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Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
Office of the Chairman Tupper hall, Room 3301
TEL:
FAX: (530) 752-8520
To whom it may concern:
I have reviewed the structure and function claims for Signs and Wonders of Peanut Milk and have found in my professional opinion that they are true, not misleading, and supported by valid scientific evidence. The claims include:
1. Source of energy and nutrition. The nutritional labeling of the product indicates that the proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals will supply energy and nutrition to the consumer. Some of the major constituents and scientific citations validating the claim are as follows:
a. Thiamine
Thiamin and vitamin B6 play an important role in energy production. Deficiencies of these vitamins may decrease the ability to do work or exercise. Thiamine is a part of the coenzyme, thiamin pyrophosphate, and it plays a major role in carbohydrate metabolism, an important step in total energy metabolism. That coenzyme promotes the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl CoA, which results in removing one carbon from the pyruvate to make acetyl CoA and carbon dioxide. It also promotes a similar step in the TCA cycle where it helps convert a 5-carbon compound to a 4-carbon compound. That coenzyme can play an important role in the production of ribose, the sugar needed for the synthesis of RNA [1] . Besides the roles in energy metabolism, thiamine plays a pivotal role in nerve function. That vitamin is required by cells of the nervous system and is localized in the membranes of nerve cells. Individuals with energy (calorie) deficiency also risk thiamine deficiency. Prolonged thiamine deficiency can result in the disease, beriberi, accompanied by the symptoms such as anorexia, cardiac enlargement, lassitude, muscular weakness, parenthesia, loss of knee and ankle jerk responses, and dyspnea on exertion [2] .
b. Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is a family of compounds including pyridoxal, pyridoxine, and pyridoxamine; the major active coenzyme form is pyridoxal phosphate. The coenzyme is active in amino acid metabolism because it can transfer amino groups. This vitamin functions in all the reactions involved in amino acid metabolism, including transamination, decarboxylation, deamination of serine and theronine, metabolism of sulphur-containing amino acid [3] . Thus, it allows the body to synthesize nonessential amino acids when amino groups are available. The ability to add and remove amino groups makes the coenzyme valuable in protein and urea metabolism as well. The conversion of the amino acid, tryptophan, to niacin or to the neurotransmitter serotonin also depends on the coenzyme as does the synthesis of heme, nucleic acids, and lecithin. Vitamin B6 deficiency symptoms are weakness, sleeplessness, peripheral neuropathy, dermatitis, anaemia and impaired immunity [4] .
c. Carbohydrates
Major role of carbohydrates in human nutrition is to supply the body’s cells with glucose for a supply of energy. Glucose yields energy when broken down completely to carbon dioxide and water. Every cell in the body depends on glucose for its fuel to some extent, and ordinarily, the cells of the brain and the rest of the nervous system depend primarily on glucose for their energy. Sugar which consist mainly of fructose and glucose, can contribute to the body’s energy supply [4] .
d. Proteins
Proteins form integral parts of most body structures (e.g. skin, tendon, membrane, muscles, organ, and bones) and support the growth and repair of body tissues. Proteins facilitate chemical reactions (enzymes), and regulate body processes (hormones), and protect the body against diseases (antibodies). Proteins help to maintain the fluid volume, the composition of body fluids, and the acid-base balance of body fluids by action as buffers. Proteins transport substances such as lipids, vitamins, minerals, and oxygen, throughout the body. Protein also provides some fuel for the body’s energy needs. Protein-energy malnutrition leads to poor growth in children and to weight loss and wasting in adults potentially resulting in infections and death.
Peanuts are high in the amino acid, arginine and low in lysine. Arginine plays an important role as an essential precursor for the synthesis of proteins and plays a role in the production of other molecules with enormous biological importance including nitric oxide, urea, ornithine, proline, polyamines, glutamate, and creatine. That amino acid displays remarkable metabolic and regulatory versatility. Arginine is an essential amino acid for young mammals (including parenterally fed human infants) and is also a conditionally essential amino acid for adults with such conditions as trauma, burn injury, massive small-bowel resection, and renal failure. Arginine administration reverses endothelial dysfunction, enhances wound healing, prevents the early stages of tumorigenesis, and improves cardiovascular, reproductive, pulmonary, renal, digestive, and immune functions [5] . Enteral or parenteral administration of arginine reverses endothelial dysfunction associated with major cardiovascular risk factors (hypercholesterolemia, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, obesity/insulin resistance and aging) and ameliorates many common cardiovascular disorders (coronary and peripheral arterial disease, ischemia/reperfusion injury, and heart failure) [6] . Arginine may hold great promise as a nutritional component for the treatment for a wide array of human diseases.
e. Fats
Peanuts are low in saturated fatty acid and high in unsaturated fatty acids. The predominat types of unsaturated fatty acids in peanuts are the monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid, and the polyunsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid. There are two essential fatty acids (linoleic acid/n-6 and alpha linolenic acid/n-3) that must be obtained from the diet. The essential fatty acids, linoleic acid and alpha linolenic acid, are polyunsaturated fatty acids that possess two or more double bonds. Dietary essential fatty acids are the indispensable component of the lipid supply necessary for energy, growth, cellular metabolism, and muscle activity. If the diet lacks adequate amounts of either linoleic or alpha linolenic acid, deficiency symptoms will develop, leading to scaly skin, hair loss and slow wound healing. N-3 fatty acid deficiency leads to impaired brain and retinal development in experimental animals and possibly premature births.
