Among the chemicals, pesticides which are mainly used in agriculture pose major health problems to human beings. Indiscriminate use of pesticides belonging to the class organophosphate, organochlorine, carbomate, and pyrethroid leads to various health problems affecting the nervous, endocrine, reproductive and immune systems. The toxicity of pesticide in human beings is influenced by various factors such as age, gender and health status of the individual in addition to the intensity and frequency of pesticide used. Comparatively, children are at greater risk than the adults. The human detoxification system plays a vital role in reducing the harmful effects of the pesticides. However, when the toxic level is increased beyond the capacity of the detoxification system, health condition deteriorates. Human diet plays a crucial role in maintaining the overall health of a person. Vitamins such as Vitamin C and E are effective in preventing DNA damage because of their antioxidant properties. Intake of fruits and vegetables improves the antioxidants level in the blood. Phenolic substances present in certain spices possess potent anticarcinogenic activities. Organic farming may be a viable solution to reduce the toxic effects of chemicals.
This comparative study was conducted to determine the anthropometric measurements and body composition of football teams in the UK and Malaysia. A total of 32 footballers from two teams were studied. The teams were the St Mary's University team (UK) and the Selangor Reserved League team. The height and body weight of the subjects were measured using SECA digital balance with height attachment. Skinfold thickness measurements were taken using Harpenden skinfold callipers at four sites (biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac) and the VO2max of the subjects was estimated by participation in a multi-stage 20m shuttle-run test. The UK team were significantly heavier (p<0.05), taller (p<0.05) and had a higher body fat content (p<0.05) than their Malaysian counterpart. There was no significant difference in VO2 max between the two teams, with the Malaysians recording a slightly higher VO2 max. With regard to playing position, the defenders were found to be the most physically robust and yet had the highest VO2 max, whilst the midfielders had the lightest body weights. More data on the body composition and nutritional status of Malaysian footballers would allow adjustments to be made to dietary intakes and training levels in order to obtain maximum performance throughout the football season.
Bifidobacteria is a well known bacteria that is found in abundance in the intestine of infants which provides several health and nutritional benefits. Realizing the many benefits of bifidobacteria to human, this study has been conducted with the objective to determine the growth promotional effect of different types of milk and milk proteins on Bifidobacterium species. One strains of Bifiodobacterium species that is B. infantis was used to study the growth promoting effect of human milk, cow's milk, goat's milk, milk based infant formula, soy-based infant formula, lactoferrin (1 mg/ml), lactoperoxidase (1p~g/ml), lysozyme (1 mg/ml) and the mixture of these three proteins. The growth promotion assay was done using the 96-well culture plates which consists of 200 (1 Trypticase-Peptone-Yeast extract (TPY) medium, 50 4 sample and 10 1il of bacteria inoculum. Control consists of PBS instead of the samples. The assay was incubated anaerobically at 370C for 18 hours before being spread on the agar plate containing TPY medium with agar. Comparison was made between the mean count (log cfu/ml) of different types of milks, between infant formula and between milk proteins. From the results, Oneway ANOVA test at P<0.05 showed that there was significant differences in the mean counts (log cfu/ml) between the milks (P = 0.0000). A similar trend was observed in the mean count (log cfu/mI) between the infant formulas (P = 0.0 124) and also between the milk proteins (P = 0.0005). Duncan Multiple Range tests showed that there was significant differences between all the milks and control and among the milks themselves. There was however, no significant difference among the two types of infant formulas. The milk proteins also showed significant differences between the proteins and control and among themselves except for lysozyme which showed no significant differences with lactoferrin. This study showed that the growth of B. infantis could be promoted by different kinds of milks and milk proteins in vitro. Comparing the differences in growth promoting effect between samples and control indicated that human milk has the highest growth promoting effect followed by cow's milk and the mixture of the three milk prtoeins. Lysozyme showed the lowest in term of differences in percentage of growth promoting effect among all these samples. In conclusion the findings of this study supported that human milk ios the best milk choice for infant in comparison to other types of milk in promoting the growth of bifidobacteria. In additon, this tudy also found that milk protein when used in combination may show better growth promoiotive effect than when used singly.
