Background/Objectives: Consumption of high-energy beverages has been implicated as a risk factor for weight gain, yet why nutrients ingested as beverages fail to generate adequate satiety remains unclear. In general, consumers do not expect drinks to be satiating, but drinks generate greater satiety when their sensory characteristics imply they may be filling. These findings challenge traditional bottom-up models of how gut-based satiety signals modify behaviour to suggest that beliefs at the point of ingestion modify gut-based satiety signalling. Subjects/Methods: Healthy volunteers ( n =23) consumed four different beverages, combining an overt sensory manipulation (thin, low sensory (LS) or thicker and more creamy, enhanced sensory (ES)) and covert nutrient manipulation (low energy (LE), 78 kcal; high energy (HE), 267 kcal) on different days. Effects on satiety were assessed through rated appetite and levels of glucose, insulin, pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and cholesystokinin (CCK) recorded periodically over 90 min, and through intake at an ad libitum test lunch. Results: Intake at the test lunch and rated appetite were both altered by both the sensory and nutrient manipulations, with lowest intake and greatest suppression of hunger post-drink in the ESHE condition. Insulin increased more after HE than LE drinks, and after ES than LS drinks, whereas PP levels were higher after ES than LS versions. CCK levels only increased after the ESHE drink. Conclusions: These data confirm acute sensitivity of satiety after consuming a drink both to the sensory characteristics and nutrient content of the drink, and suggest that this may be, at least in part, due to top-down modulation of release of satiety-related gut hormones.

The rate and extent of starch digestion have been linked with important health aspects, such as control of obesity and type-2 diabetes. In vitro techniques are often used to study digestion and simulated nutrient absorption; however, the effect of gut motility is often disregarded. The present work aims at studying fundamentals of starch digestion, e.g. the effect of viscosity on digestibility, taking into account both biochemical and engineering (gut motility) parameters.

Over the last decade the effect of food formulation on digestion in healthy adults has increasingly gained interest within the scientific community. The area requires multidisciplinary skills from a wide range of fields including medical, chemical, and engineering. In this work, we aim to develop simplified in-vitro intestinal models to study the effect of mass transfer on food digestibility and nutrient bioaccessibility for a range of food hydrocolloids. The models developed aim to mimic intestinal motility and focus on describing phenomena occurring during digestion in the mm scale. Results indicate that hydrocolloids have a significant effect in retarding simulated glucose accessibility, and the effects are seemingly more pronounced (fivefold reduction in mass transfer and simulated glucose absorption) at viscosities around 0.01 Pa s. This indicates the potential to modulate glucose availability by food formulation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The mechanical functioning of the stomach has been well researched (1).The contractions that mix, break up, and propel the gastric bolus in the main body and antrum have been described in detail and have been partially modeled mathematically.Because the antral forces are particularly important in the mixing and break up of food, they have been measured using manometers, pressure transducers, MRI imaging of agar beads of differing strength (2), and other methods (3, 4).The chemical and biochemical environment of the stomach, its acid and digestive enzymes, and their production and activity rates under different conditions have been studied for many years, and reference ranges established mainly for diagnostic purposes.All these areas have been extensively reviewed (5-7).Despite this understanding of gastric function, many in vitro digestion studies use grossly simplified systems that often include food homogenization, nonphysiological mixing and shear, and unrealistic acid and enzyme concentrations that do not change over time as happens in vivo.This paper describes the design and operation of a computer-controlled dynamic gastric model (DGM) that was built to investigate the effects of the biochemical and physical processing of foods and oral pharmaceuticals.Our intention was to draw together the physical and biochemical features of the human stomach with data on gastric residence time and emptying profiles and to design a computer-controlled mechanical stimulation that works in real time with realistic chewed foods or meals and oral pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

