Prevalence of sarcopenia and depressive symptoms among older adults: a scoping review

Sarcopenia causes a loss of skeletal muscle mass and decreases muscle strength and function. Depressive symptoms are a common cause of distress among geriatrics, significantly affecting the quality of life of older adults. Recently, studies have shown that a correlation exists between sarcopenia and depression. To determine the prevalence of sarcopenia and depressive symptoms and identify the factors associated with sarcopenia, we systematically searched the SCOPUS, Science Direct, and PubMed databases for papers on sarcopenia and depressive symptoms published from 2012 to 2022. We reviewed the literature on sarcopenia, depressive symptom prevalence, the prevalence of subjects with both sarcopenia and depressive symptoms, and the factors associated with sarcopenia. Only cross-sectional studies were included. Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria for review, with overall sarcopenia prevalence ranging from 3.9% to 41.7%. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was reported in seven studies, ranging from 8.09% to 40%. The most commonly used tools to diagnose sarcopenia and depressive symptoms were the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People consensus and the Geriatric Depression Scale, respectively. Being aged, malnourished, obese, having comorbidities (hypertension and diabetes), having impaired cognitive function, and having polypharmacy were found to be the factors associated with sarcopenia. Sarcopenia and depressive symptoms have been found to cause adverse health outcomes among older people. Appropriate nutritional assessments and interventions should be taken to manage these two geriatric conditions. Further studies should be planned, considering multidomain intervention strategies to improve sarcopenia and older people's mental health.

Effects of Fruit and Vegetable Polyphenols on the Glycemic Control and Metabolic Parameters in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Review

The high prevalence of diabetes in recent decades has been associated with lifestyle changes and dietary habits correlated with economic development. Fruits and vegetables are a vital source of nutraceuticals and components of the healthy diet recommended in the medical nutrition therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to prevent hyperglycemia and related complications. They are low in calories and rich in dietary fiber, consist of many polyphenols, and are an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Recently, researchers have developed a significant interest in understanding the effects of polyphenols (flavonoids and non-flavonoids) on blood glucose levels. In this review, the authors summarize the effects of polyphenols commonly found in the fruits and vegetables, such as resveratrol and anthocyanins, on the glycemic control and metabolic parameters, based on human clinical trials. Significant reductions in fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were reported after resveratrol, anthocyanin, and naringin were administered to patients with prediabetes and diabetes. Decreased insulin levels were observed after resveratrol intervention but not with the other types of polyphenols. These effects of polyphenolic compounds on the glycemic and metabolic parameters might be mediated by multiple pathophysiological mechanisms, such as activating regulator proteins to increase insulin signaling and eventually suppress insulin resistance. The benefits of certain polyphenols on T2DM remain ambiguous; therefore, further studies, especially clinical trials, are required to substantiate the available evidence.

Hypoglycaemic and Protective Effects of Benincasa hispida Aqueous Extract in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Benincasa hispida (BH) contains a range of compounds which play important roles in treating human illnesses. This study was undertaken to evaluate the hypoglycaemic and protective effects of BH fruit on diabetes mellitus (DM) rats. The dose of 250 mg/kg of B. hispida aqueous extract (BHE) is the most effective dose in decreasing blood glucose level (BGL). After eight weeks of treatment, the BGL of BHE-treated DM rats (21.4±1.0 mmol/l) was found to be significantly lower than control DM rats (30.1±3.8 mmol/l). The weight of BHE-treated rats was also higher compared to the other DM groups. Overall, the biochemical evaluation of BHE-treated rats such as lipid profile, liver function test, kidney function test and HbA1c showed an improvement in biomarker values compared to the other groups. There were enhancements in liver and kidney structures of the BHE-treated group compared to those with metformin treatment, which indicated the protective effects of BH on the impaired organ structure. These findings suggest that BHE treatment exerts hypoglycaemic and protective effects in DM by decreasing the BGL, improving weight and biochemical parameters, as well as protecting liver and kidney from serious damage.

