Imbalances in gut microbiota composition during ulcerative colitis (UC) indicate a role for the microbiota in propagating the disorder. Such effects were investigated using in vitro batch cultures (with/without mucin, peptone or starch) inoculated with faecal slurries from healthy or UC patients; the growth of five bacterial groups was monitored along with short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production. Healthy cultures gave two-fold higher growth and SCFA levels with up to ten-fold higher butyrate production. Starch gave the highest growth and SCFA production (particularly butyrate), indicating starch-enhanced saccharolytic activity. Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were the predominant bacterial group (of five examined) for UC inocula whereas they were the minority group for the healthy inocula. Furthermore, SRB growth was stimulated by peptone presumably due to the presence of sulphur-rich amino acids. The results suggest raised SRB levels in UC, which could contribute to the condition through release of toxic sulphide.

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Background: Appropriate balanced maternal nutrition is the principal determinant for maternal and fetal wellbeing. Consequently, the dietary practice and nutritional status of pregnant ladies need to be addressed properly as it should follow the recommendations of the food pyramid. Objective: to assess dietary practice and nutritional status among pregnant women attending antenatal Care In the rural Family Health Unit. Methods: The study was a Facilitybased cross-sectional study conducted in the Terrene family health unit, Gharbia Governorate on 350 pregnant ladies chosen by a simple random sample. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. Analyses were done using the statistical package of social science (SPSS version 20). Results: In the current study the mean age of the enrolled pregnant women was about 24-year-old (Rang16-49 years old). Above two-thirty of them (65.14%) eat three times per day. Most of the studied pregnant women (73.43%) had varied favorite foods. About (46.57%) of them use animal fats for cooking. Most of them (72.57%) add average salt to their food. But (88.86%) of them prefer diverse foods. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age, women education, occupation, getting medical service, socio-economic status, previous delivery, presence of sickness, hemoglobin level, and daily meals frequency were significant predictors to nutritional status among pregnant women attending antenatal. Conclusion: The present study revealed that there is a burden of suboptimal dietary practice and undernutrition among these studied participants especially for low-income women.

Superabundant date fruit production in Al-Qassim in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), a plentiful region for producing date syrup resulting in massive amounts of date fiber (DF), causes environmental issues with what is considered dietary waste. However, no food producer or researcher has thought of the valorization of DF by extracting the crude polysaccharides that can be converted to nanoparticles (flours) to increase its functional group and enhance its functionality. Using the DF was the primary goal, with the new biscuits used within the current study investigated as a potent integrated approach for controlling obesity levels and its effects. Obesity is one of the most important human problems worldwide, connected to many metabolic diseases, e.g., diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Its prevalence has recently increased among Saudi children and adolescents. An investigation of the biological effects of the formulated products was carried out by feeding the formulated biscuits with different DF levels (5, 10 and 15%) to obese albino rats, in addition to positive and negative control groups, to evaluate the effect of a reduced calorie product on controlling their body weight and health stats (lipid profile, blood sugars, kidney and liver functions). The collected data showed that the most positive results were obtained from rats fed diets supplemented with 10% DF biscuits. All TCHO, TrGs, HDL, and HDL were decreased to the best levels in this group compared to the positive control group (148.23, 145.30, 37.50, and 81.67 vs. 238.37, 199.07, 62.57, and 135.99, respectively). To conclude, DF supplementation presented anti-obesity properties in animal models; however, more epidemiological trials are needed.