Pure olive oil triglycerides (POLO), free from all unsaponifiable matter, were isolated from Virgin Spanish olive oil (COLO) by alumina-charcoal column chromatography. COLO and POLO were used as sources of dietary fat in two animal studies. The responses of serum and liver lipids to the two types of dietary fat were examined. Our results show that animals fed POLO-diet gave somewhat higher serum total and LDL cholesterol levels as compared to those on COLO-diet. The increase in serum cholesterol level is followed by a parallel increase in liver cholesterol content. These results indicate that the hypocholesterolemic effect of olive oil was partly due to the presence of the unsaponifiable matter. Supplement of the POLO-diet separately with a-tocopherol and squalene resulted in serum lipid responses similar to that observed with the COLO-diet. The serum and liver triglyceride levels are not affected by the removal of unsaponifiable components but addition of a--T and squalene to the POLO-diet appeared to lower both the cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the serum but increased only the liver cholesterol content. These results show that the unsaponifiable components modulate the hypocholesterolemic effect of olive oil.
Iron absorption is essential for the maintenance of iron levels in the body, since excretion is poorly regulated. Dietary factors can influence iron absorption including low molecular weight substances such as ascorbic acid which has been shown to enhance iron transport across mucosal cell monolayers. Both in vivo and in vitro work may be carried out to study iron absorption. Studies in vivo have the drawback of dealing with a complex system in which it is difficult to determine the relative importance of different factors. In vitro cell culture models could overcome this difficulty but attempts to establish differentiated enterocyte cell lines in culture have not been successful. However the Caco-2 line, derived from a colon carcinoma, is able to differentiate spontaneously when grown in standard culture conditions. The differentiated cells polarized, formed microvilli and T-junctions associated with the duodenal enterocytes brush border. This cell line thus represents an appropriate model for the study of transport mechanisms related to the intestinal barrier and can be used to study the absorption of nutrients especially iron in relation to dietary intake in particular pertaining to dietary factors that may affect absorption. In this work we have therefore used differentiated Caco-2 cells grown in bicameral chambers as a intestinal cell model to study the absorption of iron from different sources and compared it with INT 407 cells. Transfer of iron across the monolayers in the apical-to-basolateral direction has been found to be greater from feric lactoferrin than from iron citrate, while very little transport occurred from Fe-transferrin. It is concluded that in this in vitro study lactoferrin but not transferrin enhances mucosal iron transport. More importanty this study has also shown that Caco-2 can be used as an in vitro method to investigate not only iron bioavailability but can be applied to other minerals as well.
A longitudinal study was conducted to relate basal metabolic rate (BMR) with growth during adolescence. Subjects comprise 70 boys and 69 girls aged between ten and thirteen years at the time of recruitment. Parameters studied include anthropometric measurements and BMR, which was measured by indirect calorimetry using the Deltatrac metabolic monitor. Measurements were carried out serially once every six months, with a total of 713 BMR data points collected over three years. Mean BMR of boys aged 11, 12, 13 and 14 years were 4.96 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 5.28 ± 0.71 MJ/day, 5.73 ± 0.68 MJ/day and 5.92 ± 0.63 MJ/day, respectively; while mean BMR of girls in the 10, 11, 12 and 13 year age groups were 4.96 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 4.85 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 5.05 ± 0.55 MJ/day and 4.94 ± 0.51 MJ/day, respectively. Comparison of measured BMR with BMR values predicted from the FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) equations shows that the predictive equations overestimated the BMR of Malaysian boys by 3% and that of girls by 5%. The Henry and Rees (1991) equations for populations in the tropics underestimated BMR of boys and girls by 1% and 2%, respectively. Linear regression equations to predict BMR based on body weight were derived according to sex and age groups. It is recommended that these predictive equations be used for the estimation of BMR of Malaysian adolescents.
