Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) plant is native from southern Mexico and northern Guatemala. Their seeds are a rich source of bioactive compounds which protect consumers against chronic diseases. Germination improves functionality of the seeds due to the increase in the bioactive compounds and associated antioxidant activity. The purpose of this study was to obtain functional flour from germinated chia seeds under optimized conditions with increased antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds, GABA, essential amino acids, and dietary fiber with respect to un-germinated chia seeds. The effect of germination temperature and time (GT = 20-35 °C, Gt = 10-300 h) on protein, lipid, and total phenolic contents (PC, LC, TPC, respectively), and antioxidant activity (AoxA) was analyzed by response surface methodology as optimization tool. Chia seeds were germinated inside plastic trays with absorbent paper moisturized with 50 mL of 100 ppm sodium hypochlorite dissolution. The sprouts were dried (50 °C/8 h) and ground to obtain germinated chia flours (GCF). The prediction models developed for PC, LC, TPC, and AoxA showed high coefficients of determination, demonstrating their adequacy to explain the variations in experimental data. The highest values of PC, LC, TPC, and AoxA were obtained at two different optimal conditions (GT = 21 °C/Gt = 157 h; GT = 33 °C/Gt = 126 h). Optimized germinated chia flours (OGCF) had higher PC, TPC, AoxA, GABA, essential amino acids, calculated protein efficiency ratio (C-PER), and total dietary fiber (TDF) than un-germinated chia seed flour. The OGCF could be utilized as a natural source of proteins, dietary fiber, GABA, and antioxidants in the development of new functional beverages and foods.

Most food allergy cases are associated with a limited group of allergens. This could be attributed to an increased ability of some foods to sensitize and trigger allergic reactions. However, there are no validated animal models to evaluate the sensitizing or allergenic potentials of proteins. Our aim was to evaluate three protocols of adjuvant-free intraperitoneal sensitization that differ in the time points for sample collection (days 14, 28 and 35 from beginning of the sensitization) and also in the number of immunizations (2, 5 and 3, respectively). Ovalbumin (OVA; 0.05 mg), cow milk proteins (CMP; 0.025, 0.05 and 0.25 mg), and potato acid phosphatase (PAP; low allergenic protein; 250.0 mg) were administered intraperitoneally (ip) to BALB/c mice (n = 4–6) and the protein-specific IgE and IgG antibody responses were evaluated using ELISA. Additional serum protein-specific IgE antibodies evaluations were carried out after IgG depletion. Anti-OVA IgE antibodies were detected in mice from all three protocols. The responses were higher in the group of mice that underwent the 28-day protocol than in those that underwent the 14- or 35-day protocols (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). Anti-CMP IgE antibodies were detected in both the 14- and 28-day protocols, but the response was higher in the group that underwent the 28-day protocol (p < 0.001). The anti-CMP IgE antibody response detection was improved after serum IgG depletion (p < 0.001). Anti-PAP IgE antibodies were not detected. Mice with undetectable serum levels of protein-specific IgE triggered anti-OVA, -CMP, and -PAP IgG responses. An adjuvant-free 28-day protocol with five ip immunizations seems appropriate for evaluation of the inherent sensitizing or allergenic capacity of the studied proteins. Reproducible results were obtained utilizing the BALB/c mouse strain. Inter-laboratory studies including a larger number of proteins should be carried out to validate this model.

Objetivo. Comparar la concordancia entre cultivo, histología y prueba rápida de la ureasa para el diagnóstico de infección por Helicobacter pylori, así como la relación de hallazgos histopatológicos y frecuencia de positividad entre dichos procedimientos diagnósticos. Material y métodos. Estudio de pruebas diagnósticas. Población de sujetos con endoscopía digestiva y toma de muestras gástricas antrales en un hospital de especialidades en México. Se realizó prueba rápida de la ureasa (una muestra), histología (dos muestras) y cultivo (dos muestras). Análisis estadístico con coeficiente de Kappa. Resultados. Se estudiaron 108 sujetos: 28 (25.9%) hombres y 80 (74.1%) mujeres; la edad promedio fue 49.1 (DE 15.1) años. El coeficiente de Kappa fue 0.729 y 0.377 entre cultivo con histología y prueba rápida de la ureasa respectivamente; asimismo, el coeficiente de Kappa fue 0.565 entre histologíay  prueba rápida de la ureasa. Conclusiones. La fuerza de concordancia fue mayor entre histología con cultivo y la prueba rápida de la ureasa, por lo cual la histología es lo más recomendable en la práctica clínica para la detección de la infección por Helicobacter pylori.

Germination improves seed functionality due to increased phytochemicals and associated antioxidant activities. These effects are enhanced with a suitable inductor which is applied at appropriate time and dose. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of germination + UV-B elicitation on the chemical compositions, antioxidant activities (AoxA), total phenolic (TPC), total anthocyanin (TA), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) contents in blue maize seeds. The application of UV-B radiation (wavelengths of 280 - 311 nm) during 37.0 h was an effective elicitor. Germinated-elicited blue maize flour (GEBMF) had higher proteins (+29.1%), dietary fibres (+22.0%), and AoxA (ABTS: +133.9%; DPPH: +173.4%) than unprocessed blue maize flour (UBMF). The increase in AoxA was closely related to the observed increase in TPC (+587.2%), TA (+29.9%), and GABA (+199.9%). Therefore, GEBMF could be used as a source of proteins, dietary fibres, and natural antioxidants in the formulation of new functional foods and beverages. These results could also contribute to the use and conservation of blue maize, an underutilised cereal.

Señor editor: El niño que recibe quimioterapia para el tratamiento del cáncer presenta un estado de inmunosupresión debido a la enfermedad y a la terapia antineoplásica. La quimioterapia suprime la respuesta inmune, efecto que es más marcado durante la quimioterapia de induccióny consolidación, y es moderado durante la quimioterapia de mantenimiento…