Class of 2016 Abstract & Report / Specific Aims: This study aims to evaluate the use and rationale of dietary supplement use by pharmacists and to assess whom pharmacists are recommending them to. Methods: Arizona licensed pharmacists were surveyed using Qualtrics software. The survey consisted of questions starting with listing common vitamin, mineral and herbal products used personally. Respondents were then asked to indicate a purpose for use and if they would recommend personally used products to patients, family or friends. Demographics such as area of practice, gender and age were also collected. Data were analyzed by calculating summary frequency and percentages with a priori alpha level of 0.05. Main Results: Of the 10,899 surveys sent, 528 respondents completed the survey. The average respondent age was 46.6 ± 14.4, 40% were male and 42% practiced in community pharmacy Overall use was: multivitamin (95.54%), vitamin C (78.24%), vitamin D (73.31%), calcium (73.13%), and B vitamin(s) (70.03%). The most common reasons for use were “general health and wellness” and “to treat or cure a specific disease or health problem.” Overall use of supplements was lower; 58% for fish oil while only 25% used chondroitin. More community pharmacists used all types of dietary supplements (p < 0.05). Most pharmacists would recommend the products to patients. Conclusions: (39) Pharmacists use dietary supplements at rates similar to the general public and would recommend the noted products to patients. This is particularly relevant because existing well designed studies evaluating efficacy and safety of the products in question are limited.

Health benefits of the polysaccharide (1→3)-β-D-glucan, reported to induce immunobiological, hypocholesterolemic, and hypoglycemic, effects in humans and animals, have made the isolation, characterization, and assay of a viable glucan product critical. A new analytical method, based on internal standard proton NMR analysis, for the assay of solvent-wet samples containing (1→3)-β-D-glucan is presented. The method enables glucan identification, provides a solvent-free assay, and improves upon the previous multistep extraction and lyophilization procedure by reducing the 1-2 day analysis time to 1-2 h. NMR offers a rapid method for quantifying the glucan in commercial samples, such as nutraceuticals, as well as industrial samples enabling better evaluation of the efficacy, of these carbohydrates in health-related applications.

No description available.

No description available.

Due to their rising popularity, herbal supplements have created a specific niche for themselves between the food and the drug industry. Due to their categorization as dietary supplements, they lack scientific seriousness where as on the other hand they act like unregulated drugs with potential effects. Finding scientific data of questionable accuracy for herbal supplements is not uncommon, which is usually designed to sell products rather then provide unbiased information. Hence, development of performance standards based on the bioavailability of the active components of herbal extracts promises to be an attractive solution towards regulating the inflow of meaningful products in the herbal supplement market. Solubility, partition coefficient and permeability are the fundamental properties for studying drug absorption. Top selling herbal extracts from the United States that included Kava, Ginkgo biloba, Milk thistle, Ginseng, Black cohosh, Garlic, Valerian, and Echinacea were selected and in silico descriptors such as CLogP, minimal cross-sectional area, polar surface area and in vitro permeability using the Caco-2 cell model and SimBioDAS® of their active components, determined. Based on the interparameter relationships between the minimal cross sectional area, CLogP, polar surface area and the in vitro permeability of the active components, bioavailability/bioequivalence markers were predicted for Kava, Ginkgo biloba and Milk thistle. Kawain was predicted as a marker for Kava, Ginkgolide B for the ginkgo terpenes and quercetin for the flavonol glycosides in Ginkgo biloba and silycristin as a marker for Milk thistle (silymarin). Silymarin comprising of isomers silycristin, silydianin, silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A and isosilybin B was selected as a representative extract for further confirmation of marker prediction. Equilibrium solubility, experimental octanol-water partition coefficient values, and assay and in vitro dissolution profiles were determined for each of the active isomers in extract and market products respectively. The pharmacokinetics and absolute bioavailability of each of the active isomers was determined in male Sprague Dawley rats following intravenous and oral administration of the silymarin extract. Equilibrium solubility values indicated that all the silymarin isomers were practically insoluble, and silycristin and silydianin had relatively higher solubility values as compared to the other isomers. Experimental partition coefficient values correlated with the predicted partition coefficient (CLogP) with an r² of 0.834. Based on their equilibrium solubility and the partition coefficient (experimental and predicted) the active isomers were classified according to the Biopharmaceutic Classification System (BCS). Thus, isomers silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A and isosilybin B were classified as Class II compounds (High PermeabilityLow Solubility) where as silydianin was classified as a Class IV compound (Low Permeability-Low Solubility). Silycristin was classified as a intermediate between Class II and Class IV. Absolute bioavailability (F) for silycristin was found to be the lowest (0.15±0.1), followed by silybin A (0.20±0.04) followed by silybin B (0.62±0.08). Silycristin being one of the least permeable and bioavailable component, was selected as a marker for silymarin, further confirming its prediction based on the correlations between the in silico descriptors and in vitro permeability. Pharmacokinetic parameters such as area under the curve, half life, volume of distribution, clearance and F for the components suggest significant differences between not only the silymarin isomers but also diastereomers of silybin (A and B) and isosilybin (A and B). Selection of bioavailability-bioequivalence markers, based on their least permeability/bioavailability, proves to be the most conservative and meaningful approach towards standardization of complex mixtures such as herbal extracts and supplements.

