Increased evidence for the health benefits of probiotics for health restoration coupled with the consumer's inclination towards a safe, natural and cost-effective substitute for…
Abstract
Purpose
Increased evidence for the health benefits of probiotics for health restoration coupled with the consumer's inclination towards a safe, natural and cost-effective substitute for drugs have led application of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent and are rapidly moving in clinical usage. In this context, this article attempts to highlight the potential of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent.
Design/methodology/approach
Endeavor has been made to explore the significance of probiotics for the modulation of gut ecology and their action. Potentiality of probiotics for their exploitation as a pharmaceutical agent has also been justified. Limitations of probiotic therapy and the various considerations for probiotic therapy have also been delineated.
Findings
Probiotic organisms influence the physiological and pathological process of the host by modifying the intestinal microbiota, thereby affecting human health. Beneficial effects of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent seem to be strain and dose dependent and more efficacious with their early introduction. Combination of various probiotics proved to be more efficacious than single strain for exhibiting prophylactic activities.
Research limitations/implications
Reviewed literature indicated that it is difficult to generalize for the beneficial effect of all probiotics for all types of diseases as efficacy of probiotics is strain-dependent and dose-dependent and its clinical application needs long-term investigations.
Practical implications
Clinical trials have displayed that probiotics may alleviate certain disorders or diseases in humans especially those related to gastro-intestinal tract.
Originality/value
Ingestion of fermented dairy products containing probiotic cultures may provide health benefits in certain clinical conditions such as antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, rotavirus-associated diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory bowel syndrome, allergenic diseases, cancer, Helicobacter pylori infection and lactose-intolerance. Application of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent is recommended.
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This article seeks to review the incidence of food allergy or food sensitization in children which has increased during the past decade and can manifest urticaria or angioedema…
Abstract
Purpose
This article seeks to review the incidence of food allergy or food sensitization in children which has increased during the past decade and can manifest urticaria or angioedema, anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis, respiratory symptoms or gastro‐intestinal disorders, and to looks closely at probiotic therapy, which appears to alleviate allergy inflammation.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature related to probiotics and their exploitation as probiotic therapy for gastro‐intestinal allergenic infants has been primarily composed from two databases, namely, Dairy Science Abstracts and Entez Pub Med.
Findings
Development of intestinal microbiota is considered to be a consequential factor affecting the health of newborns and could be achieved by nutritional change in diet or by consumption of probiotic through fermented milks. Animal and human trials revealed that probiotics can affect host‐resistance to intestinal infection as well as various immune functions and alleviate intestinal inflammation, normalize gut mucosal dysfunction and down‐regulate hypersensitivity reaction. Mode of action of probiotics is mediated by the microbial composition as well as metabolic activity of the intestinal flora. Beneficial properties of probiotics suggest their application for probiotic therapy of food‐allergenic infants.
Originality/value
Ingestion of fermented milk products containing probiotic cultures may provide health benefits in terms of colonization and normalization of intestinal flora, thereby alleviating food allergenicity in infants.
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In absence of breast milk, humanized mammalian milk may not be adequate as it could not confer considerable protection to the infants as those extended by breast milk. With the…
Abstract
Purpose
In absence of breast milk, humanized mammalian milk may not be adequate as it could not confer considerable protection to the infants as those extended by breast milk. With the objective of enhancing the nutritional and therapeutic attributes of humanized mammalian milk considerable efforts have been exercised to mimic infant formulae to the health‐promoting benefits of breast milk with the inclusion of probiotics, oligosaccharides and proteins. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present article an endeavour has been made to enlighten innovations in supplementary foods for infants in absence of human milk. Suitability of special humanized milk such as hypoallergenic formulae, neural formulae and gastrointestinal integrity formulae as a supplementary food for infants in absence of human milk is also justified.
