BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to characterize and compare the physicochemical and pharmacopoeial properties of starches isolated from the seeds of Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco (marang), Nephelium lappaceum L. (rambutan), and unripe green Mangifera indica L. (mango) with corn starch, as possible sources of pharmaceutical grade starch.

METHODS: The starch from the seeds of these fruits was isolated and characterized through their physicochemical (organoleptic characteristics, percent yield, amylose-amylopectin ratio, bulk density, tapped density, compressibility index, Hausner ratio, angle of repose, solubility, swelling power, and viscosity) and pharmacopoeial properties (identification test, pH, loss on drying, and limit of iron). Morphology of the granules was also assessed.

RESULTS: The physicochemical properties showed that amylose content of the seed starches was significantly lower (p=0.001) and amylopectin content significantly higher (p=0.001) than the native high amylose corn starch. The lower values of bulk and tapped densities, and high values in compressibility index and Hausner ratio of the seed starches compared to corn starch may be due to their smaller particles. The results of the pharmacopoeial characterization showed compliance with the United States Pharmacopeia's (USP) acceptable limits, except for the pH of marang seeds.

CONCLUSION: The starches isolated from the fruit seeds have unique properties, but only rambutan seed starch has the most desirable physicochemical and pharmacopoeial properties that is comparable with corn starch. Rambutan seeds could be utilized as a source of starch for pharmaceutical applications.

Plant ; Mangifera ; Seeds ; Starch

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is an economically important fungal pathogen causing substantial yield losses indifferent host plants. To understand the genetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of this fungus, we have developed a novel, high-resolution multi-locus microsatellite typing (MLMT) method. Bioinformatic analysis of C. gloeosporioides unannotated genome sequence yielded eight potential microsatellite loci, of which five, CG1 (GT)(n), CG2 (GT1)(n), CG3 (TC)(n), CG4 (CT)(n), and CG5 (CT1)(n) were selected for further study based on their universal amplification potential, reproducibility, and repeat number polymorphism. The selected microsatellites were used to analyze 31 strains of C. gloeosporioides isolated from 20 different host plants from India. All microsatellite loci were found to be polymorphic, and the approximate fragment sizes of microsatellite loci CG1, CG2, CG3, CG4, and CG5 were in ranges of 213–241, 197–227, 231–265, 209–275, and 132–188, respectively. Among the 31 isolates, 55 different genotypes were identified. The Simpson's index of diversity (D) values for the individual locus ranged from 0.79 to 0.92, with the D value of all combined five microsatellite loci being 0.99. Microsatellite data analysis revealed that isolates from Ocimum sanctum, Capsicum annuum (chili pepper), and Mangifera indica (mango) formed distinct clusters, therefore exhibited some level of correlation between certain genotypes and host. The developed MLMT method would be a powerful tool for studying the genetic diversity and any possible genotype-host correlation in C. gloeosporioides.
Capsicum ; Colletotrichum* ; Computational Biology ; Fungi ; Genetic Variation ; Genome ; Genotype ; India ; Mangifera ; Methods* ; Microsatellite Repeats* ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Ocimum ; Statistics as Topic

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is caused by cross-reactivity between certain pollens and plant foods, including vegetables, nuts, or fruits. Here, we experienced 2 cases of OAS patients associated with mugwort pollinosis without sensitization to Fagales. A 54-year-old female repeatedly experienced skin rashes, perioral edema, nasal obstruction after eating fresh vegetables (celery, lettuce, chicory, radish sprouts, ginseng, etc.). She had suffered from allergic rhinitis worsening in autumn for 5 years. Specific IgE (sIgE) titers to ragweed and mugwort were elevated to 54.1 and 24.9 kU/L, respectively. With regard to the allergen component of pollens, sIgE to Art v 1 (mugwort) and Amb a 1 (ragweed) were elevated to 21.9 and 36.1 kU/L, respectively. Birch sIgE (including Bet v 1 and Bet v 2) was not detected. A 35-year-old male suffered from abdominal pain, skin rashes after eating mango and kiwi. In addition, systemic allergic reaction developed after consumption of tomato and ginseng. He had chronic rhinitis. The sIgE levels to ragweed, mugwort, and tomato were elevated to 0.55, 6.39, and 0.78 kU/L, respectively. The sIgE test results were all negative for Amb a 1, Bet v 1, and Bet v 2 sIgE. Specific IgE levels to Art v 1, Art v 2 sIgE were 3.51 and 4.46 kU/L, respectively. Based on the history and sIgE test results, 2 cases OAS were related to mugwort. We experienced 2 cases of weed pollinosis related to OAS. Culprit foods of OAS can vary depending on their cuisine cultures.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Ambrosia ; Apium graveolens ; Artemisia ; Betula ; Chicory ; Eating ; Edema ; Exanthema ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity* ; Immunoglobulin E ; Lettuce ; Lycopersicon esculentum ; Male ; Mangifera ; Middle Aged ; Nasal Obstruction ; Nuts ; Panax ; Plants ; Pollen ; Raphanus ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal* ; Vegetables