The disintegration of a capsule shell may determine the onset of drug dissolution from capsule formulations. In this study, the release of a rapidly dissolving model drug (paracetamol), from two hydroxypropyl methylcellulose capsules containing either carageenan (HPMC-C) or gellan gum (HPMC-G) and one hard gelatin (HG) capsule, were investigated using a conventional in vitro model, the USP dissolution apparatus I, and a novel in vitro model of the human gastric compartment, the dynamic gastric model (DGM). The results obtained in vitro were compared with in vivo gamma scintigraphy human data and in vivo gastric emptying profiles available in the literature. The drug release from HPMC-G capsules, observed with the USP dissolution apparatus I, was delayed with respect to the other two capsules, while the results obtained from the DGM in the fasted state were closer together, which was in agreement with data from the in vivo studies. In the fasted state, the capsule rupture times obtained from the DGM were similar to those observed by gamma scintigraphy in vivo studies. In the fed state, the 'apparent' rupture times observed with the DGM were delayed compared to fasted, and were even longer than those observed by scintigraphy in vivo for HPMC-G and HG capsules. However, these discrepancies can reasonably be explained by considering the impact of food upon dispersion of the capsule contents and the sampling from the DGM, when compared to the human scintigraphy experiments.

BACKGROUND & AIMS:Functional deficits following spinal cord injury (SCI) arise from both mechanical injury and from secondary tissue reactions involving inflammation. Natural almond skins (NS) were tested to evaluate anti-inflammatory effects on an animal model of SCI. METHODS:SCI was induced by the application of vascular clips to the dura via a four-level T5-T8 laminectomy. In the present study, to elucidate whether the protective effects of NS are related to the total phenolic content, we also investigated the effect of a blanched (BS) almond skins (industrially obtained by removing bran from the nut) in SCI. NS and BS (30 mg/kg respectively) were administered per os, 1 h and 6 h, after SCI. RESULTS:SCI in mice resulted in severe injury characterized by edema, tissue damage, production of inflammatory mediators and apoptosis (measured by Bax, Bcl-2 and Tunel assay). NS treatment, 1 and 6 h after SCI, reduced all parameters of inflammation as neutrophil infiltration, NF-κB activation, PAR formation, iNOS expression and apoptosis. However, treatment with BS did not exert any protective effect. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest that NS treatment, reducing the development of inflammation and tissue injury, may be useful in the treatment of SCI.

The bioaccessibility of nutrients and phytochemicals from almond skin has not been previously evaluated. We quantified the release of lipid, protein and polyphenols during simulated human digestion from natural (NS) and blanched (BS) skins, the latter being a by-product of the almond industry. Higher percentages of polyphenols were released from NS compared to BS during in vitro digestion. Most of the limited release of lipid and protein occurred during gastric digestion, with no significant differences between NS and BS. The total dietary fibre content was 45% for NS and 46% for BS, glucose and galacturonic acid being the major sugars present. No changes in dietary fibre composition and distribution of autofluorescent phenolics were observed in the cell walls of almond skin after simulated digestion. In the GI tract, the cell walls may therefore function as a useful source of fermentable fibre with beneficial implications for gut health.

Almond skins and blanch water are underutilized by-products of the almond processing industry. Nevertheless, they contain exploitable components that may contribute to the health benefits associated with almond consumption. We have compared natural almond skin powder (NS) prepared by a novel freeze-thawing method with blanched almond skin powder (BS). Microstructural studies were carried out, and we analyzed both types of almond skin for phenolic compounds (by HPLC), lipids (by solvent extraction), proteins (by micro-Kjeldahl), and fibre content (by the enzymatic-gravimetric AOAC method). Antioxidant activity (by measuring the reduction of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical) was also monitored. We identified a combination of flavonols, flavan-3-ols, hydroxybenzoic acids and flavanones in NS, BS and in industrially obtained blanch water (BW). As expected, the total phenolic content was higher in NS compared to BW and BS, although the latter showed high antioxidant properties. Almond skins had high fibre content as well as significant amounts of lipid; both of these components may be relevant to fermentation in the large intestine. In addition, the processing of almond skins and blanch water clearly has economic potential for lowering the environmental impact of waste fill and pollution.

RNA molecules play vital informational, structural, and functional roles in molecular biology, making them ideal targets for synthetic biology. However, several challenges remain for engineering novel allosteric RNA molecules, and the development of efficient computational design techniques is vitally needed. Here we describe the development of Allosteric RNA Designer (ARDesigner), a user-friendly and freely available web-based system for allosteric RNA design that incorporates mutational robustness in the design process. The system output includes detailed design information in a graphical HTML format. We used ARDesigner to engineer a temperature-sensitive AR, and found that the resulting design satisfied the prescribed properties/input. ARDesigner provides a simple means for researchers to design allosteric RNAs with specific properties. With its versatile framework and possibilities for further enhancement, ARDesigner may serve as a useful tool for synthetic biologists and therapeutic design. ARDesigner and its executable version are freely available at http://biotech.bmi.ac.cn/ARDesigner.

