OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of aging on masticatory muscle function according to changes in hardness of solid food. METHODS: Each of fifteen healthy elderly and young people were selected. Subjects were asked to consume cooked rice, which was processed using the guidelines of the Universal Design Foods concept for elderly people (Japan Care Food Conference 2012). The properties of each cooked rice were categorized as grade 1, 2, 3 and 4 (5×10³, 2×10⁴, 5×10⁴, and 5×10⁵ N/m²) respectively. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to measure masseter activity from food ingestion to swallowing of test foods. The raw data was normalized by the ratio of sEMG activity to maximal voluntary contraction and compared among subjects. The data was divided according to each sequence of mastication and then calculated within the parameters of EMG activities. RESULTS: Intraoral tongue pressure was significantly higher in the young than in the elderly (p<0.05). Maximal value of average amplitude of the sequence in whole mastication showed significant positive correlation with hardness of food in both young and elderly groups (p<0.05). In a comparisons between groups, the maximal value of average amplitude of the sequence in whole mastication and peak amplitude in whole mastication showed that mastication in the elderly requires a higher percentage of maximal muscle activity than in the young, even with soft foods (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: sEMG data of the masseter can provide valuable information to aid in the selection of foods according to hardness for the elderly. The results also support the necessity of specialized food preparation or products for the elderly.
Aged* ; Aging ; Deglutition ; Deglutition Disorders ; Eating ; Electromyography ; Foods, Specialized ; Hardness ; Humans ; Masseter Muscle* ; Mastication ; Masticatory Muscles ; Tongue

Protein-energy malnutrition is regarded as one of the public health problems in developing countries as a result of poor feeding practices due to poverty. This study, therefore, aimed at evaluating nutritional quality of a potential weaning food formulated from locally available food materials. The cooking banana fruit (CB) and bambara groundnut seeds (BG) were purchased from local market in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. The CB and BG were processed into flours, mixed in ratios of 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and 60:40 and subjected into proximate, sensory and biochemical analyses using standard procedures. Nutrend (a commercial formula) and ogi (corn gruel, a traditional weaning food) were used as control. The nutritient composition (g/100 g) of the food samples were ranged as follows: moisture 2.94-6.94, protein 7.02-16.0, ash 1.76-2.99, fat 0.76-8.45, fibre 1.52-3.75, carbohydrate 63.84-88.43 and energy 1569.8-1665.7 kcal. The biological value (BV), net protein retention (NPR), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) of the experimental food samples were significantly (p<0.05) lower than nutrend, but higher than ogi. The haematological variables of rats fed with formulated food samples, commercial formula (nutrend) and traditional weaning food (ogi) were not significantly (p>0.05) influenced by the dietary treatment. However, the values obtained for red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), pack cell volume (PCV) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were higher in the experimental food samples than the commercial food. The growth rate of animals fed with experimental food samples were lower than those fed with the nutrend, but higher than those fed with ogi. In conclusion, the nutritional quality of CB and fermented BG mix of 60:40 ratio was better than ogi; and comparable to the nutrend. This implies that it can be used to replace low quality traditional weaning food and the expensive commercial weaning formula.
Animals ; Blood Sedimentation ; Cell Size ; Cooking ; Developing Countries ; Erythrocytes ; Flour ; Food, Formulated ; Fruit ; Humans ; Infant ; Leukocytes ; Musa ; Nigeria ; Nutritive Value ; Poverty ; Protein-Energy Malnutrition ; Public Health ; Rats ; Retention (Psychology) ; Seeds ; Weaning

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Enteral Nutrition ; methods ; Food, Formulated ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; drug therapy ; surgery ; therapy ; Gastroscopy ; Gastrostomy ; methods ; Humans ; Infant ; Jejunostomy ; Male ; Malnutrition ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Pneumonia, Aspiration ; drug therapy ; surgery ; therapy ; Teaching ; methods

No abstract available.
Crohn Disease* ; Food, Formulated* ; Humans ; Infliximab*

Child ; Child Nutrition Disorders ; therapy ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Food ; standards ; Infant Formula ; methods ; Infant, Newborn

Diarrheal disorders in childhood are the second most common cause of child deaths worldwide. Nutritional rehabilitation is the most important factor among treatments when diarrheal disorders develop and has a general beneficial effect on the patient's condition, intestinal function, and immune response. Breast milk is the most nutritious food for treating acute and chronic diarrhea in infants. Until now, many infant formulas have been developed, and particularly, special formulas for treating acute or chronic diarrhea are commonly used. Lactose-free formulas, soy based formulas, and hydrolyzed and amino acid-based formula are typical formulas. In general, replacement with specialized lactose-free formulations is unnecessary in children with persistent diarrhea, and it has been reported that infants that are not severely compromised have food allergy and intestinal failure. However, a general knowledge does not always applied to all populations because the genetic, economic or environmental factors are different. Physicians should know about the components and characteristics of special formulas in order to coach parents to use these formulas properly.
Child ; Diarrhea ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Formula ; Milk, Human ; Parents