A study to predict energy requirements of national athletes, 84 males and 24 females in 9 and 4 different types of sports respectively, were conducted during centralised training. Parameters assessed were anthropometry, 3-day activity pattern and energy cost (kcal/min) of common activities to derive total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Based on body mass index (BMI), 68 males or 81% and 19 females or 79% of the athletes were classified as normal. The mean body fat content for males and females were 13.8 ± 4.5% and 24.7 ± 5.3%, respectively. The mean daily activity pattern of males and females athletes were similar for light activities (16½ hr or 68% of day), for moderate activities (3½ hr or 15% of day in male, 4 hr or 17% in females) while moderate to heavy activities related to training were 4 hr (17%) and 3½ hr (15%) in males and females, respectively. Energy cost of some common activities ranges from 1.00-3.00 kcal/min in males and 0.84-2.04 kcal/min in females, while values for jogging were 6.60 kcal/min and 5.62 kcal/min in males and females, respectively. The mean TDEE in male ranges from 2938 kcal (12.3 MJ) in boxers (57 kg) to 4861 kcal (20.3 MJ) in weightlifters (110 kg) while the mean TDEE in female ranges from 2099 kcal (8.8 MJ) in athletics (51 kg) to 3098 kcal (13.0 MJ) in basketball (61.4 kg). The calculated physical activity level (PAL) values using measured BMR for males and females athletes ranges from 1.99-2.58 and 1.77-2.34, respectively. In conclusion, the estimated energy requirement for the various sports event studied ranges from 44-55 kcal/kg/day in males and 38-50 kcal/kg/day in female athletes.
Thirty, 4 month-old male Maim x Polled Dorset crossbred sheep were allocated into 6 groups of 5 animals each. Four groups of animals were stall-fed with basal diet of 90% palm kernel cake (PKC) and 10% grass (G) for 16 weeks. One group of the animal was slaughtered at the end of the 16 weeks feeding trial (PKC group), whilst the other three groups were further fed with either the same diet (PKC+PKC group) or fed with a new diet consisting of 30% corn and 10% fish meals (CF) and grass (60%) either with (PKC+CF+Zn group) or without (PKC+CF group) zinc supplementation (500 mg/g Zn as zinc sulfate) for another 16 weeks and were slaughtered at the end of the feeding trial, The other two groups which act as controls were fed with corn (30%) and fish meals (10%) and grass (60%), and were slaughtered at weeks 16 (CF group) and 32 (CF+CF group) of the trial. The blood, right and left liver, renal cortex and medulla, pancreas, bile and urine of all animals were analysed for copper and zinc contents using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The liver and kidney were also fixed in 10% buffered formalin for histopathological examination. The study showed that neither clinical signs nor gross lesions of copper or zinc toxicity were observed throughout the trial. However, the copper concentration in both the right and left liver of PKC fed sheep at weeks 16 and 32 rose to about 3 times that of the controls and remained high in both the PKC+CF and PKC+CF+Zn groups. A similar pattern of copper concentration was observed in the blood. The copper and zinc contents in the renal cortex and medulla, pancreas, bile and urine remained low in all groups. The zinc content in the liver of PKC+CF+Zn group was significantly increased. Histologically, moderate hepatic lesions were observed in the PKC fed sheep at week 32. The lesions were milder in the other groups especially in the PKC+CF+Zn group. No significant renal lesions was recorded in all groups. It was concluded that the usage of dietary zinc supplementation (500 mg/g) in the treatment of PKC toxicity in sheep was unsatisfactory. The ability of Malin x Polled Dorset crossbred sheep to tolerate the high copper content in PKC at least during the first 16 weeks of the feeding trial may provide more avenue in the utilization of PKC as a major feed ingredient in sheep.
In the field of human energy expenditure, the measurement of basal metabolic rate (BMR) is an essential element to derive energy requirement estimates for any given population. Besides basic anthropometrics data, this paper reports the generation of predictive equation for basal metabolic rates of healthy Malaysian adult from prospective measurements on 307 male and 349 females aged 18-60 years, using the Douglas bag technique. These new equations based on body-weight reveal that the current FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) predictive equations overestimate BMR of adult Malaysian by an average of 13% in males and 9% in female subjects while differences of between 4-5% were observed when compared to Henry and Rees (1991) equations for tropical people. There is a good reason to believe that the capacity to slow down metabolism amidst the hot and humid climate experience throughout the year as a genuine phenomenon for Malaysians. Similarly, these findings suggest that at equal energy intake recommendation for similar body weight, the lower energy needs of Malaysian could put them at greater risk for developing obesity. These observed deviations must be taken into account in formulating energy requirements of the population.