Linoleic acid serves as the precursor of a larger polyunsaturated fatty acid, arachidonic acid. From that fatty acid, prostaglandins (PGE2), thromboxanes (TXA), and leukotrienes are formed. These hormone-like lipids play an important role in promoting blood clotting, inducing pain and inflammation and in causing smooth muscle contraction [7] . Linoleic acid, which is a component of membrane lipids, helps to maintain flexibility of cell membranes. Arachidonic acid is not a dietary essential fatty acid unless a deficiency of linoleic acid exists. Oleic acid plays an important role in the prevention of atherosclerosis by modulating the vascular response to classical inducers in early atherogenesis (high levels of cholesterol and the advanced glycation end-products of diabetes). In an in vitro model of early atherogenesis based on cultured endothelial cells stimulated by cytokines, oleic acid decreases the expression of several endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecules [8, 9] . Oleic acid also interferes with the activation of an important gene transcription factor controlling endothelial activation, indicating that oleic acid may contribute to the prevention of atherosclerosis through a modulation of gene expression for endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecules [4] .
f. fiber
Fiber is defined as the structural parts of plants that can be found in all plant-derived foods. It is not enzymatically digested and thus does not directly serve as a source of energy. Dietary fiber enhances the health of the large intestine. The short-chain fatty acid products of fiber promote salt absorption and help maintain mucosal integrity. The healthier the intestinal walls, the better it can block absorption of unwanted constituents, such as bacteria. Fiber enlarges the stools, easing passage, and speeding up transit time so as to prevent constipation and diverticulitis. Dietary fiber has also been reported to be beneficial against heart disease, colon cancer, and diabetes.
2. Support for the structure and function of healthy skin: The nutritional labeling of the product indicates that the fat content will contribute to the skin looking good and feeling soft and supple. Some of the scientific evidence validating that claim is as follows:
Fresh peanuts contain about 44-56% oil and 22-30% protein. In that oil, the major fatty acids are 56 % oleic (monounsaturated), 20% linoleic (polyunsaturated) and 8% palmitic (saturated). In both animal and human studies monounsaturated as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids have been shown to be beneficial in reducing heart disease. Those polyunsaturated fatty acid can also prevent a deficiency which can result in scaly skin disorder and excessive water loss [10] . A dietary deficiency of linoleic acid can lead to an increased rate of proliferation of epidermal cells, a dramatic loss of normal impermeability to water, increased metabolic activity, and abnormal skin cells (keratinocytes). Supplementation of diets with vegetable oils, which normally contain high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, may generate local skin anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative metabolites. Those metabolites could serve as adjuvants to standard regimes for the management of skin disorders [11] . In animal models, high levels of dietary linoleic acid were associated with a reduced incidence of carcinogen-induced skin tumors [12] .
Magnesium may also play an important role in lipid metabolism in the epidermis [13] . Some magnesium salts have been demonstrated to accelerate the barrier function of the skin [14] . Alpha-tocopherol has been shown to have antioxidant activity in the skin. It can protect unsaturated fatty acids, proteins and DNA from oxidation. It can also stabilize the structure of biomembranes. Feeding of alpha-tocopherol exhibited a marked inhibitory effect on ultraviolet light-induced skin photocarcinogenesis in experimental mice. That action may be through the inhibition of oxidative DNA damage by reactive oxygen radicals. Vitamins E and C may also provide protection from the damaging effects of ultraviolet light.
3. Support for function of the immune system: The nutritional labeling of the product indicates that it contains certain macro and micro nutrients that help to maintain nutrient status, an important factor contributing to immune competence. The immune system acts to protect a person from infectious agents that exist in the environment such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasite as well as many other external insults. For that purpose, the immune system has cellular and humoral components which are constantly active as well as those which need to be activated. A number of different factors can contribute to the large inter-individual variation in many immune functions even among healthy people. While individuals with immune responses below which is considered to be normal are more susceptible to infectious agents and have an increase risk for infectious morbidity, it is not completely clear how variation in immunity among healthy people relates to variation in susceptibility to infection. Nutrients which have been demonstrated in either human or animal studies to be required for the immune system to function efficiently include essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, iron and selenium. Many of those components can be found in Peanut milk. Almost all forms of immunity which can be measured may be affected by deficiencies in one or more of those nutrients. Numerous studies have shown that adding back the deficient nutrient to the diet can restore the immune function and resistance to infection. Increasing intakes of some nutrients above recommended levels can enhance some aspects of immune status, whereas others have no additional effect. Nevertheless, the effect of enhancing immune function on host resistance to infection in healthy individuals is not clear [15] .
