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Smith SR, Rigby H. The significance of lead entering the human food chain via livestock ingestion from the agricultural use of biosolids, with special reference to the UK. Sci Total Environ 2024; 928:172135. [PMID: 38569961 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Long-term application of biosolids to agricultural soil results in the slow accumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), which are regulated by maximum permitted limit values to protect human health and the environment. Two programmes of UK government-funded (MAFF/DoE) research were commissioned in the 1990s to investigate the safety of the controls on PTEs in relation to the potential transfer to the food chain via the animal ingestion route by sheep grazing biosolids-amended soil. Here, we re-examine this evidence in the light of other recent research and revised food quality standards, to determine the significance of lead (Pb) accumulation in soil from the agricultural use of biosolids. Direct ingestion of biosolids-amended soil is the main transfer pathway of Pb to grazing livestock. The concentrations of Pb in muscle tissue of animals grazing biosolids-amended soil observed in the MAFF/DoE trials, and reported in the scientific literature, were generally small and similar to background, control values. Lambs and ewes ingesting biosolids-amended soil with a total Pb concentration > 200 mg kg-1 dry soil at a rate of 10 % in the diet exceeded the current maximum permitted concentration of Pb in offal (0.5 mg kg-1 fresh weight). However, the decline in PTE concentrations found in biosolids, due to improved industrial practices and stricter controls on the emissions of contaminants to the environment in general and wastewater in particular, has mitigated the risk of Pb accumulation above the food quality standard for this element in offal. Given the significant improvements in biosolids quality, and particularly in the Pb content, regulatory soil and sludge limits for Pb are no longer likely to have a practical or significant impact on the amount of Pb entering the food chain through the animal ingestion route from biosolids-amended agricultural soil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Smith
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Skempton Building, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Rigby
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Skempton Building, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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De Nadai Fernandes EA, Furlan GN, Lima RC, Bacchi MA, Sarriés SRV, Sarriés GA. Elemental profile of dietary supplements and agricultural byproducts evaluated by neutron activation analysis. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2022; 331:5487-92. [PMID: 36406808 DOI: 10.1007/s10967-022-08662-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Dietary supplements and agricultural byproducts were characterized by neutron activation analysis. The nutritional potential of supplements was evaluated according to alternative and commercial categories, using analysis of variance and cluster analysis, and recommended dietary intake for children. The results indicated statistically significant differences between both categories for the elements Cs, K, Na, and Rb. For the nutritional elements Ca, Co, Fe, K, Na, and Zn, the categories were similar in cluster analysis. The similarity between elemental profiles of alternative supplements and agricultural byproducts was calculated using a dissimilarity matrix, showing that rice and wheat are the predominant ingredients.
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Ceccanti C, Brizzi A, Landi M, Incrocci L, Pardossi A, Guidi L. Evaluation of Major Minerals and Trace Elements in Wild and Domesticated Edible Herbs Traditionally Used in the Mediterranean Area. Biol Trace Elem Res 2021; 199:3553-3561. [PMID: 33150483 PMCID: PMC8257512 DOI: 10.1007/s12011-020-02467-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 10/30/2022]
Abstract
The human diet is characterized by the intake of major minerals (Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, N) and trace elements (Zn, Mn, Se, Cu, Fe, Co, I, Cr, F, Pb, Cd) for their key role in many metabolic functions. Nowadays, the research of sources able to improve their intake is in continuous evolution, especially in the undeveloped countries. In this sense, wild edible herbs, commonly used since ancient times, can represent a good alternative to improve the daily human intake of minerals. In this study, four wild edible species, Rumex acetosa, Picris hieracioides, Cichorium intybus, and Plantago coronopus, were analyzed for their content in Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Mn, Fe, and Zn and, besides, three domestications (named "soilless," pot, and open field) were evaluated in the analyzed species in the prospective of their commercialization as valuable sources of minerals in the human diet. Nitrate and oxalate contents were also evaluated, given their negative impact on human health. Results unveil that open field domestication allowed the plants to maintain the content of major minerals similar to those measured in wild plants, especially in C. intybus and P. hieracioides. The trace elements Cu, Mn, Fe, and Zn were not recorded at high content irrespectively to the wild collection or domestications. Finally, plants grown in the open field also accounted for a high oxalate and nitrate content, especially in R. acetosa. Further researches should be aimed at decreasing the oxalate and nitrate content in the domesticated species and to promote the commercialization of the domesticated species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Costanza Ceccanti
