Senatore cappelli (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) pasta: a study on the nutritional quality of whole grains and its physical form.

Pasta is one of the components of the Mediterranean Diet, despite considerable attention given, its use is still debated. Several studies encouraged the consumption of whole grain because of its many properties and the positive association between refined carbohydrates and insulin resistance, by measuring the Glycaemic Index (GI), an indicator of the physiological effects of a carbohydrate meal. In this study, the GI and polyphenol content of Senatore Cappelli (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) pasta were evaluated. Using spectrophotometric methods, total polyphenols and flavonoids were found to be 113.5 mg/100 g and 52.96 mg/100 g, respectively. To measure the GI, a standard assay was performed, and values of 47.9 ± 5.2 for long format pasta and 68.5 ± 4.6 for short format pasta were obtained. The present study confirms the presence of polyphenols and flavonoids in pasta Senatore Cappelli. The value of GI is influenced by the pasta shape. These informations could provide valuable data for practitioners preparing personalised diets.

Polyphenols and the glycaemic index of legume pasta.

Legume flours contain elevated levels of healthy functional components. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the levels of polyphenols and flavonoids and total antioxidant capacity of pasta obtained using 100% legume flours (100% pea flour, 100% red lentil flour, and 60% grass pea flour and 40% chickpea flour). Moreover, the post-prandial glycaemic responses, the glycaemic index and glycaemic load were evaluated. The levels of the bioactive compounds (total polyphenols and flavonoids) and the antioxidant properties were higher in all products obtained with legume flours compared with durum wheat semolina (DWS) pasta. After cooking by boiling, a decrease in the total content of polyphenols of about 50%-60% was observed in all pasta samples. The comparison of the post-prandial increase of glucose after intake of pasta obtained with 100% legume flours demonstrated significant differences compared with DWS pasta. Glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) values of DWS pasta were 52.59 ± 8.41% and 26.14 ± 3.12, respectively. The GI values and GL values were 20.07 ± 7.67% and 6.88 ± 2.63 in the product containing grass pea and chickpea flour, 22.38 ± 6.92% and 8.30 ± 2.56 in the product containing red lentil flour, and 23.39 ± 6.72% and 8.65 ± 2.50 in the product containing pea flour. The results suggest that pasta formulated with legume flours is a low glycaemic food and can be considered a suitable source of polyphenols and flavonoids in human diet.

Relationship of fruit and vegetable intake to dietary antioxidant capacity and markers of oxidative stress: A sex-related study.

OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress contributes to the development of chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables contain several phytonutrients (carotenoids, polyphenols) that exert antioxidant effects. The aim of this study was to investigate sex differences in fruit and vegetable intake, and the relationship to plasma levels of carotenoids as well as to total antioxidant capacity (pTAC). We studied also sex differences in the relationship between fruit and vegetables intake and plasma levels of lipid hydroperoxides, as well as of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). METHODS: This study included 83 healthy adults (35 men and 48 women, mean age 40 ± 10 y). Dietary intake of carotenoids and total antioxidant capacity (dTAC) were evaluated on the basis of a 15-d food frequency questionnaire. Plasma levels of ß-carotene, lutein, and pTAC were studied. Moreover, levels of plasma lipid hydroperoxides and ox-LDL were evaluated using the ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange 2 (FOX2) assay and a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay procedure, respectively. RESULTS: Dietary habits were sex-related with a higher intake of fruits and vegetables (P < 0.05) and ß-carotene (P < 0.001) in women than in men. Mean values of plasma lutein and ß-carotene were higher in women than in men. Mean values of ox-LDL and lipid hydroperoxides were higher in men than in women (P < 0.05). Significant negative correlations were established between the individual values of ox-LDL and the levels of lutein versus ß-carotene and versus pTAC values in plasma in both groups. Individuals belonging to the tertile with the highest daily intake of fruits and vegetables or the highest daily dTAC showed the lowest levels of plasma ox-LDL. In each category, sex-related differences were observed with men showing higher levels of ox-LDL than women. Moreover, lower levels of plasma ß-carotene were observed in men in each tertile of daily intake of fruits and vegetables compared with females. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the data obtained, we confirm that high fruit and vegetable consumption exerts a positive effect on antioxidant defenses and decreases oxidative damage of plasma lipoproteins for both sexes. The results suggest that the protective effect can be found to a higher extent in women than in men. Sex-based differences are apparent in many chronic diseases. Thus, a higher consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables should be recommended in efforts to prevent diseases in which sex-related differences in oxidative stress play a considerable role.

Annurca apple-rich diet restores long-term potentiation and induces behavioral modifications in aged rats.

The impairment of brain functions during aging could be prevented by an increase in antioxidative defenses. In fact, dietary manipulation with antioxidants or with antioxidant-rich extracts from vegetables and fruit can ameliorate age-associated behavioral alterations. Moreover, dietary supplements of antioxidants can reverse the age-dependent impairment to sustain long-term potentiation (LTP). There is evidence that fresh fruit could be more effective than antioxidant supplements or fruit and vegetable extracts but the effect of a diet enriched in fresh fruit on brain aging process has not been investigated until now. The aim of the present study was to verify whether dietary manipulation with fresh apples could influence age-induced changes in motor and emotional behavior and in LTP in rats. Groups of aged and young rats were fed with a standard diet or a diet supplemented with fresh apples of annurca variety for 10 weeks and assessed for behavioral performance in the open field and elevated plus maze tests and for the ability to sustain LTP. The brains were then removed, histochemically stained for superoxide dismutase (SOD) and SOD activity was measured by computer-assisted image analysis. The aged rats fed with the enriched diet showed a significant decrease in the anxiety level. Moreover, they improved in the ability to sustain LTP, reaching the level of the young rats. SOD activity was increased in the aged rats fed with the standard diet whereas SOD activity in the hippocampus of the aged rats treated with annurca apple was at the level of the young animals. These results suggest that a diet rich in annurca apple could have an important role in health-care during aging.