Gladys Quezada-Figueroa

Agroindustrial and domestic waste obtained from fruit and vegetable processing represents a nutritious, economical, and environmentally friendly raw material. These wastes have attracted attention because they are considered a good source of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids, and dietary fiber. Therefore, the combination of vegetable waste, legumes, and/or cereals could provide an alternative for both health and the environment. The objective of this research was to develop various products from the combination of vegetable waste, legumes, and/or cereals, verifying their acceptance and nutritional contribution. The work was carried out with pineapple shells, as well as lettuce waste from municipal markets and local juice and salad stores. These wastes were disinfected, dried, and ground to form homogeneous flours. The raw materials were selected and evaluated for their sensory acceptance and physicochemical composition. Chorizo-type sausage formulations were obtained with lettuce flour or pineapple shell/soy flour, and biscuits and pasta with lettuce flour or pineapple shell/wheat flour. Most products presented good sensory acceptance on a 9-point hedonic scale and showed an improvement in nutritional value compared to products without substitutions. Hence, plant waste could be transformed into valuable raw materials for nutrient recovery, becoming usable by-products. According to our results, the addition of these flours at concentrations of 10 to 20% could provide additional nutritional value, but further research is needed to improve their acceptability.

Introduction: Oxidative stress is an imbalance between endogenous antioxidants and oxidizing molecules, the latter having an unpaired electron in their last valence layer, with those derived from oxygen and nitrogen being the most important. Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol with antioxidant properties that reduce oxidative stress. However, the bioavailability of resveratrol is low due to its rapid excretion and extensive metabolism. Polyphenols improve their bioavailability in the presence of ethanol, a popular substance present in alcoholic beverages, which is used as a vehicle in the pharmaceutical industry. The objective of this work was to determine the optimal concentration of ethanol for the administration of resveratrol at a concentration of 10 mg/kg/day. Fifty‐four Wistar male rats were randomly allocated to nine groups: control (water), four vehicle groups (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% ethanol v/v), and four resveratrol + vehicle groups (10 mg/kg/day + ethanol concentrations 2.5%–10%) (ResVitále®, Polygonum cuspidatum , USA). Posterior to administration, the hippocampus of Wistar rats was analyzed for oxidative stress and enzyme activity. Nitric oxide levels and lipid peroxidation products were significantly lower with 7.5% ethanol, compared to 10% ethanol. Resveratrol modulated CAT and SOD activity at certain ethanol concentrations, with a limited overall effect. In conclusion, 7.5% ethanol is the most optimal vehicle concentration for enhancing the antioxidant effects of resveratrol.

Introducción. Las preparaciones tradicionales típicas incluyen ingredientes mínimamente procesados, provenientes de la agricultura local, raíces y tradiciones de un territorio. A nivel mundial la población ha cambiado sus patrones dietéticos, incorporando alimentos ultraprocesados impactando la salud poblacional y planetaria. Objetivo. Identificar la sostenibilidad y la prevalencia de consumo de preparaciones tradicionales típicas chilenas en hogares de una región de la zona centro-sur de Chile. Materiales y Métodos. Diseño transversal descriptivo, con una muestra de 104 hogares mediante muestreo no probabilístico por conveniencia. Se identificó la sostenibilidad de 34 preparaciones tradicionales típicas chilenas, aplicando el sistema NOVA de clasificación de los alimentos según grado y tipo de procesamiento. Las preparaciones se clasificaron en sostenibles (>60% de ingredientes del grupo 1), medianamente sostenibles (50-60%) y no sostenibles (<50%). El estudio contó con la aprobación del Comité de Bioética de la Universidad del Bío-Bío. El análisis de datos consideró frecuencias, porcentajes e IC95% en STATA 17.0. Resultados. El 64% de las preparaciones fueron clasificadas como sostenibles, el 23% medianamente sostenibles y un 13% como no sostenibles. Las preparaciones sostenibles son las más consumidas por los hogares, especialmente aquellas que incluyen legumbres. Las preparaciones no sostenibles consumidas en los hogares se basan en harina refinada, manteca vegetal hidrogenado y/o aceites. Conclusiones. La sostenibilidad de las preparaciones tradicionales típicas chilenas depende de sus ingredientes. Las preparaciones sostenibles son las más consumidas por los hogares de esta región, y se basan en alimentos naturales o poco procesados.