Body composition was assessed in a group of 344 free-living elderly between 60 and 89 years by means of anthropometry. The height, weight and body mass indexes of the elderly were reduced with advancing age in both the males and females. Skinfold thickness measurements also declined with age. Overall, the female elderly had a greater tricep skinfold thickness but smaller mid-arm circumferences, mid-arm muscle circumference and mid-arm muscle area compared to the male.
The objective of this study was to identify the effect of different drying methods on vitamin A activity of formulated weaning food. Weaned foods on vitamin A activity of formulated using treated cowpea flour, locally available rice flour, banana-pumpkin, skim milk powder and sugar in the ratio 35:35:15:15:5. Treated cowpea flour consisted of original cowpea flour, 24 h germinated cowpea flour. Each treated flour was mixed separately with the other ingredients and cooked into a slurry. Each mixture was either oven-dried or freeze-dried to produce a dry flaky mixture. The carotenoid composition of the product was determined by HPLC. Vitamin A activity of oven-dried weaning food was significantly reduced (p<0.05) compared to freeze-dried weaning food. The freeze-dried weaning foods showed a higher retinol equivalent than oven-dried weaning foods for all treatments. The results of the study found that an intake of 100 g of freeze-dried weaning foods enriched with banana-pumpkin and cowpea flour provided an adequate amount of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A for infants.
Introduction: Good health literacy and knowledge are associated with improved outcomes in diabetes. The purpose of this study was to determine diabetes-specific literacy and knowledge levels, and its associated socio-demographic factors, among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 196 adults from the Indian, Chinese, and Malay ethnic groups with T2DM who attended a primary care clinic in Seremban, Malaysia. The Literacy Assessment for Diabetes and Diabetes Knowledge Test 2 were used to assess diabetes-specific literacy and knowledge, respectively.
Results: The majority of participants (75.0%) had literacy scores that corresponded to Ninth Grade Level but only 3.6% of participants had a good knowledge of diabetes. Literacy scores explained up to 19.8% of the variance in knowledge scores (r=0.445, p<0.01). Indian participants had the lowest literacy and knowledge scores when compared to Chinese and Malays (p<0.05). Participants with higher education had better literacy
and knowledge scores (p<0.05). Educational level was more likely than ethnicity to predict both literacy and knowledge scores (p<0.001), while gender and age did not significantly predict either score. The majority of participants could answer general questions about physical activity, diabetes-related complications and healthy eating. Knowledge of diabetes and its relation to specific foods and the effect of diet on glucose control were limited among the participants.
Conclusion: Education and ethnicity were associated with literacy and knowledge on diabetes. There existed a deficit of diabetes-related nutrition knowledge among the participants. These findings may help healthcare providers tailor individualised patient educational interventions.
Keywords: Diabetes literacy, diabetes knowledge, type 2 diabetes
The effects of dietary fat during pregnancy and lactation on growth performance of pups, milk composition and very low density lipoprotein composition in rats were studied. A total of 33 dams were used in this study and each litter was adjusted to 8 pups per dam. The dams were fed on high fat (150 g fat/kg diet, HF), medium fat (75 g fat/kg of diet, MF) and low fat (2.5 g fat/kg diet, LF) diets. The body weights of dams increased during pregnancy and decreased after pregnancy. The HF pups had a higher body weight and higher weight gain than those of LF pups. The amount of feed intake of HF dams was significantly higher than LF and MF dams. The HF dams had significantly higher milk fat and water concentrations than LF dams. The milk protein was not significantly different among the treatment groups. All dams showed hypertriacylglycerolaemia in their very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) in late pregnancy. The VLDL-protein concentrations increased during the first week after parturition. The HF dams showed a greater response to the dietary fat than that of LF and MF dams. The findings suggest that addition of fat in the diet during pregnancy and lactation may improve the milk quality through modifying the composition of VLDL contents, leading to better growth of pups.