Development and validation of quantitative thin layer chromatographic technique for determination of total aflatoxins in poultry feed and food grains without sample clean-up

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this work is to develop and validate an appropriate solvent solution and quantitative thin layer chromatography (TLC) method for determining the aflatoxins content of chicken feeds and dietary grains.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To obtain the optimal mobile phase, samples were extracted with methanol/water (3:1) + 5% sodium chloride and partitioned using several solvent systems using preparative TLC. Camag TLC scanner 3 was used to scan the TLC plates at 366 nm and quantify them using JustTLC software. The method was tested for linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and robustness in accordance with ICH recommendations, and then utilized to screen 132 Nigerian poultry/food samples for total aflatoxins (TAFs).

RESULTS

The best separation of aflatoxins was achieved using acetonitrile and dichloromethane (3:17) mobile phase over an average run time of 45 min, resulting in linear calibration curves (R2 > 0.99) in the concentration range limit of quantitation (LoQ) to 50 ng/spot with a limit of detection of <2.0 ng/g and a LoQ of <4.0 ng/gm for all aflatoxins in all spiked samples. When the proposed TLC method was compared to an optimized high-performance liquid chromatography method, an excellent linear regression was obtained (R2 > 95%). Seventy seven (58.33%) of the 132 samples examined were positive for aflatoxins, with mean values ranging from 3.57 ± 2.55 to 37.31 ± 34.06 ng/gm for aflatoxin B1 and 6.67 ± 0.00 to 38.02 ± 31.52 ng/gm for TAFs, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrate the feasibility of using the suggested TLC method in conjunction with a novel solvent solution (free of carcinogenic chloroform) for the rapid and accurate measurement of TAFs in foods/feeds.

Substituting white rice with brown and black rice as an alternative to prevent diabetes mellitus type 2: a case-study among young adults in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the preference and acceptance of white rice substitution with brown and black rice among young adults in Indonesia to prevent diabetes.

Methods

This study used a qualitative design. Rice preference deeply explored using focus group discussion as a case-study. 85 informants with an average of ages 20 years old were divided into several groups. Several topics to discuss include the reasons to accept or reject brown and black rice, knowledge, attitude, motivation, and potency to substitute white rice.

Results

Price was the main barrier to substitute white rice to brown and black rice. The participants have known brown rice from parents, mass media, and friends. Most of them were still unfamiliar with black rice. Culture also affected the preferences of the participants. To motivate people to change their white rice diet, creative packaging and segmentation of the sale were recommended.

Conclusion

Substituting white to brown and black rice is still a challenge for young adults in Indonesia. Several barriers such as culture, accessibility, and affordability need to be considered. Further efforts are important to manage a program to increase brown and black rice consumption.

Physicochemical properties and stability of Moringa oleifera seed oil-in-water emulsions as affected by different types of polysaccharide and emulsifier

Moringa oleifera seed oil is a promising medicinal oil and converting it into a functional food emulsion is of current interest to widen its consumption. This study was aimed to investigate physicochemical properties and stability of M. oleifera seed oil-in-water emulsions as affected by interaction between polysaccharide i.e. xanthan gum (XG), guar gum (GG), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and emulsifier i.e. sodium caseinate (NaCas) and whey protein isolate (WPI). Significant (p < 0.05) lower pH values in XG-WPI (4.98) and XG-NaCas (4.72) emulsions were observed as opposed to other emulsions (5.19-5.40). The interaction between XG-WPI and XG-NaCas has resulted in significant (p < 0.05) higher apparent viscosity values (at 0.42s-1) of their respective emulsions with 35.10 and 10.75 Pa.s respectively, as compared to other emulsions (0.35–0.85 Pa.s). These desirable characteristics of pH and viscosity profile had favoured an excellent creaming stability (no phase separation) of the emulsions. Regardless of emulsifier used, XG emulsions exhibited a significant (p < 0.05) higher scavenging activity (34.84 – 41.52%) towards 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radicals than other emulsions. Total oxidation values (11.18 – 24.93) under an accelerated oxidation period (48 hours, 60°C) were more influenced by peroxide value rather than anisidine value. All WPI emulsions and CMC-NaCas emulsion showed significant (p < 0.05) low total oxidation values relative to other emulsions. All emulsions however showed no significant difference in their turbidity loss rate (1.2 – 3.3 x 10-3). These findings have made possible of producing a good quality of a functional food emulsion based on M. oliefera seed oil, particularly when the system was stabilized by XG-WPI. This was mainly due to their positive interaction that has affected on pH and viscosity of emulsion, which eventually led to a good stability towards creaming and inhibition of lipid oxidation.

