Dieticians' intentions to recommend functional foods: The mediating role of consumption frequency of functional foods

Alimentos funcionales y biotecnología

<p><strong>Título en ingles: Functional  foods and biotechnology</strong></p><p>El estilo de vida contemporáneo provoca un fuerte impacto en los hábitos alimentarios, con un consumo creciente de alimentos procesados y comidas rápidas cuyos efectos adversos sobre la salud son claramente perceptibles. La comida en el mundo occidental está asociada al placer, de modo que el compromiso entre la gratificación y la salud es un dilema en nuestra sociedad. Los problemas de salud asociados a hábitos alimentarios: diabetes, cáncer, fallas cardíacas, alergias y obesidad,  afectan por igual a adultos y niños y tienen un profundo impacto en países en vías de desarrollo donde los efectos nocivos resultan más evidentes que en países desarrollados debido a las limitaciones económicas (Ezzati et al., 2005). <br /><br /></p>

Study on a model of street vended food choices by Korean high school students

Street vended food (SVF) includes food and beverages prepared and sold outdoors or in public areas by street merchants for consumption on the scene or later without further preparation. Due to its low price and convenience, SVF has been popular in Korea for a long time, particularly with high school students. Beyond Korea, SVF is also popular in southeast Asia and southern Africa in the form of ready-to-eat food. This study on high school students, who are main consumers of SVF in Korea, focused on the factors that affect consumer loyalty. The study was performed by questionnaire and used AMOS software to develop a structural equation model. The results of verifying the model's fidelity were χ² = 685.989, df = 261, GFI = 0.851, AGFI = 0.814, NFI = 0.901, CFI = 0.907, RMR = 0.048, indicating a satisfying structural model. SVF quality and service, emotional response, and the physical environment had a statistically significant effect on consumer loyalty. In contrast, SVF sanitation had no statistically significant effect on consumer loyalty. Based on these results, the sanitary management of SVF needs to be addressed immediately combined with education for SVF providers to maintain a clean environment.

Effect of phlorotannins isolated from Ecklonia cava on angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity

Inhibition of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) activity is the most common mechanism underlying the lowering of blood pressure. In the present study, five organic extracts of a marine brown seaweed Ecklonia cava were prepared by using ethanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, hexane, and diethyl ether as solvents, which were then tested for their potential ACE inhibitory activities. Ethanol extract showed the strongest ACE inhibitory activity with an IC(50) value of 0.96 mg/ml. Five kinds of phlorotannins, phloroglucinol, triphlorethol-A, eckol, dieckol, and eckstolonol, were isolated from ethanol extract of E. cava, which exhibited potential ACE inhibition. Dieckol was the most potent ACE inhibitor and was found to be a non-competitive inhibitor against ACE according to Lineweaver-Burk plots. Dieckol had an inducible effect on the production of NO in EAhy926 cells without having cytotoxic effect. The results of this study indicate that E. cava could be a potential source of phlorotannins with ACE inhibitory activity for utilization in production of functional foods.