Many published studies of breast milk FA composition are limited to populations from one or two countries We aimed to examine the degree to which FA compositions vary across a number of diverse populations Because diet and maternal adipose stores influence breast milk FA composition, differences in FA composition between groups most likely reflect habitual dietary differences Approximately 50 breast milk samples (full breast expression) were collected from women in Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States The proportion of saturated FA was relatively constant among countries, with the exception of the Philippines, where levels of lauric and myristic acids were elevated (means greater than two times the mean of most other countries) Monounsaturated FA also varied little, with the exception of low levels of oleic acid in the Philippines and high levels of erucic acid in China Although arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6) levels were similar among all countries (means ranging from 036 wt % to 049 wt %), mean DHA (C22:6n-3) levels ranged from 017 to 099 wt %, with the highest levels in Japanese milk and the lowest levels in Canadian and US samples The results of this study demonstrate that the proportion of saturated and monounsaturated FA are relatively constant across a large number of countries, whereas the level of some of the PUFA, especially DHA, are highly variable

Human milk fatty acid composition from nine countries varies most in DHA.

The importance of trace elements as essential dietary constituents is not sufficiently appreciated by the medical profession, although in recent years a significant increase of new finding on their essential character in nutrition occurred as well as of data on changes in the composition of the diet which can cause their deficiency and in some instances a toxic excess. The diagnosis of deficiency or excess of these substances in the organism is very complicated. because their blood level frequently does not provide sufficient information on their reserves in the organism and new laboratory methods suited for this purpose must be developed and tested. The interpretation of the assembled results is very pretentious and it will be therefore necessary to expand teaching of nutrition, where the problem of trace elements no doubt belongs, into undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula to prevent health damage due to inadequate intake of trace elements as well as uncontrolled intake of freely available preparations sold as supplements.

[Trace elements, human nutrition and health]

Garden cress (Lepidium sativum) belonging to the family Cruciferae grown in India, Europe and US is an underutilized crop. The edible whole seed is known to have health promoting properties. Hence, it was assumed that these seeds can be a functional food. A preliminary work on chemical composition of seeds was carried out and the possibility of using it as nutraceutical food ingredient in dietary fiber formulation was explored. Three fractions namely whole meal (WM), endosperm and bran were analyzed for chemical composition. The yield of the endosperm and the bran fraction were 72 and 28%, respectively. The WM, endosperm and bran had 22.5, 27.7 and 12.6% protein, 27.5, 33.1 and 6% fat, 30, 13.6 and 75% dietary fibre (DF), and 1193.00, 945.15 and 1934.57 mg% potassium respectively. The major protein on SDS-PAGE was of 29.5 kDa. The most abundant amino acid was glutamic acid (19.3%) and the essential amino acid, leucine was the highest (8.21 ± 0.01%) and methionine the lowest (0.97 ± 0.02%). The major fatty acid was linolenic acid (30.2%) and low amount of erucic acid (3.9%) was also present. Bran having high water holding capacity and high DF, its use as source of DF was explored. The product contained 12% protein, 4% fat and 74.3% DF and exhibited desirable functional properties such as dispersibility, gelling ability, stability, formed homogenous mild alkaline suspension and was comparable to proprietary DF.

Chemical composition of garden cress (Lepidium sativum) seeds and its fractions and use of bran as a functional ingredient.

In 1979, Chinese scientists reported that selenium had been linked to Keshan disease, an endemic juvenile cardiomyopathy found in China. However, certain epidemiological features of the disease could not be explained solely on the basis of inadequate selenium nutrition. Fluctuations in the seasonal incidence of the disease suggested involvement of an infectious agent. Indeed, a coxsackievirus B4 isolated from a Keshan disease victim caused more heart muscle damage when inoculated into selenium-deficient mice than when given to selenium-adequate mice. Those results led us to study the relationship of nutritional status to viral virulence. Coxsackievirus B3/0 (CVB3/0), did not cause disease when inoculated into mice fed adequate levels of Se and vitamin E. However, mice fed diets deficient in either Se or vitamin E developed heart lesions when infected with CVB3/0. To determine if the change in viral phenotype was maintained, we passaged virus isolated from Se-deficient hosts, designated as CVB3/0 Se-, back into Se-adequate hosts. The CVB3/0 Se- virus caused disease in Se-adequate mice. To determine if the phenotype change was due to changes in the viral genome, we sequenced viruses isolated from Se-deficient mice and compared them with the input CVB3/0 virus. Six point mutations differed between the parent strain and the recovered CVB3/0 Se- isolates. When the experiment was repeated using vitamin E-deficient mice, the same 6 point mutations were found. This is the first report of a specific host nutritional deficiency altering viral genotype. Keshan disease may be the result of several interacting causes including a dominant nutritional deficiency (selenium), other nutritional factors (vitamin E, polyunsaturated fatty acids), and an infectious agent (virus).

