BackgroundOne way to diminish protein malnutrition in children is by enriching cereal-based flours for the manufacturing of maize tortillas, wheat flour tortillas, and yeast-leavened breads, which are widely consumed among low socio-economic groups.ObjectiveThe aim was to determine and compare the essential amino acid (EAA) scores, protein digestibility corrected amino acid scores (PDCAAS), and in vivo protein quality (protein digestibility, protein efficiency ratio (PER), biological values (BV), and net protein utilization (NPU) values) of regular versus soybean-fortified maize tortillas, yeast-leavened bread, and wheat flour tortillas.DesignTo comparatively assess differences in protein quality among maize tortillas, wheat flour tortillas, and yeast-leavened breads, EAA compositions and in vivo studies with weanling rats were performed. The experimental diets based on regular or soybean-fortified food products were compared with a casein-based diet. Food intake, weight gains, PER, dry matter and protein digestibility, BV, NPU, and PDCAAS were assessed. The soybean-fortified tortillas contained 6% of defatted soybean flour, whereas the yeast-leavened bread flour contained 4.5% of soybean concentrate.ResultsThe soybean-fortified tortillas and bread contained higher amounts of lysine and tryptophan, which improved their EAA scores and PDCAAS. Rats fed diets based on soybean-fortified maize or wheat tortillas gained considerably more weight and had better BV and NPU values compared with counterparts fed with respective regular products. As a result, fortified maize tortillas and wheat flour tortillas improved PER from 0.73 to 1.64 and 0.69 to 1.77, respectively. The PER improvement was not as evident in rats fed the enriched yeast-leavened bread because the formulation contained sugar that decreased lysine availability possibly to Maillard reactions.ConclusionsThe proposed enrichment of cereal-based foods with soybean proteins greatly improved PDCAAS, animal growth, nitrogen retention, and PER primarily in both maize and wheat flour tortillas. Therefore, these foods can help to diminish protein malnutrition among children who greatly depend on cereals as the main protein dietary source.

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Glucosinolates, phenolic compounds, and carotenoids comprise a class of health-promoting compounds found in numerous vegetables, such as kale. Herein, the individual and combined effects of Se (40 mg/L), S (120 mg/L), and MeJA (25 μM) on the content of carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and glucosinolates present in undigested extracts and intestinal-digested fractions of 7 day old Red Russian kale sprouts were evaluated. Moreover, the effect of undigested extract and digested kale on cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) and nitric oxide (NOx) production was assessed. Kale sprouts treated with Se showed higher levels of glucosinolates (53.2%) and lutein (149.3%), whereas phenolic content remained unchanged. After in vitro digestion, a significant liberation of lutein was observed in all samples, mainly the Se-treated sprouts (210.3%). On the other hand, phenolics and glucosinolates suffered significant losses after digestion in vitro. The treatments did not cause a significant change in phenolic content compared to control sprouts; however, Se treatment significantly preserved the concentration of glucoraphanin (70.8%%), glucobrassicin (58.2%), 4-methoxyglucobrassicin (41.6%), and total glucosinolates (63.2%) in kale compared with that in control sprouts. In correlation, the maximum percentage of CAA and NOx was achieved in the undigested extract and intestinal-digested fraction from kale sprouts treated with Se. Kale treated with Se, with higher levels of lutein and glucosinolates, may contribute to the defense against oxidant factors and modulate inflammation at the cellular level.

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Introduction: Public health professionals established a direct link between obesity and the rise in high caloric beverage intake. Current recommendations promote the elimination of sweet fruit drinks from the population’s diet. One way of evading this is by modifying the drink’s nutritional characteristics regarding nutrient uptake and utilization. Objectives: evaluate the protein quality of a soy/maize protein (SMP) and its physiological effects on nutrient intake and to assess glycemic indexes (GIs) of mango based drinks prepared with sucrose or stevia. Materials and methods: Mango drinks were supplemented with different sources of protein (three SMP thermally treated to contain different urease activities (UA) or whey protein concentrate (WPC)) that were sweetened with sucrose or stevia/sucralose. The protein digestibility, net protein absorption (NPA), biological value (BV), net protein utilization (NPU) value and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were assessed with weanling rats. Moreover, the GIs of the mango drinks were measured in the same animal model. Results: PER and NPA evaluated in a rat model showed that increased levels of UA decreased Biological (BV) and Net Protein Utilization (NPU) values. The GIs of the mango drinks significantly diminished with the addition of 3.5% of SMP, but unexpectedly the substitution of sucrose by stevia/sucralose did not significantly change the glycemic response. Conclusion: the SMP isolate can be used to improve the nutritional profile and lower GIs of mango drinks.