Influence of Avocado Purée as a Fat Replacer on Nutritional, Fatty Acid, and Organoleptic Properties of Low-Fat Muffins

OBJECTIVE

The feasibility of developing reduced-fat muffins with avocado is investigated by preparing muffins with 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% avocado purée as a fat (butter) replacer.

METHODOLOGY

The resulting products were compared to the control muffin, which was made with 100% butter. Muffins were analyzed for nutritional content, fatty acid profiles, and sensory acceptability.

RESULT

Muffins incorporated with avocado purée revealed a significant increase (p < 0.05) with respect to moisture, ash, and carbohydrate in comparison with the control sample. However, no significant changes (p > 0.05) were detected in all muffin formulations for protein and dietary fiber content. Both fat content and caloric value of muffins incorporated with avocado purée were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The fatty acid profile showed that there was an increment in the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) content by 16.51% at full-fat substitution. The sensory evaluation test demonstrated that muffins had acceptability at up to 50% substitution. Fat substitution at higher than 50% lead to undesirable flavor and aftertaste, which was significant (p < 0.05) to the panelists.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicated the feasibility of avocado purée in fat-reduced muffin preparation with an optimal level of 50% avocado purée substitution.

Understanding Dieting and Previous Weight Loss Attempts among Overweight and Obese Participants: Insights into My Body Is Fit and Fabulous at Work Program

Background

A qualitative study providing an in-depth exploration of people's view and the increasing burden of overweight and obesity is required. This study aimed to explore the understanding of dieting and previous experiences on weight loss attempts among overweight and obese government employees in Kelantan, Malaysia, prior to recruitment into the intervention program.

Methods

Thirteen focus group discussions involving 129 participants from a weight-loss intervention program were conducted within the first 1 month of recruitment. These discussions were moderated by two trained researchers in the Malay language and assisted by an interview guide. They were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was performed, and codes and themes from each discussion were constructed.

Results

The participants understood dieting with various meanings, including skipping meals and removing rice from daily diets. They applied numerous methods to lose weight and achieved various outcomes. Health and appearance, social support, and compliance with current trends were the factors motivating these participants to lose weight. Their determination to lose weight was limited by lack of self-control and motivation, experiences of unpleasant effects, influence on weight, and environmental and health factors.

Conclusion

Real-life weight loss experiences and perceptions provided relevant insights into current weight loss management strategies. Some of these issues and misunderstandings should be emphasized in weight loss strategies during health promotion.

Incorporation of dietary fibre-rich oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) powder improves postprandial glycaemic response by interfering with starch granule structure and starch digestibility of biscuit

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Pleurotus sajor-caju (PSC) powder addition at 0, 4, 8 and 12% levels on the nutritional values, pasting properties, thermal characteristics, microstructure, in vitro starch digestibility, in vivo glycaemic index (GI) and sensorial properties of biscuits. Elevated incorporation levels of PSC powder increased the dietary fibre (DF) content and reduced the pasting viscosities and starch gelatinisation enthalpy value of biscuits. The addition of DF-rich PSC powder also interfered with the integrity of the starch granules by reducing the sizes and inducing the uneven spherical shapes of the starch granules, which, in turn, resulted in reduced starch susceptibility to digestive enzymes. The restriction starch hydrolysis rate markedly reduced the GI of biscuits. The incorporation of 8% PSC powder in biscuits (GI=49) could be an effective way of developing a nutritious and low-GI biscuit without jeopardizing its desirable sensorial properties.

