Although legumes are rich in protein and fibre, and low in saturated fat and Na, traditional legume-based recipes include substantial amounts of processed meat, salt and potatoes, which could counteract the potential benefits of legumes. This prospective study aimed to assess the longitudinal association of consumption of different types of legumes, and traditional legume-based recipes, with unhealthy ageing in older adults. Data were taken from 2505 individuals aged ≥60 years from the Seniors-ENRICA cohort. Habitual legume consumption was assessed in 2008–2010 with a validated diet history. Unhealthy ageing was measured in the 2013, 2015 and 2017 follow-up waves, with a fifty-two-item multidimensional health deficit accumulation index (DAI) which ranges from 0 (best) to 100 (worst health). The mean age was 68·7 years, with 53·1 % of women. Among study participants, 78·4 % reported consumption of legumes, with a mean intake of 57·9 g/d. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models did not show an association between total legume consumption and the DAI over a 7-year follow-up (non-standardised coefficient for the second and highest v. the lowest tertile of consumption: 0·94 (95 % CI −0·30, 2·17) and 0·18 (95 % CI −1·07, 1·43), respectively; Ptrend = 0·35). Similar results were observed for the 3-year and 5-year follow-ups and, separately, for lentils, beans, chickpeas and traditional legume-based recipes. According to the results obtained, consumption of legumes and traditional legume-based recipes is not associated with unhealthy ageing and can be part of a healthy diet in old age.

Blood examination was conducted for the four Gidra-speaking village groups in Papua New Guinea, who were characterized by high Fe intake and high malaria prevalence with marked inter-village differences. The northern riverine villagers, whose Fe intake was higher than the other three village groups, did not suffer from Fe-deficiency anaemia in their malaria-endemic environment; nor did the inland villagers, with their second highest Fe intake and their malaria-free environment, suffer from Fe-deficiency anaemia. However, several individuals of the southern riverine village suffered from anaemia in a malaria-endemic environment, although their Fe intake was almost the same as the inland villagers’. A considerable proportion of the coastal villagers were anaemic, reflecting the lowest Fe intake and the highest malaria prevalence. An inter-village comparison of the relationships between haemoglobiin levels and transferrin saturation revealed that the southern riverine villagers needed smaller amounts of circulating Fe for erythropoiesis than the northern riverine and inland villagers, reflecting the long-term human-environment conditions such as the density of malaria vectors and the people’s dietary habits. Fe supplementation was not judged effective against hypoferraemia and/or anaemia in such a population. As the incidence of malaria had no significant long-lasting effect on Fe stores or circulating Fe concentration, but did have an effect on anaemia, the hypothesis that malaria causes a transfer of Fe from the blood to parenchymal tissues as a defence against infectious diseases was not supported.

There is increasing interest in modelling longitudinal dietary data and classifying individuals into subgroups (latent classes) who follow similar trajectories over time. These trajectories could identify population groups and time points amenable to dietary interventions. This paper aimed to provide a comparison and overview of two latent class methods: group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM) and growth mixture modelling (GMM). Data from 2963 mother–child dyads from the longitudinal Southampton Women’s Survey were analysed. Continuous diet quality indices (DQI) were derived using principal component analysis from interviewer-administered FFQ collected in mothers pre-pregnancy, at 11- and 34-week gestation, and in offspring at 6 and 12 months and 3, 6–7 and 8–9 years. A forward modelling approach from 1 to 6 classes was used to identify the optimal number of DQI latent classes. Models were assessed using the Akaike and Bayesian information criteria, probability of class assignment, ratio of the odds of correct classification, group membership and entropy. Both methods suggested that five classes were optimal, with a strong correlation (Spearman’s = 0·98) between class assignment for the two methods. The dietary trajectories were categorised as stable with horizontal lines and were defined as poor (GMM = 4 % and GBTM = 5 %), poor-medium (23 %, 23 %), medium (39 %, 39 %), medium-better (27 %, 28 %) and best (7 %, 6 %). Both GBTM and GMM are suitable for identifying dietary trajectories. GBTM is recommended as it is computationally less intensive, but results could be confirmed using GMM. The stability of the diet quality trajectories from pre-pregnancy underlines the importance of promotion of dietary improvements from preconception onwards.

