Chicken extract affects colostrum protein compositions in lactating women

The Potential of Chicken-Herb Essence to Improve Milk Production and Infant Health in the Sprague Dawley Animal Model

Breast milk serves as the primary source of nourishment for newborns. In cases of low milk production, one approach to address this challenge involves the consumption of lactagogues. Chicken-herb essence, a beverage rich in protein, amino acids, and minerals, presents itself as a viable option to supplement a lactating mother's diet, particularly in terms of protein intake. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of chicken-herb essence on prolactin and lactoferrin in lactating rats. Furthermore, the study also assessed the lactagogue effect on IgA in offspring. The experimental research method used a completely randomized design. The animal models in this study were female Sprague Dawley rats. The result showed that there was an increase in milk production, as seen from the results of the lactagogue effect. The highest increase in prolactin and lactoferrin was obtained in treatment group II (TG II). The increases in prolactin and lactoferrin of TG II were 214.18 ± 71.99 and 904.02 ± 435.35 pg/mL, respectively. The lactagogue test showed that TG II haspotency as a milk-booster. Testing the blood serum of offspring showed that the highest concentration of IgA was also found in TG II at 398.34 ± 214.85 pg/mL.

Effectiveness of Essence of Chicken on Cognitive Function Improvement: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

High-quality, adequately-powered clinical trials investigating the effect of Essence of Chicken (EC) on cognitive function are lacking. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on healthy adult volunteers to determine the effect of EC on short-term memory, working memory, and selective and sustained attention. As a secondary objective, we evaluated baseline stress as a modifying factor by including treatment, stress and visit as main effects in a three-way ANOVA model. Cognitive function was evaluated at baseline, and Days 7 and 14. Data from 235 participants were analyzed on a per-protocol basis. The three-way interaction effect was significant (p = 0.020) in Digit Span Forward and further analyses showed EC improved test performance in moderate (p = 0.041) and severe stress (p = 0.065) but not in normal and mild stress subgroups. In Digit Span Backward, EC group showed greater improvement compared to placebo (p = 0.028), with 0.60 digits (8.50% improvement from baseline) more recalled on Day 7. No treatment or interaction effects were statistically significant in selective and sustained attention tests. Our findings support EC’s effect in improving mental processes used in working memory among healthy adults and short-term memory among healthy adults experiencing stress in daily life.

Factors affecting lactoferrin concentration in human milk: how much do we know?

Lactoferrin (LF) is a breast milk glycoprotein with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. Its beneficial properties in infants, especially in those born preterm, are currently being studied in clinical trials. However, the maternal and nursing infant factors that may affect LF concentration in breast milk are still not clear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the factors that may affect the concentration of LF in breast milk. We used a 2-step approach to identify the eligible studies according to inclusion/exclusion criteria, and to determine which studies would be considered. We included 70 qualified articles from 29 countries with publication dates ranging from 1976 to 2015. We described the correlation between LF concentration in breast milk and lactation stage; 10 maternal factors, such as race, parity, among others; and 2 infant factors: infections and prematurity. Colostrum has the highest LF levels, but they decrease with days postpartum. No other factor has been consistently associated with LF concentration. A major limitation of the majority of the published studies is the small sample size and the different methods used to measure LF concentration. Therefore, there is a need for large, multicenter studies with standardized study design, sample collection, and LF measurement methods to identify clinically significant factors associated with LF expression in breast milk, which will help promote exclusive breastfeeding in preterm infants.

Effectiveness of Essence of Chicken in Improving Cognitive Function in Young People Under Work-Related Stress: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial

Work-related stress (WS) can result in considerable and extensive changes in physiological and psychological performance. WS beyond the optimal levels induces anxiety, confusion, exhaustion, and burnout. Chronic WS affects neurocognitive performance, particularly attention and visuospatial memory. Essence of chicken (EC) has been reported to improve neurocognitive function after mental stress.To investigate the beneficial effects of EC in improving neurocognitive performance under WS, we conducted a randomized, double blind trial. Total 102 young workers in New Taipei City with high WS, evaluated using the Individual Subjective Perception Job Stress Scale scores (>36 for job leaders and 33 for nonleaders) were recruited. Fifty-one participants received 70 mL of EC and 51 received a placebo daily for 2 weeks. Blood tests and neurocognitive assessment were performed before treatment, at the end of treatment, and 2 weeks after treatment.EC improved the performance of participants with high depression scores in the form-color associative memory test, used for assessing short-term memory. Although creatinine and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) levels increased in week 2, but the levels returned to the baseline in week 4. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels decreased in week 4.EC significantly improved short-term memory in participants with high WS and concomitant depressive mood, although it slightly increased GPT and creatinine levels and reduced BUN levels. The long-term treatment effects of EC warrant further investigation.

