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Antinutrient
Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Nutrition studies focus on antinutrients commonly found in food sources and beverages. Antinutrients may take the form of drugs, chemicals that naturally occur in food sources, proteins, or overconsumption of nutrients themselves. Antinutrients may act by binding to vitamins and minerals, preventing their uptake, or inhibiting enzymes. Throughout history, humans have bred crops to reduce antinutrients, and cooking processes have developed to remove them from raw food materials and increase nutrient bioavailability, notably in staple foods such as cassava. Antinutrients can be therapeutic, such as anti-diabetic drug Acarbose, anti-obesity drug Orlistat which all reduce effective caloric intake. Mechanisms Preventing mineral uptake Phytic acid has a strong binding affinity to minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc. This results in precipitation, making the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are processed to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian , and the related ''garri'' of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying it (and roasting in the case of both and ''garri''). Cassava is the third-largest source of carbohydrates in food in the tropics, after rice and maize, making it an important staple food, staple; more than 500 million pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phytate
Phytic acid is a six-fold dihydrogenphosphate ester of inositol (specifically, of the ''myo'' isomer), also called inositol hexaphosphate, inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) or inositol polyphosphate. At physiological pH, the phosphates are partially ionized, resulting in the phytate anion. The (''myo'') phytate anion is a colorless species that has significant nutritional role as the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues, especially bran and seeds. It is also present in many legumes, cereals, and grains. Phytic acid and phytate have a strong binding affinity to the dietary minerals calcium, iron, and zinc, inhibiting their absorption in the small intestine. The lower inositol polyphosphates are inositol esters with less than six phosphates, such as inositol penta- (IP5), tetra- (IP4), and triphosphate ( IP3). These occur in nature as catabolites of phytic acid. Significance in agriculture Phytic acid was discovered in 1903. Generally, phosphorus and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chelation
Chelation () is a type of bonding of ions and their molecules to metal ions. It involves the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between a polydentate (multiple bonded) ligand and a single central metal atom. These ligands are called chelants, chelators, chelating agents, or sequestering agents. They are usually organic compounds, but this is not a necessity. The word ''chelation'' is derived from Greek χηλή, ''chēlē'', meaning "claw"; the ligands lie around the central atom like the claws of a crab. The term ''chelate'' () was first applied in 1920 by Sir Gilbert T. Morgan and H. D. K. Drew, who stated: "The adjective chelate, derived from the great claw or ''chele'' (Greek) of the crab or other crustaceans, is suggested for the caliperlike groups which function as two associating units and fasten to the central atom so as to produce heterocyclic rings." Chelation is useful in applications such as providing nutritional supplements, in chel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a violet gas at . The element was discovered by the French chemist Bernard Courtois in 1811 and was named two years later by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, after the Ancient Greek , meaning 'violet'. Iodine occurs in many oxidation states, including iodide (I−), iodate (), and the various periodate anions. As the heaviest essential mineral nutrient, iodine is required for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disabilities. The dominant producers of iodine today are Chile and Japan. Due to its high atomic number and ease of attachment to organic compounds, it has also found favour as a non-toxic radiocontrast material. Because of the spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glucosinolate
Glucosinolates are natural components of many pungent plants such as mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or otherwise damaged. These natural chemicals most likely contribute to plant defence against pests and diseases, and impart a characteristic bitter flavor property to cruciferous vegetables. Occurrence Glucosinolates occur as secondary metabolites of almost all plants of the order Brassicales. This includes the economically important family Brassicaceae as well as Capparaceae and Caricaceae. Outside of the Brassicales, the genera '' Drypetes'' and '' Putranjiva'' in the family Putranjivaceae, are the only other known occurrence of glucosinolates. Glucosinolates occur in various edible plants such as cabbage (white cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli), Brussels sprouts, watercress, arugula, horseradish, capers, and radishes where the breakdown products of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portulaca Oleracea
''Portulaca oleracea'' (common purslane, also known as little hogweed, or pursley) is a succulent plant in the family Portulacaceae. Description The plant may reach in height. It has smooth, reddish, mostly prostrate stems, and the leaves, which may be alternate or opposite, are clustered at stem joints and ends. The yellow flowers have five regular parts and are up to wide. Depending upon rainfall, the flowers appear at any time during the year. The flowers open singly at the center of the leaf cluster for only a few hours on sunny mornings. The tiny seeds are formed in a pod that opens when the seeds mature. Purslane has a taproot with fibrous secondary roots and can tolerate poor soil and drought. The fruits are many-seeded capsules. The seed set is considerable; one plant can develop up to 193,000 seeds. The seeds germinate optimally at a temperature above 25 °C; they are light germinators, with even a soil cover of 5 mm having a negative effect on germination ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parsley
Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Europe and elsewhere in the world with suitable climates, and is widely cultivated as an herb and a vegetable. It is believed to have been originally grown in Sardinia, and was cultivated in around the 3rd century BC. Linnaeus stated its wild habitat to be Sardinia, whence it was brought to England and apparently first cultivated in Britain in 1548, though literary evidence suggests parsley was used in England in the Middle Ages as early as the Anglo-Saxon period. Parsley is widely used in European cuisine, European, Middle Eastern cuisine, Middle Eastern, and American cuisine. Curly-leaf parsley is often used as a garnish (food), garnish. In Central European cuisine, central Europe, Eastern European cuisine, eastern Europe, and southern Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed either fresh or after storage, using Food preservation, preservation techniques by canning, Freezing (food), freezing, or Dehydrated food, dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming. It is an annual plant (rarely biennial plant, biennial), growing as tall as . Spinach may Overwintering, overwinter in temperate regions. The leaf, leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular, and very variable in size: long and broad, with larger leaves at the base of the plant and small leaves higher on the flowering stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, in diameter, and mature into a small, hard, dry, lumpy fruit cluster across containing several see ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. Historically, different plants have been called "rhubarb" in English. The large, triangular leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and anthrone glycosides, making them inedible. The small flowers are grouped in large compound leafy greenish-white to rose-red inflorescences. The precise origin of culinary rhubarb is unknown. The species '' Rheum rhabarbarum'' (syn. ''R. undulatum'') and '' R. rhaponticum'' were grown in Europe before the 18th century and used for medicinal purposes. By the early 18th century, these two species and a possible hybrid of unknown origin, ''R.'' × ''hybridum'', were grown as vegetable crops in England and Scandinavia. They readily hybridize, and culinary rhubarb was developed by selecti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxalate
Oxalate (systematic IUPAC name: ethanedioate) is an anion with the chemical formula . This dianion is colorless. It occurs naturally, including in some foods. It forms a variety of salts, for example sodium oxalate (), and several esters such as dimethyl oxalate (). It is a conjugate base of oxalic acid. At neutral pH in aqueous solution, oxalic acid converts completely to oxalate. Relationship to oxalic acid The dissociation of protons from oxalic acid proceeds in a determined order; as for other polyprotic acids, loss of a single proton results in the monovalent hydrogenoxalate anion . A salt with this anion is sometimes called an acid oxalate, monobasic oxalate, or hydrogen oxalate. The equilibrium constant ( ''K''a) for loss of the first proton is ( p''K''a = 1.27). The loss of the second proton, which yields the oxalate ion, has an equilibrium constant of (p''K''a = 4.28). These values imply, in solutions with neutral pH, no oxalic acid and only t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxalic Acid
Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and chemical formula , also written as or or . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name is derived from early investigators who isolated oxalic acid from flowering plants of the genus '' Oxalis'', commonly known as wood-sorrels. It occurs naturally in many foods. Excessive ingestion of oxalic acid or prolonged skin contact can be dangerous. Oxalic acid is a much stronger acid than acetic acid. It is a reducing agent and its conjugate bases hydrogen oxalate () and oxalate () are chelating agents for metal cations. It is used as a cleaning agent, especially for the removal of rust, because it forms a water-soluble ferric iron complex, the ferrioxalate ion. Oxalic acid typically occurs as the dihydrate with the formula . History The preparation of salts of oxalic acid from plants had been known since at least 1745, when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phytase
A phytase (''myo''-inositol hexakisphosphate phosphohydrolase) is any type of phosphatase enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phytic acid (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate) – an indigestible, organic form of phosphorus that is found in many plant tissues, especially in grains and oil seeds – and releases a usable form of inorganic phosphorus. While phytases have been found to occur in animals, plants, fungi and bacteria, phytases have been most commonly detected and characterized from fungi. History The first plant phytase was found in 1907 from rice bran and in 1908 from an animal ( calf's liver and blood). In 1962 began the first attempt at commercializing phytases for animal feed nutrition enhancing purposes when International Minerals & Chemicals (IMC) studied over 2000 microorganisms to find the most suitable ones for phytase production. This project was launched in part due to concerns about mineable sources for inorganic phosphorus eventually running out (see peak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