為滿足人類對微量元素硒的需求，在本研究中，我們進一步完善優化利用少硒化肥強化水稻的生物農業性狀，並且全面地檢測了富硒稻米中硒的生物有效性和生物利用度。首先，我們發現低濃度的亞硒酸鈉（2毫克/升）在提高水稻幼苗生長方面有顯著的成效。通過抽穗後葉面噴施亞硒酸鈉生產富硒稻米及調控低量的亞硒酸鈉（10.5克硒/公頃）能顯著增加水稻籽粒中硒含量高達51倍；同時，水稻產量也上調了1.24倍。此外，通過硒形態分析、體外胃腸消化和抗氧化實驗來評估，在富硒稻米中，硒的主要富集形態是硒代蛋氨酸；同時，富硒稻米具有明顯較高的抗氧化生物活性。這種富硒大米在人類補硒方面具有巨大潛力。 / 硒對植物生長的作用有兩方面，既有有利作用又有毒副作用。水稻種植應用低濃度的亞硒酸鈉能促進生長，而較高濃度的亞硒酸鈉則抑制生長。為詳細解釋這種兩面性影響機制，我們應用二維凝膠電泳（2-DE）結合基質輔助鐳射解吸離子化-飛行時間質譜（MALDI-TOF/TOF MS）進行蛋白質組學研究。將硒處理組與對照組水稻幼苗之間的凝膠圖像進行比較，確定了莖葉和根中分別有66和97個差異表達的蛋白質。基因聚類分析顯示，水稻的中心代謝，光合作用和氧化還原平衡高度受硒處理影響。低硒處理（2和6毫克/升亞硒酸鈉）啟動抗氧化系統，增強光合作用和初級代謝。而較高的硒處理（10毫克/升的亞硒酸鈉）則抑制光合作用和初級代謝。此項研究在未來生產富硒水稻方面具有指導性意義。 / 為了更好地瞭解水稻穀粒中硒富集的生物機制，我們應用2-DE結合MALDI-TOF/TOF MS及1-DE結合傅裏葉變換離子迴旋共振質譜（FTMS）進行了水稻穀粒的蛋白質組學研究。這項研究提供了最全面的稻米穀粒蛋白質表達圖譜。通過硒處理和對照之間的比較，62和250個差異表達的蛋白質分別被雙電離飛行時間質譜和傅裏葉變換質譜所鑒定。通過基因功能分類，在成熟的稻穀中，硫代謝，碳代謝，細胞的氧化還原調控，和種子的營養儲存過程中涉及的蛋白質受到硒富集的高度影響。此外，有6個蛋白被檢測具有含硒氨基酸片斷，這是高等植物中含硒蛋白的首次鑒定。 / 富硒水稻的基因工程能提高人類的補硒預期。因此，為獲得可以應用於基因工程改造的合適的水稻基因，我們通過在經典模型植物擬南芥中過表達水稻O-乙醯絲氨酸硫解酶（OASTL）的基因，包括在胞漿中表達的OASTLA基因、在質體中表的OASTLB基因和線粒體中表達的OASTLC基因，用以研究這些基因在轉基因植株中對硒富集的影響。在不同硒濃度處理下，與野生型植物相比，此三個基因均表達顯著提高轉基因植物中的硒含量。即時定量反轉錄PCR分析結果顯示，由於過表達的水稻OASTL基因，硒同化的整個代謝途徑被啟動，尤其是與半胱氨酸和蛋氨酸合成有關的基因被啟動，這可能就是引起更多的硒富集在轉基因植物裏的原因。此外，過表達水稻OASTL基因也啟動穀胱甘肽還原酶，這可能增強富硒轉基因植物的抗氧化系統從而提高抗逆性並增加產量。因此，OASTL基因在基因工程生產富硒稻米方面具有重要潛在價值。 / To fulfill the natural human needs of selenium (Se), I further improved the agronomic biofortification of rice (Oryza sativa) with less Se fertilizers and comprehensively evaluated Se bioaccessibility and bioavailability in the Se-enriched rice. Se-enriched rice grains were prepared by foliar application of selenite after rice heading. As compared with control, low amount of sodium selenite (10.5 g Se/ha) significantly increased Se content in rice grains by up to 51 times; at the same time, rice yield was also up-regulated by up to 1.24 times. Furthermore, by Se speciation analysis, in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and antioxidant assays, the Se-enriched rice grains contain readily absorbable selenomethionine as the major Se species and have significantly higher antioxidant bioactivities. This Se-enriched rice has enormous potential for Se supplementation in humans. / Se shows both beneficial and toxic effects on plant growth. Treatments with lower concentrations of sodium selenite enhanced the growth of rice seedlings, whereas higher concentrations of sodium selenite repressed seedling growth. To reveal the regulatory mechanisms underlying these effects, a comparative proteomics study combining 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI)-tandem time of flight (TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) were performed. By comparison of gel images between Se treatments and control, 66 and 97 differentially expressed proteins were identified in shoot and root, respectively. Gene Ontology and Clustering analysis reveal primary metabolism, photosynthesis and redox homeostasis are the most highly affected biological processes by Se treatments. Lower Se treatments (2 and 6 mg/L sodium selenite) activated antioxidative system, enhanced photosynthesis and primary metabolism. However, higher Se treatment (10 mg/L sodium selenite) damaged photosynthesis apparatus, inhibited photosynthesis and primary metabolism. This study provided novel insights into Se response in rice at the proteome level, which are expected to be highly useful for dissecting the Se response pathways in higher plants and for producing of Se enriched rice cultivars in the future. / To better understand the regulatory mechanism under Se accumulation in rice grains, a comparative proteomics study using 2-DE coupled MALDI-TOF/TOF MS and 1-dimensional gel electrophoresis (1-DE) coupled liquid chromatography (LC) - Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) MS were carried out. By comparison of Se treatments and control, 62 and 250 differentially expressed proteins were identified by 2-DE/MALDI-TOF/TOF MS and 1-DE/LC-FT-ICR MS, respectively. By gene functional classification, proteins involved in the processes of sulfur metabolism, carbon metabolism, cell redox regulation, and seed nutritional storage were the most highly affected by Se accumulation in mature rice grains. In addition, there were 6 proteins identified to contain fragments of selenoamino acid