Nutrition Concerns of Insufficient and Excessive Intake of Dietary Minerals in Lactating Women: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Three Cities of China

OBJECTIVE

Objectives of this study were 1) to investigate the mineral intake by Chinese lactating women, 2) to explore the dietary source of minerals, and 3) the ratios between different dietary minerals.

METHODS

A total of 468 lactating women in 5-240 days post-partum participated in this study. Food intakes by participants were measured using one time of 24-hour dietary recall, and minerals from food were calculated based on the Chinese Food Composition Table, second edition.

RESULTS

In post-partum, women had inadequate food intake. 81.0% of women's daily intake of dairy products was lower than 300g, and 97.1% of women's daily intake of salt over 6g. For mineral intake, there were 81.8%, 59.0%, 47.6%, 45.7% and 66.8% of women's calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and selenium intake lower than the estimated average requirement, respectively, and 91.7% of women's excessive intake of sodium. The calcium/phosphorus and sodium/potassium ratios were 0.41±0.26/1 and 3.13±2.89/1, respectively. Considering the dietary sources of minerals, 27.3%, 25.3% and 30.1% of iron, zinc and calcium were from animal-based food, respectively, and 60.3%, 66.1% and 58.0% of iron, zinc and calcium were from plant-based food, respectively. The phosphorus-protein ratio was 0.014±0.003/1. Lactation stage was associated with nutrient intake. Women within 30 days post-partum and the ones who live in Guangzhou had a significantly lower intake of certain minerals, while women with a high education experience had a high intake of calcium, potassium, iron and zinc. Productive age, whether obese or not, and delivery ways were not associated with mineral intakes (P all >0.05).

CONCLUSION

Chinese women in three studied cities had an inappropriate food intake and resulted in both insufficient and excessive intakes of certain minerals.

Effect of co-ingestion of amino acids with rice on glycaemic and insulinaemic response

Consumption of high glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic response (GR) food such as white rice has been implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have reported the ability of individual amino acids to reduce GR of carbohydrate-rich foods. Because of the bitter flavour of amino acids, they have rarely been used to reduce GR. We now report the use of a palatable, preformed amino acid mixture in the form of essence of chicken. In all, sixteen healthy male Chinese were served 68 or 136 ml amino acid mixture together with rice, or 15 or 30 min before consumption of white rice. Postprandial blood glucose and plasma insulin concentrations were measured at fasting and every 15 min after consumption of the meal until 60 min after the consumption of the white rice. Subsequent blood samples were taken at 30-min intervals until 210 min. The co-ingestion of 68 ml of amino acid mixture with white rice produced the best results in reducing the peak blood glucose and GR of white rice without increasing the insulinaemic response. It is postulated that amino acid mixtures prime β-cell insulin secretion and peripheral tissue uptake of glucose. The use of ready-to-drink amino acid mixtures may be a useful strategy for lowering the high-GI rice diets consumed in Asia.

Co-ingestion of essence of chicken to moderate glycaemic response of bread

Essence of chicken (EOC) beverage is a chicken meat extract, widely consumed in Asian countries for health benefits. EOC is a rich source of peptides and amino acids. White bread has become a popular staple food in all regions of Southeast Asia. A randomized controlled, crossover, non-blind trial was performed to investigate the role of EOC on glycaemic response (GR) of white bread. Ten healthy young subjects returned on five separate days for three glucose and two bread sessions. Subjects consumed bread or bread with EOC. The 120 min incremental area under the curve was significantly lower after consuming two bottles of EOC with bread than white bread alone. The glycaemic index (GI) of white bread was 83 and white bread with EOC 57. The co-ingestion of EOC may be a practical and simple way to reduce the GR of bread and other starch-based staples.

Chicken essence improves exercise performance and ameliorates physical fatigue

Chicken essence (CE) is a liquid nutritional supplement made from cooking whole chickens. In traditional Chinese medicine, CE is used to support health, promote healing, increase metabolism, and relieve fatigue. However, few studies have examined the effect of CE on exercise performance and physical fatigue. We aimed to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of CE on fatigue and ergogenic functions following physical challenge in mice. Male ICR mice were divided into four groups to receive vehicle or CE by oral gavage at 0, 845, 1690, or 4225 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. Exercise performance and anti-fatigue function were evaluated by forelimb grip strength, exhaustive swimming time, and levels of physical fatigue-related biomarkers serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase (CK) after physical challenge. CE supplementation dose-dependently elevated endurance and grip strength. CE supplementation significantly decreased lactate, ammonia, and CK levels after physical challenge. Tissue glycogen content, an important energy source for exercise, was significantly increased with CE supplementation. In addition, CE supplementation had few subchronic toxic effects. The supplementation with CE can have a wide spectrum of bioactivities on health promotion, performance improvement and anti-fatigue.

