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Frontiers in Nutrition 2021Cereals and pulses are consumed as a staple food in low-income countries for the fulfillment of daily dietary requirements and as a source of micronutrients. However,... (Review)
Review
Cereals and pulses are consumed as a staple food in low-income countries for the fulfillment of daily dietary requirements and as a source of micronutrients. However, they are failing to offer balanced nutrition due to deficiencies of some essential compounds, macronutrients, and micronutrients, i.e., cereals are deficient in iron, zinc, some essential amino acids, and quality proteins. Meanwhile, the pulses are rich in anti-nutrient compounds that restrict the bioavailability of micronutrients. As a result, the population is suffering from malnutrition and resultantly different diseases, i.e., anemia, beriberi, pellagra, night blindness, rickets, and scurvy are common in the society. These facts highlight the need for the biofortification of cereals and pulses for the provision of balanced diets to masses and reduction of malnutrition. Biofortification of crops may be achieved through conventional approaches or new breeding techniques (NBTs). Conventional approaches for biofortification cover mineral fertilization through foliar or soil application, microbe-mediated enhanced uptake of nutrients, and conventional crossing of plants to obtain the desired combination of genes for balanced nutrient uptake and bioavailability. Whereas, NBTs rely on gene silencing, gene editing, overexpression, and gene transfer from other species for the acquisition of balanced nutritional profiles in mutant plants. Thus, we have highlighted the significance of conventional and NBTs for the biofortification of cereals and pulses. Current and future perspectives and opportunities are also discussed. Further, the regulatory aspects of newly developed biofortified transgenic and/or non-transgenic crop varieties NBTs are also presented.
PubMed: 34692743
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2021.721728 -
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice Aug 2021
PubMed: 34514050
DOI: 10.1002/mdc3.13292 -
Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2021Vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid, niacin) deficiency causes the systemic disease pellagra, which leads to dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and possibly death depending on its... (Review)
Review
Vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid, niacin) deficiency causes the systemic disease pellagra, which leads to dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and possibly death depending on its severity and duration. Vitamin B3 is used in the synthesis of the NAD family of coenzymes, contributing to cellular energy metabolism and defense systems. Although nicotinamide (niacinamide) is primarily used as a nutritional supplement for vitamin B3, its pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical uses have been extensively explored. In this review, we discuss the biological activities and cosmeceutical properties of nicotinamide in consideration of its metabolic pathways. Supplementation of nicotinamide restores cellular NAD pool and mitochondrial energetics, attenuates oxidative stress and inflammatory response, enhances extracellular matrix and skin barrier, and inhibits the pigmentation process in the skin. Topical treatment of nicotinamide, alone or in combination with other active ingredients, reduces the progression of skin aging and hyperpigmentation in clinical trials. Topically applied nicotinamide is well tolerated by the skin. Currently, there is no convincing evidence that nicotinamide has specific molecular targets for controlling skin aging and pigmentation. This substance is presumed to contribute to maintaining skin homeostasis by regulating the redox status of cells along with various metabolites produced from it. Thus, it is suggested that nicotinamide will be useful as a cosmeceutical ingredient to attenuate skin aging and hyperpigmentation, especially in the elderly or patients with reduced NAD pool in the skin due to internal or external stressors.
PubMed: 34439563
DOI: 10.3390/antiox10081315 -
The Pan African Medical Journal 2021Niacin or tryptophan deficiency causes pellagra. Isoniazid interferes with the absorption of niacin and individuals on Isoniazid (INH) are at risk of pellagra. Isoniazid...
Niacin or tryptophan deficiency causes pellagra. Isoniazid interferes with the absorption of niacin and individuals on Isoniazid (INH) are at risk of pellagra. Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) is the administration of isoniazid to immunosuppressed individuals to prevent active tuberculosis (TB). IPT, in sub-Saharan Africa, the region worst hit by HIV and with a high TB prevalence, is recommended. A 40-year-old, HIV+ Zambian woman on Antiretroviral therapy for five years and IPT for three months presented with a four-day history of constipation, generalised body weakness and irrelevant talk. She complained of a generalised rash, sloughing off, and darkening of the skin on the face, neck, forearms, and dorsum of both feet. A physical examination revealed features of pellagra, and rapid response to oral niacin reaffirmed the diagnosis of pellagra. Unlike typical cases of pellagra presenting with the classic 3 Ds of Diarrhoea, Dementia and Dermatitis, our patient presented with constipation instead of diarrhoea. A consideration of Pellagra in HIV+ patients on IPT whose diet is mostly maize-based will be beneficial, even if the classic 3 Ds of diarrhoea, dementia, and dermatitis are not wholly present. A timely diagnosis and prompt treatment of pellagra can be lifesaving.
