Human, Health and halal Metrics
Volume:1 Issue: 1, winter-spring 2020

Various types of alcohol for severalapplications are available worldwide, of which, disinfection is one of the most important. In Muslim nations, consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited even at low quantities in accordance to halal status. Therefore, denatonium benzoate (commercially known as Bitrex) that has sharp bitterness is added to alcohol to avoid its edible usage. In this regard, at least 10 mg l-1 of denatonium benzoate is added to industrial alcohol according to Iranian Ministry of Health regulation. In our study, we examined the concentration of denatonium benzoate and also purity of alcohol samples collected from capital city of Iran (Tehran).

In total, 62 samples of alcohol were collected and analyzed by HPLC for Bitrex and alcoholmeter for purity. For HPLC, C18 column (150×4.6 mm, 5 µm) as stationary phase and phosphate buffer/acetonitrile solution containing sodium lauryl sulfate (50:50 v v-1) as mobile phase with flow rate of 1.2 ml min-1 were used.

The results revealed that some companies (41 samples out of 62) did not use denatonium benzoate in their products and used fruit essences instead to improve the taste and smell of alcohol. These results were against the force of Ministry of Health in mandatory addition of denatonium benzoate to prevent the samples’ further abuse. In addition, purity of most alcohols was not compatible to the information provided by the labels. We concluded that more restriction and supervision is required to prevent adulteration.

Dye molecules as an important type of organic pollutants are potentially toxic and have carcinogenic and mutagenic impact on living systems. Today, uncontrolled discharge of organic pollutants is environmental problem. Dissolution of synthetic dyes in aqueous media causes decreased light penetration into water and interferes photosynthesis reactions. This research introduces a new and eco-friendly adsorbent based on chicken feet yellow membrane(CFYM) for removal of cationic dye.

Untreated CFYM was collected from slaughterhouse and prepared for analysis after washing by deionized water, drying at 90°C for 12-24 h and grinding to fine powders. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy and Emmett and Teller techniques. Functional groups of C=O, O–H, N–H, C–N, C–C and H–C–H could confirm that the pre-treated CFYM has mainly organic nature. Removal applicability and efficiency of bio-adsorbent were studied using cationic methylene blue (MB) as s model. To reach the best results, main parameters including pH, adsorbent mass, contact time and temperature were optimized by one-factor-at-a-time method through adsorption experiments in a batch system. The equilibrium adsorption experiments were evaluated by Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin and Dubinin-Raduskovich isotherm models. The adsorption kinetic models of pseudo-first order, second first order, Elovich and intra-particle diffusion were also studied.

Results were in accordance to Langmuir isotherm model. Obtained kinetic and thermodynamic parameters confirmed that pseudo-first order model was the best kinetic model and adsorption process of MB on CFYM was exothermic and spontaneous. Based on the results, CFYM, as a novel natural adsorbent, was efficient for removal of cationic organic pollutant from aqueous solutions.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a critical role in food fermentation. Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) is one of bioactive metabolites produced by LAB that pose significant impact on human health. The objective of this research was isolation and identification of probiotic bacteria from traditional daires in Iran and evaluation of their potential in GABA production.

In this research, 30 isolates of bacteria from traditional dairies (yogurt, dough, cheese and butter) were studied. To diagnose probiotic species, initial tests including gram staining, oxidase and catalase were performed. Additional verification studies on the approved isolated bacteria in the last step were included to acid, bile and pepsin and trypsin resistance, hemolysis inactivity and L-arginine hydrolysis. Probiotic bacteria were charcterized by 16SrDNA PCR approach. In addition, GABA concentration was detected by HPLC equipped with C18 column (150 mm× 4.6 mm × 0.5 µm) at 25°C and UV-VIS detector (λ = 338 nm). The mobile phases of sodium dihydroxy phosphate and acetonitrile/ methanol/water were used in gradient mode.

