PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe the effect of nutritional supplements on food intake in patients undergoing radiotherapy. DESIGN: Experimental prospective. SAMPLE: 40 newly diagnosed patients with cancer beginning external beam radiation therapy. METHODS: Weekly dietary counseling and recording of total daily dietary intake for three days a week for four weeks. One ...

Mice genetically deficient for the telomerase RNA (mTR) can be propagated for only a limited number of generations. In particular, mTR-/- mice of a mixed C57BL6/129Sv genetic background are infertile at the sixth generation and show serious hematopoietic defects. Here, we show that a percentage of mTR-/- embryos do not ...

OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics of dietary supplement users in a large cohort of women and test the hypothesis that supplement users would be more likely to have a healthier lifestyle than non-users. DESIGN: Comparison of nutrient intakes from food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data for 8409 supplement users and 5413 ...

In this manuscript the chemical and pharmacokinetic evaluation of a doping case associated with the use of an Ephedra-labelled dietary supplement is reported. The urine of a Dutch professional cyclist was found to be positive for norpseudoephedrine at a doping control. An inquiry revealed that the cyclist had consumed a ...

Several fundamental questions relating to the biochemical basis of megaloblastic hemopoiesis in vitamin B12 (B12) and folate deficiency and neurological damage in B12 deficiency remain to be answered. Among them is the explanation underlying (1) the failure of B12-deficient animals to develop megaloblastic hemopoiesis despite indirect evidence of impaired thymidylate ...

Nutritional supplements containing Ephedra sinica (ma-huang), a botanical source of ephedrine-type alkaloids, have been linked to numerous episodes of ephedrine (EPH) toxicity. With passage of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, nutritional supplements are no longer subject to the same FDA preapproval requirements as food additives, prescription, or ...

The intestinal absorption of folate occurs at the monoglutamyl level, and an important measure of food folate bioavailability is how much folate from the food reaches the intestinal sites in forms that can readily be absorbed. In the absence of protecting agents, e.g., vitamin C and reduced thiols, many labile ...

OBJECTIVE: To review folic acid's mechanism of action, adverse effects, therapeutic recommendations, compliance, and cost. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search was conducted through December 1997. Additional sources were obtained from Current Contents and citations from the references obtained. Search terms included folate, folic acid, neural tube defect, homocysteine, and methylenetetrahydrofolate ...

The purpose of this study was to validate a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a 3-d weighed food record (3d-WFR) by comparing nutrient intakes estimated using these methods with serum folate, RBC folate and serum vitamin B-12 concentrations in 105 females aged 16-19 y. During an early morning clinic visit, subjects ...

The objectives of this study were to examine variability of folate intake in order to estimate the number of days needed to accurately estimate intakes in women of childbearing age and to simulate the effect of folic acid fortification of cereals and grains on individual folate intake. Observational study of ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine if poor dietary intake can explain the cobalamin-related abnormalities often seen in the elderly. DESIGN: Prospective laboratory survey with a follow-up dietary assessment. SETTING: Social centers for the elderly and an outpatient clinic. SUBJECTS: Ninety-five free-living subjects >60y old with abnormal or suspicious findings in cobalamin-related tests ...

Previous studies have largely supported the predictions that an animal's aggressiveness increases as the clumping of resources increases in space but decreases in time. Such tests of resource defence theory, however, have manipulated only one aspect of resource distribution at a time. We tested for an interaction between the effects ...

Recent reports have indicated that trienzyme treatment before folate determination is essential to obtain the proper folate content in foods. Trienzyme treatment is performed by using alpha-amylase and protease for folate extraction from carbohydrate and protein matrices, and folate conjugase for the hydrolysis of polyglutamyl folates. We evaluated the conditions ...

Although folates are widely distributed in foods, folate deficiencies may be more frequent than expected because their true availability may be impaired due to their lability under various food cooking and processing conditions. Folate deficiency is frequently observed in elderly people, smokers, alcoholics and oral contraceptive users. It is also ...

Fe deficiency is considered to be the commonest of nutritional deficiencies worldwide. Adverse effects are stated to include lower growth rate and impaired cognitive scores in children and poor pregnancy outcome and lower working capacity in adults. In the present review, Fe intake, stores of the element, the magnitude of ...

Dietary folates exist largely as polyglutamates that require deconjugation prior to absorption. This process is catalyzed by intestinal pteroylpolyglutamate hydrolase (PPH) mainly associated with the jejunal brush border membrane. Previous studies have shown that citrate ion as well as the soluble fraction of many foods can inhibit PPH in vitro. ...