Effects of chicken essence on recovery from mental fatigue in healthy males

Background

Fatigue is a common symptom in modern society. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in traditional remedies for fatigue. Chicken essence, which is rich in anserine and carnosine, has been widely taken in Asian countries as a traditional remedy with various aims, including attenuation of physical and mental fatigue. However, the evidence for its efficacy specifically for mental fatigue remains unclear. We examined the effect of essence of chicken on mental fatigue in humans, using our established fatigue-inducing task and evaluation methods.

Material/Methods

In this placebo-controlled crossover study, 20 healthy male volunteers were randomized to receive daily oral administration of essence of chicken or placebo drink provided by Cerebos Pacific Ltd. via Suntory holdings Ltd. for 4 weeks. The participants performed 2-back test trials as a fatigue-inducing mental task and then had a rest session. Just before and after each session, they completed cognitive task trials focusing on selective attention to evaluate the level of mental fatigue.

Results

After essence of chicken intake for 1 and 4 weeks, the reaction times on the cognitive task trials after the rest session were significantly shorter than those at baseline, and significant changes were not observed with placebo intake. The reaction times before and after the fatigue-inducing session were not altered by either essence of chicken or placebo intake.

Conclusions

We showed that daily intake of essence of chicken could be effective for the recovery from mental fatigue and is a promising candidate for use as an anti-fatigue food.

Effects of essence of chicken on cognitive brain function: a near-infrared spectroscopy study

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the essence of chicken on brain function by near-infrared spectroscopy. Twelve healthy elderly subjects took the essence of chicken or a placebo for 7 d in a double-blind cross-over design study. Changes in oxy-hemoglobin concentrations in the bilateral prefrontal areas of the brain were measured while the subjects performed the simple reaction task, the Groton Maze Learning Test, and the working memory task. In the latter case, there were significant interactions in the changes in oxy-hemoglobin concentrations between treatment and period of intake according to two-way repeated ANOVA. The changes in oxy-hemoglobin concentrations significantly increased in several regions of the prefrontal areas of the brain in those taking essence of chicken for 7 d. These results suggest that essence of chicken is useful as a nutritional supplement to enhance or maintain brain function in the elderly.

Is the macronutrient intake of formula-fed infants greater than breast-fed infants in early infancy?

Faster weight gain early in infancy may contribute to a greater risk of later obesity in formula-fed compared to breast-fed infants. One potential explanation for the difference in weight gain is higher macronutrient intake in formula-fed infants during the first weeks of life. A systematic review was conducted using Medline to assess the macronutrient and energy content plus volume of intake in breast-fed and formula-fed infants in early infancy. All studies from healthy, term, singleton infants reporting values for the composition of breast milk during the first month of life were included. The energy content of colostrum (mean, SEM: 53.6 ± 2.5 kcal/100 mL), transitional milk (57.7 ± 4.2 kcal/100 mL), and mature milk (65.2 ± 1.1 kcal/100 mL) was lower than conventional infant formula (67 kcal/100 mL) on all days analyzed. The protein concentration of colostrum (2.5 ± 0.2 g/100 mL) and transitional milk (1.7 ± 0.1 g/100 mL) was higher than formula (1.4 g/100 mL), while the protein content of mature milk (1.3 ± 0.1 g/100 mL) was slightly lower. Formula-fed infants consume a higher volume and more energy dense milk in early life leading to faster growth which could potentially program a greater risk of long-term obesity.

Bioactivities of chicken essence

The special flavor and health effects of chicken essence are being widely accepted by people. Scientific researches are revealing its truth as a tonic food in traditional health preservation. Chicken essence has been found to possess many bioactivities including relief of stress and fatigue, amelioration of anxiety, promotion of metabolisms and post-partum lactation, improvement on hyperglycemia and hypertension, enhancement of immune, and so on. These activities of chicken essence are suggested to be related with its active components, including proteins, dipeptides (such as carnosine and anserine), polypeptides, minerals, trace elements, and multiple amino acids, and so on. Underlying mechanisms responsible for the bioactivities of chicken essence are mainly related with anti-stress, anti-oxidant, and neural regulation effects. However, the mechanisms are complicated and may be mediated via the combined actions of many active components, more than the action of 1 or 2 components alone.