Glycaemic index values and physicochemical properties of five brown rice varieties cooked by different domestic cooking methods

Background: The prevalence of diabetes has increased dramatically in recent decades in the regions where people excessively consume white rice. In spite of the higher nutritional values and bioactive components, only the low to medium glycaemic index (GI) brown rice could be of interests as an alternative to white rice in these regions.  Methods: Five varieties, Chiang (CH), Sungyod (SY), Lepnok (LP) from Thailand and Long grain specialty 1 (LS1) and Long grain specialty 2 (LS2)  from Malaysia were tested for GI. Ten test foods were prepared from 5 varieties by 2 cooking techniques (pressure cooker, PC and rice cooker, RC). Overnight fasted healthy subjects were fed with 25 g glucose as a reference food (RF) on 3 occasions and amount equivalent to 25 g available carbohydrate portion of test food (TF) on 1 occasion in separate days. Fasting and post-prandial capillary blood glucose was measured via finger-prick methods at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min, and the incremental area under curve (iAUC) was determined. The GI of each TF was calculated as percentage of incremental area under curve (iAUC) of TF over RF.Results: The mean GI values of SY (72 – 81, high), CH and LP (59 – 65, medium) and LS1 and LS2 (64 – 73, medium to high) were found due to cooking by PC and RC methods. The GI did not vary significantly (p>0.05) among varieties as well as between cooking methods. GI showed a significant negative correlation with the amylose content (r = –0.70, p<0.05) and significant positive correlation with cold peak viscosity (r = 0.80, p<0.01).Conclusions: All five varieties by either cooking methods are classified as medium to high GI. Medium GI varieties could have potential of being used in diabetic diet. Cooking methods did not significantly alter the glycaemic characteristics of the studied varieties. Amylose content and pasting properties can be used for predicting GI of brown rice. It is urgent to explore low GI brown rice varieties in these regions.    

TRADITIONAL CARDIOVASCULAR RISK-FACTORS AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN KELANTAN, MALAYSIA

We conducted a cross sectional study of cardiovascular risk factors among healthcare workers at four government hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia. We randomly selected 330 subjects fulfilling the following study criteria: those who had been working for at least one year at that health facility, Malaysians citizens and those with some form of direct contact with patients. We conducted an interview, obtained physical measurements, a fasting blood sugar and fasting lipid profiles among 308 subjects. The mean age of the subjects was 43.5 years, 82% were female; 30.8%, 14.3%, 10.4%, 1.3% and 1.6% of the subjects had dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, a history of stroke and a history of ischemic heart disease, respectively. Forty-two percent of subjects had at least one medical condition. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.0 kg/M2 (SD=4.8) and 24.3% had a BMI > or =30 kg/M2. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 121.5 mmHg (SD=14.0) and 76.5 mmHg (SD=9.7), respectively and the mean waist-hip ratio was 0.84 (SD=0.1). The mean fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein were 5.8 mmol/l (SD=2.4), 5.5 mmol/l (SD=1.0), 1.4 mmol/l (SD=0.9), 1.5 mmol/l (SD=0.3) and 3.5 mmol/l (SD=0.9), respectively. Our study population had a smaller proportion of hypertension than that of the general Malaysian population. They had higher fasting total cholesterol, slightly lower fasting blood sugar, with a large proportion of them, obese and had diabetes. Immediate intervention is needed to reduce the traditional cardiovascular risk factors in this population. Keywords: cardiovascular risk factors, health care workers, Malaysia