modification, which was the first identification of selenoproteins in higher plants. / Genetic engineering of Se-enriched rice will have important implications for human health in Se deficient regions. Therefore, to acquire appropriate rice genes as candidates for bioengineering of Se-enriched rice cultivars, I overexpressed three of the rice O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase (OASTL) genes encoding cytosolic OASTLA, plastic OASTLB and mitochondrial OASTLC, individually in the model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to characterize the effects of Se accumulation in transgenic plants. The results showed that compared to the wild type plants, overexpression of all these genes significantly increased Se content in transgenic plants under treatments of different selenite concentrations. By real-time RT-PCR analysis, I found that the whole metabolic pathway of selenite assimilation was activated by overexpressing rice OASTL genes, especially the genes involved in cysteine and methionine biosynthesis, which may give rise to more Se accumulation in the transgenics. In addition, overexpression of rice OASTL genes also activated the antioxidative system by activating the glutathione reductase, which may be responsible for the increased biomass of Se-enriched transgenic plants. Therefore, OASTL genes could be good candidate for the future genetic engineering of Se-enriched rice. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Wang, Yudong. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-159). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Declaration of Originality --- p.i / Acknowledgments --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii / 摘要 (Abstract in Chinese) --- p.v / List of Abbreviations --- p.vii / List of Figures --- p.x / List of Tables --- p.xi / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- Implications of Se for human health and its metabolism in plants --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2. --- Systemic study of Se metabolism and regulation in rice --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3. --- Candidate genes for genetic engineering of Se-enriched rice --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4. --- Objectives of this project --- p.7 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Generation of selenium-enriched rice with enhanced grain yield, selenium content and bioavailability through fertilization with selenite --- p.9 / Chapter 2.1. --- Introduction --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2. --- Materials and methods --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.1. --- Reagents --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.2. --- Plant materials and growth conditions --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.3. --- Se speciation analysis --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.4. --- Antioxidant assays --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2.5. --- Data analysis --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3. --- Results and discussion --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.1. --- Effects of fertilization of selenite on the growth and Se content of rice seedlings --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.2. --- Effects of fertilization of selenite on the antioxidant activity of rice seedlings --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3.3. --- Effect of fertilization of selenite on Se content in rice products --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3.4. --- Effect of fertilization of selenite on rice yield --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.5. --- Analysis of Se bioaccessibility in Se-enriched rice grains --- p.22 / Chapter 2.3.6. --- Analysis of Se bioavailability in Se-enriched rice grains --- p.23 / Chapter 2.4. --- Conclusion --- p.24 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Proteomics analysis reveals multiple regulatory mechanisms in response to selenium in rice --- p.37 / Chapter 3.1. --- Introduction --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2. --- Materials and methods --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2.1. --- Plant materials and growth conditions --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2.2. --- Physiological measurements --- p.40 / Chapter 3.2.3. --- Total protein extraction --- p.40 / Chapter 3.2.4. --- 2-DE separation, gel staining and image analysis --- p.40 / Chapter 3.2.5. --- Trypsin digestion, mass spectrometry and protein identification --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2.6. --- Protein functional classification and hierarchical cluster analysis --- p.43 / Chapter 3.2.7. --- Statistical analysis --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3. --- Results and discussion --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.1. --- Effects of Se on rice seedlings --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.2. --- Effects of Se on shoot and root proteomes of rice seedlings --- p.44 / Chapter 3.3.3. --- Gene ontology analysis of Se-responsive proteins --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3.4. --- Clustering analysis revealed the dynamics of functional protein groups under Se treatment --- p.47 / Chapter 3.3.5. --- Se treatment induced redox and stress related proteins --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3.6. --- Se-responsive proteins preferentially associated with primary metabolism and photosynthesis --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3.7. --- Post translational modifications involved in plant Se-response --- p.52 / Chapter 3.4. --- Conclusion --- p.53 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Comparative proteomics analysis of selenium responses in selenium-enriched rice grains --- p.79 / Chapter 4.1. --- Introduction --- p.79 / Chapter 4.2. --- Materials and methods --- p.82 / Chapter 4.2.1. --- Plant materials and growth conditions --- p.82 / Chapter 4.2.2. --- Total protein extraction --- p.83 / Chapter 4.2.3. --- 2-DE separation, gel staining and image analysis --- p.83 / Chapter 4.2.4. --- Trypsin digestion, mass spectrometry and protein identification --- p.84 / Chapter 4.2.5. --- Preparative SDS-PAGE separation and trypsin digestion --- p.85 / Chapter 4.2.6. --- NanoLC-FT-ICR MS and protein identification --- p.86 / Chapter 4.2.7. --- Label-free quantitation of identified proteins --- p.87 / Chapter 4.2.8. --- Functional classification of Se-responsive proteins --- p.87 / Chapter 4.3. --- Results and discussion --- p.88 / Chapter 4.3.1. --- Effects of foliar application of selenite in rice grain production --- p.88 / Chapter 4.3.2. --- 2-DE/MALDI-TOF/TOF MS analysis of Se-enriched rice grains --- p.89 / Chapter 4.3.3. --- Label-free 1-DE/LC-FT-ICR-MS analysis of Se-enriched rice grains --- p.89 / Chapter 4.3.4. --- Gene ontology analysis of rice grain proteome and Se-responsive proteins --- p.90 / Chapter 4.3.5. --- Sulfur metabolism were highly repressed in Se-enriched rice --- p.91 / Chapter 4.3.6. --- Proteins involved in redox regulation were induced in Se-enriched rice --- p.92 / Chapter 4.3.7. --- Se-responsive proteins are preferentially associated with carbon metabolism --- p.93 / Chapter 4.3.8. --- Proteins involved in seed nutritional storage --- p.95 / Chapter 4.4. --- Conclusion --- p.97 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Overexpressing rice O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase Genes Enhances Selenium Accumulation in Arabidopsis --- p.123 / Chapter 5.1. --- Introduction --- p.123 / Chapter 5.2. --- Materials and methods --- p.126 / Chapter 5.2.1. --- DNA constructs --- p.126 / Chapter 5.2.2. --- Transient gene expression and subcellular localization --- p.127 / Chapter 5.2.3. --- Arabidopsis plant transformation and growth --- p.127 / Chapter 5.2.4. --- Selenium treatment and physiological measurements --- p.127 / Chapter 5.2.5. --- Total Se content assay --- p.127 / Chapter 5.2.6. --- RT-PCR analysis --- p.128 / Chapter 5.3. --- Results and discussion --- p.128 / Chapter 5.3.1. --- Phenotypes of OASTL-transgenic Arabidopsis --- p.128 / Chapter 5.3.2. --- Se accumulated in OASTL-transgenic Arabidopsis under Se treatment --- p.129 / Chapter 5.3.3. --- Overexpression of rice OASTL genes activated Se assimilation pathways --- p.130 / Chapter 5.3.4. --- ATSAT genes were highly expressed in OASTL-transgenics --- p.132 / Chapter 5.3.5. --- Overexpression of rice OASTL genes activated the antioxidative system --- p.133 / Chapter 5.3.6. --- Methionine synthesis was enhanced in OASTL-transgenics --- p.134 / Chapter 5.4. --- Conclusion --- p.134 / Chapter Chapter 6: --- Conclusion --- p.146 / References --- p.149 / Chapter Appendix I: --- Publications --- p.160