Diets high in fruits and vegetables are recommended to maintain health. However, accurate fruit intake evaluation is hard and high sugar content in most of the fruits suggest possible negative relationships with health indices. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the fruit intake status of adolescents and to examine the relationship between fruit intake and body mass index (BMI). For this, 400 middle and high school students were surveyed for their fruit eating attitude, preference, and intake level for fruit along with the evaluation of their relationship with anthropometric measures. As for fruit preference, the most frequent answer was 'like very much' (60.0%) and the preference of fruit was significantly higher in females than in males (p < 0.01). The highest answer to the reason to like fruits was 'delicious' (67.0%). The highest proportion of subjects replied that the amount of fruit intake was similar in both school meals and at home (39.3%) and unlikable feeling of fruits was 'sour' (47.0%). The favorite fruit was the apple followed by oriental melon, grape, Korean cherry, cherry, tangerine/orange, hallabong, plum, mango, persimmon, peach, pear/kiwi, apricot, Japanese apricot, and fig in order. As for the number of serving sizes per person were 2.9 times/day for male students and 3.0 times/day for female students showing no significant difference. The frequency of eating fruits in the evening showed a significant positive correlation with body weight (p < 0.05) and BMI (p < 0.01), respectively. In summary of these study findings, it was found that the fruit preference of adolescents was relatively high and their fruit intake level satisfied the recommended number of intake. The number of evening fruit intake had a significantly positive correlation with body weight and BMI. Further studies are required to examine the relationship between fruit intake and health indicators.
Adolescent* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Mass Index* ; Body Weight ; Cucurbitaceae ; Diet ; Diospyros ; Eating ; Female ; Fruit* ; Humans ; Male ; Mangifera ; Meals ; Prunus armeniaca ; Prunus persica ; Prunus domestica ; Serving Size ; Vegetables ; Vitis

This study is to investigate the protective effect of mangiferin on NF-kappaB (P65) and IkappaBalpha expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) in rats with cigarette smoke induced chronic bronchitis. The rat model with chronic bronchitis was established by cigarette smoke. Real-time fluorescence RT-PCR was executed for evaluating the NF-kappaB (P65) and IKkappaBalpha gene expression in mononuclear cell, and flow cytometry for their protein expression. The serum hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive proteins) and TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor-alpha) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The histopathological score was obtained from lung tissue HE staining slides of lung tissue. The results showed that mangiferin could markedly suppress the NF-kappaB (P65) mRNA and protein expression in mononuclear cell, while promote the IkappaBalpha mRNA and protein expression. Furthermore, mangiferin could lower serum hs-CRP and TNF-alpha level, and reduce the chronic inflammatory damage of bronchiole. These results suggested that mangiferin could notably ameliorate chronic bronchiole inflammation induced by cigarette smoke, and this protective effect might be linked to the regulation of NF-kappaB (P65) and IkappaBalpha expression in mononuclear cell.
Animals ; Bronchi ; pathology ; Bronchitis, Chronic ; blood ; etiology ; metabolism ; pathology ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; I-kappa B Kinase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mangifera ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution ; Transcription Factor RelA ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; Xanthones ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology

Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world although the country is endowed with agricultural produce that could be properly utilised to prepare adequate food for children. Considering this, three weaning foods were formulated using locally available cereals and nutritious fruits such as wheat, soya flour, jackfruit and mango. Methods: Standard procedures of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and American Public Health Association (APHA) were used to determine the chemical composition and microbiological analysis. Organoleptic qualities were analysed by twenty adult panelists of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, Bangladesh, using a 9-hedonic scale against a cereal based commercial brand as standard for proximate and sensory properties. Results: The moisture content of the developed weaning foods ranged from 2.78-3.59%, crude protein content 14.74-16.55%, fat 11.04-12.70%, ash 1.38-1.68%, crude fibre 1.04-1.52%, carbohydrate 65.83-71.09% and energy content from 445.80-465.48 kcal/100g of the foods. The formulated weaning foods A, B and C were significantly different (p<0.05) in moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate and energy contents from the commercial brand, D. According to rat bioassay method, the prepared weaning foods C and B had the highest Protein Efficiency Ratio and Feed Efficiency Ratio than the commercial brand, D. Total bacterial counts were nil for all weaning foods. Sensory analysis revealed acceptability of all the weaning foods and preference for weaning food C that compared favorably with the standard in all the quality attributes. Conclusion: The formulated weaning foods are inexpensive and nutritious, and its ingredients are locally available. These foods have the potential for improving malnutrition problems facing children in Bangladesh.
Malnutrition ; Artocarpus ; Mangifera ; Soybeans ; Child ; Bangladesh

