Jorjani Biomedicine Journal

Background and objectives: High consumption of trans fatty acids is associated with increased risks cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance, lipid disorders, diabetes, and possibly cancer. Therefore, most developed countries produce food products with trans fatty acid content of 0%-2% to support the consumers. This study sought to determine the amount of fatty acids in meat products and kebabs served in restaurants of Kermanshah, Iran.

Methods: In order to determine the percentage of fatty acids, 69 samples were randomly taken from 14 kinds of meat products and kebabs served in restaurants of Kermanshah. To extract the 14 types of fatty acids, Folch and methylation methods were applied based on the guidelines of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS). A gas chromatograph equipped with an ion-flame sensor and a 100 m capillary column was used to measure trans fatty acids.

Results: While the highest level of trans fatty acids was found in loghmeh-kebab (2.3%), the lowest level was detected in breaded shrimp (0.1%) and chicken schnitzel (0.13%). Palmitic acid (C16:0) was the most common saturated fatty acid in restaurant kebabs and had the highest amount in loghmeh-kebabs (in convenience foods). Unsaturated fatty acids had the lowest concentration in restaurant kebabs (39.8-49.44%). Their levels in convenience foods varied from 49.99% in loghmeh-kebab to 76.11% in sausages. Among all unsaturated fatty acids, oleic acid (C 18:1c) and linoleic acid (C 18:2c) had the highest concentrations in the studied samples.

Conclusion: Loghmeh-kebab had the highest tans and saturated fatty acid contents among all the evaluated meat products. It can thus be a threat to the consumers’ health. Careful monitoring of food products in terms of fatty acid types, use of food labeling, and education to change consumption pattern in the country are recommended for public health promotion.

Background & Objective: Obesity is a public health problem in modern societies which is more prevalent among women compared to men. This study was conducted to aim the prevalence of obesity and the related factors in women of Kermanshah.

Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, 687 women aging 25-65 years were enrolled using multi staged cluster sampling method from 6 regions of Kermanshah city. Data collection tools were a demographic questionnaire, Food Frequency (FFQ) and physical activity questionnaires. General Obesity was defined as BMI≥30 kg/m2 and abdominal obesity was defined as waste hip ratio (WHR) over 0.85cm. All data were analyzed using correlation coefficient, Logistic regression-test and x² by SPSS software.

Results: Overweight and obesity was observed in 39.4% and 21.9 % of women respectively. 57.5% of studied subjects suffered from abdominal obesity. The odds ratios for obesity among illiterate (OR=1.882, P=0.05), low socioeconomic status (OR=1.867, P=0.002), and having more than four pregnancies (OR=1.875, P=0.01) were higher than other women. Odds ratio of fatty liver (OR: 3.818) and diabetes (OR: 3.077) was higher among obese subjects than normal individuals. (P=0.02).There was a positive correlation between obesity and marital status, number of pregnancies, family population size and unhealthy dietary habits (P<0.001). Moreover, there was a negative relationship between obesity and education level, employment and high socioeconomic status (P<0.001).

Conclusions: Regarding the side effects of obesity and overweight, lifestyle modification and increasing nutritional knowledge among women using appropriate methods is highly recommended.

The dialkyl- or alkyl/aryl esters of 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, which are known as Phthalates, are high-production volume synthetic chemicals and considered as environmental pollutants, due to high production and uses in community, plastics industry and common consuming products. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most abundant phthalate in the environment. Human exposure with DEHP could be done via different chemical compounds including food packaging, household furnishings, nutritional supplements, cleaning materials and insecticides. Besides, exposure of human with phthalates occurs through different pathways such as direct contact and using Phthalate-containing products, and indirectly through leaching into other products, or general environmental contaminations. Historically, the diet has been considered the major source of phthalate exposure in the general population, but in all sources, pathways, and their relative contributions to human exposures are not well understood. Medical devices are other source of significant exposure in human. Furthermore, cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, herbal remedies and insecticides, may result in significant but poorly quantified human exposure with this compounds. In the present review article, we tried to discuss about metabolism of phthalates in human, toxicity, monitoring of phthalates in foods, environment, and cosmetic products and then metabolites of phthalates. Finally, evaluation of human exposure through biological control is discussed.

Background and Objectives: Nowadays, to avoid the use of synthetic preservatives, which do more harm than good, numerous studies are currently focused on using natural ingredients to enhance food product quality and shelf life. Since no study has been conducted on combining coatings with electrolyzed water containing natural antimicrobial compounds, the present study has innovation and priority. In the present study, the effect of chitosan coating prepared through Neutral Electrolyzed Water (NEW) on inhibiting the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated in rainbow trout fillet over 12 days at 4 ˚C was examined.
Material and Methods: Fish samples were allocated into six groups following inoculation with E. coli O₁₅₇:H₇ (final concentration: ~ 10⁵ CFU/g). Treatments included control (CON), distilled water (DW), neutral electrolyzed water (NEW), chitosan 2% (CH), chitosan coating prepared by neutral electrolyzed water (CH/NEW), and neutral electrolyzed water followed by chitosan (NEW+CH). Treatments were kept at low temperature (refrigerator) and counting bacteria was done on 0, 1^st, 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th days. Data analyses were done through repeated measure ANVOA and Bonferroni post hoc tests.
Results: As indicated by the findings, the reduction rate of EW, CH, CH+WE, and CH/EW samples were 1.04, 1.45, 2.01, and 2.02 log CFU/g compared with the CON, respectively. The highest reduction rate was observed in the CH/NEW sample, due to the antimicrobial activity of chitosan and neutral electrolyzed water.
Conclusion: Chitosan coating can be combined with NEW in fish to increase the safety against pathogenic bacteria and E. coli O₁₅₇:H₇. Therefore, it can suggest the use of these natural antimicrobial compounds in the food industry.