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Andrea Brizzi
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Landi
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Interdepartmental Research Center Nutrafood "Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Luca Incrocci
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Pardossi
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Interdepartmental Research Center Nutrafood "Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Lucia Guidi
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Interdepartmental Research Center Nutrafood "Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Drucker DG, Naito YI, Coromina N, Rufí I, Soler N, Soler J. Stable isotope evidence of human diet in Mediterranean context during the Last Glacial Maximum. J Hum Evol 2021; 154:102967. [PMID: 33751963 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Final Gravettian in Europe overlapped with the cold and dry climatic event of Heinrich 2 (ca. 27-23.5 kyr cal BP), which caused the contraction of human distribution over refuge regions in the southern peninsulas of Europe. Here, we consider the human subsistence in the northeast Iberian Peninsula, where an extensive range of small to large prey was available. Four human remains from the Serinyà caves were investigated using the stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur of bulk collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15Ncoll, δ34Scoll) and of phenylalanine and glutamine amino acids (δ15NPhe, δ15NGlu). Direct AMS dating of the human and animal remains from the Final Gravettian levels of Mollet III, Reclau Viver, and Arbreda at Serinyà confirmed their chronological position from 27.5 to 22.6 kyr cal BP and the occurrence of four different human individuals. The δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll values showed a large contribution of terrestrial prey to the dietary protein of the individuals. The δ34Scoll values were consistent with a subsistence based on the local continental resources, without detectable contribution of marine resource. The δ15NPhe and δ15NGlu values confirm that freshwater resources were not a substantial component of the diet of the considered individuals. Contrast in the isotopic amounts in bulk collagen could be interpreted as the result of different proportions of terrestrial prey in human diet at Serinyà. Altogether, the isotopic investigation reveals the importance of terrestrial over aquatic resources in the subsistence of the studied Final Gravettian individuals from the Serinyà caves in northeastern Iberia during the Last Glacial Maximum. It would be consistent with a scenario of a productive enough terrestrial ecosystem to sustain hunter-gatherer subsistence in this refuge region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothée G Drucker
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, Tübingen, 72074, Germany.
| | - Yuichi I Naito
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Neus Coromina
- Institute of Historical Research, University of Girona, Plaça Ferrater i Mora, 1, 17004, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Isaac Rufí
- Institute of Historical Research, University of Girona, Plaça Ferrater i Mora, 1, 17004, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Narcís Soler
- Institute of Historical Research, University of Girona, Plaça Ferrater i Mora, 1, 17004, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Joaquim Soler
- Institute of Historical Research, University of Girona, Plaça Ferrater i Mora, 1, 17004, Catalonia, Spain
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Rigby H, Smith SR. The significance of cadmium entering the human food chain via livestock ingestion from the agricultural use of biosolids, with special reference to the UK. Environ Int 2020; 143:105844. [PMID: 32673905 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 05/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
When biosolids are applied to agricultural soil, potentially toxic elements (PTEs) accumulate in the topsoil, although it takes many repeated applications to reach soil limit values. Two programmes of UK government-funded research were commissioned in the 1990s to investigate the transfer of PTEs to the food chain via ingestion by sheep grazing biosolids-amended soil. Here, we critically re-examine this evidence in the light of other published work and current food quality standards. This was particularly motivated by the need to determine the safety of biosolids controls on PTEs in relation to revised and stricter European food quality controls for PTEs in foodstuffs. The major pathway for transfer of PTEs to grazing livestock is via direct ingestion of biosolids or biosolids-amended soil from the soil surface. The main elements of concern