Vitamins & Minerals

Micronutrient deficiencies are still common in developing countries. Biofortification of staple crops is one of the food based strategies that has been introduced to alleviate this. The purpose of this review is to document randomized feeding trials on efficacy of biofortified crops in alleviation of micronutrient deficiencies of Vitamin A, Zinc and Iron among humans. NCBI abstracts, BioMed Central, Wiley Online Libraries and two other databases were searched to identify effective studies. The search identified 45 studies and 17 met the inclusion criteria. Thirteen of the seventeen studies showed that biofortification of commonly consumes staples improved the micronutrient status of the study subjects. Two studies showed that biofortified foods had a significant bioavailability as compared to conventional food crops. Evidence of biofortified crops combating micronutrient deficiencies is positive. Policies should be made to support cross-sectorial implementation of biofortification in areas such as research, agriculture and biotechnology, and so that the intervention can be scaled up to cover most of the micronutrient deficient population.

Natural compounds of plant origin are being used in cancer research since several decades. More than treatment, they hold promise in cancer prevention. Besides cancer, they are also used in other health disorders. Interest in natural compounds mediated treatment is increasing due to their low toxicity, wide variety of health benefits and natural abundance. They can be easily obtained from nature and can be taken in diet without doctor consulting based upon their availability. As they do not result in significant health problems, a little change in dietary habits can give us benefit against various diseases including cancer. Tocotrienols are vitamin E groups of compounds obtained from Pam oil in high concentrations. In this review, we describe the anticancer activities of Tocotrienols in various cancer types. Tocotrienols have shown potential in vitro and in vivo activity and are being tested in several clinical studies.

Background: Vitamin D had been suggested to have a role in human reproduction. We aimed to investigate if vitamin D levels can predict implantation and clinical pregnancy rates in infertile females after Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: Vitamin D levels had been evaluated prospectively by levels of serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25[OH] D) levels, in a cohort of one hundred and fifty couples undergoing ICSI. Serum samples had been collected one week prior to oocyte retrieval. Patients had been classified according to vitamin D serum level into sufficient (≥ 75 nmol/L) or insufficient (<75 nmol/L). Results: 38.97% of included females had sufficient vitamin D levels mean while 61.03% had insufficient vitamin D levels. Females with sufficient levels of vitamin D had a higher clinical pregnancy rates per ICSI cycle (58.49%) in comparison to those with insufficient levels (36.14%; p 0.011)

Pharmacogenetics is one of the key factors that is responsible for biological signaling variations that can lead to various diseases. Being led by genetic mutations, breast cancer is affected at higher level due to pharmacogenetic variations. Chemotherapeutic drug is mainly bio transformed in the liver by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme. CY450 isoforms and polymorphisms direct inter individual and interethnic variability in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs. This further leads to alteration in cancer prognosis. This paper discusses clinically used drugs in breast cancer treatment where interethnic differences in drug safety and efficacy are known to exist. Best known anticancer drug for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is Tamoxifen and its efficacy depends predominantly on genetic variants of CYP2D6. Other polymorphisms of CYP3A4, CYP3A5, and sulfotransferase1A1 (SULT1A1) also provide important information about mechanism of tamoxifen activity and resistance. Many chemotherapeutics like anthracyclines have also showed association with polymorphism of genes (CBR3, ABCB1, glutathione-related transporter genes, oxidative stress-related genes) and clinical outcomes. Many chemotherapeutic drug including taxanes, gemcitabine, capecitabine/5-fluorouracil, vinorelbine, methotrexate, and cyclophosphamide are being studies for the association of genetic variations with their bioactivity.

Objective: To analyze the concentrations of vitamin D in the blood serum in children.

Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of vitamin D (25-hydroxycholecalciferol) levels in the blood serum of 2008 children.

Results: 41.2% (828) of tests were performed in children under 2 years of age and 58.8% (1180)-for children over 2 years of age. Vitamin D concentrations significantly differ between the groups: 52.1% of children younger than 2 years had an increased concentration of vitamin D and 19.0% had vitamin D deficiency, while the majority (74.0%) of children older than 2 years had the vitamin D deficiency.

Conclusions: The intake of vitamin D is not optimal among the children in Lithuania. More than a half of children younger than 2 years receive too high doses of vitamin D, whereas 74% of older children suffer from constant vitamin D deficiency.

Background: Our aim of our study was to determine the relationship between vitamin D level and pulmonary artery’s atherosclerosis in patients with chronic pulmonary thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) who underwent pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA).

Methods: Fifty-six patients with CTEPH who underwent PEA included in our study. Pathologic examination performed to the excised chronic thromboembolic material for the presence of atherosclerosis. We determined patients’ 25-OH vitamin D level in our study.

Results: The average 25-OH vitamin D level in the group of the patients with atherosclerosis was lower than the average 25-OH vitamin D level in the patients with no atherosclerosis (9 ± 6.8 and 16 ± 5.9 pg/ml; p=0.005). There were no significant differences between two groups regarding hypercholesterolemia, high sensitive CRP (hsCRP) and the neutrophile-lymphocyte ratio (N/L ratio).

Conclusions: We believe that vitamin D can be routinely used in patients with CTEPH vitamin D. Vitamin D replacement may be protective against atherosclerosis in these patients.

This article reviews magnesium as a potential intervention for treatment of comorbid anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation and increase memory and learning in students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 72% to 96% of those diagnosed with ADHD are magnesium deficient. Deficiency has been linked to excitability in N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors which may increase depression and anxiety and decrease working memory; traits common in ADHD. ADHD is frequently compounded by mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Magnesium has been successfully used to treat depression and anxiety. Research is needed to determine if magnesium is an option to treat ADHD.

Vitamins B1, B6 and B12 are members of a group of water-soluble organic vitamins with important structural and functional roles in the human body. This updated literature review examines the physiological and biochemical properties of these B vitamins.

Objective: According to European Commission Regulation No 432/2012, the incorporation into food of minerals and oligo-elements which are officially linked to a health claim means the “health claim” can be made for the food too. Nevertheless, their introduction into various food matrices can potentially influence their effectiveness. The objective of this study was to confirm the effect on daily mood, stress and sleep of a daily intake of magnesium- and B vitamin-enriched gingerbread for 3 weeks at the required quantities determined by EFSA (30% of RDAs).

Methods: Selection criteria: men or women, aged over 18 years and under 70 years of age, complaining of a mood or stress rated by an MSP-9 scale. Evaluation criteria: MSP-9, Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS) and Spiegel scale for sleep. Daily data collection on a Smartphone CRF (NursTrial System) for 7 days before the consumption of gingerbread and during the last week of consumption.

Results: 185 persons aged 39 ± 12 years and mostly female were included in the study. The results show significant reductions in stress assessed by MSP-9, which significantly decreased from 42.6 ± 8.5 to 30.9 ± 8.4 (p<0.0001), a 26% improvement in BMIS-assessed mood from 38.6 ± 6.6 to 47.2 ± 7.3 (p<0.0001), an improvement of 25%, and quality of sleep evaluated by the Spiegel scale, which increased from 16.2 ± 3.5 to 19.3 ± 3.6 (p<0.0001), corresponding to an improvement of 23%. Some 35.1% of the subjects declared they were rather satisfied and 50.3% they were satisfied or very satisfied.