Summary
The diets of over two-thirds of the world's population lack one or more essential mineral elements. This can be remedied through dietary diversification, mineral supplementation, food fortification, or increasing the concentrations and/or bioavailability of mineral elements in produce (biofortification). This article reviews aspects of soil science, plant physiology and genetics underpinning crop biofortification strategies, as well as agronomic and genetic approaches currently taken to biofortify food crops with the mineral elements most commonly lacking in human diets: iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iodine (I) and selenium (Se). Two complementary approaches have been successfully adopted to increase the concentrations of bioavailable mineral elements in food crops. First, agronomic approaches optimizing the application of mineral fertilizers and/or improving the solubilization and mobilization of mineral elements in the soil have been implemented. Secondly, crops have been developed with: increased abilities to acquire mineral elements and accumulate them in edible tissues; increased concentrations of ‘promoter’ substances, such as ascorbate, β-carotene and cysteine-rich polypeptides which stimulate the absorption of essential mineral elements by the gut; and reduced concentrations of ‘antinutrients’, such as oxalate, polyphenolics or phytate, which interfere with their absorption. These approaches are addressing mineral malnutrition in humans globally.

/pdf/biofortification-of-crops-with-seven-mineral-elements-often-3g2xc3trnk.pdf

Biofortification of crops with seven mineral elements often lacking in human diets--iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, selenium and iodine.

Oxygenated derivatives of cholesterol (oxysterols) present a remarkably diverse profile of biological activities, including effects on sphingolipid metabolism, platelet aggregation, apoptosis, and ...

Oxysterols: modulators of cholesterol metabolism and other processes.

Oxysterols and atherosclerosis

Association between trans fatty acid intake and 10-year risk of coronary heart disease in the Zutphen Elderly Study: a prospective population-based study.

Adipogenesis is the process by which precursor stem cells differentiate into lipid laden adipocytes. Adipogenesis is regulated by a complex and highly orchestrated gene expression program. In mammalian cells, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), and the CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) such as C/EBPα, β and δ are considered the key early regulators of adipogenesis, while fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), adiponectin, and fatty acid synthase (FAS) are responsible for the formation of mature adipocytes. Excess accumulation of lipids in the adipose tissue leads to obesity, which is associated with cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and other pathologies. Thus, investigating adipose tissue development and the underlying molecular mechanisms is vital to develop therapeutic agents capable of curbing the increasing incidence of obesity and related pathologies. In this review, we address the process of adipogenic differentiation, key transcription factors and proteins involved, adipogenic regulators and potential anti-adipogenic bioactive molecules.

Molecular Regulation of Adipogenesis and Potential Anti-Adipogenic Bioactive Molecules.

A sensitive and specific method is described for quantifying various cholesterol oxidation products in foodstuffs, including 7β-hydroxycholesterol, cholesterol-α-epoxide, cholestane-triol, 7-ketocholesterol and 25-hydroxycholesterol. A chloroform-methanol extract of the food was fractionated over two successive silica columns. Two fractions containing different classes of oxysterols were then analyzed as trimethylsilyl derivatives by capillary gas liquid chromatography, using on-column injection and a temperature gradient from 70 to 200°C. The detection limit was about 0.5 μg/g dry weight for egg yolk powder. Fresh egg yolk contained only 1.2 μg/g of total oxides per g dry weight, showing that artifactual oxidation during the procedure was minimal. Recovery of 5 pure oxysterols added to egg yolk at levels of 6.5 and 10 μg/g was between 93 and 102%. In commercial egg yolk and whole egg powder stored for one year, total amounts of oxysterols ranging from 21 to 137 μg/g dry weight were found. In duplicates of mixed Dutch diets, total amounts ranged from 3.6 to 6.2 μg/g dry weight. Duplicates containing mostly fried and baked foods did not have higher levels than duplicates in which foods had been prepared by boiling or left raw. We conclude that a normal mixed diet provides only minor amounts of cholesterol oxidation products.

Quantification of oxysterols in Dutch foods: Egg products and mixed diets.

Quick screening of maize kernels for provitamin A content

Trans fatty acids in foods are usually analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). However, this method may produce erroneously low values because of insufficient separation between cis and trans isomers. Separation can be optimized by preceding silver-ion thin-layer chromatography (Ag-TLC), but this is laborious. We have developed an efficient method for the separation of 18-carbon trans fatty acid isomers by combining GLC of FAME with GLC of fatty acid 4,4-dimethyloxazoline (DMOX) derivatives. We validated this method against conventional GLC of FAME, with and without preceding Ag-TLC. Fatty acid isomers were identified by comparison with standards, based on retention times and mass spectrometry. Analysis of DMOX derivatives allowed the 13t, 14t, and 15t isomers to be separated from the cis isomers. The combination of the GLC analyses of FAME and DMOX derivatives gave results comparable with those obtained by GLC of FAME after preceding Ag-TLC, while saving about 100 h of manpower per 25 samples. It allowed the identification and quantitation of 11 trans and 8 cis isomers and resulted in 25% higher values for total C18:1trans, compared with the analysis of FAME alone. The combination of DMOX and FAME analyses, as applied to the analysis of 14 foods that contained ruminant fat and partially hydrogenated vegetable and fish oils, indicated that the most common isomers were 11t in ruminant fats, 9t in partially hydrogenated fish fats, and either 9t or 10t in partially hydrogenated vegetable fats. The combination of GLC analyses of FAME and DMOX derivatives of fatty acids improves the quantitation of 18-carbon fatty acid isomers and may replace the laborious and time-consuming Ag-TLC.

Analysis of C18:1 cis and trans fatty acid isomers by the combination of gas-liquid chromatography of 4,4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives and methyl esters

/pdf/voedingsmiddelenanalyses-van-de-vakgroep-humane-voeding-deel-iw6lg5o2yf.pdf

Voedingsmiddelenanalyses van de Vakgroep Humane Voeding. Deel 11 Spijsvetten en oliën

/pdf/voedingsmiddelenanalyses-van-de-vakgroep-humane-voeding-deel-lrovp88e7o.pdf

T. Kosmeijer-Schuil

Papers

Quantification of oxysterols in Dutch foods: Egg products and mixed diets.

Quick screening of maize kernels for provitamin A content

Analysis of C18:1 cis and trans fatty acid isomers by the combination of gas-liquid chromatography of 4,4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives and methyl esters

Voedingsmiddelenanalyses van de Vakgroep Humane Voeding. Deel 11 Spijsvetten en oliën

Voedingsmiddelenanalyses van de Vakgroep Humane Voeding. Deel 11A Spijsvetten en oliën : achtergrondcijfers