Among all isolated bacteria, six strains were gram-positive, catalase-negative and oxidase-negative that initially known as LAB. Two out of six LAB isolates with acceptable probiotic characteristics were selecetd based on supplemantary tests. Accordingly, Lactobacillus lactis ssp. Lactis and Lactobacillusdelbrueckii ssp. Bulgaricus isolated from cheese and butter, respectively, showed the most significant probiotic properties. However, Lactobacillusdelbrueckii ssp. Bulgaricus produced higher GABA than another (377.54 vs. 301.09 mg l-1). As conclusion, traditional dairies in Iran are good reservoir of indigenious healthy microorganisms that can be used as starter or adjuvant culture with several helpful impacts on consumers.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are toxic metabolites that produced predominantly by three species of Aspergillus. Current study was conducted to determine quantity of AFs in barley feed.

A total of 97 samples were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The method was based on extraction of finely ground samples by methanol as solvent. An aliquot of 20 µl of extract was injected to HPLC after filtration. Aflatoxins were detected by ZORBAX Eclipse XDB C18 column (150×4.6×5 µm). Mobile phase of water:methanol:acetonitrile (60:20:20 v/v/v) at linear gradient mode and flow rate of 1 ml min-1 was used. Experiments were done at excitation and emission wavelengths of 365 and 445 nm, respectively, after post-column UV derivatisation.

The obtained results showed that AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 were detected in 19, 9, 4 and 1 samples, respectively. Relatively low LOD and LOQ were achieved in our analytical approach that approved a desirable goodness of fit for the analysis. Trueness was examined by determination of the relative recoveries of AFs that were quite good. This survey provides valuable information on aflatoxin contamination in barely feed products marketed in Mashhad city.

Antibacterial compounds are considerably interested because of their importance in control of microbial outbreak. Various approaches are being developed for explore of novel and powerful antimicrobial agents. The aim of present work was to develop a durable cationic antibacterial based on triblock copolymer.

Novel poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide)-b-poly (N-4-vinylbenzyl), N,N-diethylamine hydrochloride (briefly named PHEMA-b-PNIPAM-b-PVEAH or ABC) cationic triblock copolymer was synthesized via reversible addition fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization to investigate its antibacterial behavior. Structure of ABC triblock copolymer was explored by means of Fourier Transform Infrared and 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopies. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of cationic triblock copolymer was examined on four microorganisms including Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans.

Molecular weight of blocks in the copolymer including PHEMA, PHEMA-b-PNIPAM and PHEMA-b-PNIPAM-b-PVEAH was 10950, 17103 and 26165 g mol-1, respectively. Results showed remarkable antibacterial activity so that inhibition diameter of B. cereus and S. aureus were 25, 29, 34 mm and 32, 37, 41 mm, respectively. Low antibacterial activity was detected against E. coli (14, 17 and 21 mm) and the highest antibacterial activity was detected for C. albicans (48, 81 and 98 mm). Acceptable antibacterial and high anti-yeast activity was observed for ABC. Therefore, it could be used in therapeutic purposes and microbial suppression.

Recently, use of inexpensive and available adsorbents have been studied for removal purposes. One of main sources of environmental pollutions is uncontrolled discharge of wastewater containing synthetic dyes that may result in adverse effect on human health. At this study, removal efficiency of marble powder (MP) and calcined marble powder (CMP) as potential and low cost natural adsorbents for removal of Reactive Red 195 as anionic dye was investigated.

The adsorbents were characterized by X-Ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and zeta potential measurements. Anionic dye of Reactive Red 195 was used as adsorbate. Raw MP was collected from marble processing plant and its calcination was done at 750°C for 3 h in furnace.

Effect of variables including pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, dye concentration and temperature were studied by a batch system. Adsorption reactions at equilibrium followed Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic models. Maximum adsorption capacity of 103.092 mg g-1 was observed for CMP that was more than MP (1.218 mg g-1). Results showed that calcination process can significantly reduce negative charges on surface of marble powder and promote its efficiency for anionic dye removal. Thermodynamic study revealed that adsorption of Reactive Red 195 on CMP was exothermic and spontaneously. In conclusion, abundance of MP as inorganic waste and its transformation to CMP by simple calcination process makes it an efficient, available and economic candidate for water purification.

Plants are full of phenolic compounds and naturalantioxidants able to scavenge free radicals in foods and human body. They are more popular than synthetic antioxidants because of lower concern about their mutagenicity and carcinogenicity in human. This study tried to examine the antioxidant properties of water extracts of cinnamon and green tea, and methanolic extract of Citrusaurantium compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) as synthetic antioxidants.

