Highlights COVID-19 pandemic has been overwhelmingly affecting public health and setting huge economic crises across the world. Despite the absence of specific drugs, there is a need for alternative nutritional approaches Micronutrients and bioactive substances can be considered in alternative nutritional approaches as they: have great potentials to interfere with spike glycoproteins, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptors and transmembrane protease serine 2 at the entry site of SARS-CoV-2; inhibit proteases such as Papain-Like protease, 3 Chymotrypsin-Like protease and RNA dependent RNA polymerase; have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral properties; can bolster immune system and help to mitigate clinical features

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Vitamin D deficiency is a pandemic problem. Non-animal source of vitamin D is obtained from edible mushrooms. Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) was sliced into the size of 1 cm3, 4 cm3 and 9 cm3, and treated with the sun as a natural resource of UVB under subtropical settings in Ethiopia. The content of vitamin D was measured by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After sun treatment, there was a significant increment in the content of vitamin D2 from nil to 67.4 ± 28.0 µg/g dry weight (DW). Based on the results of the overall pairwise comparisons, 1 cm3 size of slice group had the highest content of vitamin D2. Duration of sun exposure, sizes of mushroom slices and moisture content were identified as determining factors for vitamin D2 synthesis. Exposing slices of oyster mushroom to the sunlight for <30 min provides the amount that satisfies the current recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin D without any visible change in color and texture. Thus, sun treatment of oyster mushroom is an effective and economically cheap strategy in the fight against vitamin D deficiency.

BackgroundThe link between tuberculosis (TB) and malnutrition has long been recognized. Vitamin A and zinc deficiencies may reduce the host defenses and increase the risk for diseases.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to estimate the difference in vitamin A and zinc deficiencies together with dietary intakes among pulmonary TB patients and controls.Materials and methodsA case-control study design was employed to undertake this study in North Shewa, Ethiopia. Sputum smear examination, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to analyse acid fast bacilli (AFB), vitamin A, zinc, and C-reactive protein (CRP), respectively. Dietary intake was assessed using a 24-h recall questionnaire. Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Chi-square, odds ratio (OR), Spearman correlation, and multinomial logistic regression model were computed for data analyses.ResultsIn this study, 62 TB cases and 59 controls were included. The proportions of vitamin A deficiency among TB cases and controls were 56.4% and 39.0%, respectively. All TB cases and 92.5% controls were zinc deficient. The odds of TB cases with deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc was 2.3 (95% CI: 1.1 to 4.8)times more likely as compared to the controls. More than 80% of all participants had below average fulfilment of energy and vitamin A intakes.ConclusionVitamin A and zinc deficiencies are severe problems among TB patients. Moreover, undernutrition determines the development of TB. Therefore, the management programs of TB need to address the problems of vitamin A and zinc deficiencies together with protein-energy malnutrition.

Background: Dietary patterns are the quantities, proportions, variety or combinations of different foods and beverages in diets, and the frequency with which they are habitually consumed. In Ethiopia, information on the dietary patterns and association of the proxies of dietary adequacy and quality with nutritional outcomes is scarce. The aims of this paper were to assess the interactions between dietary patterns, nutritional adequacy, nutritional quality and the risk of micronutrient deficiencies, and to highlight their implications in nutritional interventions. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out in North Shewa zone of Amhara Regional State, central Ethiopia from December 2014 to February 2015. Multistage sampling techniques were employed to recruit participants and 640 subjects involved in the study. Data were collected using structured and seven-day recall questionnaires. Chi-Square test, Kruskal-Walis test, Spearman correlation, multiple linear and multinomial regression models were used for inferential analyses. Results: The main dietary patterns included cereals, vegetables and legumes. Animal Source Foods (ASF) was consumed by 35.4% of participants. The median (range) of Food Variety Score (FVS) and Diet Diversity Score (DDS) were 16 (8-25) and 3.43 (1.14-5.57), respectively. About 28 % of subjects were malnourished. FVS had a positive correlation with DDS (r=0.502, p<0.001) and Body Mass Index (BMI) (r=0.145, p<0.001). DDS had also a positive correlation with BMI (r= 0.19, p<0.001). Family size and educational status were identified as determinant factors for FVS, but the later had a significant influence on DDS. The risks of vitamin A and iron deficiencies were 60.3% and 86.3%, respectively. The consumption of food groups rich in vitamin A and haem iron were significantly different across FVS and DDS (p<0.05). Conclusions: Dietary inadequacy, poor nutritional quality and high risk of micronutrient deficiencies were identified. These underlined the implications of nutritional interventions in central Ethiopia.

