Objectives: Despite the public-health significance of both malnutrition and crises, little has been done to explore the convergence of the two domains and develop ways to improve policies and practices, especially in rural communities. This article remedies that knowledge gap by focusing on nutrition-related changes, responses, and practices during crisis situations in Siargao Island, Philippines, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop. Methods: Forty-six (46) semi-structured interviews were conducted among parents, caregivers, local health workers, and local officials of Del Carmen, Siargao Island. Principles of thematic analysis were applied to data analysis using NVivo 12. Afterwards, the preliminary data were presented in a virtual validation session with the local community and stakeholders. Results: Despite the high prevalence of malnutrition amid a backdrop of economic and nutritional difficulties, the community members generally viewed their children as healthy. Rice remained (disproportionately) central to people’s diets; possible alternatives like root crops were considered emergency foods only and not culturally acceptable as staples, in spite of their cheap and ubiquitous nature. Lastly, the economic and financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have also negatively affected the community members’ overall nutrition and food sources. Conclusion More efforts should be directed toward encouraging the consumption of root vegetables and fruits as rice alternatives in everyday diet—a costeffective strategy that would also promote dietary diversification. More importantly, nutrition responses should consider local food systems in terms of specific local economies and geographies, while health promotion efforts should engage with local notions of ‘health’ and ‘nutrition’ and encourage community participation in (re)designing policy interventions.
Nutrition ; public health ; rice ; COVID-19

Objective: Clinical studies suggest that maintaining a lower postprandial glycemic response is important for improvement and prevention of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Amylose, an ingredient in many food grains, is a major factor for the lowering of postprandial glycemic and insulinemic response. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of rice with different level of amylose on postprandial glycemic and insulinemic response in mice and humans.Materials and Methods: The two types of rice used in the study contained 29 wt% (high amylose rice) or 17 wt% (low amylose rice) amylose. In mice and humans, postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses were measured and then the area under the response curves of both rice groups were compared.Results: In mice, comparisons of postprandial glycemic response showed high amylose rice was lower than that for low amylose rice in all time points. Notably postprandial glycemic responses for high amylose rice at 15, 30, 45 and 60 min were significantly lower (19%, 31%, 16% and 17% respectively). The area under the glycemic response curve for high amylose rice was a remarkably 16% less than for the low amylose rice. In humans, postprandial glycemic response at 30 min and insulinemic response at 60 min for high amylose rice were significantly lower than for low amylose rice (15% and 40% lower, respectively). Furthermore, general linear measurement multivariate analysis after adjustment for eating time and hemoglobin A1c at baseline showed that postprandial glycemic response at 30 and 60 min and insulinemic response at 60 min, and the area under the glycemic response curve for high amylose rice were significantly lower than for low amylose rice in human.Conclusion: The higher amylose content of the rice lowered the postprandial glycemic and insulinemic response, demonstrating the potential to prevent or improve metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Rice ; Minute of time ; Laboratory mice ; Syndrome ; Diabetes Mellitus, Non-Insulin-Dependent

Early weaned piglets suffer from oxidative stress and enteral infection, which usually results in gut microbial dysbiosis, serve diarrhea, and even death. Rice bran oil (RBO), a polyphenol-enriched by-product of rice processing, has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties both in vivo and in vitro. Here, we ascertained the proper RBO supplementation level, and subsequently determined its effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal dysfunction in weaned piglets. A total of 168 piglets were randomly allocated into four groups of seven replicates (42 piglets each group, (21±1) d of age, body weight (7.60±0.04) kg, and half males and half females) and were given basal diet (Ctrl) or basal diet supplemented with 0.01% (mass fraction) RBO (RBO1), 0.02% RBO (RBO2), or 0.03% RBO (RBO3) for 21 d. Then, seven piglets from the Ctrl and the RBO were treated with LPS (100 μg/kg body weight (BW)) as LPS group and RBO+LPS group, respectively. Meanwhile, seven piglets from the Ctrl were treated with the saline vehicle (Ctrl group). Four hours later, all treated piglets were sacrificed for taking samples of plasma, jejunum tissues, and feces. The results showed that 0.02% was the optimal dose of dietary RBO supplementation based on diarrhea, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake indices in early weaning piglets. Furthermore, RBO protected piglets against LPS-induced jejunal epithelium damage, which was indicated by the increases in villus height, villus height/crypt depth ratio, and Claudin-1 levels, as well as a decreased level of jejunal epithelium apoptosis. RBO also improved the antioxidant ability of LPS-challenged piglets, which was indicated by the elevated concentrations of catalase and superoxide dismutase, and increased total antioxidant capacity, as well as the decreased concentrations of diamine oxidase and malondialdehyde in plasma. Meanwhile, RBO improved the immune function of LPS-challenged weaned piglets, which was indicated by elevated immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgM, β‍‍-defensin-1, and lysozyme levels in the plasma. In addition, RBO supplementation improved the LPS challenge-induced dysbiosis of gut microbiota. Particularly, the indices of antioxidant capacity, intestinal damage, and immunity were significantly associated with the RBO-regulated gut microbiota. These findings suggested that 0.02% RBO is a suitable dose to protect against LPS-induced intestinal damage, oxidative stress, and jejunal microbiota dysbiosis in early weaned piglets.
Male ; Female ; Swine ; Animals ; Lipopolysaccharides/toxicity* ; Antioxidants/pharmacology* ; Rice Bran Oil ; Dysbiosis ; Dietary Supplements ; Diarrhea/veterinary* ; Weaning ; Body Weight

Clinical cases of type-1 hypersensitive reaction to rice (Oryza sativa) have been reported in western countries as well as in Japan. Among rice proteins, 14-16 kD globulin proteins encoded by multiple gene family have been identified as major rice allergens. In this study, a rice cDNA library was constructed using lambda UniZap vector and screened with a rat anti-16 kD globulin protein polyclonal antibody in order to isolate Korean rice allergenic cDNA clones. Five independent cDNA clones, termed RAK1-5, were obtained after second rounds of plaque assay and immunoblot analysis. These clones encoded 13-19 kD recombinant proteins upon IPTG induction, which were identified by the polyclonal antibody in immunoblot analysis. DNA sequencing analysis showed that RAK1-4 have 99% sequence homology with RA5b, and RAK5 is closely related with RA14c. This result indicated that RA5b gene is widely distributed in our cDNA library among other possible rice allergenic genes, and more study is needed to isolate heterogeneous or novel rice allergen genes. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Allergens/immunology ; Allergens/genetics* ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Animal ; Antibodies/immunology ; Antibody Specificity ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cross Reactions ; DNA, Complementary ; Female ; Gene Library ; Genetic Vectors ; Immunoblotting/methods* ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Plant Proteins/immunology ; Plant Proteins/genetics* ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred Strains ; Rice/genetics* ; Sequence Analysis, DNA