Effects of tree nuts on blood lipids, apolipoproteins, and blood pressure: systematic review, meta-analysis, and dose-response of 61 controlled intervention trials

BACKGROUND: The effects of nuts on major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including dose-responses and potential heterogeneity by nut type or phytosterol content, are not well established. OBJECTIVES: We examined the effects of tree nuts (walnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, pecans, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts) on blood lipids [total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, […]

Quantitative and qualitative optimization of allergen extraction from peanut and selected tree nuts. Part 1. Screening of optimal extraction conditions using a D-optimal experimental design.

A D-optimal design was constructed to optimize allergen extraction efficiency simultaneously from roasted, non-roasted, defatted, and non-defatted almond, hazelnut, peanut, and pistachio flours using three non-denaturing aqueous (phosphate, borate, and carbonate) buffers at various conditions of ionic strength, buffer-to-protein ratio, extraction temperature, and extraction duration. Statistical analysis showed that roasting and non-defatting significantly lowered protein […]

Quantitative and qualitative optimization of allergen extraction from peanut and selected tree nuts. Part 2. Optimization of buffer and ionic strength using a full factorial experimental design

A full factorial design was used to assess the single and interactive effects of three non-denaturing aqueous (phosphate, borate, and carbonate) buffers at various ionic strengths (I) on allergen extractability from and immunoglobulin E (IgE) immunoreactivity of peanut, almond, hazelnut, and pistachio. The results indicated that the type and ionic strength of the buffer had […]

Evaluation of the nutraceutical, antioxidant and cytoprotective properties of ripe pistachio (Pistacia vera L., variety Bronte) hulls

Every year tons of pistachio hulls are separated and eliminated, as waste products, from pistachio seeds. In this study the hulls of ripe pistachios were extracted with two organic solvents (ethanol and methanol) and characterized for phenolic composition, antioxidant power and cytoprotective activity. RP-HPLC-DAD-FLU separation enabled us to identify 20 derivatives, including and by far […]

Mediterranean Diet and Invasive Breast Cancer Risk Among Women at High Cardiovascular Risk in the PREDIMED Trial: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE: Breast cancer is the leading cause of female cancer burden, and its incidence has increased by more than 20% worldwide since 2008. Some observational studies have suggested that the Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of breast cancer. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of 2 interventions with Mediterranean diet vs the advice to follow […]