The food choices in childhood have high a probability of being carried through into their adulthood life, which then contributes to the risk of many non-communicable diseases. Therefore, there is a need to gather some information about children's views on foods which may influence their food choices for planning a related dietary intervention or programme. This paper aimed to explore the views of children on foods and the types of foods which are usually consumed by children under four food groups (snacks, fast foods, cereals and cereal products; and milk and dairy products) by using focus group discussions. A total of 33 school children aged 7-9 years old from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur participated in the focus groups. Focus groups were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed according to the listed themes. The outcomes show that the children usually consumed snacks such as white bread with spread or as a sandwich, local cakes, fruits such as papaya, mango and watermelon, biscuits or cookies, tea, chocolate drink and instant noodles. Their choices of fast foods included pizza, burgers, French fries and fried chicken. For cereal products, they usually consumed rice, bread and ready-to-eat cereals. Finally, their choices of dairy products included milk, cheese and yogurt. The reasons for the food liking were taste, nutritional value and the characteristics of food. The outcome of this study may provide additional information on the food choices among Malaysian children, especially in urban areas with regard to the food groups which have shown to have a relationship with the risk of childhood obesity.
Aged ; Bread ; Cacao ; Carica ; Edible Grain ; Cheese ; Chickens ; Child ; Citrullus ; Dairy Products ; Diet ; Fast Foods ; Focus Groups ; Fruit ; Humans ; Malaysia ; Mangifera ; Milk ; Nutritive Value ; Obesity ; Snacks ; Tea ; Yogurt

The anti-obesity activities of Rapha diet(R) preparation containing silkworm pupa peptide, Garcinia cambogia, white bean extract, mango extract, raspberry extract, cocoa extract, and green tea extract were investigated in mice with dietary obesity. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) containing 3% Rapha diet(R) preparation for 8 weeks, and blood and tissue parameters of obesity were analyzed. The HFD markedly enhanced body weight gain by increasing the weights of epididymal, perirenal, and mesenteric adipose tissues. The increased body weight gain induced by HFD was significantly reduced by feeding Rapha diet(R) preparation, in which decreases in the weight of abdominal adipose tissue and the size of abdominal adipocytes were confirmed by microscopic examination. Long-term feeding of HFD increased blood triglycerides and cholesterol levels, leading to hepatic lipid accumulation. However, Rapha diet(R) preparation not only reversed the blood lipid levels, but also attenuated hepatic steatosis. The results indicate that Rapha diet(R) preparation could improve HFD-induced obesity by reducing both lipid accumulation and the size of adipocytes.
Abdominal Fat ; Adipocytes ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Bombyx ; Cacao ; Cholesterol ; Diet, High-Fat ; European Continental Ancestry Group ; Garcinia cambogia ; Humans ; Male ; Mangifera ; Mice ; Obesity ; Pupa ; Tea ; Triglycerides ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVETo investigate mechanism of inhibition on the lipopolysaccharide induced chronic inflammation of mangiferin by the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway.

METHODSixty SD rats were randomly divided into normal control, model control, positive drug control (prednisone, 5 mg x kg(-10 x d(-1)) and mangiferin (200, 100, 50 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) group. The chronic inflammation models were established by intermittent injection of lipopolysaccharide via the tail vein. The leucocyte count was measured. The levels of serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied to evaluate the expressions of p38, ERK, JNK gene of leucocyte in MAPK signaling pathway.

RESULTCompared with the model control, not only the leucocyte count and the level of serum TNF-alpha, IL-6, sICAM-1 but also the expressions of ERK, JNK gene of leukocyte were markedly reduced in mangiferin (200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) group (P < 0.05). However, there was no statistics significance for the expression of p38 gene between the model control and the mangiferin (200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) group.

CONCLUSIONAs a possible mechanism, the regulation of mangiferin on the expressions of ERK, JNK gene of leukocyte in MAPK signaling pathway was involved in its great inhibition on the chronic inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide.

Animals ; Chronic Disease ; Gene Expression ; Inflammation ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytes ; metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharides ; toxicity ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; drug effects ; genetics ; Male ; Mangifera ; chemistry ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; genetics ; Models, Animal ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; Xanthones ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

The objectives of this study are 1) To review the published data and document the current knowledge on allergic manifestations to the fruit mango 2) To highlight the two distinct clinical presentations of hypersensitivity reactions caused by mango 3) To discuss the role of cross-reactivity 4) To increase awareness of potentially life threatening complications that can be caused by allergy to mango. An extensive search of the literature was performed in Medline/PubMed with the key terms "mango", "anaphylaxis", "contact dermatitis", "cross-reactivity", "food hypersensitivity", "oral allergy syndrome" and "urticaria". The bibliographies of all papers thus located were searched for further relevant articles. A total of 17 reports describing 22 patients were documented, including ten patients with immediate hypersensitivity reaction and twelve patients with delayed hypersensitivity reaction to mango. Ten of these patients (four with immediate reaction; six with delayed reaction) were from geographical areas cultivating mango, whereas twelve patients (six with immediate reaction; six with delayed reaction) were from the countries where large scale mango cultivation does not occur. The clinical features, pathogenesis and diagnostic modalities of both these presentations are highlighted. The fruit mango can cause immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions, as also "oral allergy syndrome". Although rare, it can even result in a life threatening event. Reactions may even occur in individuals without prior exposure to mango, owing to cross reactivity. It is imperative to recognize such a phenomenon early so as to avoid potentially severe clinical reactions in susceptible patients.
Anaphylaxis ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate ; Mangifera ; Urticaria