n-3 Long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) can improve cardiometabolic blood markers, but studies in children are limited. SNP in the FADS genes, which encode fatty acid desaturases, influence endogenous LCPUFA production. Moreover, SNP in genes that encode PPAR and apoE may modulate the effects of n-3 LCPUFA. We explored whether FADS polymorphisms were associated with blood cholesterol and TAG, insulin and glucose and whether polymorphisms in PPAR and APOE modified associations between FADS or n-3 LCPUFA status and the cardiometabolic blood markers. We measured fasting cholesterol and TAG, insulin, glucose and n-3 LCPUFA in 757 Danish 8–11-year-old children and genotyped SNP in FADS (rs1535 and rs174448), PPARG2 (rs1801282), PPARA (rs1800206) and APOE (rs7412+rs429358). Carriage of two FADS rs174448 major alleles was associated with lower TAG (P = 0·027) and higher HDL-cholesterol (P = 0·047). Blood n-3 LCPUFA was inversely associated with TAG and insulin in PPARG2 minor allele carriers and positively with LDL-cholesterol in major allele homozygotes (Pn-3 LCPUFA × rs180182 < 0·01). Associations between n-3 LCPUFA and cardiometabolic markers were not modified by APOE genotype (Pn-3 LCPUFA × APOE > 0·11), but interaction between FADS rs1535 and APOE showed that rs1535 major allele homozygotes who also carried APOE2 had higher HDL-cholesterol than all other genotype combinations (Prs1535 × APOE = 0·019, pairwise-P < 0·05). This indicates that FADS genotypes, which increase endogenous LCPUFA production, may beneficially affect children’s cardiometabolic profile in a partly APOE-dependent manner. Also, the degree to which children benefit from higher n-3 LCPUFA intake may depend on their PPARG2 genotype.

To analyse the association of socio-demographic and health factors with vitamin D insufficiency and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration in Brazilian children aged 6–59 months. Data from 8145 children from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019) were analysed. The serum concentration of 25(OHD)D was measured using a chemiluminescent immunoassay. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (25(OH)D < 50 nmol/l) and 95 % CI was calculated. Logistic and linear regression models were used to identify the variables associated with vitamin D insufficiency and serum 25(OH)D concentrations, respectively. The mean 25(OH)D concentration was 98·6 ± 36·0 nmol/l, and 4·3 % of the children presented vitamin D insufficiency. Children aged 6–23 months (OR = 2·23; 95 % CI 1·52, 3·26); belonging to Southeast (OR = 5·55; 95 % CI 2·34, 13·17) and South (OR = 4·57; 95 % CI 1·77, 11·84) regions; the second tertile of the National Wealth Score (OR = 2·14; 95 % CI 1·16, 3·91) and winter (OR = 5·82; 95 % CI 2·67, 12·71) and spring (OR = 4·84; 95 % CI 2·17, 10·80) seasons of blood collection were associated with a higher chance of vitamin D insufficiency. Female sex (β = −5·66, 95 % CI − 7·81, −3·51), urban location (β = −14·19, 95 % CI −21·0, −7·22) and no vitamin D supplement use (β = −6·01, 95 % CI −9·64, −2·39) were inversely associated with serum 25(OH)D concentration. The age of children and the Brazilian geographical region of household location were the main predictors of vitamin D insufficiency. In Brazil, vitamin D insufficiency among children aged 6–59 months is low and is not a relevant public health problem.

Fe bioavailability can be manipulated by the nutritional composition of a meal. Ascorbic acid and unidentified components of meat, fish and poultry, but particularly beef, all appear to enhance the absorption of non-haem Fe. The aim of the present study is to identify whether extracts of green-lipped mussels (GLM; Perna canaliculus) enhance non-haem Fe absorption in Caco-2 cells and to compare the effect with that of beef. Raw GLM and raw beef homogenates were digested in vitro with pepsin at pH 2, and pancreatin and bile salts at pH 7. Tracer 55Fe was used to measure cellular Fe uptake. Ascorbic acid was used as a positive control and egg albumin, exposed to the same in vitro digestion process, was used as a negative control. Caco-2 cell monolayers were incubated with treatments for 60 min. All values were standardised per μg of GLM, egg albumin, beef or ascorbic acid. The results showed that ascorbic acid enhanced non-haem Fe absorption to the highest degree. Beef and GLM digestates both significantly enhanced Fe absorption compared with egg albumin. In conclusion, GLM digestate significantly enhances non-haem Fe uptake in Caco-2 cells with a similar magnitude to that of beef.