As consumer interest in organically grown vegetables is increasing in Malaysia, there is a need to answer whether the vegetables are more nutritious than those conventionally grown. This study investigates commercially available vegetables grown organically and conventionally, purchased from retailers to analyse β-carotene, vitamin C and riboflavin contents. Five types of green vegetables were selected, namely Chinese mustard (sawi) (Brassica juncea), Chinese kale (kai-lan) (Brassica alboglabra), lettuce (daun salad) (Lactuca sativa), spinach (bayam putih) (Amaranthus viridis) and swamp cabbage (kangkung) (Ipomoea aquatica). For vitamin analysis, a reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography was used to identify and quantify β -carotene, vitamin C and riboflavin. The findings showed that not all of the organically grown vegetables were higher in vitamins than that conventionally grown. This study found that only swamp cabbage grown organically was highest in β -carotene, vitamin C and riboflavin contents among the entire samples studied. The various nutrients in organically grown vegetables need to be analysed for the generation of a database on nutritional value which is important for future research.
Stress is a common phenomenon. Every individual experiences it. There are many ways of combating stress. Stress is necessary for preparation against challenging situations and danger. It is necessary to have stress before a test so that we are prepared. For instance, stress actually motivates students to prepare for examination but excessive stress can lead to poor performance. This study evaluates the effect of a commercial essence of chicken (CEC) on the various parameters related to stress and cognition of human volunteers. CEC is produced by a hot-water extraction process from chicken meat under high pressure condition. It contains concentrated amounts of proteins, amino acids and peptides such as carnosine compared to homemade traditional chicken soup. Due to the unique extraction process, it has been postulated that readily absorbed amino acids and bioactive peptides are present in CEC. In this experiment, we evaluated the effect of CEC in comparison with a placebo and carageenan on a group of stressed medical students before their examinations. Students were divided into three groups at random and given either CEC, placebo or a carageenan drink daily for two weeks. Before and after the two weeks, the students were given a series of tests to assess their mental and physical well-being as well as attention and memory. The tests were the general health questionnaire (GHQ), SF36, digit span, construction of figures, 3-min memory test, comprehension and mental arithmetic. The students who ingested essence of chicken fared significantly better than the other two groups of students. The ability of essence of chicken to control anxiety by distraction and promoting attention and memory is discussed.
Tocotrienols and tocopherols are isoforms of vitamin E. Vitamin E may exhibit antioxidant, prooxidant and non-antioxidant activities depending upon circumstances. In this study, the effect of tocotrienols and a-tocopherol on the activities of HMG CoA reductase and cholesterol 7 a-hydroxylase was investigated. Pure tocotrienols were isolated from palm fatty acid distillate and pure a-tocopherol was obtained commercially. Guinea pigs were treated with different dosages of tocotrienols and a-tocopherol. After the treatment period, animals were sacrificed and liver microsomes were prepared. HMG CoA reductase and cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase were assayed using tracer techniques. Our results showed that the effects of tocotrienols and a-tocopherol on the activities of both the enzymes were dose-dependent. At low dosages, both tocotrienols and a-tocopherol exhibited an inhibitory effect on both the enzymes. Moreover, tocotrienols were a much stronger inhibitors than a-tocopherol. At high dosages, on the other hand, tocotrienols and a-tocopherol showed opposite effects on the enzymes. While tocotrienols continued to exhibit an inhibitory effect, a-tocopherol actually exhibited a stimulatory effect on both the enzymes. A possible explanation for this observation is suggested.