Aims:To evaluate the antimicrobial properties of flavonoid-rich fractions derived from natural and blanched almond skins, the latter being a by-product from the almond processing industry.Methods and Results:Almond skin extracts were tested against Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Serratia marcescens), Gram-positive bacteria (Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus hirae, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus durans) and the yeast Candida albicans. Almond skin fractions were found to have antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes and Staph. aureus in the range 250-500 mu g ml-1, natural skins showing antimicrobial potential against the Gram-negative Salm. enterica. The interactions between three almond skin flavonoids were also evaluated with isobolograms.Conclusions:Pairwise combinations of protocatechuic acid, naringenin and epicatechin showed both synergistic and indifferent interactions against Salm. enterica and Staph. aureus. Antagonism was observed against L. monocytogenes with all combinations tested. Further studies need to be performed to understand the mechanisms responsible for these interactions.Significance and Impact of the Study:Almond skins are a potential source of natural antimicrobials.

Initially the resistance to digestion of two cow’s milk allergens, β-casein, and β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg), was compared using a “high-protease assay” and a “low-protease assay” in a single laboratory. The low-protease assay represents an alternative standardised protocol mimicking conditions found in the gastrointestinal tract. For the high-protease assay, both proteins were incubated with either pepsin or pancreatin and digestion monitored by sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography. The low-protease assay involved gastroduodenal digestion in the presence or absence of phosphatidylcholine (PC). Both β-casein and β-Lg were susceptible to hydrolysis by pepsin and pancreatin in the high-protease assay. In contrast, the kinetics of β-casein digestion in the low-protease assay were slower, β-Lg being pepsin resistant. During duodenal digestion, β-Lg was gradually degraded and addition of PC slowed digestion. Subsequently, the reproducibility of the low-protease assay was assessed in 12 independent laboratories by visual assessment of the gels and densitometric analysis: the inter- and intra-laboratory variability was affected by sampling and electrophoresis method employed. The low-protease assay was shown to be reproducible. Future studies will extend these findings using a broader panel of proteins.

Almonds are known to have a number of nutritional benefits, including cholesterol-lowering effects and protection against diabetes. They are also a good source of minerals and vitamin E, associated with promoting health and reducing the risk for chronic disease. For this study we investigated the potential prebiotic effect of almond seeds in vitro by using mixed fecal bacterial cultures. Two almond products, finely ground almonds (FG) and defatted finely ground almonds (DG), were subjected to a combined model of the gastrointestinal tract which included in vitro gastric and duodenal digestion, and the resulting fractions were subsequently used as substrates for the colonic model to assess their influence on the composition and metabolic activity of gut bacteria populations. FG significantly increased the populations of bifidobacteria and Eubacterium rectale, resulting in a higher prebiotic index (4.43) than was found for the commercial prebiotic fructooligosaccharides (4.08) at 24 h of incubation. No significant differences in the proportions of gut bacteria groups were detected in response to DG. The increase in the numbers of Eubacterium rectale during fermentation of FG correlated with increased butyrate production. In conclusion, we have shown that the addition of FG altered the composition of gut bacteria by stimulating the growth of bifidobacteria and Eubacterium rectale.

A prebiotic is “a nondigestible food ingredient which beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth of one or a limited number of species of bacteria in the colon thereby improving host health”. Here we describe the potential prebiotic properties of almond seeds and skins. Finely (FG) and defatted (DG) ground almonds, raw (RS) and blanched (BS) almond skins were initially digested in a simulated model of human gastric and duodenal digestion. Post‐duodenal digests were tested for potential prebiotic properties using in vitro batch fermentation systems seeded with human colonic bacteria. A significant increase in bifidobacteria and eubacteria was observed after 24h incubation with FG, whereas no significant change in the bacterial population occurred with addition of DG. Both RS and BS produced an increase in bacteria beneficial to the human colon. A prebiotic index (PI), giving a relative indication of the prebiotic potential, was calculated to be 5.0 with FG and compares well with the value of 6.4 obtained with fructo‐oligosaccharide (FOS), an established prebiotic carbohydrate. The effect on the production of short chain fatty acids, indicators of beneficial bacterial growth, was also determined. These results indicate the presence of bioactive components within almonds that stimulate growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria. This work was funded by the Almond Board of California.

Objectives Spherical crystallization is a particle-design technique by which crystallization and agglomeration can be carried out simultaneously in one step. It has been successfully utilized for improvement of flowability and compactibility of crystalline drugs (Paradkar et al 1994, Nokhodchi et al 2007). The aim of the current study was to improve the flow, compaction and dissolution properties of a poorly water-soluble drug with poor compactibility, naproxen, by incorporating a disintegrating agent in the drug agglomerates by spherical crystallization technique. Methods Naproxen crystals were prepared in the presence of different ratios of disintegrants. Hydroxypropyl cellulose was dissolved in distilled water (500 mL), and one-third of the total disintegrant was uniformly dispersed in the solution at room temperature by stirring for 20 minutes. Acetone containing naproxen and the other two-thirds of the disintegrant was also separately prepared. The latter dispersion was added immediately to the dispersion containing dissolved polymer under constant stirring conditions. The resulting agglomerates were then filtered and dried overnight. The agglomerates were compressed at different pressures and dissolution studies were carried out for the tablets produced at the lowest compression force. The dried agglomerates were also characterized in terms of shape, size, flow and tensile strength, and the solid state of the agglomerates was studied using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results The results showed that the tablets prepared using the untreated (original) naproxen particles were prone to capping at compression pressures above 40 MPa, whereas the agglomerated crystals were successfully tableted without capping at any of the compression pressures applied. The improved compactibility of the agglomerates could be attributed to their structural characteristics. The agglomerates comprised small adherent crystals and this particular structure was responsible for the large relative volume change, which occurred during the early stage of the compression process as a consequence of fragmentation. It is apparent that when the disintegrant was incorporated via the crystallo-co-agglomeration techniques the disintegration of the resultant tablets was faster than if the tablets were produced by physical mixing of the disintegrant with naproxen. For example, when starch was added to the crystallization medium the disintegration time was 4.76 minutes, whereas the corresponding disintegration time for the naproxen tablets when an equivalent amount of starch was added physically to the obtained recrystallized naproxen was 12.2 minutes. The former tablets containing these agglomerates dissolved at a faster rate (90% dissolved in 10 minutes) than the tablets containing crystallized naproxen with the same amount of disintegrant incorporated only extragranularly by physical mixing (55% dissolved in 10 minutes). Similar results were obtained when starch was replaced with sodium starch glycolate. DSC and XRPD studies showed that naproxen particles, crystallized in the presence of hydroxypropyl cellulose and disintegrant, did not undergo structural modifications. Conclusions In conclusion, the properties of agglomerated crystals, such as flowability, compactibility and dissolution rate, were improved profoundly using the developed technique. This resulted in successful direct tableting without need for the additional process of physically blending the agglomerates and disintegrants.

Recent studies have demonstrated positive effects of tree nut consumption in modifying lipid risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD)1. An almond-based diet has been shown to significantly reduce total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and the total cholesterol/HDL ratio in hyperlipidaemic men and have also shown protective activity in vitro and in vivo against a variety of degenerative diseases. Therefore the evaluation of the bioavailability of nutrients and phytochemicals from almond seeds may have important implications with the prevention and management of obesity and CHD1. Since the uptake of almond nutrients is as yet poorly understood, we have quantified the rate and extent of release of lipid, protein and vitamin E during in vitro and in vivo gastric and small intestine digestion. We have studied the preparation of the almond meal including particle size after chewing and processing prior to ingestion. Our results have demonstrated that only a small proportion of almond lipid, protein and vitamin E are bio-accessible in the upper part of the GI tract and this amount is affected by the physical state, including surface creation during fragmentation of the almond tissue during processing and mastication of the almond products. The significance of the in vitro results will be discussed in the context of the light they shed on the in vivo and in silico modelling studies of almond nutrient digestion. The work was funded by the Almond Board of California and the BBSRC (UK)