The substantial increase in the number of elderly people in our societies represents a challenge for biology and medicine. The societies of the industrialized countries are subject to a progressive aging process that translates into an increase in the cardiovascular risk of the population. In the present work, the activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase was evaluated, as well as markers of oxidative stress (concentration of nitric oxide and total lipoperoxidation in its main components: malondialdehyde and 4‐hydroxyalkene) in cardiomyocytes during the aging process in rats treated with resveratrol. Rats were divided into 4 groups according to the following categories: control (without treatment), negative control group (administered with physiological solution with 10% ethanol), positive control group (administered with vitamin E, 2 mg/kg/day), and group administered with resveratrol (10 mg/kg/day); these groups in turn were divided into 2, 4, 6, and 8 months of treatment. The analysis of nitric oxide showed a decreased level in the cardiac tissue in the groups treated with resveratrol; the same occurs when total lipoperoxidation is analyzed. The enzymatic activity studied (catalase and superoxide dismutase) did not present significant changes with respect to the controls. It is concluded that the cardioprotective effect of resveratrol is due to the antioxidant effect and other antiaging effects and not to the activation of the enzymes catalase and superoxide dismutase.

Domiciliary confinement of people is one of the main strategies to limit the impact of COVID-19. Lockdowns have led to changes in lifestyle, emotional health, and eating habits. We aimed to evaluate the association of differences in dietary behaviours and lifestyle with self-reported weight gain during the COVID-19 lockdown in Chile. In this cross-sectional analytical study, five previously validated surveys were condensed into a single 86-item online questionnaire. The survey was sent to 1000 potential participants of the university community; it was kept online for 28 days to be answered. Of the 639 respondents, the mean self-reported weight gain during confinement was 1.99 kg (standard deviation [SE]: 0.17) and 0.7 (SE: 0.06) units of body mass index (BMI) (both p < 0.001) and the median difference in body weight during lockdown was 3.3% (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.0–6.7). The differences of intake of most food groups before and during lockdown were associated with greater self-reported weight, BMI and percentage weight gain. Differences in lifestyle (odds ratio [OR] = 14.21, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 2.35–85.82) worsening eating habits (OR = 3.43, 95%CI: 2.31–5.09), and more consumption of sweet or filled cookies and cakes during lockdown (OR = 2.11, 95%CI: 1.42–3.13) were associated with self-reported weight gain. In conclusion, different dietary behaviours (mainly consumption of industrialized foods) during lockdown, as well as quality of life deterioration were the main factors associated with self-reported weight gain during lockdown.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of pH and Mexican oregano essential oil (MOEO) added to carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and starch (S) edible films on Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. CMC and S edible films were formulated with different concentrations (0%, 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, and 1%) of MOEO at different pH (5, 6, or 7). Antimicrobial assay was performed. Inhibition curves were fitted to the Fermi model. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found in t_c (time to reduce 50% of microbial population) and a (slope of the curve around tc), being lower at acidic pH. For L. monocytogenes, CMC films exhibited a higher antimicrobial effectiveness (0.50% of MOEO) compared to S films which need a higher concentration of MOEO (0.75%). S. aureus was inhibited with CMC films at 0.50% MOEO and pH 5 and 6. Microbial modeling has allowed estimating key intrinsic factors as pH and MOEO concentration with the synergistic effect against two important food-borne pathogens.

As the population ages, greater attention to age-related health problems related to diet and lifestyles is needed. Here, we sought to evaluate the associations between demographic and clinical characteristics and food insecurity with the quality of diet of non-institutionalized elderly from a southern Chilean commune. We performed an analytical cross-sectional study in a sample of 376 older adults. Nutritional status was evaluated through anthropometric measurements. Quality of diet was determined by the healthy eating index (HEI), obtained through the frequency of consumption questionnaire. Socioeconomic, demographic, and lifestyle variables were also collected. Ordinal logistic and Poisson regression models were applied to study associations with quality of diet. The sample consisted of more women (81.6%) than men (18.4%). Most older adults were found to live in a situation of vulnerability or poverty (82.4%), with most having food security (65.7%). According to the HEI, only 14.1% had a good quality of diet, 83.8% had diet in need of improvement, and 2.1% had an unhealthy diet. There was an association of food insecurity and cardiovascular risk (according to waist circumference) with lower quality of diet categories. However, an association with the unhealthy quality of diet category was not confirmed with Poisson regression analysis, which was possibly due to the low number of subjects in that category (n = 8, 2.1%). Other modifiable factors like physical activity, hours of sleep, and polypharmacy were not associated with lower quality of diet categories. Socioeconomic status, which is a structural health determinant, was not associated with decreased quality of diet. Since this was a cross-sectional study performed on a small sample from a Chilean commune, directionality of associations cannot be discerned, and future longitudinal studies could aim to better characterize these associations in larger samples of elderly patients.

Background: Sarcopenia is a disease associated with muscle changes during aging, and its detection remains a challenge outside specialized clinical units. Objective: To evaluate the utility of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) in detecting sarcopenia in institutionalized older persons. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study in adults aged 55 years and older from the city of Puebla. The MNA in its short form (SF) and full form (LF) were administered. The diagnosis of sarcopenia was made according to EWGSOP2. Points obtained from MNA-SF and MNA were plotted on a ROC curve. The odds ratio (OR) for presenting sarcopenia was evaluated according to recommended cutoff points with logistic regression models, adjusted for age and sex. Results: 162 participants were included, 64.1% were women, the mean age was 69.8 years (SD:5). The mean scores of MNA-SF and MNA-LF were 12.17 (SD:1.78), and 25.1 (SD:2.83), respectively. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 20.4%. The AUC of MNA-SF was 0.68 (95%CI:0.58-0.78) and for MNA-LF, 0.60 (95%CI:0.49-0.71). The OR for presenting sarcopenia with MNA-SF<12 was OR=2.87 (95%CI:1.31-6.29) and, after adjustment for age and sex, OR=2.47 (95%CI:1.10-5.54). Conclusions: According to AUC, MNA-SF may be useful in detecting sarcopenia in institutionalized older persons, while MNA-LF may have reduced utility in practice.

A La comercialización de los productos y subproductos de la colmena en cosmetología, farmacéutica y alimentos han aumentado en el mercado nacional, se observa en diferentes ferias apícolas en México. Este artículo describe el diseño de formulaciones de goma con miel adicionado con esencias de menta y eucalipto, modificados con sabor-color artificial. Evaluación sensorial, Análisis Fisicoquímico y Análisis microbiológico son determinados al producto obtenido, la cual se valora sensorialmente en comparación con gomitas comerciales. Es necesario estandarizar los ingredientes y la miel para el producto obtenido posea las mismas características sensoriales, predominando el sabor miel-menta y miel eucalipto enriquecido con esencia de fresa, considerando a personas que no consumen productos de miel a través de una evaluación sensorial. Las gomitas con esencia de fresa, fisicoquímicamente tiene humedad adecuada para el almacenamiento es ligeramente ácido y un rango de 58-62 grados Brix. Se obtuvo la gomita de miel-eucalipto y miel-menta, poseen un color rojo, sabor a miel y suave textura elástica, con buena aceptación sensorial. Fisicoquímicamente y microbiológicamente los productos obtenidos miel- eucalipto-fresa, miel-menta-fresa cumplen con las Normas Mexicanas además no presentan ningún riesgo para la salud en caso de ingestión.