The Use of Iron-Enriched Yeast for the Production of Flatbread.

The most common cause of iron deficiency is an improperly balanced diet, in which the body's need for iron cannot be met by absorption of this element from food. Targeted iron supplementation and food fortification may be the main treatments for iron deficiency in the population. However, many iron-rich supplements and foods have low bioavailability of this element. In our study, we used yeast enriched with iron ions to produce flatbread. The yeast cells accumulated iron ions from the medium supplemented with Fe(NO3)3·9H2O, additionally one of the cultures was treated with pulsed electric field in order to increase the accumulation. The potential bioavailability of iron from flatbread containing 385.8 ± 4.12 mg of iron in 100 g dry mass was 10.83 ± 0.94%. All the flatbreads had a moderate glycemic index. There were no significant differences in antioxidant activity against DPPH• between flatbread with iron-enriched and non-iron-enriched yeast. Sensory evaluation showed that this product is acceptable to consumers since no metallic aftertaste was detected. Iron enriched flatbread can potentially be an alternative to dietary supplements in iron deficiency states.

The application of PEF technology in food processing and human nutrition.

During the last decades, many novel techniques of food processing have been developed in response to growing demand for safe and high quality food products. Nowadays, consumers have high expectations regarding the sensory quality, functionality and nutritional value of products. They also attach great importance to the use of environmentally-friendly technologies of food production. The aim of this review is to summarize the applications of PEF in food technology and, potentially, in production of functional food. The examples of process parameters and obtained effects for each application have been presented.

Porous starch and its application in drug delivery systems.

In recent years, starch has become a new potential biomaterial for pharmaceutical applications. This biopolymer has unique physicochemical and functional characteristics, as well as various advantages such as low price, relative ease of isolation in pure form from the plant source, non-toxicity, biodegradability, good biocompatibility, and interaction with living cells. Starch is currently used in pharmacy as a binder, disintegrating agent, film-forming material, raw material for production of microspheres and nanoparticles, and a component of drug delivery systems. Porous starch, which can be obtained with physical, chemical and enzymatic methods of modification, has a large specific surface area thanks to the presence of pores and channels. It has excellent adsorption capacity and can be used to enhance the dissolution rate of poorly soluble drugs or as shell material to improve the stability and water-solubility of compounds. As a component of drug delivery systems, porous starch has another advantage: it is biodegradable, so there is no need to remove it from the body after the release of the active agent.

Analysis of the Diet Quality and Nutritional State of Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Prader-Willi Syndrome: A Polish Multiple Case Study.

Given the lack of data on dietary quality in young individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) in Poland, a multiple case study was conducted in which anthropometric measurements and 7-day dietary records were collected from 20 subjects with PWS. The study group consisted of 8 females and 12 males with a mean age of 14.8 years and a mean BMI of 21.6. Based on BMI analysis, five subjects were overweight, including two subjects who were obese. The study showed that 35% of the subjects had energy intakes above the recommended levels. Protein deficiency was found in one subject in the analyzed diets. However, fat intake was excessive in four subjects, and the majority exceeded the recommended intake of saturated fatty acids. Vitamin E and B12 deficiencies were found in 40% and 85% of the subjects, respectively. All subjects had inadequate intakes of vitamin D and iodine, while the majority had deficiencies in sodium and copper intakes. Calcium intake was deficient in 35% of the subjects. However, most subjects met recommendations for the intakes of other minerals, vitamins, and fiber. These findings confirm the suboptimal dietary patterns of Polish individuals with PWS, with deficits observed in the intake of certain vitamins and minerals.

Effect of Various Types of Intermittent Fasting (IF) on Weight Loss and Improvement of Diabetic Parameters in Human.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A number of recent studies have suggested that intermittent fasting is as effective as traditional calorie restriction (CR) for weight loss and for cardioprotection. However, it is still unclear whether IF improves diabetes risk indicators as does CR. This review provides an overview of various patterns of intermittent fasting and shows the effect of intermittent fasting on human anthropometric such as excess body weight and biochemical parameters for example high glucose and fasting insulin, which are risk factors for diabetes. RECENT FINDINGS: There is a growing body of evidence pointing to the benefits of intermittent fasting for glucose and insulin homeostasis, but this should be confirmed by further studies in population groups with (or at high risk) type II diabetes and insulin resistance. Long-term studies are also needed that could reveal potential negative health effects that some studies report. Eleven studies in overweight/obese adult people that included changes in weight, body composition, and diabetic parameters (fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1c concentration, and HOMA-IR index) were published between 2012 and 2020. Seven studies concerning the effects of alternate day fasting (ADF) on weight loss and diabetic parameters were analyzed. All of them have shown the effects of ADF on weight loss and slight improvement in diabetic parameters. For time-restricted feeding (TRF), a significant improvement in the HOMA-IR index was observed in 2 studies. One study saw an increase in fasting glucose. An analysis of 2 studies using a complete alternate day fasting (CADF) was performed. One study showed decrease in fasting glucose and insulin, and in one a decrease in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was observed. CONCLUSION: Different types of intermittent fasting reduce body weight and reduce diabetes parameters such as fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR index, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Enhances Iron Uptake by the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of a pulsed electric field (PEF) on the level of iron ion accumulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and to select PEF conditions optimal for the highest uptake of this element. Iron ions were accumulated most efficiently when their source was iron (III) nitrate. When the following conditions of PEF treatment were used: voltage 1500 V, pulse width 10 µs, treatment time 20 min, and a number of pulses 1200, accumulation of iron ions in the cells from a 20 h-culture reached a maximum value of 48.01 mg/g dry mass. Application of the optimal PEF conditions thus increased iron accumulation in cells by 157% as compared to the sample enriched with iron without PEF. The second derivative of the FTIR spectra of iron-loaded and -unloaded yeast cells allowed us to determine the functional groups which may be involved in metal ion binding. The exposure of cells to PEF treatment only slightly influenced the biomass and cell viability. However, iron-enriched yeast (both with or without PEF) showed lower fermentative activity than a control sample. Thus obtained yeast biomass containing a high amount of incorporated iron may serve as an alternative to pharmacological supplementation in the state of iron deficiency.