Background: There is worldwide interest in measuring local food environments (FEs). The aim of this study was to develop and validate a set of instruments to evaluate FEs in Chile. Methods: Based on the development and validation of four instruments to measure FEs, a literature review, an evaluation by experts, and the implementation of a pilot tool in the FEs of schoolchildren from nine public schools in the commune of Chillán, Chile, were used. Results: A tool to evaluate FEs was provided, based on three dimensions: availability, variety, and advertising of healthy foods. A total of 1928 foods points of purchase were evaluated. The reliability was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha. Some 74% of the foods’ points of purchase were store locations. The reliability of the four instruments was high to acceptable (store: 0.90; institution: 0.77; street food: 0.74; restaurant: 0.68). Unhealthy foods were highlighted by the scores obtained: store (6.08 ± 4.07; range: 0–13), restaurant (3.95 ± 1.75; range: 0–10), street food (1.18 ± 1.56; range: 0–7), and institution FEs (3.38 ± 2.78; range: 0–9). Conclusions: The results of this tool can provide information to governments for incorporating structural measures to ensure adequate availability, variety, and advertising of healthy foods in different FEs.

As the population ages, greater attention to age-related health problems related to diet and lifestyles is needed. Here, we sought to evaluate the associations between demographic and clinical characteristics and food insecurity with the quality of diet of non-institutionalized elderly from a southern Chilean commune. We performed an analytical cross-sectional study in a sample of 376 older adults. Nutritional status was evaluated through anthropometric measurements. Quality of diet was determined by the healthy eating index (HEI), obtained through the frequency of consumption questionnaire. Socioeconomic, demographic, and lifestyle variables were also collected. Ordinal logistic and Poisson regression models were applied to study associations with quality of diet. The sample consisted of more women (81.6%) than men (18.4%). Most older adults were found to live in a situation of vulnerability or poverty (82.4%), with most having food security (65.7%). According to the HEI, only 14.1% had a good quality of diet, 83.8% had diet in need of improvement, and 2.1% had an unhealthy diet. There was an association of food insecurity and cardiovascular risk (according to waist circumference) with lower quality of diet categories. However, an association with the unhealthy quality of diet category was not confirmed with Poisson regression analysis, which was possibly due to the low number of subjects in that category (n = 8, 2.1%). Other modifiable factors like physical activity, hours of sleep, and polypharmacy were not associated with lower quality of diet categories. Socioeconomic status, which is a structural health determinant, was not associated with decreased quality of diet. Since this was a cross-sectional study performed on a small sample from a Chilean commune, directionality of associations cannot be discerned, and future longitudinal studies could aim to better characterize these associations in larger samples of elderly patients.

Domiciliary confinement of people is one of the main strategies to limit the impact of COVID-19. Lockdowns have led to changes in lifestyle, emotional health, and eating habits. We aimed to evaluate the association of differences in dietary behaviours and lifestyle with self-reported weight gain during the COVID-19 lockdown in Chile. In this cross-sectional analytical study, five previously validated surveys were condensed into a single 86-item online questionnaire. The survey was sent to 1000 potential participants of the university community; it was kept online for 28 days to be answered. Of the 639 respondents, the mean self-reported weight gain during confinement was 1.99 kg (standard deviation [SE]: 0.17) and 0.7 (SE: 0.06) units of body mass index (BMI) (both p < 0.001) and the median difference in body weight during lockdown was 3.3% (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.0–6.7). The differences of intake of most food groups before and during lockdown were associated with greater self-reported weight, BMI and percentage weight gain. Differences in lifestyle (odds ratio [OR] = 14.21, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 2.35–85.82) worsening eating habits (OR = 3.43, 95%CI: 2.31–5.09), and more consumption of sweet or filled cookies and cakes during lockdown (OR = 2.11, 95%CI: 1.42–3.13) were associated with self-reported weight gain. In conclusion, different dietary behaviours (mainly consumption of industrialized foods) during lockdown, as well as quality of life deterioration were the main factors associated with self-reported weight gain during lockdown.