Jornal de Química Experimental de Alimentos

The elemental composition of Chanca piedra (stone breaker leaf) alternatively called Phyllantus amarus (Euphorbiaceae) was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy, AAS. Chanca piedra a tropical medicinal plant, is reportedly useful in blocking kidney stone formation and has anti-hepatitis B activity. The acid digested samples were subjected to AAS analysis. The atomic absorption spectrophotometer (PG-990) is a fully automated instrument used in the flame configuration option, controlled by a personal computer, with Microsoft windows as the operating system. Results showed that manganese (Mn) (228.9 ± 3.3 mg/kg), zinc (Zn) (41.7 ± 0.9 mg/kg), iron (Fe) (459.3 ± 3.3 mg/kg), calcium (Ca) (521.9 ± 1.8 mg/kg) and magnesium (Mg) (397.4 ± 1.3 mg/kg) were present in the plant. These high concentrations of calcium, iron and magnesium in this plant should be useful for electrolyte balance, enhancement of growth, bone and teeth formation, and activation of enzyme reactions. It should also have implications for drug development in this part of the world for the treatment of some kidney and other related medical problems. The result equally shows the suitability of Chanca piedra leaves for consumption and confirms its folkloric applications in traditional medications.

Foodborne diseases, caused by biological as well as chemical agents, have an impact in both developing and developed nations. The foodborne diseases of microbial origin are acute where as those caused by chemical toxicants are resulted due to chronic exposure. Amongst various microbial agents of foodborne diseases, parasitic infections have been recently identified as an important public health problems having considerable economic impact in terms of morbidity, loss of productivity, and health care costs. The risk factors for acquiring foodborne helminthic infections are overcrowding, unhygienic living conditions, scarcity of water, contaminated food and water, under nutrition and other poverty-related factors. According to the World Health Organization, there are 32 important foodborne pathogens, of which 10 are helminthes. Several foodborne and waterborne helminthic diseases such as echinococcosis, fascioliasis, taeniasis, cysticercosis, diphyllobothriosis, capillariasis, and ascariasis have shown increased trend in the last decades. Majority of the mentioned parasites have no successful detection and controlling mechanisms. Immunization of food animals against foodborne parasites in certain conditions is very limited because there is generally a lack of vaccines for foodborne parasites. Mass chemotherapy has been found most suitable approach to reduce the impact of helminthic diseases. In addition, education of consumers, food handlers and food producers with respect to personal hygiene is an essential component of food safety. Further, there is a need to strengthen veterinary services in order to reduce the occurrence of such diseases in livestock population. Emphasis should be given to undertake further studies on the diagnostic techniques and epidemiology of foodborne helminthic diseases.

Since the pre-historic times, meat is consumed by humans as part of diet. Meat is an animal flesh that is considered as an excellent source of high biological value protein, zinc, iron, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, and vitamins. In recent years, global meat production and consumption have increased. The production of meat in the world was estimated at 317.17 million tons in 2016. Meat is very much susceptible to spoilage due to chemical and enzymatic activities.The breakdown of fat, protein, and carbohydrates of meat result in the development of off-odors, off-flavor and slim formation, which make the meat objectionable for the human consumption. Several factors such as moisture, light, microbes, atmospheric oxygen, temperature, and endogenous enzymes influence the freshness and shelf life of meat. Microbes are ubiquitous in distribution and can reach the meat from different sources thus causing its spoilage. Therefore, various technologies are used to preserve the meat in order to inactivate/destroy the microbes, which are implicated in foodborne infections. Canned food stored in cool and dry place can last up to a year. Since preservation of meat by irradiation requires heavy investment, its commercial application is still in its infancy. It is emphasized that preservation of meat is imperative to prevent the occurrence of deteriorative changes brought by microbial, chemical and physical process. Further, well preserved meat can give protection against all hazards for a considerable time.