Topics: Adult; Anti-HIV Agents; Antitubercular Agents; Constipation; Dementia; Dermatitis; Female; HIV Infections; Humans; Isoniazid; Niacin; Pellagra; Tuberculosis
PubMed: 34422196
DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2021.39.73.28072 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2021Water-soluble B vitamins participate in numerous crucial metabolic reactions and are critical for maintaining our health. Vitamin B deficiencies cause many different...
Water-soluble B vitamins participate in numerous crucial metabolic reactions and are critical for maintaining our health. Vitamin B deficiencies cause many different types of diseases, such as dementia, anaemia, cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, and HIV. Vitamin B3 deficiency is linked to pellagra and cancer, while niacin (or nicotinic acid) lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides in the blood and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL). A highly sensitive and robust liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC/MS-MS) method was developed to detect and quantify a vitamin B3 vitamer (nicotinamide) and vitamin B6 vitamers (pyridoxial 5'-phosphate (PLP), pyridoxal hydrochloride (PL), pyridoxamine dihydrochloride (PM), pridoxamine-5'-phosphate (PMP), and pyridoxine hydrochloride (PN)) in human hair samples of the UAE population. Forty students' volunteers took part in the study and donated their hair samples. The analytes were extracted and then separated using a reversed-phase Poroshell EC-C18 column, eluted using two mobile phases, and quantified using LC/MS-MS system. The method was validated in human hair using parameters such as linearity, intra- and inter-day accuracy, and precision and recovery. The method was then used to detect vitamin B3 and B6 vitamers in the human hair samples. Of all the vitamin B3 and B6 vitamers tested, only nicotinamide was detected and quantified in human hair. Of the 40 samples analysed, 12 were in the range 100-200 pg/mg, 15 in the range 200-500 pg/mg, 9 in the range of 500-4000 pg/mg. The LC/MS-MS method is effective, sensitive, and robust for the detection of vitamin B3 and its vitamer nicotinamide in human hair samples. This developed hair test can be used in clinical examination to complement blood and urine tests for the long-term deficiency, detection, and quantification of nicotinamide.
Topics: Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Hair; Humans; Niacinamide; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Vitamin B 6
PubMed: 34361640
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26154487 -
European Journal of Nutrition Feb 2022Vitamin B provides nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), an essential coenzyme in oxidoreductase reactions. Severe vitamin B deficiency leads to the disease Pellagra,...
PURPOSE
Vitamin B provides nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), an essential coenzyme in oxidoreductase reactions. Severe vitamin B deficiency leads to the disease Pellagra, while mild vitamin B deficiency has been linked to age-related and metabolic diseases. Mild vitamin B deficiency is understudied, especially in females. Therefore, we examined how female mice responded to a diet that induced mild vitamin B deficiency in male mice.
METHODS
Female C57BL/6RccHsd mice were subjected for 18 weeks to a diet without vitamin B and low but sufficient tryptophan (0.115%) (0NR) and were compared to control female mice on the same diet with the reference dose of vitamin B (30NR, 30 mg nicotinamide riboside/ kg diet).
RESULTS
In the female mice, no differences between the two dietary groups were found in liver nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) levels, body composition, whole body energy and substrate metabolism measured by indirect calorimetry, or liver triacylglycerol metabolism. Expression of seven genes that previously were shown to respond to mild vitamin B deficiency in male white adipose tissue were not differentially expressed between the female dietary groups, neither was insulin sensitivity.
CONCLUSION
We concluded that the female 0NR mice were not vitamin B deficient; the role of age, sex and health status is discussed. Demonstrated by clear differences between females and males, the latter showing mild deficiency under the same conditions, this study highlights the importance of studying both sexes.