IntroductionTuberculosis causes illness among millions of people each year and ranks as the second leading cause of death from infectious disease worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the detection rate of microscopic examination and estimate risk of transmission of TB by smear negative pulmonary TB patients.MethodsA cross-sectional study and retrospective data analysis on TB were undertaken in Northwest Shewa, Ethiopia. Microscopic examination, bacterial culture and PCR were performed. The statistical analysis was made by using STATA software version 10.ResultsA total of 92 suspected TB cases was included in the study. Of these, 27.17% (25/92) were positive for microscopic examination and 51% (47/92) for culture. The sensitivity and specificity of microscopic examination with 95% CI were 48.94% (34.08% to 63.93%) and 95.56% (84.82 to 99.33%), respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 92% (73.93% to 98.78%) and 64.18% (51.53% to 75.53%), respectively. Of 8150 pulmonary TB cases in the retrospective study, 58.9% was smear negative. The proportion of TB-HIV co-infection was 28.66% (96/335).ConclusionThe sensitivity of microscopic examination was 48.94% which was very low. The poor sensitivity of this test together with the advent of HIV/AIDS elevated the prevalence of smear negative pulmonary TB. This in turn increased the risk of TB transmission.

Objectives The aim of the current study was to assay the content of vitamin E in stinging nettle (Urtica simensis) Methods Urtica simensis type of stinging nettle is an indigenous wild plant which is widely growing in different parts of Ethiopia. Samples of leaves were collected from Chacha, one of the central highlands in Ethiopia and portioned into sun dried, shade dried and lyophilized groups. For comparison, samples of leaves were also taken from spinach. Vitamin E family such as tocopherols ((α, β, γ, and λ) and tocotrienols (α, β, γ, and λ) were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at department of Food Biofunctionality, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. Results The results showed that the total tocols of stinging nettle in sun-dried, shade dried, and lyophilized groups were 14.1 ± 1.1 mg, 13.8 ± 1.1 mg and 16.9 ± 1.2 mg per 100 g, respectively. In spinach, this value was 3.04 ± 0.7 mg/100 g. Of all vitamin E family, α- tocopherol was the maximum and identified in shade dried group (16.5 ± 1.2 mg/100 g). As compared to stinging nettle, spinach contained very small amount of α- tocopherol (1.7 ± 0.5 mg/100 g). Conclusions In conclusion, Urtica simensis type of stinging nettle contains considerable amount of tocols and can serve as potential resource of vitamin E. Further research is warranted on the nutritional and medicinal values of Urtica simensis stinging nettle. Funding Sources None.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne infectious disease that usually affects the lungs leading to severe coughing, fever, and chest pains. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effects of consuming sun-exposed mushrooms on the treatment outcomes of TB Methods: Participants were TB patients and categorized into block-1 (32) and block-2 (32) based on their willingness to consume sandwich bread containing sun-exposed oyster mushrooms. Blood and sputum samples were taken at the beginning (Day 0) and end of the study (4th month). Assays of 25-hydroxy (OH) D, cytokines, LL-37, and CRP were performed using Enzyme Linked- Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique, and mycobacterial cultures were performed using Lowenstein Jensen media. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Consumption of the sandwich bread induced a 27.8% increase in the mean serum 25(OH)D level with 35.5% and 32.3% reduction in the proportion of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and insufficiency (VDI), respectively. There were progressive changes in TB score (mean } SD of 2.6 } 1.8; 95% CI of 1.95 to 3.17; p<0.001) and Karnofsky performance status scale (80.3 } 6.9%, p < 0.001) with significant improvements in IFN-γ and LL-37 levels (p<0.05). Conclusion: Consumption of sun-exposed oyster mushrooms effectively improved the deficiencies of vitamin D in TB patients. The accelerated improvements on the clinical and immunological outcomes give us a clue that sun-exposed oyster mushrooms could serve as a potential, safe, easily available, and affordable adjunctive treatment and help patients fight TB. Keywords: Sun-exposure; Mushrooms; Vitamin D; Tuberculosis; Treatment outcomes