Interacting nutritional and infectious etiologies of Keshan disease. Insights from coxsackie virus B-induced myocarditis in mice deficient in selenium or vitamin E.

SummaryThe Brassicaceae (syn. Cruciferae) is an economically important botanical family providing a diverse range of foliar, root and seed crops for both human and domesticated animal consumption. However, in common with other plant species the Brassicacae have been endowed with the capacity to synthesize a range of antinutritional compounds, the most important of which are the glucosinolates, S-methylcysteine sulfoxide, tannins and erucic acid. In this review the adverse and possible beneficial effects of the inclusion of these compounds in human and animal diets are reviewed together with their chemistry, biosynthesis and methods for their analysis.

Antinutritional compounds in the Brassicaceae: analysis, biosynthesis, chemistry and dietary effects

The fatty acid patterns of oils, blood plasma and erythrocyte lipids from 28 children in the Shaanxi province of the People's Republic of China were determined by capillary gas liquid chromatography. The main source of fat in this region is rapeseed oil. The analysis of locally available rapeseed oil shows a high erucic acid content (mean 43.83%, range 33.91-50.48%). According to protocol data, about 3% of the daily nutrient energy is provided by erucic acid. Despite a low fat intake in Chinese children, the composition of the fatty acids of the fractions analyzed showed normal patterns. However, erucic acid was found in all fractions analyzed. Data on erucic acid in human tissue are scarce. Although there are no indications of erucic acid toxicity in man, it is known to cause cardiac lipidosis and necrosis in rats. The question remains open if erucic acid aggravates selenium deficiency symptoms which are known to be associated with Keshan disease, an endemic cardiomyopathy.

Fatty acid composition of blood lipids in Chinese children consuming high erucic acid rapeseed oil.

For over 50 years a cardiomyopathy is known to occur endemically in distinct regions of China. In the 1970s the low selenium content of soil, food and tissues was discovered and since then the prevention of Keshan disease by selenium supplementation is known. Still the pathogenesis of Keshan disease is not fully explained by selenium deficiency alone, as in other parts of the world healthy or diseased people with low selenium intake seldom suffer from cardiomyopathy. It remains questionable whether an additional environmental, infectious or nutritional factor may contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. Mostly children of peasants who only live on locally grown food are affected. Knowing some of the nutritional habits we tried to find an additional factor which accentuates selenium deficiency and estimated in a pilot study the fatty acids in plasma of healthy children from Keshan areas.

Low Selenium State and Increased Erucic Acid in Children from Keshan Endemic Areas — A Pilot Study

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a high-protein diet on anthropometric indices and blood lipid in overweight and obese children and provide evidence for their dietary management. Methods: This was a Meta-analysis. The randomized controlled trials on the effects of a high-protein diet on anthropometric indices and blood lipid in overweight and obese children published up to January 19, 2022 were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library and CNKI database, with the key words of "child" "adolescent" "obesity" "overweight" "pediatric obesity" "weight loss" "dietary protein" "dietary carbohydrate" "caloric restrict" both in English and Chinese. The quality of the included literature was evaluated according to the "risk of bias" assessment tool, which included bias from the randomization process, deviation from intended interventions, missing outcome data, measurement of the outcome and selection of the reported results. Moreover, calculated the pooled mean difference, perform heterogeneity test, and assess publication bias. Results: A total of 8 articles were selected from the retrieved 4 836 articles, all in English. The sample sizes ranged from 4 to 120. The analysis showed that the post-intervention body mass index (mean difference (MD)=-0.66, 95%CI -1.76-0.44), body mass index Z-scores (MD=-0.09, 95%CI-0.23-0.05), fat content percentage (MD=-1.07, 95%CI-2.88-0.74), high density lipoprotein (MD=0.02, 95%CI-0.02-0.06) and low density lipoprotein (MD=0.04, 95%CI-0.08-0.17) were not significantly different with those of the standard protein diet group, with P values being 0.240, 0.220, 0.250, 0.360 and 0.480, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that after excluding one study, the difference in body mass index between the short-term intervention group and control group was statistically significant (MD=-1.60, 95%CI-3.14--0.06, P=0.040). Conclusions: A short-term high-protein diet intervention seems to improve the body mass index status of overweight and obese children. Nevertheless, a high-protein diet does not affect any other selected anthropometric indices and blood lipids. More studies with large sample sizes, higher quality and comparable standard of high-protein diet are needed for further demonstration.

Y. F. Jiang

Papers

Fatty acid composition of blood lipids in Chinese children consuming high erucic acid rapeseed oil.

Low Selenium State and Increased Erucic Acid in Children from Keshan Endemic Areas — A Pilot Study

[Effects of high protein diet on anthropometric indices and blood lipid in overweight and obese children: a Meta-analysis].