Human milk beyond one year post-partum: lower content of protein, calcium, and saturated very long-chain fatty acids.

Maternal milk feeding for more than 1 year is encouraged by many health care authorities. We demonstrate that human milk beyond 1 year of lactation had a small but significantly lower concentration of protein, calcium, and long-chain saturated fatty acids compared with human milk at 3 months after delivery.

Dietary Dunaliella bardawil, a beta-carotene-rich alga, protects against acetic acid-induced small bowel inflammation in rats.

Background: Reactive oxygen species mediate tissue injury in inflammatory bowel disease. Beta-carotene is known as a potent free radical quencher and antioxidant.

Aim: The authors evaluated the efficacy of prefeeding Dunaliella bardawil, rich in beta-carotene, to ameliorate acid-induced enteritis in a rat model.

Effects of the marine unicellular alga Nannochloropsis sp. to reduce the plasma and liver cholesterol levels in male rats fed on diets with cholesterol.

The effects of Nannochloropsis were studied on rats consuming hypercholesterolemic diets. The whole biomass and the hexane/ethanol extract increased the plasma and hepatic eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids levels, and reduced the cholesterol levels. We also observed a higher level of propionate, and a lower ratio between acetate and propionate.

Fructose and related phosphate derivatives impose DNA damage and apoptosis in L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells.

Glycation between reducing sugars and amino groups of long-lived macromolecules results in an array of chemical modifications that may account for several physiological complications. The consequences of the reaction are directly related to the reactivity of the sugars involved, whether aldoses or ketoses, phosphorylated or non-phosphorylated. So far, most studies have been focused on glucose, while fructose, a faster glycating agent, attracted minor attention.

Bioavailability of the isomer mixture of phytoene and phytofluene-rich alga Dunaliella bardawil in rat plasma and tissues.

Dunaliella bardawil, a beta-carotene-accumulating alga was treated by the bleaching herbicide norflurazon to select sub-species rich with a mixture of 9-cis and all-trans stereoisomers of phytoene and phytofluene. The present study determines the bioavailability of phytoene and phytofluene with their stereoisomers in rats fed on a diet supplemented with Dunaliella phytoene-rich spray dried powder. Three groups of female weanling rats, eight animals each, were fed AIN diets for two weeks.

Long-term fructose intake: biochemical consequences and altered renal histology in the male rat.

The use of fructose as a pure sugar has considerably increased in the last 3 decades, especially as a sweetener in carbonated beverages. Our previous studies showed that long-term fructose intake adversely affected several age-related metabolic parameters. The purpose of the present study was to compare the consequences of long-term fructose intake with those of glucose or sucrose on renal morphology and on several biochemical parameters used to estimate renal function.

Defatted avocado pulp reduces body weight and total hepatic fat but increases plasma cholesterol in male rats fed diets with cholesterol.

The potential use of avocado as a fiber source was evaluated. The total dietary fiber content of fresh avocado fruit of the Ettinger variety was 5.2 g/100 g.

Fructose metabolizing enzymes in the rat liver and metabolic parameters: Interactions between dietary copper, type of carbohydrates, and gender.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of nutrient interactions between dietary carbohydrates and copper levels on fructose-metabolizing hepatic enzymes in male and female rats. Male and female rats were fed diets for 5 weeks that were either adequate or deficient in copper that contained either starch or fructose. Rats of both sexes fed fructose as compared with those fed starch showed higher activity of hepatic fructose metabolizing enzymes.