No abstract

Selenium, an ultra trace element with several health beneficial attributes, should be mainly derived from dietary sources. Since food processing is likely to alter the bioavailability of micronutrients, the influence of such processing such as germination and fermentation on selenium content and bioaccessibility, information on which is lacking, was examined in this study. Bioaccessibility of selenium from four cereal-based composite meals was also studied. Chickpea, green gram and finger millet were employed to study the effect of germination, and for effect of fermentation, batters used in preparation dosa, idli and dhokla were used. Soaking the grains in water as a part of germination and fermentation brought about a decrease in selenium content, while its bioaccessibility was not affected. The information on the loss of selenium during soaking and heat processing of the germinated grains is novel. Fermentation resulted in a further decrease in selenium content, the percent decrease ranging from 26 to 47 in the batters. Similar decreases were seen in the bioaccessible selenium content as a result of soaking and fermentation. Cooking of the fermented batters, however, significantly enhanced the bioaccessibility of selenium from dosa and dhokla by 44 and 71 %, respectively. Selenium content of the four meals ranged from 150 to 228.8 ng/g. Bioaccessible selenium was highest in the finger millet-based meal (32.8 ng/g), followed by sorghum, wheat and rice-based meals. The present investigation thus provides vital and novel information on selenium content and bioaccessibility from foods subjected to processing as is commonly practiced in Indian households.

Two type of ready to eat supplementary food formulations were developed by roller drying based on wheat, soy protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, and green gram flour and were fortified with vitamins and minerals to meet the one third of the Recommended daily allowance (RDA). The supplementary food formulations contained 20-21% protein, 370-390 kcal of energy and 2,300 μg of β-carotene per 100 g serving. The physico-chemical, functional and nutritional characteristics were evaluated. The chemical score indicated that sulphur containing amino acids were the first limiting in both the formulations. The calculated nutritional indices, essential amino acid index, biological value, nutritional index and C-PER were higher for formula II. Rat bioassay showed higher PER (2.3) for formula II compared to formula I (2.1). The bioaccessibility of iron was 23%. Sensory studies indicated that the products were acceptable with a shelf life of 1 year under normal storage condition. However, the formulations were nutritionally better than only cereal based supplementary food formulations available commercially. The product could be served in the form of porridge with water/milk or in the form of small laddu.

Patients with diabetes often have more invasive infections, which may lead to an increase in morbidity. The hyperglycaemic environment promotes immune dysfunction (such as the deterioration of neutrophil activity, antioxidant system suppression, and compromised innate immunity), micro- and microangiopathies, and neuropathy. A greater number of medical interventions leads to a higher frequency of infections in diabetic patients. Diabetic individuals are susceptible to certain conditions, such as rhino-cerebral mucormycosis or aspergillosis infection. Infections may either be the primary symptom of diabetes mellitus or act as triggers in the intrinsic effects of the disease, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycaemia, in addition to increasing morbidity. A thorough diagnosis of the severity and origin of the infection is necessary for effective treatment, which often entails surgery and extensive antibiotic use. Examining the significant issue of infection in individuals with diabetes is crucial. Comprehensive research should examine why infections are more common amongst diabetics and what the preventive treatment strategies could be.