Cinnamon, Citrus aurantium, and green tea leaves were prepared from local markets in Iran and their antioxidant properties were examined individually and in combination. The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatograph coupled with mass spectrometer. Total phenol content and antioxidant potency against synthetic antioxidants of BHT and BHA were respectively determined by Folin-Ciocalteu and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods.

E. cinnamaldehyde (32.41%), linalool (65.08%), and kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (84%) were the most important components of cinnamon, Citrus aurantium, and green tea leaves extracts, respectively. According to the results, the treatments with a higher percentage of green tea leaves and cinnamon extracts had the highest phenolic content (28.98 ±0.12 µg/g GA) and those with the highest amount of Citrus aurantium had the lowest phenolic content (15.56 ±0.06 g/g GA). DPPH test revealed that the lowest IC50 was related to the mixture of three extracts (307.62 µg/ml) where the highest belonged to Citrus aurantium extract treatment (2100.3 µg/ml). In comparison, for BHT and BHA in 200 mg/l concentration, radical scavenging capacities were 50.7% and 64%, respectively. The three extracts had significant radical scavenging capacity. However, their activity was lower than the synthetic antioxidants of BHT and BHA currently used in food industry.

Enzymes are kind of food additive which are widely used in food industry. They are derived from different origins including plants sources, animals and microorganisms. There are a growing demand for Halal ingredients due to the people awareness of disadvantages of Haram foods. The aim of this review is listing the main enzymes used in food industry by focusing on control measures in evaluation of halal status.

According to Islamic regulations, edible Halal ingredients should be derived from permitted sources in view of Islam. Specifically, the enzymes utilized in Halal foods must be extracted from Halal sources. In this regard, the enzymes produced by microorganisms are considered as Halal if the culture media consist Halal ingredients. In addition, there is an additional restriction for genetically modified microorganisms so that they should have recombinant DNA derived from Halal origins. As conclusion, attention to the ingredients up to molecular level and the processes makes the Halal food products more popular among the consumers.

Seafood have high nutritional value since they contain sufficient amounts of protein, lipid, micronutrients and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially omega3 fatty acid. However, histamine, a chemically hazardous biogenic amine, is produced by decarboxylation of histidine in the products through bacterial metabolism. Moreover, excessive alcohol intake may induce histamine intolerance. This study overviews histamine regulation, metabolism, and the control measures form technical intervention to alcohol consumption preventing histamine formation and its adverse effects.

Spoilage microorganisms are present in the environment and in raw materials, which might contaminate fish during catching, transportation and processing stages and produce a high concentration of histamine. Several studies revealed that the histamine concentration of fish products exceeded the permitted limits because of improper sanitation practices and storage conditions. Morganella morganii was recognized as the strongest histamine forming bacteria. Histamine is hardly detectable in food products due to its odorless and colorless features. This compound is highly stable and cannot be eliminate or disintegrated by processes such as cooking, canning and freezing. The best practical approach in control of histamine is applying HACCP system by focusing on proper chilling from fishing to table, to prevent growth of histamine-producing bacteria. Importantly, excessive alcohol consumption exposes the consumers at risk of histamine intolerance by interfering in the metabolism and degradation of histamine conducted by the enzymes in the human body. Therefore, both technical measures and consumers’ attitude in alcohol consumption favor better histamine tolerance in body.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has threatened human health and economy across the world. In the absence of efficient medication for the virus, healthy diet can increase the body strength and alleviate symptoms of the viral infection. There are nutrients that may have beneficial effects against coronavirus. At this review, we discuss about the immune system modulation followed by intake of some nutrients found in halal foods that may be effective to attenuate the viral infections such as COVID-19. 

Results and conclusion:

The origin of COVID-19 (meat of bat eaten by Chinese) approves that recommendations of Islam on Halal foods, which emphasizes the health and hygiene, should be addressed throughout the world. Several studies revealed that diet could affect the immune system. Some nutrients are anti-inflammatory and change the tight junctions in tissues. The antiviral food components may be useful in alleviation of COVID‐19 infection. Therefore, keeping the micronutrients’ balance might enhance the host response against viral infections. There is a global consensus that nutritional deficiency should be treated to reduce infections and a healthy halal diet consisting of special components like α‐Lipoic acid, phytoestrogens, flavonoids, licorice root and black tea may be useful for improving the immune responses.