The gene defect in Huntington's disease (HD) may result in an impairment of energy metabolism. Malonate and 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) are inhibitors of succinate dehydrogenase that produce energy depletion and lesions that closely resemble those of HD. Oral supplementation with creatine or cyclocreatine, which are substrates for the enzyme creatine ...

In order to offer methods for assessing the protein quality of dog foods, eight commercial dry-type complete dog foods were analysed by in vitro chemical methods (crude protein, amino acid composition, in vitro pepsin digestibility) and rat growth trial (weight gain = WG, feed efficiency = FE, protein efficiency ratio ...

The main objective of this study was to assess the association between dietary fiber intake and the folate status of Canadian female adolescents. We also assessed dietary folate intakes and evaluated the prevalence of biochemical folate deficiency in these subjects. Female adolescents aged 14-19 y (n = 224) were recruited ...

Immigration patterns and the frequency of breeding dispersal in tree squirrels are predicted to be related to the amount of temporal and spatial variation in tree seed crops, their primary food supply. We studied Eurasian red squirrel, Sciurus vulgarisdispersal patterns in a stable habitat with predictable food supply and a ...

In addition to the pharmacokinetic interest, serum concentrations of biotin and biotin metabolites are important because biotin in serum might interfere with assays that use avidin-biotin detection systems. With acute and chronic oral administration of biotin the serum concentration of biotin increases. Because of limited specificity of bioassays or avidin-binding ...

Folate fortification of bread and grains has been directed to prevent neural tube birth defects. Research has also challenged previous concepts of folate nutritional status and suggested that folate may play a role in reducing the risk of vascular disease. Although folate status of many elderly people is adequate according ...

Considering leguminous trees Leucaena and Gliricidia as good sources of quality food, on-station and on-farm studies were conducted in the humid zone of West Africa to establish animal responses to levels, times and forms of browse supplementation, to develop alternative feeding strategies for utilising limited feed supply and to assess ...

We examined the relationship between intake of food group (and supplement) sources of folate and plasma folate and homocysteine concentrations among 885 elderly subjects in the Framingham Heart Study. Dietary data were collected by food-frequency questionnaire, and blood samples analyzed for folate and homocysteine concentrations. Top contributors to total folate ...

The periconceptional intake of 400 micrograms of folic acid can prevent 50-70% of neural tube defects. It is difficult to achieve this intake with diet alone, even with the recently approved levels for grain-food fortification. Therefore, a daily multivitamin with folic acid is recommended for all women of childbearing potential. ...

The phenotypic enhancement of longevity through a variety of environmental treatments, including dietary manipulations, has been observed in various species of animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Elucidating the mechanisms underlying such effects has provided insights into the physiological processes contributing to the determination of lifespan. Here, we report the enhancement ...

Approximately 50% of neural tube defects may be folate-preventable and perhaps even more in other countries where prevalence is high. The Public Health Service has issued the recommendation that all women of childbearing age in the United States who are capable of becoming pregnant should consume 400 micrograms of folic ...

BACKGROUND: Recommendations by the UK Department of Health suggest that protection from neural tube defects (NTD) can be achieved through intakes of an extra 400 microgram daily of folate/folic acid as natural food, foods fortified with folic acid, or supplements. The assumption is that all three routes of intervention would ...

The site of action of hydantocidin was probed using Arabidopsis thaliana plants growing on agar plates. Herbicidal effects were reversed when the agar medium was supplemented with AMP, but not IMP or GMP, suggesting that hydantocidin blocked the two-step conversion of IMP to AMP in the de novo purine biosynthesis ...

The relationship of folic acid to neural tube defects has provided us with one of the richest case studies in nutrition science policy of this half century. The concepts of nutritional adequacy in the periconceptual period, the power of well-designed and controlled intervention trials, the challenges of altering the intake ...

This review examines evidence linking periconceptional folic acid intake to neural tube defects (NTDs) and related public health issues in the United States and developing countries. Sources of information were identified through on-line searches (Medline, UCAT-University of Connecticut) and by contacting researchers in the field. The distribution of NTDs varies ...

The effects of cowpea and amino acid supplementation on the protein quality and chemical characteristics of a maize-based West African traditional weaning food were studied. Process optimization for improved nutritive value was also determined. Supplementation of the traditional weaning food with cowpea increased the lysine, tryptophan and threonine content while ...

Mineral elements, including magnesium, zinc, and copper, are required by the body in modest amounts for the maintenance of health and for the development of optimal physiological function. For athletes, adequate amounts of these minerals are required for physical training and performance. Studies of athletes during training, as compared to ...