for the human diet are cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), with Cd being the focus of the current paper. Animal ingestion of plant tissue is also a potential pathway for Cd exposure, which, unlike Pb, can transfer to crop tissues. The concentrations of Cd in the muscle tissue of sheep grazing biosolids-amended soil were generally small and similar to control values. Cadmium concentrations in sheep offal were below the maximum permitted concentration for human consumption. This was despite ingestion of soils exceeding the maximum permissible concentration for Cd in soil (3 mg kg-1 dry soil) by up to three times, at an ingestion rate of 10% total dietary dry matter intake. Grazing trials under practical conditions on high Cd soils demonstrated that the Cd concentrations in sheep offal remained below the food limit value for this element in offal from the combined intakes from biosolids-amended soil and herbage. Futhermore, given the substantial fall in environmental emissions and concentrations in biosolids of this element and, consequently, it cannot accumulate in soil to the limit value, biosolids Cd does not represent an issue for the safety of animal meat products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Rigby
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen R Smith
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
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Elrys AS, Metwally MS, Raza S, Alnaimy MA, Shaheen SM, Chen Z, Zhou J. How much nitrogen does Africa need to feed itself by 2050? J Environ Manage 2020; 268:110488. [PMID: 32383652 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) fertilizers are very important for global food self-sufficiency (FSS), particularly for Africa, where the N input in agriculture is very low. This is the first work which studies and calculates the amount of N fertilizer that each country in Africa needs to feed itself by 2050. In this study, we used five different scenarios of inorganic fertilizer N (IFN) use and human diets to calculate the amount of N fertilizer needed to achieve FSS in Africa by 2050 and analyze the changes in N budget; N losses and N use efficiency (NUE). These scenarios include 1) business as usual (BAU), 2) equitable diet (EqD; self-sufficiency), 3) an IFN input 20% less than the EqD (S1), 4) an IFN input 40% less than the EqD (S2), and 5) a 20% increase in IFN input relative to the EqD (S3). Under the BAU scenario, production trends continue as they have over the past five decades, including an unhealthy human diet. In the EqD scenario, the priority is to meet the local demand for both animal and plant proteins with a healthy human diet. Under the EqD scenario, increasing the total N input from 35 kg N ha-1 yr-1 to 181 kg N ha-1 yr-1 during 2016-2050 is needed to achieve FSS in Africa. This increase in N fertilizer use represents unprecedented N inputs to African terrestrial ecosystems - at least 52 Tg N yr-1 - which would lead to inevitable increases in N losses. We also found that the NUE would decrease from 63% during 2010-2016 to 50% by 2050, whereas the total N surplus would increase from 13 kg N ha-1 yr-1 to 90 kg N ha-1 yr-1 by 2050. The estimated gaseous emissions would increase from 8 kg N ha-1 yr-1 to 61 kg N ha-1 yr-1 by 2050. Our findings conclude that, it is very important to consider the high N losses in Africa if the EqD scenario is applied. The S1 and S2 scenarios result in much less environmental N loss, and better NUE compared with the EqD scenario. Therefore, based on these findings we can recommend the implementation of the S2 scenario with an IFN dose of 77 kg N ha-1 yr-1, in parallel with the use of modern agricultural techniques and the increased use of organic inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed S Elrys
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China; Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, 44511, Zagazig, Egypt; Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-Environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Mohamed S Metwally
- Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, 44511, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Sajjad Raza
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China; Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-Environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Manal A Alnaimy
- Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, 44511, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Sabry M Shaheen
- University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285, Wuppertal, Germany; King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment, and Arid Land Agriculture, Department of Arid Land Agriculture, 21589, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; University of Kafrelsheikh, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, 33516, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt.
| | - Zhujun Chen
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China; Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-Environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jianbin Zhou
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China; Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-Environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.