Topics: Adipose Tissue, White; Animals; Female; Liver; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; NAD; Niacinamide; Sex Factors; Vitamin B Deficiency; Vitamins
PubMed: 34338868
DOI: 10.1007/s00394-021-02651-8 -
Cureus Apr 2021Pellagra is a deadly nutritional disease caused by niacin deficiency. Although practically eradicated in developed countries, it still affects vulnerable populations....
Pellagra is a deadly nutritional disease caused by niacin deficiency. Although practically eradicated in developed countries, it still affects vulnerable populations. The diagnosis is based on the presence of characteristic dermatitis in sun-exposed areas, diarrhea, and dementia. We report the case of a woman with a clinical picture of hyperpigmentation and hyperkeratinization in exposed areas of the skin, watery diarrhea, and progressive disorientation with disorganized speech. The anamnesis revealed a poor diet regimen composed almost exclusively of cassava root meals. Alternative diagnosis was excluded and nicotinamide supplementation was introduced with progressive resolution of symptoms until complete recovery. This case report highlights the need to maintain a high index of suspicion in the presence of characteristic symptoms for timely diagnosis of this deadly condition with a simple but dramatic curative treatment.
PubMed: 34055527
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.14682 -
Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift Apr 2021Pellagra is characterized by "dermatitis - diarrhea - dementia - death". Various causes were discussed over the course of two centuries. The initial presumption was...
Pellagra is characterized by "dermatitis - diarrhea - dementia - death". Various causes were discussed over the course of two centuries. The initial presumption was that the sun caused changes in exposed areas of the body. The "Zeïsts" blamed the maize (corn), which forms the main constituent in the diet of poor peoples, for being an insufficient nutrient and thus causing the pellagra in such indigent populations. The "Toxikozeïsts", however, regarded toxins produced by innocuous bacteria and fungi in unripe or in ripe but badly stored maize or in maize flour or in poorly baked maize bread as the cause of pellagra. Pellagra as an allergic disease was also discussed. Self-experiments of Goldberger's group in 1916 and finally Elvehjem's detection of niacin deficiency in maize in 1937 solved the problem.In the Austrian empire and (from 1867 on) in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, pellagra was diagnosed and combated in the provinces of Küstenland, Tirolia and Bukovina and in Hungary. Originally believing in the noxiousness of maize in the poor population, extensive measures were planned and partially executed. Primarily measures for providing salubrious maize products were planned for the population, such as public bakeries and eating houses, kilns and storage houses for maize. For the treatment of pellagra patients, so-called pellagrosaria and auxiliary hospitals were established and the number of general practitioners was increased. It was also important to educate the population about preventing pellagra by consuming proper food. Pellagra funds to sustain the measures were established. In the provinces, pellagra commissions, chaired by the governor and consisting of twelve experts of the relevant medical branches, were appointed as an advisory and expert body.
Topics: Austria; Diarrhea; Humans; Hungary; Pellagra; Poverty
PubMed: 33881635
DOI: 10.1007/s00508-021-01840-z -
The American Journal of Tropical... Apr 2021In mid-June 2019, 3 months after cyclone Idai landfall in Mozambique, health authorities of Nhamatanda district reported an outbreak of Pellagra. Applying a mixed-method...
In mid-June 2019, 3 months after cyclone Idai landfall in Mozambique, health authorities of Nhamatanda district reported an outbreak of Pellagra. Applying a mixed-method protocol, we carried out an investigation to characterize cases of pellagra, identify the associated factors for the outbreak using a case-control study, and explore the perceived impact on food security (availability, access, and usage) before and after Idai. We collected data from 121 cases and 121 controls and conducted in-depth interviews with 69 heads of households. The cases were more likely to be female (P < 0.01) and less educated (P < 0.01) than controls. Insufficient consumption of chicken and peanut before cyclone Idai arrival were statistically associated with pellagra (P < 0.05). From interviewed households' heads, 51% were experiencing food shortages even before the cyclone hit. Cyclone Idai served as a trigger to reduce niacin consumption below the threshold that protected Nhamatanda population from pellagra and caused a ≈2,300 case (707.9/100,000 inhabitants) outbreak.
Topics: Adolescent; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Cyclonic Storms; Disease Outbreaks; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Mozambique; Odds Ratio; Pellagra; Skin
PubMed: 33844647
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1321