1. [3H]leucine infused directly into the rumen of sheep labelled microbial protein and, when compared with the specific activity of the rumen free-leucine pool, indicated that 50% of the bacterial protein leucine originated from the rumen free-leucine pool.

2. The lower limit for bacterial protein turnover in the rumen was 0.37/d when calculated as the difference between the specific rate of disappearances of labelled bacteria from the rumen and the liquid-phase dilution rate.

3. Intravenously infused leucine also labelled the rumen bacteria. The build-up of specific activity in the rumen bacteria was sigmoidal and did not resemble that of the salivary protein which suggested that the rumen epithelium was a major endogenous protein input to the rumen. Additionally, bacteria isolated from the rumen epithelium had high radioactivity indicating that they were ingesting the rumen epithelial cells.

This study evaluated how different forms of selenium (Se) supplementation into rainbow trout broodstock diets modified the one-carbon metabolism of the progeny after the beginning of exogenous feeding and followed by hypoxia challenge. The progeny of three groups of rainbow trout broodstock fed either a control diet (Se level: 0·3 µg/g) or a diet supplemented with inorganic sodium selenite (Se level: 0·6 µg/g) or organic hydroxy-selenomethionine (Se level: 0·6 µg/g) was cross-fed with diets of similar Se composition for 11 weeks. Offspring were sampled either before or after being subjected to an acute hypoxic stress (1·7 mg/l dissolved oxygen) for 30 min. In normoxic fry, parental Se supplementation allowed higher glutathione levels compared with fry originating from parents fed the control diet. Parental hydroxy-selenomethionine treatment also increased cysteine and cysteinyl–glycine concentrations in fry. Dietary Se supplementation decreased glutamate–cysteine ligase (cgl) mRNA levels. Hydroxy-selenomethionine feeding also lowered the levels of some essential free amino acids in muscle tissue. Supplementation of organic Se to parents and fry reduced betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase (bhmt) expression in fry. The hypoxic stress decreased whole-body homocysteine, cysteine, cysteinyl-glycine and glutathione levels. Together with the higher mRNA levels of cystathionine beta-synthase (cbs), a transsulphuration enzyme, this suggests that under hypoxia, glutathione synthesis through transsulphuration might have been impaired by depletion of a glutathione precursor. In stressed fry, S-adenosylmethionine levels were significantly decreased, but S-adenosylhomocysteine remained stable. Decreased bhmt and adenosylmethionine decarboxylase 1a (amd1a) mRNA levels in stressed fry suggest a nutritional programming by parental Se also on methionine metabolism of rainbow trout.

1. The live-weight gain, carcass weight, edible carcass composition, efficiency of food conversion, and roughage intake were measured in three groups of calves fed for 87 d. After a 3-week feeding period on a common regimen, one group of calves was weaned on to a diet of dry whole-milk powder and chopped lucerne, the second group received a similar diet except that the whole-milk powder was reconstituted to a liquid milk, containing 12–15% dry matter. The third group was given the diet in the same manner as the second group except that the chopped lucerne was available ad lib.

2. The mean live-weight gains for the three groups were 37.7, 47.6 and 52.7 kg respectively, the differences between the dry-fed and the liquid-fed groups being highly significant.

3. Energy and nitrogen accretion in the edible carcass and efficiency of food conversion were superior in the second and third groups.

4. The third group ate larger quantities of roughage, though the difference did not reach significance.

5. The reasons for the superiority of the liquid milk diet are discussed in relation to the avoidance of ruminal fermentation of the milk.

Metabolic diseases in China have been on the rise during recent decades. To investigate dietary glycaemic load (GL) and its correlation with the prevalence of metabolic diseases in hospitalised Chinese adults, we analysed the total energy and macronutrient intakes in 1040 patients. Dietary GL was calculated based upon glycaemic index (GI), carbohydrate content and daily intake of individual foods. Dietary patterns at different dietary GL levels and the distribution of dietary GL were analysed in patients from the internal medical departments v. those from surgical departments. Height and weight were measured using a standardised protocol. The present study results demonstrated that in hospitalised adults, 95·5 % of dietary GL came from cereals. Average GL was higher in male patients than in female patients, and was higher in patients from surgical departments than in patients from medical departments. Patients with lower dietary GL consumed inadequate carbohydrates and excessive fats, and therefore had a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. Dietary GL analysis may be helpful to nutrition assessment and rational diet intervention in hospitalised Chinese patients.