Of the macronutrients, the one most extensively studied has been fat. It has been shown in numerous animal models, as well as human studies, that essential fatty acids are required for an optimal cellular and humoral immune response [16] . Generally, n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as those found in plant sources, tend to enhance immune function whereas n-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oils, and tend to suppress a number of parameters of immunity. Increases in intake of linoleic acid by humans, however, did not inhibit a number of indices of immune response but did increase the production of inflammatory eicosanoids [17] . In contrast, other n-6 fatty acids, such as arachidonic acid, could increase inflammatory and allergic disorders [15] .
Vitamin E provided to humans enhances a number of parameters of immune response both in premature infants as well as the elderly. Deficiencies have also been associated with uremia and rheumatoid arthritis. Vitamin B6 deficiency affects both humoral and cell-mediated immunity. For example, vitamin B6 deficiency suppressed IgG and IgE production. Repletion of the vitamin restored the lost functions in immunity. Mega doses did not produce benefits beyond those observed with moderate supplementation. A number of studies have shown that dietary deficiency of folate enhanced whereas folate supplementation suppresses the development of several types of cancers. Since some components of the immune system, such as natural killer (NK) cells may play a role in the defense against tumors, it is possible that dietary foliate could alter NK activity. Experimental studies, however, have shown that a modest level of folate supplementation above basal requirement did not enhance NK cell activity. Iron deficiency can cause several defects in humoral and cellular immunity. The main effect is a reduction in peripheral T cells and atrophy of the thymus. Iron may also be important in T lymphocyte development [18] . Thus, a number of the nutrients found in Peanut milk may have a beneficial effect on immune function, particularly when a deficiency of one necessary for optimal immune function is present.
Literature Cited
1. Manore, M.M. (2000) Effect of physical activity on thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin B-6 requirements. Am J Clin Nutr 72, 598S-606S.
2. Davis, R.E., Icke, G.C. (1983) Clinical chemistry of thiamin. Adv Clin Chem 23, 93-140.
3. Truswell, S., Milne, R. (1998) The B vitamins. In Essentials of Human Nutrition (J. Mann and A. S. Truswell, eds), Oxford University Press, Oxford.
4. Linder, M.C. (1991) Nutrition and metabolism of vitamins. In Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism (M. C. Linder, ed) Elsevier, New York.
5. Flynn, N.E., Meininger, C.J., Haynes, T.E., Wu, G. (2002) The metabolic basis of arginine nutrition and pharmacotherapy. Biomed Pharmacother 56, 427-38.
6. Wu, G., Meininger, C.J. (2000) Arginine nutrition and cardiovascular function. J Nutr 130, 2626-9.
7. Roberts, T.L., Wood, D.A., Riemersma, R.A., Gallagher, P.J., Lampe, F.C. (1993) Linoleic acid and risk of sudden cardiac death. Br Heart J 70, 524-9.
8. Massaro, M., Carluccio, M.A., De Caterina, R. (1999) Direct vascular antiatherogenic effects of oleic acid: a clue to the cardioprotective effects of the Mediterranean diet. Cardiologia 44, 507-13.
9. Massaro, M., De Caterina, R. (2002) Vasculoprotective effects of oleic acid: epidemiological background and direct vascular antiatherogenic properties. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 12, 42-51.
10. Ziboh, V.A., Miller, C.C., Cho, Y. (2000) Metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids by skin epidermal enzymes: generation of antiinflammatory and antiproliferative metabolites. Am J Clin Nutr 71, 361S-6S.
11. Lo, H.H., Locniskar, M.F., Bechtel, D., Fischer, S.M. (1994) Effects of type and amount of dietary fat on mouse skin tumor promotion. Nutr Cancer 22, 43-56.
12. Kuchide, M., Tokuda, H., Takayasu, J., Enjo, F., Ishikawa, T., Ichiishi, E., Naito, Y., Yoshida, N., Yoshikawa, T., Nishino, H. (2003) Cancer chemopreventive effects of oral feeding alpha-tocopherol on ultraviolet light B induced photocarcinogenesis of hairless mouse. Cancer Lett 196, 169-77.
13. Denda, M., Katagiri, C., Hirao, T., Maruyama, N., Takahashi, M. (1999) Some magnesium salts and a mixture of magnesium and calcium salts accelerate skin barrier recovery. Arch Dermatol Res 291, 560-3.
14. Denda, M. (2002) New strategies to improve skin barrier homeostasis. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 54 Suppl 1, S123-30.
15. Calder, P.C., Grimble, R.F. (2002) Polyunsaturated fatty acids, inflammation and immunity. Eur J Clin Nutr 56 Suppl 3, S14-9.
16. Yaqoob, P. (2003) Lipids and the immune response: from molecular mechanisms to clinical applications. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 6, 133-50.
17. Kelley, D.S. (2001) Modulation of human immune and inflammatory responses by dietary fatty acids. Nutrition 17, 669-73.
18. Bowlus, C.L. (2003) The role of iron in T cell development and autoimmunity. Autoimmun Rev 2, 73-8.
Sincerely yours,
Kent L. Erickson, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair