Avoidance of dairy products due to lactose intolerance can lead to insufficiency of calcium (Ca) in the body. In an approach to address this problem, tuna bone powder (TBP) was formulated as a calcium supplement to fortify bakery products. In a study, TBP recovered by alkaline treatment contained 38.16 g/100 g of calcium and 23.31 g/100 g of phosphorus. The ratio of Ca:P that was close to 2:1 was hence comparable to that in human bones. The availability of calcium in TBP was 53.93%, which was significantly higher than most calcium salts, tricalcium phosphate (TCP) being the exception. In vitro availability of calcium in TBP-fortified cookies or TCP-fortified cookies were comparable at 38.9% and 39.5%, respectively. These values were higher than the readings from TBP-fortified bread (36.7%) or TCP-fortified bread (37.4%). Sensory evaluation of bakery products containing TBP or TCP elicited comparable scores for the two additives from test panels. Hence, TBP could be used in the production of high calcium bakery products that would enjoy consumer acceptance.
Global production of plastics has increased dramatically in recent decades and is considered a major threat to marine life and human health due to their stability, persistence, and potential to move through food chains. The study was conducted to detect, identify and quantify microplastics (MP) in the gastrointestinal tract (GI) of some commercial fish species in the North Persian Gulf in Bushehr Province: Psettodes erumei, Sphyraena jello, Sillago sihama, Metapenaeus affinis and Portunus segnis. A total of 216 plastic particles were collected from 102 individuals (72.68% of all sampled individuals; MP prevalence of 85.1% for M. affinis, 80% for P. segnis, 70% for P.erumei, 60.3% for S.sihama, 45.2% for S.jello). The average number of microplastics per organism was 2.26 ± 0.38 MP/ind (considering only species that ingested plastic, n = 102) and 1.51 ± 0.40 pieces/ind (considering all species studied, n = 140). Microfibers accounted for 58.49% of the total microplastics, followed by fragments (33.02%) and pellets (8.49%). The most common color of microplastic was black (52.83%), followed by blue (22.64%) and transparent (15.09%). The length of microplastic ranged from 100 to 5000 μm with an average of 854 ± 312 μm. Microplastics were significantly (p M. affinis and P. segnis (plastic in 80% of individuals studied) and to a lesser extent in the pelagic barracuda fish S. jello (plastic in 45% of individuals studied). The main synthetic polymers identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were polyethylene (38%), polypropylene (24%), polystyrene (17%), polyethylene terephthalate (11%) and polyamide (10%). The pollutant load index and lifetime accumulation index were calculated to identify the most polluted species and their toxicity to human health. The white shrimp M. affinis was identified as the most polluted and toxic species for MP based on PLI. The present study can provide valuable data for further research and a background for the control and monitoring of this pollutant in the coastal environment of Bushehr province.
In this study, microplastic (MP) pollution in the coastal sediments and tidal waters of Bushehr province in the Persian Gulf was comprehensively investigated. The sampling stations were selected based on their proximity to various human activities in January and February 2022, such as tourism, fishing, urban development and industry. The results showed that the abundance of MP associated with different human activities varied. The highest concentrations were observed near the petrochemical industry in Asaluyeh, followed by the densely populated Bushehr and the fishing port of Dayyer. Other areas such as Ganaveh, Deylam and Mand also showed varying levels of MP contamination. The average MP concentration was 1.67 × 104 particles/km2 in surface water and 1346.67 ± 601.69 particles/kg in dry sediment. Fiber particles were in the majority in both sediment and water samples, mainly black. The sediment samples had a size range of 100-500 μm (41.34 %), while the water samples were between 500 and 1000 μm (33.44 %). The main polymers found were polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). This assessment highlights the widespread problem of microplastic pollution in the coastal and intertidal zones of Bushehr province in the Persian Gulf.