: Affective-related disorders, including depression, are constantly rising, complicating people's personal lifestyle increasing disqualification and hospital care. Because of the high intensity of urbanization, our lifestyle and food have altered dramatically in the last twenty years. These food modifications have been associated with scores of depression and other affective-related disorders in urbanized countries with high economic levels. Nutrients imbalance is considered as one of the critical causes enabling the pathophysiological mechanisms for the development of psychiatric disorders. The application of additional nutritional interventions for treatment of mood deteriorations can be beneficial for both the prophylaxis and therapy of affective-related disorders. This paper will review recent research on the relation of Vitamin D levels and the epidemiology of depression in women.: In this paper, we will provide an overview of the results of a variety of different studies taking into account research which both suggests and refutes an association. Based on these findings we will propose important directions for future research in relation to this topic.

There has been increased concern regarding the potential human health risks associated with exposure to phthalates. Research indicates that food intake is the most critical exposure pathway for phthalates. This study aimed to investigate packaged beef samples for the presence of dimethyl terephthalate (DMTP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and diisooctyl phthalate (DiOP) and to assess their translocation from the common form of food packaging procured from various Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad region shops. The packaging samples include paper and different types of plastic. Phthalates were extracted by dichloromethane and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). While DnBP had the highest mean values in beef from 34.5 to 378.5 μg·kg⁻¹, DiOP displayed the lowest mean values from LOD to 37 μg·kg⁻¹. The larger contact area and the presence of distributed fat on the surface of the minced meat resulted in significantly higher phthalate translocation than beef slices. Further, DMTP was not detected in any samples. However, the examined food packages do not meet the requirements of Russian, EU and USA legislation, as DnBP migrates to meat. Calculated maximum DnBP daily intake of 0.167 μg·kg⁻¹·day⁻¹ for chilled minced beef in vacuum packaging did not exceed tolerable daily intake (TDI) level. The most alarming results are concerning the phthalates presence in beef farmed in the Leningrad region and not subjected to any plastic packaging. A full-scale study is warranted to determine the pathways and sources of phthalates migration in the food chain.

The combined pretreatment of ultrasound irradiation, urea, and sodium hydroxide was explored to increase the extraction and delignification of cellulose from spent coffee grounds (SCGs), shortening the extraction time. The impacts of different experimental conditions, namely alkali concentration (5 vs. 10%), urea addition (0 vs. 3%), and ultrasound aid (30 min, 40 kHz, 150 W), on the physicochemical characteristics of the extracted cellulose were determined. The first characteristic of the raw biomass was its high lignin content (30.4%), necessitating a rigorous delignification process. To confirm this, samples were further analyzed by FTIR, XRD, TGA, and SEM. The successful elimination of non-cellulosic material, as indicated by the disappearance of the carbonyl stretch at 1730 cm⁻¹ and attributed to hemicellulose and pectin, was confirmed by FTIR. The XRD results revealed that while the individual application of ultrasound yielded the highest apparent crystallinity index (64.5% for sample B), the synergistic low-alkali combination with urea (sample F) resulted in a lower, controlled crystallinity index (56.2%). This indicated that the coexistence of urea and ultrasound induces significant fiber swelling and localized hydrogen-bond disruption, as well as highly efficient chemical purification. The thermal analysis revealed that all samples had high thermal stability with a maximum degradation temperature (T_max) between 316 and 322 °C, which can be used in composites. The process was visually confirmed by morphological analysis carried out under SEM, which revealed a progressive surface erosion of the compact lignocellulosic matrix into cellulose-rich samples treated with ultrasound.

This study examined Kefiran, an exopolysaccharide derived from milk kefir grains, as a novel biopolymer for encapsulating phenolic extracts from sunflower cake and its antimicrobial properties in the development of natural and functional food ingredients. Kefiran was obtained from kefir grains using three extraction protocols: hot water (M1), hot water with 30% trichloroacetic acid (M2), and mild heat combined with ultrasound at 60 °C (M3). The ultrasound-assisted method produced the highest carbohydrate concentration. Spectrophotometric assays (phenol–sulfuric and Bradford), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and water-holding capacity were employed to characterize the composition, structure, and morphology of the extracts, revealing well-preserved polysaccharide fingerprints and a highly porous microstructure, consistent with their potential application in food systems. Kefiran was then evaluated as an encapsulating agent in complex coacervation at pH 3.75, using three Kefiran-based wall formulations (M1, M2, and M3) with gum arabic and whey protein isolate (WPI) as co-wall materials, and their performance was compared with gum arabic and WPI controls. Across formulations, coacervate microcapsules achieved high encapsulation efficiencies (83–93%), tunable particle sizes, and predominantly negative zeta potentials, indicative of good colloidal stability. The Kefiran extract and coacervate microcapsules demonstrated significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans, with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 250 to 1000 µg/mL. The findings support ultrasound-extracted Kefiran as a multifunctional biopolymer suitable for bioactive delivery and as a natural antimicrobial component in advanced functional food formulations.

Objective . To develop and validate a hybrid biostatistical methodology for generating Real-World Evidence (RWE) to assess the efficacy and safety of food supplements. Methods . The proposed framework integrates causal inference techniques (Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting, IPTW) with ensemble machine learning methods (CatBoost, Random Forest) and Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations (MICE). Validation was performed using two pilot non-interventional studies (N=249) and a high-dimensional synthetic dataset (N=6000) with missingness up to 83.33%. Multi-objective Pareto optimization was applied for benefit–risk assessment. Results . IPTW achieved a standardized mean difference (SMD) <0.10 across all baseline covariates. The efficacy regression model attained an R² of 0.3596. The CatBoost-based safety classification model, after threshold optimization, achieved a PRfor Magnesium 400 mg). Pareto optimization provided an objective comparison of supplement profiles without subjective AUC of 0.123 and an F1-score of 0.218, enabling the detection of latent adverse event signals (e.g., 12.47% indicator weighting. Conclusion . The developed methodology improves the consistency and reliability of post-market supplement evaluation using RWD and can support regulatory activities of organizations such as Food and Drug Administration, European Food Safety Authority, and Roszdravnadzor RF.