Dietary polyamines are involved in different aspects of human health and play an important role in the prevention of certain chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Different polyamines can be found in all foods in variable amounts. Moreover, several culinary practices have been reported to modify the content and profile of these bioactive compounds in food although experimental data are still scarce and even contradictory. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of polyamines in a large range of foods and to assess the effect of different cooking processes on the polyamine content of a few of them. The highest level of polyamines was found in wheat germ (440.6 mg/kg). Among foods of a plant origin, high levels of total polyamines over 90 mg/kg were determined in mushrooms, green peppers, peas, citrus fruit, broad beans and tempeh with spermidine being predominant (ranging from 54 to 109 mg/kg). In foods of an animal origin, the highest levels of polyamines, above all putrescine (42–130 mg/kg), were found in raw milk, hard and blue cheeses and in dry-fermented sausages. Regarding the influence of different domestic cooking processes, polyamine levels in food were reduced by up to 64% by boiling and grilling but remained practically unmodified by microwave and sous-vide cooking.

Satiety and appetite‐stimulating hormones play a role in the regulation of food intake. Breastfed infants may have a different profile of serum appetite‐regulating hormones than formula‐fed infants. We propose to demonstrate that the serum concentration of appetite regulatory hormones differs according to the type of feeding and that there is a correlation between the serum concentrations of these hormones in mothers and in infants at 4 months of age. In a cross‐sectional analysis, 167 mother–newborn dyads at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara were enrolled: 74 full breastfeeding (FBF), 56 partial breastfeeding (PBF), and 37 receiving human milk substitutes (HMS). Serum levels of ghrelin (pg/ml), leptin (ng/ml), peptide YY (pg/ml), and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) (pM) were measured. We performed one‐way analysis of variance, unpaired Student t test, post hoc Tukey test, and Pearson correlation. The total sample at 16 weeks postpartum included 167 dyads. The mean age was 16 ± 1 weeks. The concentrations of GLP‐1 (pM) and peptide YY (pg/ml) were higher in the FBF group (42.6 and 442.9) than in the HMS group (35.2 and 401.9), respectively, p = 0.046 and p = 0.056. And, the FBF group had higher correlation coefficients of ghrelin (r = 0.411 vs. 0.165), GLP‐1 (r = 0.576 vs. 0.407), and peptide YY (r = 0.218 vs. 0.067), respectively, than the HMS group. The concentrations of GLP‐1 and peptide YY were higher in the FBF group when compared with the HMS group. Mother–infant dyads fed by FBF had more significant direct correlations of appetite‐regulating hormones than those who received HMS.

Human milk is the gold standard for nutrition during the first months of life, but when breastfeeding is not possible, it may be replaced by infant formulas, either partially or totally. Polyamines, which play an important role in intestinal maturation and the development of the immune system, are found both in human milk and infant formulas, the first exogenous source of these compounds for the newborn. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and evolution of polyamines in human milk during the first semester of lactation and to compare the polyamine content with that of infant formulas. In total, 30 samples of human milk provided by six mothers during the first five months of lactation as well as 15 different types of infant formulas were analyzed using UHPLC-FL. Polyamines were detected in all human milk samples but with great variation among mothers. Spermidine and spermine levels tended to decrease during the lactation period, while putrescine remained practically unchanged. Considerable differences were observed in the polyamine contents and profiles between human milk and infant formulas, with concentrations being up to 30 times lower in the latter. The predominant polyamines in human milk were spermidine and spermine, and putrescine in infant formulas.

The polyamine content of human breast milk, which is the first exogenous source of polyamines for the newborn, can be affected by several factors associated with the mother, the infant, or breastfeeding itself. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different breastfeeding factors on the polyamines found in human milk. For this study, a cohort of 83 mothers was considered for up to 4 months, and a subgroup of 33 mothers were followed during the first six months of breastfeeding. Two breast milk samples were collected at each sampling point (foremilk and hindmilk) and the polyamine content was determined by UHPLC-FL. Polyamine levels varied considerably between the mothers and tended to decrease over time. Putrescine was the minor polyamine, whereas spermidine and spermine contents were very similar. The concentrations of the three polyamines were significantly higher in hindmilk than foremilk (p < 0.001). Spermidine and spermine levels decreased significantly through the lactation progress (p < 0.05). Finally, slightly higher levels of polyamines were observed in the milk of mothers providing partial, rather than full, breastfeeding, although the differences were not significant. The polyamine content in human milk was found to change during a single feed (foremilk versus hindmilk) and as lactation progressed, mainly in response to the specific circumstances of the newborn.

Introduction: the purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of arm anthropometric indicators with direct indicators of nutritional status in hospitalized pediatric patients. Methods: an analytical cross-sectional study with 760 patients hospitalized in the Pediatric Division of the Nuevo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara during 2014 was used. The anthropometric indices were weight/length, weight/height, weight/age, length/age, height/age, head circumference/age and body mass index (BMI)/age. The arm indicators were mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), total arm area (TAA), arm muscle area (AMA), arm fat area (AFA) and fat percentage (FP). The ANOVA, Kruskall-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and Pearson's correlation tests and also odds ratios were used to identify the probability of nutritional status impairment. Results: the prevalence of acute and chronic malnutrition was higher in infants (31% and 30%, respectively). With arm areas (TAA, AMA, AFA), the risk of deficit (<= -2DE) was higher in infants and early preschoolers (p < 0.001). The correlation between the anthropometric indexes and the arm areas was direct and significant (p < 0.001). The BMI variability was explained in 68% by the AMA, AFA, and FP (p < 0.001); the variability of the height/age index was also explained in 34% by the AMA and AFA (p < 0.001). Conclusion: it is possible to diagnose both a chronic and acute deficit using the indirect indicators of the arm, while the body mass index only reflects an acute deficit. Therefore, arm areas would be more useful indicators in the assessment of nutritional status and the diagnosis of chronic-acute malnutrition in hospitalized pediatric patients.

Objective: The study aimed to demonstrate that the duration of hospitalization has a significant effect on the nutritional status of children treated in a university hospital. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted during 2014, with a non-random sampling site concentration in children from birth to 19 years who were admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours and who met the inclusion criteria and had signed informed consent. Upon entering, at 7 days, and at discharge, anthropometric indices, including weight/age, height/age, weight/height, BMI/age, head circumference/age, triceps and subscapular skin folds, and fat percentage, were obtained. Student’s t-test, U Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, chi square, Wilcoxon, and odds ratios were used to analyze the data. Results: In total, 206 patients were included: 40% infants, 25% preschoolers, 15% schoolchildren, and 20% teenagers. Infants had a significant improvement from admission to discharge in the indices weight/length (p = 0.042) and BMI (p = 0.002); adolescents showed decreased BMI from admission to discharge from the hospital (p = 0.05). Patients with longer hospitalization (more than 10 days) had an increased deficit in anthropometric indices at admission (p < 0.05). Infants had a higher risk of deficit in the BMI index and height/age than preschoolers, schoolchildren, and adolescents between admission and discharge. Conclusion: When the nutritional condition of a child was critical at admission, the child remained hospitalized significantly longer. Infants come under the age group most vulnerable to malnutrition and require greater monitoring of nutritional status during hospitalization.