No abstract

Summary: Dietary intake of cholesterol has been linked to coronary heart disease. The effect of grapefruit pectin (Cirrus puradisi) on plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol, and the low-density lipoprotein: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio was studied. The study design was a 16-week double-blind, crossover (placebo or pectin) using 27 human volunteers screened to be at medium to high risk for coronary heart disease due to hypercholesterolemia. The study did not interfere with the subjects' current diet or lifestyle. Grapefruit pectin supplementation decreased plasma cholesterol 7.6%, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol 10.8%, and the low-density lipoprotein: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio 9.8%. The other plasma lipid fractions studied showed no significant differences. We conclude that a grapefruit pectin-supplemented diet, without change in lifestyle, can significantly reduce plasma cholesterol.

‘Florigraze’ rhizoma perennial peanut (RPP; Arachis glabrata Benth.) is a high‐quality forage legume vegetatively propagated by rhizomes. The impact of prior RPP defoliation management on rhizome chemical composition and growth after planting is not understood. These two studies, conducted on a Gressarenic Paleudult soil, evaluated the effects of grazing on (i) rhizome mass, total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC), and N concentration, and (ii) rhizome establishment performance following planting. Rhizomes for both studies were obtained from pastures previously grazed at different combinations of rest interval length (d) and quantity of residual dry matter remaining after grazing (kg ha−1). Specific rest interval‐residual dry matter combiuatious (21‐500, 63‐500, 42‐1500, and 63‐2500) were chosen to represent a wide range of grazing severity. An ungrazed treatment (No‐Grz) was also included. Average rhizome mass was greatest (17.0 Mg ha−1) for No‐Grz and declined as grazing severity increased from 63‐2500 (9.4 Mg ha−1) to 21‐500 (2.3 Mg ha−1). Grazing treatments also provided rhizome planting material with a wide range of TNC concentration (62‐301 g kg−1) and N concentration (12.7‐22.1 g kg−1 Greatest concentrations were observed for No‐Grz and less severely grazed pastures. Planting rhizomes with initial TNC ≥ 228 g kg−1 and N ≥ 20 g kg−1 resulted in the greatest seasonal accumulation of both rhizome and shoot mass. Planting rhizomes with low TNC (62 kg−1; 21‐500) resulted in stand failure in a drought year (1990). Rhizomes with higher TNC (139 g kg−1; 63‐500) produced shoots that survived drought conditions but growth rates were relatively slow. We conclude that grazing affects chemical composition of RPP rhizomes and that chemical composition of planting material is a major determinant of RPP establishment success.

2016-12-23T18:49:38