Athletes who participate in sports where performance relies on repeated high-intensity efforts could benefit from creatine (Cr) ingestion due to an increased ability to perform and recover from high-intensity exercise bouts either during training or competition. However, few studies exist which have investigated the effects of acute short-term Cr supplementation on appropriately simulated soccer-specific performance.Aims. To determine the reproducibility of a 90 minute soccer-specific performance test and to subsequently examine the effects of acute short-term Cr ingestion (1 week) on soccer-specific physical performance. Study design. Two experimental designs were adopted for this thesis. For study one, a test-retest design was used to determine the reliability and validity of the Ball-sport Endurance And Sprint Test (BEAST). Two trials of the BEAST were performed, separated by five to seven days. For study two, a randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled experimental design was adopted to determine the efficacy of acute short-term Cr supplementation (seven days) on soccer-specific performance, using the BEAST protocol.Methods. Twenty male amateur soccer players volunteered to participate in the study. For study one, the test-retest reliability of several soccer-specific performance measures obtained during a modified version of the BEAST was quantified using the standard error of measurement (Van Cutsem, Duchateau, & Hainaut) (or typical error) (Hopkins, 2000), coefficient of variation (CV), and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). For study two, the cohort was split and subjects randomly allocated to one of two groups (Cr supplementation and Placebo) on a matched-pair basis. The Cr group (mean age 25.4 ± 4.5 years, mean body-mass 79.3 ± 10.5 kg) ingested 20 g of Cr and 8 g of glucose powder per day for seven days, whereas the placebo (mean age 26.7 ± 4.6 years, mean body-mass 80.8 ± 8.6 kg) group ingested 20 g of corn-flour and 8 g of glucose per day for seven days. The effects of acute short-term Cr supplementation were analysed by repeated measures ANOVA. In addition, effect sizes (ES) were calculated and entered with the associated p-value into Hopkins' spreadsheet for determination of the ES confidence limits (95%) and the chances that the true effect was substantial (i.e. ES ≥ 0.2). Clinical/practical inferences were made accordingly.Results. Study 1: The BEAST protocol had good reliability (high ICC values, relatively low coefficients of variation, low noise to signal ratios) and face validity (HR, VO2, distances covered, duration, and movements performed in the BEAST were all similar to those reported in actual soccer matches). Study 2: Performance of the four major physical measures (12 m sprint, 20 m sprint, circuit time and vertical jump) during the BEAST deteriorated during the second half relative to the first half for both Cr and placebo groups, indicating a fatigue effect associated with the protocol. HR and body-mass values also decreased for both groups during the 90 minute protocol. However, there was no statistically significant differences between the groups for these four measures or for body-mass, HR or VO2max values, suggesting Cr had no substantial effect (relative to placebo) on improving physical performance (or reducing fatigue). When the effects were assessed for the whole 90 minute BEAST protocol, all effects showed a negative trend and, correspondingly, the chances of a detrimental effect were greater than the chances of a beneficial effect.Conclusions: The 90 minute BEAST protocol had good reliability and face validity making it a suitable soccer simulation and performance protocol with which to investigate the effects of Cr supplementation on soccer performance. However, no significant (statistical or clinical) effects of acute short-term Cr supplementation on soccer performance were observed suggesting its potential use as an ergogenic aid for soccer players is questionable.

