David H. Baker, Ph.D. (1939-2009)

Lipid peroxidation and neuroinflammation: A possible link between maternal fructose intake and delay of acquisition of neonatal reflexes in Wistar female rats

Fructose is a common sweetener found in the daily diet supplemented to many processed and ultra-processed foods and beverages. Consumption of fructose-sweetened beverages has drastically increased in the last decades and is widely associated with metabolic disease, systemic pro-inflammatory status, and adverse transgenerational effects. To date, the impact of maternal fructose intake in brain function of the offspring is less explored. Therefore, the aim of this study was first, to investigate adverse effects in developmental milestones of the progeny of mothers with metabolic syndrome (MetS), induced by ad libitum consumption of a 20% fructose solution, and second to identify possible molecular changes in the nervous system of the newborns associated with maternal fructose intake. Wistar rats were randomly separated into two groups with access to water or fructose (20% w/v in water) for 10 weeks. After MetS was confirmed, dams were mated with control males and continued drinking water or fructose solution during gestation. At postnatal day (PN) 1, a subgroup of offspring of each sex was sacrificed and brains were dissected for oxidative stress and inflammatory status analysis. Changes in the developmental milestones due to maternal fructose consumption were studied (PN3-PN21) in another subgroup of offspring. Sexually dimorphic effects were found on the progeny's acquisition of neurodevelopmental milestones, in brain lipid peroxidation, neuroinflammation, and antioxidative defensive response. Our results suggest that dams' MetS, induced by fructose intake, disrupts brain redox homeostasis in female offspring and affects sensorimotor brain circuitry which may have a translational value for studying neurodevelopmental diseases.

Flavor formation and character in cocoa and chocolate: a critical review

Chocolate characters not only originate in flavor precursors present in cocoa beans, but are generated during post-harvest treatments and transformed into desirable odor notes in the manufacturing processes. Complex biochemical modifications of bean constituents are further altered by thermal reactions in roasting and conching and in alkalization. However, the extent to which the inherent bean constituents from the cocoa genotype, environmental factors, post-harvest treatment, and processing technologies influence chocolate flavor formation and relationships with final flavor quality, has not been clear. With increasing speciality niche products in chocolate confectionery, greater understanding of factors contributing to the variations in flavor character would have significant commercial implications.