OBJECTIVES: This article uses folic acid as an example to illustrate some of the complex issues and general principles that emerge when evaluating fortification of the food supply as one possible means to address a public health recommendation. METHODS: Distributions of current daily folate intakes from conventional foods and dietary ...

This study was designed to determine whether freeze-dried and thermostabilized foods on a space shuttle contain adequate folate and to investigate any effects of freeze-drying on folacin. Frozen vegetables were analyzed after three states of processing: thawed; cooked; and rehydrated. Thermostabilized items were analyzed as supplied with no further processing. ...

Sensitive determination of furosine in acid hydrolysates of foods was achieved by isocratic ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC and direct UV-detection within a run time of 5 minutes and levels lower than 1.5 mg per kg of protein. The formation of furosine during hydrolysis of food samples with hydrochloric acid of varying ...

Four supplement mixtures using whole wheat, pearl millet, bengal gram, green gram, groundnuts and amaranth leaves were developed employing roasting and malting techniques. Malting used in the formation of the supplements reduced significantly hot paste viscosity of all the four supplements and increased their nutrient density per unit volume. The ...

Acid phosphatase activity was measured in individual cells by determining their optical densities through a scanning confocal laser microscope. The naphthol AS-TR (3-hydroxy-2-naphtoic acid 4'-chloro-2'-methylanilide) phosphate-hexazotized para-rosanilin method was used to visualise the acid phosphatase content in the light microscope. Evidence was obtained that the amount of enzyme varied in ...

A new amino acid mixture for incorporation into medical foods for the treatment of hyperphenylalaninemia has been tested in a regular clinic. The mix is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, consistent with good nutrition. After more than 1 year of trial as a beverage, we have shown that ...

Malnutrition of folate and cobalamin occurs on a world-wide scale. Millions of individuals, for a variety of cultural, religious and socio-economic reasons, ingest less than the daily amounts required to maintain body stores. Assessment of intake depends on the population under study, method of food preparation and assay technique. Up ...

Four weaning foods were formulated using locally available cereals and pulses such as wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), green gram (Vigna radiata) and jaggery. Cereal, pulse and jaggery were used in the proportion of 70:30:25. Roasting and malting were two processing techniques used. The developed weaning foods were evaluated ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between smoking habits and folate status in a group of elderly Spanish men. DESIGN: We studied folate intake, serum and erythrocyte folate concentrations, hematological and biochemical data in 72 elderly males (comparing 24 smokers data with 44 nonsmokers ones). RESULTS: Percentage deficiencies for folate intake, ...

The Hungarian participation in the establishment of the new primary prevention of neural-tube defects by periconceptional supplementation with multivitamins including folic acid or with folic acid alone has been significant. Food and supplement consumption during the preconceptional period are hypothesized to closely reflect intakes during the time of neural-tube development, ...

Dieticians computed the fat and cholesterol contents of 11 foods that were commercially produced as ready-to-eat food from food component lists and obtained the P/S ratio (polysaturated/saturated fatty acids) from the fatty acid component list. Meanwhile the same foods were diluted and homogenized. The internal standard was combined with hepatadecanoic ...

Findings on the efficacy of nutritional supplements used by athletes are reviewed. Many athletes have turned away from anabolic steroids and toward nutritional supplements in the hope of gaining a competitive edge without threatening their health. Athletes may require slightly more protein than sedentary people do to maintain positive nitrogen ...

1. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding supplemental tryptophan during the two weeks before market on growth, mortality during transportation, meal quality and brain neurotransmitter concentrations in male turkeys. 2. Brain serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and norepinephrine concentrations were increased dose-dependently with 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 g/kg ...

Six groups of elderly subjects from central Guatemala were assessed for riboflavin status by using the erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity coefficient (EGRAC). The prevalence of riboflavin deficiency ranged from 50% to 76% among the free-living rural elderly subjects. Milk intake data that were collected from some of the subjects showed ...

Two beef production systems were evaluated in conjunction with an evaluation of escape protein sources for finishing calves. Two hundred forty crossbred steers and 80 crossbred heifer calves (BW = 267 +/- 2 kg) were split into two groups: 1) control, finished (207 d) after a 3-wk feedlot adjustment period ...

It is well recognized that the absorption, retention and metabolism of most essential minerals can be markedly influenced by the presence of antinutrient factors in the diet (i.e. fiber and phytate). However, in addition, interactions can also occur between essential minerals. Indeed, under some circumstances, these interactions can be profound ...

The origin and disposal of 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol (AG), one of the main polyols found in the human body, was studied in normal subjects and diabetic patients. AG was detected in various kinds of foods. The mean AG supplement through foods was estimated to be approximately 4.38 mg/day, which was compatible with ...