This study was conducted to determine the effects of increased edible palm oil consumption on community health status in the aboriginal communities in Tual Post (treatment group) and Sinderut Post (control group), Kuala Lipis, Pahang. Nutritional status, blood pressure, lipid profiles, fasting blood glucose (FBG), vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) levels and lipid peroxidation product (malonaldehyde) levels were taken as indicators of health status. This is a pre-and post-controlled community trial in which similar variables were measured in each group. Every family of 2-6 household members was given 2-5 kg cooking palm oil per month for a period of 18 months. All subjects were measured for height (cm), weight (kg) and waist-hip ratio (WHR). For calorie intake measurement, house-to-house interviews were conducted using 24-hour dietary recall method. Blood pressure, percent body fat, lipid profiles, namely total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were also measured. Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) levels and lipid peroxidation products (MDA) were also determined. There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in percent body fat (28.1%) and calorie intake (17.2%) following palm oil consumption. The proportion of fat intake as an energy source also increased from 4.6% to 33.9%. There was a reduction in the systolic blood pressure following consumption (p<0.05). However, diastolic blood pressure did not change. A significant decrease (p<0.05) was observed in total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein and triglyceride. No particular pattern in fasting blood glucose levels was observed among the indigenous inhabitants following palm oil consumption. There was a significant increase in alpha-tocopherol levels (p<0.0001) and a decrease in MDA levels (p<0.0001) following consumption. In conclusion, high consumption of edible palm oil for 18 months was found to be not harmful to health. For the Malaysian aborigines, it serves as a good source of fat and energy.
Male Malin x Polled Dorset crossbred sheep were stall-fed with grass (10%) and PKC (90%) and supplemented with either zinc at 500 ug/g, as zinc sulfate (PKC+Zn group) or zinc (113 ug/g) and ammonium molybdate (500 ug/g) (PKC+Zn+Mo group) or unsupplemented diet (PKC group) for 20 weeks. Another group which acts as a control was fed with a diet consisting of corn and fish meal (2 0%) and grass (80%). The animals were monitored daily and the body weights were recorded at a period of two weeks intervals throughout the trial. Blood samples were also collected for mineral analysis. At the end of the trial the animals were slaughtered. The carcasses were examined for gross lesions, whilst the right liver lobes and renal cortex were isolated for histopathological evaluation and mineral analysis. All animals in the PKC group died before the end of the trial with the main clinical signs of generalised jaundice and haemoglobinuria. The kidneys were firm, enlarged and reddened or darkened. Histologically, the hepatocytes were swollen, vacuolated and necrotized, particularly at the periacinar zone. Hepatic fibrosis was observed at the periportal zone. Cellular swelling, vacuolation and necrosis were found in the tubular epithelial cells of the renal cortex. Neither clinical signs nor gross or remarkable histological lesions were observed in the other groups of animals. The hepatic, renal and blood copper levels In the PKC group were elevated when compared to the control. Addition of zinc either with or without ammonium molybdate in PKC diet inhibit the copper content in the organs, however the zinc contents were increased. The average daily gain of the PKC group was remained consistent to those of the other groups, except it was reduced starting at about 1 to 2 weeks prior to death. It was concluded that feeding PKC In excess in sheep can cause chronic copper toxicity. However, this effect can be prevented by dietary zinc supplementation either with or without ammonium molybdate.
Food consumption of 50 female students in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was recorded for 7 days. Foods and drinks most frequently consumed were selected for analysis of iron, zinc, copper and lead content. The mean daily intakes of energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat among the students are 6.5±1.4 MJ (1550±335 kcal), 59.8±18.5g, 227.1±54.6 g and 46.0±11.5 g respectively. This diet contributed 19.6-6.4 mg Fe, 7.0-2.0 mg Zn and 1.6-0.6 mg Cu per day which were lower than the Malaysian RDA for Fe and US RDA for Zn, while Cu is within the recommended range. The main sources of these minerals in the student's diet were rice, rice products, meat and animal products. Lead concentration in the diet (134±77 ug/day) is below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) value suggested by Codex Alimentarius Commission (1984). This study indicated concern regarding the low intake of the essential trace elements on long term basis among the students.
Our earlier report showed that diet rich in calcium and sodium fed to guinea pigs can be urolithogenic. In this study, we investigated the effect of adding 3% or 15% cellulose as a source of fiber into similar diet to asses the formation of kidney calculus. From the result, animals fed diet with 3% cellulose showed a relatively high concentration of urinary oxalate, urate and large number of crystals in the kidneys. When the cellulose level was raised to 15%, the concentrations of urinary calcium, urate and the number of crystals formed in the kidneys were lowered. We therefore, conclude that high fiber diet may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of kidney stones of calcium origin.