Female ; Food Contamination ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Formula ; Kidney Calculi ; chemically induced ; diagnosis ; Male ; Triazines ; toxicity

OBJECTIVETo establish a method for determination of fatty acid esters of chloropropanols (chloropropanols esters) in milk powder by isotope dilution-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and to acquire the pollution level of chloropropanols esters in infant formula and evaluate the dietary exposure risk of chloropropanols esters in infant formula for infants.

METHODSA total of 111 infant formula samples were collected from supermarkets in Beijing, and the infant formula with no chloropropanols esters detected was served as the blank sample. The samples were ultrasonically extracted with hexane, followed by ester-bond cleavage reaction with sodium methylate-methanol and purification by matrix solid-supported liquid-liquid extraction, then being derivatived with heptafluoro butyrylimidazol. After extracted by sodium chloride solution, the derivatives were determined by GC-MS. The concentration of chloropropanols esters were quantified using the deuterium chloropropanols esters as the internal standards. The accuracy of the method was assessed by the recoveries of the blank spiked samples, and the relative standard deviations (RSD) of the recoveries represent the precision of the method. The contamination level of chloropropanols esters and the intake amount of the infant formula of the 6-month infant were used to estimate the dietary exposure assessment, and x (95% CI) and P97.5 of the contamination level of chloropropanols esters were used to represent the average dietary exposure and the high-end dietary exposure.

RESULTSThe satisfied linear correlations in the range of 0.010-0.800 mg/L was acquired for 3-MCPD esters, 2-MCPD esters, 1,3-DCP esters and 2,3-DCP esters with coefficient correlations of 0.999 9, 0.999 8, 0.999 5 and 0.999 6, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) and the limits of quantitation (LOQ) for 3-MCPD esters, 2-MCPD esters, 1,3-DCP esters and 2,3-DCP esters were 0.005, 0.005, 0.015, 0.015 mg/kg, and 0.015, 0.015, 0.045, 0.045 mg/kg. The average recoveries of the four chloropropanols esters spiked at 0.025, 0.050 and 0.100 mg/kg in blank matrix were in a range from 80.3% to 111.9%, with relative standard deviations (RSD) less than 11.4%. Of the 111 infant formula samples, the detection rates and the contamination levels of 3-MCPD esters and 2-MCPD esters were 77.5% (86/111), 11.7% (13/111) with the contamination levels in the range of ND-0.230 mg/kg and ND-0.039 mg/kg, respectively, and χ (95% CI) and P97.5 of 3-MCPD esters and 2-MCPD esters were 0.020 (0.003-0.113) and 0.006 (0.005-0.025) mg/kg, 0.113 and 0.025 mg/kg, respectively. 1,3-DCP esters and 2,3-DCP esters were not detected in the 111 samples. x (95% CI) and P75 of the six-month old infants to 3-MCPD esters were 0.304 (0.038-1.735) and 1.735 µg · kg⁻¹ · d⁻¹, respectively, which accounted for 15.2% and 86.7% of the PMTDI (2 µg · kg⁻¹ · d⁻¹) of 3-MCPD.

CONCLUSIONThis GC-MS method was accurate and rugged for the determination of chloropropanols esters in milk powder. Based on the exposure assessment results, the health risk of chloropropanols esters for infants caused by the intake of infant formula was acceptable.

Chlorohydrins ; Esters ; Fatty Acids ; Food Contamination ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Formula ; alpha-Chlorohydrin

Animals ; Cattle ; China ; Dairy Products ; Food Contamination ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Formula ; chemistry ; Milk ; Triazines ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the occurrence and concentrations of melamine and its analogues in tainted infant formula and to identify the etiologic factors for the urinary stones epidemic in infants and young children in China in 2008.

METHODSSanlu infant formula samples were collected from families of the affected children in Gansu province, and markets in Gansu and Hebei provinces and Beijing city. Melamine and its analogues, including cyanuric acid, ammeline, and ammelide were measured by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTSHigh prevalence and concentrations of melamine were found in Sanlu infant formula samples, with low concentrations of cyanuric acid, ammeline and ammelide. Melamine were detected in 87 out of 111 Sanlu infant formula samples with a range of 118 to 4,700 mg/kg.

CONCLUSIONThe results provide strong evidence for melamine as the etiological factor for the urinary stones epidemic in infants and young children in China in 2008.

China ; Flame Retardants ; analysis ; Food Contamination ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Formula ; chemistry ; Triazines ; chemistry