Findings
Characterization of components of human milk and identification of nutritional needs of infants have resulted in formulation of special humanized milk such as hypoallergenic formulae for allergenic infants, neural formulae for normal physiological functions of infants and gastrointestinal integrity formulae for maintaining microbial balance in the intestine. Supplementation of infant formulae with sialic acid, long chain poly unsaturated fatty acids such as decosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid, probiotic cultures such as Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus GG and Lactobacillus casei and prebiotic such as galacto‐OS and fructo‐OS are recommended.
Originality/value
The paper emphasises that, with the characterization of components of human milk and identification of nutritional needs of infants, modification of infant formulae should be constantly carried.
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Zeynab Malakouti Khah and Aref Khalili Paji
The purpose of this study is to examine Iran’s anti-money laundering (AML) system from a legal and criminal perspective and to understand the obstacles for international…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine Iran’s anti-money laundering (AML) system from a legal and criminal perspective and to understand the obstacles for international cooperation and the extent to which it aligns with financial action task force (FATF) standards. In this regard, three aspects are examined, namely, enforcement and guarantees of preventive measures, penalty for ML offences and the burden of proof.
Design/methodology/approach
This subject is examined through the legal–criminal perspective, which concentrates on the effectiveness of legal measures in tackling criminal issues by focusing on criminal law. The legal–criminal viewpoint considers criminal behaviour as a breach of societal norms and strives to combat it through legal channels.
Findings
Iran’s AML laws and regulations are partially compliant with the financial action task force (FATF) recommendations. However, the main obstacle is not the lack of sufficient laws, rather the lack of proper implementation of these laws. In addition, there are foundational shortages, such as the absence of a national risk document to guide an action based on current risks.
Originality/value
No comprehensive study has analysed Iran’s AML laws, referring to the three main aspects of enforcement and guarantees of preventive measures, penalties for ML offenses and the burden of proof. In general, there are few research papers on Iran’s AML laws owing to Iran’s high ranking in ML/TF. However, analysing Iran’s regulations can be helpful in taking a step towards effective international AML practices.
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Yansong Zheng, Liping Zhang, Qiang Zeng and Chaojin Han
Functional disorders caused by food intolerance (FI) are prevalent, thus it is important to analyze the FI of healthy people to common foods so as to guide the people for eating…
Abstract
Purpose
Functional disorders caused by food intolerance (FI) are prevalent, thus it is important to analyze the FI of healthy people to common foods so as to guide the people for eating the healthy foods. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 88,436 healthy persons including 60,902 males and 27,534 females at the age ranging from 20 to 70 years old were subjected a normal physical examination. In total, 14 kinds of food-specific IgG antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunesorbent assay.
Findings
The total positive rate of 14 FIs was as high as 64.16 percent. Five kinds of foods (egg, crab, cod, shrimp and milk) accounted for 84.51 percent of the total positive rate. In more than one kind of FIs, egg took the largest proportion than the others and the proportion was 58.54 percent. The second was crab with a positive rate of 56.19 percent. The antibody positive rate of any food in one kind of FIs was significantly lower than that in more than one kind of FIs (χ2=629.35, p<0.001). Also, younger age subjects displayed the higher positive rate than the older age groups. In addition, there was no significant difference on FI between male and female subjects.
Originality/value
The results would not only prompt us to pay more attention to FI in daily life, but provide theoretical foundation for the early prevention, diagnosis and treatment of related clinical diseases as well as guiding people healthy meals.
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Early colonization and balance between the beneficial and pathogenic organisms are essential for good nutrition and health. Ability of probiotic cultures to survive and colonize…
Abstract
Purpose
Early colonization and balance between the beneficial and pathogenic organisms are essential for good nutrition and health. Ability of probiotic cultures to survive and colonize under the intestinal environmental condition led to their application as functional foods. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Endeavour has been made to explore the mechanism of gut colonization, selection criteria for probiotic cultures, mechanism of probiotic action, postulated health benefits and prerequisites of a probiotics food.
