Vitamins & Minerals

Life expectancy is increasing globally however later life years are often connected to ill-health. One of the reasons is that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise and societies face challenges in a continuous increase in the global prevalence of overweight and obesity. This is partly due to the sedentary lifestyle and a trend to processed foods with the availability of cheap and high energy dense foods combined with large portion sizes. As a consequence a major part of the world population has an inadequate and too high intake of energy and in parallel a too low intake of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals. There is substantial evidence for a link of lifestyle factors and the risk for NCDs, like osteoporosis, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, cancer and others. The introduction of nutrient profile scores and indices for energy may help consumers in their food choices and allow food companies to design and promote healthier food items. The goal is to use a nutrient-energy density score to rate food products based on their nutrient and energy profile. The consumer can use the system as a “nutritional navigation system” to make informed choices and optimize the diets. The proposed approach provides a win-win situation for the consumer for long term health and the food industry for new and innovative food items.

Major and Trace element concentrations were determined in Potato, Cabbage and Bottle gourd purchased from Mumbai using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. Concentration of some major elements Ca, Na, K and Mg were found to be higher in Cabbage as compared to Potato and Bottle Gourd while the concentration of Fe, Zn and Cu was observed to be higher in Bottle Gourd. Toxic elements Cd and Ni concentrations in all the vegetables were <0.5 ppb. Calculated daily dietary intake values for the elements were found to be lower than the reference dietary intake values, indicating that these vegetables are safe for human consumption.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a multi-vitamin/mineral preparation (MMP) in achieving erythrocyte folate levels (Fol-E) considered preventive of neural tube defects (NTDs). Methods: In this single-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo (PBO)-controlled trial, healthy women of childbearing potential (WCBP) took either an oral MMP containing 400 μg folic acid and 451 μg L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF) or PBO once daily for 16 weeks. Primary endpoints were achievement of Fol-E ≥ 906 nmol/L at Week 4 and maintenance of this level once achieved. Secondary efficacy variables were plasma concentrations of folate, homocysteine, and vitamins B2, B6, and B12 at Week 4, 8, 12, and 16. Results: Of the 40 women enrolled, 20 were randomized to each study arm. All but one PBO-subject completed the study as planned. Baseline characteristics in both groups were comparable with mean Fol-E around 500 nmol/L. In contrast to only one PBO-subject, all MMP subjects achieved and maintained the target Fol-E (MMP: 100% vs PBO: 5%, p<0.001), 14 (70%) MMP subjects already by Week 4 (means ± SD: 976 ± 186 vs 629 ± 215 nmol/L, p<0.001). In plasma, the only change under PBO was a 10% decrease of vitamin B12 whereas under MMP folate and vitamin B6 significantly increased and homocysteine significantly decreased. There was no serious and only one severe adverse event (AE); most common AEs were gastrointestinal with greater incidence in the MMP group (30% versus 5%). Conclusion: Supplementation with folic acid and MTHF at equimolar amounts was efficacious in replenishing Fol-E of WCBP within 4 weeks to levels considered protective of NTDs.

Purpose: Review of the evidence which supports the consumption of vitamin C for sportsmen and athletes aiming improvement performance. Data synthesis: Vitamin C is an essential micronutrient with several important biological functions. In addition to being considered a potent antioxidant that eliminates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Among other functions, vitamin C reduces the symptoms of colds and flu, accelerating the recovery process and has an anti-catabolic effect. This effect has fundamental importance for the physically active. Considering that vitamin C participates as a cofactor in carnitine biosynthesis, steroid hormones and neurotransmitters, it has been established the idea that the need for this nutrient would increase for people engaged in strenuous exercise or frequent stress. Because of this, this paper aims to investigate the role of this micronutrient in performance. Material and methods: We searched the published scientific literature for randomized controlled trials of adult human subjects reporting vitamin C intake and training, besides animal models and literature review about the topic. Twenty-eight papers since 2000 were identified by searches of PubMed, with the search terms “ascorbic acid”, “bioavailability”, “oxidative stress”, “performance”, “free radicals” “supplementation”, “toxicity” and “vitamin C”, ensuring recent knowledge about ascorbic acid. Conclusions: The importance of vitamin C in the diet is indisputable, but more research is needed to clarify whether supplementation of this micronutrient actually leads to performance optimization.

Purpose: Osteoporosis is a bone metabolic disorder which is well known to increase bone porosity and is the outcome of various factors like ageing, genetic, nutritional deficiency, decreased calcium uptake, and last but the most important hormonal imbalances. Hormonal imbalance is one of the major factors affecting women worldwide and leading to osteoporosis. Trace elements play a very essential role in number of pathological conditions. Ingestion of zinc in the early stages of bone loss may be more beneficial in mitigating bone loss and also in improving the overall strength of the bone. In the current work, we have intended to extract the information pertaining to the mechanical strength of bone, bone tissue composition and hydroxyapatite crystallite size upon supplementing zinc in the osteopenic condition. Methods: Forty eight wistar female rats in two set of twenty four animals each were assigned to four groups: Control, Zinc, Ovariectomized (OVX) and OVX+Zinc. Duration of the treatment period was of eight weeks. Biochemical estimations were carried out to make comparison between the treatment groups based on bone metabolism markers in serum. Bone mechanical strength of both the bones i.e., femur and tibia, was assessed using texture analyzer. Also, bone matrix analysis using Fourier transformer infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies were carried out for all the treatment groups. Results: Estradiol levels decreased and tartarate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b levels increased in the OVX group. Zinc supplemented following ovariectomy regulated these levels. The OVX group showed significantly higher serum alkaline phosphatase levels, which recovered upon zinc supplementation. Further, zinc plays a potential role in preventing bone tissue deterioration by restoring its composition and microstructure in the post-menopausal condition, thereby, maintaining the mechanical strength of the bone. Conclusion: These findings suggested that alterations in the bone tissue material properties following estrogen deficiency can be averted by zinc if administered at early stages of bone loss.

Citrus is one of the most commonly consumed fruits in Pakistan. The present study was conducted to evaluate ascorbic acid concentration in Citrus sinensis and Citrus limetta collected from different tehsils of District Sargodha. All the varieties have good source of vitamin c, but the highest concentration was reported in Citrus sinensis, which was collected from tehsil Sahiwal and that was 89.69 mg/100 mL and lowest reported in Citrus limetta 33.155 mg/100 mL, which was collected from Tehsil Silanwali.