A total of twenty six marine fish samples of sixteen different species were collected from three different local markets of Chittagong. Fish oil was extracted by Solid phase dispersion (SPD) method. Saponification and esterification was carried out by AOAC reference procedure with some simple modifications. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were then analyzed by Gas chromatograph equipped with Flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Among the marine fish samples, saturated fatty acids (SFAs) i.e., lauric Acid (1.33-11.34%), myristic acid (0.64-3.84%), palmitic acid (1.41-39.27%), stearic acid (0.47-18.89%) and arachidic acid (2.88-43.28%) were predominant. Among the unsaturated fatty acids mainly monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)palmitoleic acid (3.12-18.28%), linoleic acid (cis, cis-9,12-Octadecadienoic acid)(1.30-38.13%), oleic acid ((9Z)-Octadec-9-enoic acid) (5.03-46.27%), elaidic acid ((E)-octadec-9-enoic acid) (0.61-9.90%) and erucic acid ((Z)-Docos-13-enoic acid) (2.95-28.94%) were predominant. Highest quantity of saturated (74.50%) and unsaturated (78.59%)fatty acid were found in Megalapsis cordya (Surma) and Parastromateus niger (Kalochanda) respectively. This study also reveals that the percentage composition of different fatty acids are higly varible depending on the fish species.

Introduction: Vitamin A deficiency is one of the most serious health problems in developing countries. This study aims to explore the comparative figure of vitamin A knowledge, household consumption frequency of vitamin A-rich foods, and association of socio-demographic factors with knowledge and consumption in four residential areas in Tangail district, Bangladesh. Methods: This study used a population-based cross-sectional design with 400 study participants selected using purposive sampling technique. Knowledge and consumption frequency were assessed by a structured questionnaire along with food frequency table. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: Only 33.5% participants had primary vitamin A knowledge, where most from urban (48.5%) and semi-urban (30.6%) areas had comparatively higher knowledge than those from rural (11.2%) and slum (9.7%) areas. Specific knowledge level was also poorer in rural and slum areas than urban and semi-urban areas. Most of the participants received knowledge through commercial advertisements (65.7%). Household consumption frequency of vitamin A-rich foods (plant and animal) was comparatively lower in rural and slum areas than in urban and semi-urban areas. Different socio-demographic factors (place of residence, education and household income) significantly influenced participant’s vitamin A knowledge and household consumption of vitamin A-rich foods (p<0.05). Conclusion: In general, the study population lacked knowledge regarding the importance of vitamin A. Consumption frequency of vitamin A-rich foods was still poorer in slum and rural areas than in urban and semi-urban areas.

Commercially available soft drinks i.e., Sprite and 7up (lemon) samples of 10 different batches were studied by UV-Vis spectrophotometry to find out the presence of preservative and stimulant. The wavelength of absorption maxima (max) was 224 nm for sodium benzoate and 272 nm for caffeine. The soft drink samples were degassed, extracted with HPLC grade water and cleaned up to study sodium benzoate and caffeine content. The average quantity of caffeine was in the range of 22 to 30 μg/ml in Sprite and 20 to 30 μg/ml in 7up (lemon), whereas the average quantity of sodium benzoate was in the range of 181 to 191 μg/ml in Sprite and 140 to 160 μg/ml in 7up (lemon) samples. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves of sodium benzoate and caffeine were found to be 0.9972 and 0.9862, respectively. Recovery experiment was done by spiking sodium benzoate at 20 μg/ml level with 10 replicate studies. The mean recovery of sodium benzoate was 89.14 ± 2.14 %. The reproducibility and repeatability of the method was very satisfactory with low value of RSD. The present method can be successfully applied for the study of sodium benzoate and caffeine in commercial soft drinks.

Bioaccumulation of organochlorine compounds in marine fish occurs as a result of environmental pollution through human activities such as industrial and agricultural waste discharge into water bodies. The main purpose of the present study is to evaluate the current status of the contamination level of organochlorine compounds such as 4,4´-DDT, 2,4´-DDT, 4,4´-DDE and 4,4´-DDD, in the fish samples of Bay of Bengal. A total of 25 marine fish samples of 17 species including Eleutheronema tetradactylum, Metapenaeus monoceros, Lates calcarifer, Harpodon nehereus, Pampus argenteus, Setipinna phasa, Leiognathus equulus, Tenualosa ilisha, Megalapsis cordyla, Parastromateus niger, Coilia ramcarati, Otolithoides pama, Arius maculatus, Paraplagusia bilineata, Strongylura leiura, Platycephalus indicus and Gudusia chapra were collected from three different local markets for determination of organochlorine compounds using SPD (solid phase dispersion) and QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) extraction methods, and finally analyzed by gas chromatograph equipped with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The comparison between these two methods was also made and it was found that SPD method is more efficient for the extraction of total fat content and bioaccumulation of DDTs in fish samples compared to QuEChERS method. The percentage recovery of DDTs was found to be 65%-105%. Limit of detection LOD and Limit of Quantification LOQ was found to be 0.10 ng/g and 0.30 ng/g, respectively. Total amount of DDT was found in the range of 3.83-37.80 ng/g in SPD method and 4.51-20.40 ng/g in QuEChERS method. All fish samples contained DDTs less than MRL (maximum residue limit) value (5 mg/kg according to the Codex Alimentarius Commission).

A population based cross-sectional study was conducted in four residential areas of Tangail Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh aiming to explore the knowledge about vitamin A fortifi ed edible oils and rice as well as the their consumption rate. A total of 400 participants were randomly selected. Data were collected through face to face interviews. Only 15.0% and 3.5% participants had knowledge about vitamin A fortifi ed edible oils and rice respectively. Precisely vitamin A fortifi ed edible oils knowledge level was found inferior in rural (11.7%) and slum (0%) than urban (48.3%) and semi-urban (40.0%) participants. Knowledge about vitamin A fortifi ed rice was found higher in urban (78.6%) than rural (14.3%) and slum (0%) participants. Most of the participants received knowledge through advertisements (Nϭ45 and Nϭ12 for fortifi ed oils and rice respectively). Maximum participants (62.3%) did not consume vitamin A fortifi ed edible oils and consumption rate in rural (11.8%) and slum (10.2%) areas were poorer than urban (53.5%) and semi-urban (24.4%) areas. Consumption rate of vitamin A fortifi ed rice was found nil in all the study areas. Lack of knowledge about vitamin A fortifi ed rice and oils accounted solely for poor consumption. Knowledge level about vitamin A fortifi ed edible oils and rice and consumption rate were found statistically signifi cantly (pϽ0.05) with participant's place of residences, education level and monthly income. Finally, this study indicates that the overall knowledge level and consumption rate of vitamin A fortifi ed edible oils and rice is poor especially in rural and slum populations in Tangail Sadar Upazila.