BAKGRUND: Folsyra och järn är två viktiga ämnen som under graviditeten har olika betydelser dels för mamman och dels för fostret. Brister på dessa ämnen kan således leda till skador av olika slag och därför rekommenderas ofta kosttillskott till gravida kvinnor. Kvinnornas matvanor kan påverka om de får i sig tillräcklig mängd av dessa ämnen. SYFTE: Syftet med denna studie var att se hur gravida förhåller sig till att ha en hälsosam kost under graviditeten samt inställningen till kosttillskott med järn och folsyra. Studien syftade till att undersöka eventuella hinder samt se användningen av järn och folsyra. METOD: Studien är av kvantitativ typ med en enkät som inför denna undersökning har modifierats, Health and Taste Attitude Scale. Enkäten består av 7 frågor och 21 påståenden varav 6 st är från HTAS och resterande tillagda. Deltagarna kommer från ett internetforum "Min Bebis" där enkäten skickades ut som ett personligt meddelande till 151 st, varav 44 st kom att delta. En beskrivande analys gjordes med medelvärde och standardavvikelse. RESULTAT: Denna studie hade en majoritet av blivande förstagångsföräldrar och visade på att fler gravida kvinnor tar kosttillskott med järn än folsyra. Det verkar finnas en bristande konsumtion på livsmedel rika på folsyra och järn däribland blodpudding, frukter och fullkornsprodukter. I resultatet framkommer att de flesta inte har tagit tillskott av folsyra innan graviditet. De gravida verkar ha en måttlig inställning till att äta hälsosamt under sin graviditet. / BACKGROUND: Folic acid and iron are two important substances during pregnancy which have different meanings for the mother and the child. Deficiencies of these substances can lead to damage, and therefore often recommended supplements to pregnant. Women´s diet can affect whether they get enough of those substances. AIM: The aim of this study was to see how the pregnancy is related to having a healthy diet and attitudes to food supplements with iron and folic. The study aimed to investigate possible barriers and ensure the use of iron and folic acid. METHOD: This study is quantitative using a questionnaire developed for this study. The questionnaire contained part of the Health and Taste Attitude Scale. The items were partly modified to suit the aim of the study. The questionnaire was send as a message to 151 pregnant women in the internet forum "MinBebis" and 44 were participating. RESULTS: Respondents in this study were mainly prospective first-time parents and the results showed that more pregnant women take supplements with iron than folic acid. There seems to be a low consumption of foods rich in folic acid and iron, example fruit and whole grains. The majority did not take supplements of folic before pregnancy. The pregnant women seem to have a moderate approach to eating healthy during their pregnancy.

This study was conducted to study absorption of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate and to measure any changes in blood concentration of these compounds following feeding them to horses in different amounts. Six mature mares were used in a replicated 3x3 Latin square designed experiment. The experiment consisted of three 15-day periods, which included 10 days of diet adaptation followed by a 5-day sampling period. Blood was drawn on one day during each sampling period. Horses were fed a control diet (40% hay, 60% concentrate) balanced to meet NRC (1989) requirements for maintenance of mature horses. In one experimental diet, 2.0 g chondroitin sulfate and 5.5 g glucosamine were added to the basal ration at each feeding. In the other experimental diet, 3.5 g chondroitin sulfate and 8.5 g glucosamine were added to the basal ration at each feeding. Following total collections, blood was centrifuged and plasma was harvested and data analyzed for the presence of each compound. Analyses for plasma glucosamine were performed in the Protein and Chemistry Lab at Texas A&M University using HPLC. Chondroitin sulfate in the plasma was analyzed using a color reagent, dimethylmethylene blue, followed by UV spectrophotometry. There were no significant differences (P<0.05) in the concentration of chondroitin sulfate or glucosamine concentrations in plasma when comparing the three different diets. This leads to a conclusion that these compounds were not absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream in the same form as they were fed. This poses a question as to whether or not oral forms of these compounds are absorbed and are able to migrate to joints through the blood to improve joint function. With the significant economic impact that products containing chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine are making in the animal nutrition industry, more research is needed to further elucidate actual efficacy of these compounds in diet supplements for horses.

Thesis (B.G.S.)--Texas Tech University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 30).