origin. Low level of dietary protein in early life also seemed to predispose to M. leprae multiplication. Our data in mice suggest that the association of diet with human leprosy should be investigated.

Essential fatty acid-supplemented diet decreases renal excretion of immunoreactive arginine-vasopressin in essential fatty acid-deficient rats.

Essential fatty acid (EFA)-deficient rats have been reported to have very concentrated urine and low urinary prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) excretion. Both parameters were normalized by feeding an EFA-supplemented diet (H.S. Hansen [1981] Lipids 16, 849-854). The urinary excretion rate of immunoreactive-arginine-vasopressin (iAVP) has been determined in these rats. The iAVP excretion rate was high: ca. 4.8 mU/24 hr, during the EFA-deficient period compared to the controls, 0.7-1.3 mU/24 hr. One day after the dietary change, iAVP excretion rate was still high, but it decreased significantly (p less than 0.05) at the second measurement 7 days later. It is suggested that the water-conserving effect of vasopressin 1 day after the dietary change was suppressed by the very high PGE2 production, resulting in normal renal water excretion. PGE2 and water excretion data were published in the paper just cited.