Findings
Probiotic organisms influence the physiological and pathological process of the host by modifying the intestinal microbiota, thereby affecting human health. Postulated health beneficial properties of probiotics suggest their application as functional foods.
Originality/value
Ingestion of cultured milk products containing probiotic cultures may provide health benefits in terms of colonization and normalization of intestinal flora and could be recommended for consumption as functional foods.
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Probiotics confer protection against pathogens owing to their capability to compete with pathogens or their displacement by adhering to intestinal epithelial cells. Diverse health…
Abstract
Purpose
Probiotics confer protection against pathogens owing to their capability to compete with pathogens or their displacement by adhering to intestinal epithelial cells. Diverse health benefits extended by probiotics led to their application as functional foods. The aim of this paper is to explore probiotics as functional foods.
Design/methodology/approach
Endeavour has been made to explore prerequisites for a cultured milk product to be called as a probiotics food. Potentiality of probiotics for their exploitation as functional foods has also been delineated.
Findings
Probiotics demonstrate various prophylactic properties and their efficacy are influenced by strain of cultures employed. Probiotics confer diverse human health benefits such as normalization of intestinal flora, anticarcinogenesis, hypocholesterolemic effect, alleviation of lactose malabsorption and allergy. Beneficial properties of probiotics suggest their application as functional foods.
Originality/value
Ingestion of cultured milk products containing probiotic cultures may provide health benefits and could be recommended for consumption as functional foods.
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Breast milk is considered superior over other modified infant formulae owing to its numerous intrinsic characteristics and pre‐eminence. However, breast milk is nutritionally…
Abstract
Breast milk is considered superior over other modified infant formulae owing to its numerous intrinsic characteristics and pre‐eminence. However, breast milk is nutritionally inadequate for low‐birth weight infants and infants fed exclusively on breast milk are at the risk of getting infected with HIV‐1 and transmitted drugs in breast milk due to sterility of mothers at the time of pregnancy. In absence or insufficient secretion, breast milk stored at human milk banks or various developed infant formulae may be a practical substitute. Microbiological safety of breast milk from human milk banks is governed by the conditions of its collection and storage, whereas method of reconstitution and sterilization of equipments influences the quality of infant formulae. Under this circumstances various specially developed cultured milk products can be recommended for feeding both normal and sick infants. This paper enlightens the recent research innovations in the field of cultured milk products for feeding infants in absence of breast milk.
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William Gaviyau and Athenia Bongani Sibindi
The purpose of this study is to examine the South African banks’ customer due diligence (CDD) practices in the fintech era to mitigate money laundering (ML) risks and ensure…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the South African banks’ customer due diligence (CDD) practices in the fintech era to mitigate money laundering (ML) risks and ensure financial stability. Financial technologies have brought substantial transformations to the financial services sector. However, such technologies have exposed the sector to emerging risks that threaten the integrity and stability of the financial system globally. Before any bank–customer relationship is established, proper customer background checks must be conducted. These background checks enable financial institutions to validate information provided and ensure customers are properly risk profiled. Failure to risk profile customers could result in financial institutions being used as conduits for ML. Undoubtedly, CDD procedures are pivotal to overall anti-money laundering efforts and curbing financing terrorism in a regulatory framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research approach was adopted to address the research questions of the study. Given the confidentiality associated with the financial services sector, data triangulation was used in blending mainly secondary and primary data sources. Secondary data sources used in the study were published reports available in the public domain that were corroborated with subject matter experts’ interviews.
Findings
Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that in South Africa, technological solutions have been incorporated into CDD functions, which is now risk-based (enhanced due diligence). Also, legally, South Africa has incorporated the biometrics, integration with Department of Home Affairs and Companies and Intellectual Property Commission databases, customer consent to third-party sources with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act.
Originality/value
The shift towards digital banking in South Africa results in increased data and dynamic risk profiling. This study advocates a policy shift requiring a risk-based approach to mitigating emerging ML risks (in particular digital laundering), especially in the wake of South Africa’s recent greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force.