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7
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Schnorr SL, Hofman CA, Netshifhefhe SR, Duncan FD, Honap TP, Lesnik J, Lewis CM. Taxonomic features and comparisons of the gut microbiome from two edible fungus-farming termites (Macrotermes falciger; M. natalensis) harvested in the Vhembe district of Limpopo, South Africa. BMC Microbiol 2019; 19:164. [PMID: 31315576 PMCID: PMC6637627 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-019-1540-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Termites are an important food resource for many human populations around the world, and are a good supply of nutrients. The fungus-farming ‘higher’ termite members of Macrotermitinae are also consumed by modern great apes and are implicated as critical dietary resources for early hominins. While the chemical nutritional composition of edible termites is well known, their microbiomes are unexplored in the context of human health. Here we sequenced the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene of gut microbiota extracted from the whole intestinal tract of two Macrotermes sp. soldiers collected from the Limpopo region of South Africa. Results Major and minor soldier subcastes of M. falciger exhibit consistent differences in taxonomic representation, and are variable in microbial presence and abundance patterns when compared to another edible but less preferred species, M. natalensis. Subcaste differences include alternate patterns in sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic Euryarchaeota abundance, and differences in abundance between Alistipes and Ruminococcaceae. M. falciger minor soldiers and M. natalensis soldiers have similar microbial profiles, likely from close proximity to the termite worker castes, particularly during foraging and fungus garden cultivation. Compared with previously published termite and cockroach gut microbiome data, the taxonomic representation was generally split between termites that directly digest lignocellulose and humic substrates and those that consume a more distilled form of nutrition as with the omnivorous cockroaches and fungus-farming termites. Lastly, to determine if edible termites may point to a shared reservoir for rare bacterial taxa found in the gut microbiome of humans, we focused on the genus Treponema. The majority of Treponema sequences from edible termite gut microbiota most closely relate to species recovered from other termites or from environmental samples, except for one novel OTU strain, which clustered separately with Treponema found in hunter-gatherer human groups. Conclusions Macrotermes consumed by humans display special gut microbial arrangements that are atypical for a lignocellulose digesting invertebrate, but are instead suited to the simplified nutrition in the fungus-farmer diet. Our work brings to light the particular termite microbiome features that should be explored further as avenues in human health, agricultural sustainability, and evolutionary research. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-019-1540-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L Schnorr
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria. .,Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA. .,Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology and Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA. .,Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
| | - Courtney A Hofman
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.,Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology and Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Shandukani R Netshifhefhe
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Frances D Duncan
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Tanvi P Honap
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.,Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology and Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Julie Lesnik
- Department of Anthropology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Cecil M Lewis
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA. .,Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology and Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
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Abstract
Human behavior and physiology evolved under conditions vastly different from those which most humans inhabit today. This paper summarizes long-term dietary studies conducted on contemporary hunter-gatherer populations (sometimes referred to as foragers). Selected studies for the most part that use evolutionary theoretical perspectives and data collection methods derived from the academic field of human behavioral ecology, which derives relatively recently from the fields of evolutionary biology, ethology, population biology and ecological anthropology. I demonstrate how this body of research illuminates ancestral patterns of food production, consumption and sharing, infant feeding, and juvenile subsistence contributions in hunter-gatherer economies. Insights from hunter-gatherer studies are then briefly discussed within the context of better-studied human populations that are Westernized, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Veile
- Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, USA; Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, USA.
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9
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Raubenheimer D, Rothman JM, Pontzer H, Simpson SJ. Macronutrient contributions of insects to the diets of hunter-gatherers: a geometric analysis. J Hum Evol 2014; 71:70-6. [PMID: 24630913 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2012] [Revised: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 02/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We present a geometric model for examining the macronutrient contributions of insects in the diets of pre-agricultural humans, and relate the findings to some contemporary societies that regularly eat insects. The model integrates published data on the macronutrient composition of insects and other foods in the diets of humans, recommended human macronutrient intakes, and estimated macronutrient intakes to examine the assumption that insects provided to pre-agricultural humans an invertebrate equivalent of vertebrate-derived meats, serving primarily as a source of protein. Our analysis suggests that insects vary more widely in their macronutrient content than is likely to be the case for most wild vertebrate meats, spanning a broad range of protein, fat and carbohydrate concentrations. Potentially, therefore, in terms of their proportional macronutrient composition, insects could serve as equivalents not only of wild meat, but of a range of other foods including some shellfish, nuts, pulses, vegetables and even fruits. Furthermore, humans might systematically manipulate the composition of edible insects to meet specific needs through pre-ingestive processing, such as cooking and selective removal of body parts. We present data suggesting that in modern societies for which protein is the more limiting macronutrient, pre-ingestive processing of edible insects might serve to concentrate protein. It is likely, however, that the dietary significance of insects was different for Paleolithic hunter-gatherers who were more limited in non-protein energy. Our conclusions are constrained by available data, but highlight the need for further studies, and suggest that our model provides an integrative framework for conceiving these studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Raubenheimer
- Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Veterinary Science and School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Jessica M Rothman
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, USA
| | - Stephen J Simpson
- School of Biological Sciences and the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Das L, Bhaumik E, Raychaudhuri U, Chakraborty R. Role of nutraceuticals in human health. J Food Sci Technol 2012; 49:173-83. [PMID: 23572839 PMCID: PMC3550857 DOI: 10.1007/s13197-011-0269-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 198] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 04/14/2010] [Accepted: 07/06/2010] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Nutraceutical is the hybrid of 'nutrition' and 'pharmaceutical'. Nutraceuticals, in broad, are food or part of food playing a significant role in modifying and maintaining normal physiological function that maintains healthy human beings. The principal reasons for the growth of the nutraceutical market worldwide are the current population and the health trends. The food products used as nutraceuticals can be categorized as dietary fibre, prebiotics, probiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants and other different types of herbal/ natural foods. These nutraceuticals help in combating some of the major health problems of the century such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, cholesterol etc. In whole, 'nutraceutical' has lead to the new era of medicine and health, in which the food industry has become a research oriented sector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lipi Das
- Department of Food Technology and Biochemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032 India
| | - Eshani Bhaumik
- Department of Food Technology and Biochemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032 India
| | - Utpal Raychaudhuri
- Department of Food Technology and Biochemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032 India
| | - Runu Chakraborty
- Department of Food Technology and Biochemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032 India
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11
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Kuhnert N, Dairpoosh F, Jaiswal R, Matei M, Deshpande S, Golon A, Nour H, Karaköse H, Hourani N. Hill coefficients of dietary polyphenolic enzyme inhibitiors: can beneficial health effects of dietary polyphenols be explained by allosteric enzyme denaturing? J Chem Biol 2011; 4:109-16. [PMID: 22287993 PMCID: PMC3124628 DOI: 10.1007/s12154-011-0055-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2010] [Accepted: 01/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Inspired by a recent article by Prinz, suggesting that Hill coefficients, obtained from four parameter logistic fits to dose-response curves, represent a parameter allowing distinction between a general allosteric denaturing process and real single site enzyme inhibition, Hill coefficients of a number of selected dietary polyphenol enzyme inhibitions were compiled from the available literature. From available literature data, it is apparent that the majority of polyphenol enzyme interactions reported lead to enzyme inhibition via allosteric denaturing rather than single site inhibition as judged by their reported Hill coefficients. The results of these searches are presented and their implications discussed leading to the suggestion of a novel hypothesis for polyphenol biological activity termed the insect swarm hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolai Kuhnert
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Farnoosh Dairpoosh
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Rakesh Jaiswal
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Marius Matei
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Sagar Deshpande
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Agnieszka Golon
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Hany Nour
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Hande Karaköse
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Nadim Hourani
- School of Engineering and Science, Centre for Nano- and functional materials, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 8, 28759 Bremen, Germany
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