We examined the alterations in vitamin A metabolism as a result of flupenthixol or cefotiam administration. The impact of these drugs on indices of vitamin A status was evaluated in Brown Norway and Long–Evans rats. Intramuscular drug administration for 28 d resulted in a decline in systemic retinol. Changes in circulating retinol with time for chronic dosing showed drug treatment (P<0·001) and time (P<0·03) to be significant factors, but rat strain (P=0·33) was not a significant factor. Flupenthixol was the most active retinol-lowering compound (P<0·005). At the end of the 28 d period, hepatic retinyl ester hydrolase activity was greater in drug-treated rats than in controls (P<0·05). With regard to effects on liver reserves: (1) flupenthixol treatment resulted in vitamin A depletion (P<0·05); (2) cefotiam treatment stimulated vitamin A accumulation; (3) distinctive patterns of retinol and its esters were seen in response to treatment. It is reasonable to assume that the drugs interfere with vitamin A in at least two ways: (1) lowering of plasma retinol, an early event in the interaction, may be caused by inhibition of hepatic holo-retinol-binding protein secretion or stimulation of clearance, or both; (2) when plasma retinol levels are persistently low, and as the hepatic deposits of the xenobiotics build up, there are changes in the vitamin A pool size and composition of the liver. Candidate enzymes are retinyl ester hydrolase and cytochrome P450. The relationship between these two events will be studied in further detail.

1. Pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens) grown with and without calcium fertilizer was cut at three stages of regrowth to measure voluntary intake of dry matter (DM) and digestibility of various components of the dried-grass diet by sheep kept in metabolism crates. To determine the extent of a simple Ca deficiency half the sheep on each diet were supplemented with 1·4g Ca/d. Retention times of the various dietary components in the reticulo-rumen were also determined.

2. Feeding a Ca supplement had no effect on voluntary intake or digestibility.

3. Ca fertilizer increased the Ca content of the grass from 2·2 to 3·8 g/kg DM and DM digestibility from 0·455 to 0·476 (P < 0·01) due to an increase in the digestibility of the hemicellulose.

4. Voluntary intake was increased from 38·8 to 43·2 g/kg body-weight0·75 per d by Ca fertilizer due to an 18% reduction in the period of time the DM was retained in the reticulo-rumen.

5. Regressions relating voluntary intake to DM digestibility for the Ca-fertilized and control grass were significantly different (P < 0·01). When compared at the same DM digestibility the voluntary intake of the Ca-fertilized grass was 2·6 g/kg body-weight0·75 per d higher than that of the control.

6. It was concluded that Ca fertilizer increased both DM digestibility and voluntary intake as a result of changes in the structural composition of the grass and not by a simple increase in the Ca content of the diet.

The aim of the present study was to compare body fat percent (BF %) using single-site near-IR reactance (NIR) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in a cohort of normal-weight (BMI < 25 kg/m2) black (n 102) and white (n 71); and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) black (n 117) and white (n 41) South African women (18–45 years). NIR-derived BF % was significantly correlated with DXA-derived BF % in all groups: normal-weight black (r 0·55, 95 % CI: 0·40, 0·67, P < 0·001) and white (r 0·69, 95 % CI: 0·53, 0·79, P < 0·001) women; obese black (r 0·59, 95 % CI: 0·46, 0·70, P < 0·001) and white (r 0·56, 95 % CI: 0·30, 0·74, P < 0·001) women. NIR under-predicted BF% compared to DXA in black women (normal-weight, − 4·36 (sd 4·13) % and obese, − 3·41 (sd 3·72) %), while smaller mean differences were observed in white women (normal-weight, − 0·29 (sd 4·19) % and obese, − 0·81 (sd 3·09) %), irrespective of normal-weight or obese status (P < 0·001). In obese subjects, NIR-derived BF % did not measure values greater than approximately 45 %, while the maximum DXA-derived measure was 58 %. In conclusion, although there was a significant relationship between NIR- and DXA-derived BF %, NIR under-predicted BF % in normal-weight and obese black South African women compared to DXA, but to a greater extent in subjects with very high levels of adiposity (>45 %). The results of single-site NIR as a measure of BF % should therefore be interpreted with caution, particularly in women of African descent and in those with very high levels of adiposity.