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Pennyroyal is an aromatic herb that has been considered by various industries such as food and medicine, since it grows in different countries. Various industry`s attention to this worth product due to effective agent Pulegune (original compound essential oils of pennyroyal) that causes anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and aromatic properties. Essential oils of pennyroyal have a significantly effect on preventing the growth of several species of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. Moreover, these oils maintain food quality by preventing the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and increase product shelf life. So it seems that pennyroyal is an appropriate alternative for synthetic antioxidants. On the other hand, it can be used in treatment of many conditions. Thus, pennyroyal essential oils can be a good, nature and economy alternative for food and medicine industries. The present study focuses on the characteristics of pennyroyal essential oils. Keywords: Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Aroma, Essential oils, Pennyroyal

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Background and Objectives: One of the most common skin disorders during adolescence is acne vulgaris. The role of dietary diversity in the pathophysiology of acne vulgaris is highly controversial. The present study was conducted to report the relationship between dietary diversity score (DDS) and acne vulgaris among Tehranian girls. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted among 135 teenage acne vulgaris patients as cases and 135 teenage girls without any signs of acne as controls in 2014. "Consensus Conference on Acne Classification" was used to determine acne severity. Their usual dietary intake was assessed by two 24-hour recall questionnaires. DDS was calculated according to the scoring of the five food groups based on the US Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid. Weight, height and Body Mass Index (BMI) were measured according to the standard methods. The participants were categorized on the basis of quartile cut-off points of DDS. Results: The means (± SD) of DDS in the case and control group were (5.77 ± 1.73, 5.64 ± 1.85, P>0.05) respectively. The meat and egg food group in the cases (1.02 ± 0.52) and grain food group in the controls (1.02 ± 0.57) had the lowest DDS. Although there was no significant association between DDS and acne vulgaris after adjustment for confounders, the participants in the highest quartile of DDS were less likely to have acne vulgaris (Odds ratios in the highest quartiles: 1.16, 1.30, 1.34, 1.23 and 1.42). Conclusions: No significant difference was observed between DDS and acne among Tehranian girls. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings. Keywords: Dietary diversity score, Dietary diversity, Acne vulgaris

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Background and Objectives: Sometimes, in professional soccer, the football match is held three times in a week. Since soccer is a relatively intensive exercise that may cause inflammatory responses of the immune system, so nutritional supplements consumption could help to recover faster. This study investigated the effects of two-week Taurine supplement consumption and three sessions of 90-minute alternative intensive exercise on the serum levels inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α) in elite soccer players. Materials & Methods: Twenty four football players under 21 years old were selected and divided randomly into taurine, placebo and control groups. The Taurine group received 1.5 g taurine supplement 3 times daily, and the placebo group received the same amount of aspartame both groups preformed three times of 90-minute specific soccer exercise protocol. The control group did not receive any supplement, and just followed their ordinary program. Blood samples were taken in six steps (48 h before the period, before and immediately after the first and third exercise protocols and 48 h after the end of the period).The one way ANOVA with repeated measures and Tukey’s post hoc test were used to compare the means in each group. Results: The results of each step showed that serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α increased immediately after the exercise protocols (in steps 3 and 5). Whereas, combined study of periods and groups indicated that IL-6 level significantly increased in the control and placebo groups (P=0/043). Also TNF-α level showed significant difference (P=0/013) in the control and placebo groups (P=0/008). Conclusion: It appears that the three times of 90-minute soccer specific protocol a week put pressure on the soccer players’ inflammatory system that may repeat frequently in the competition season. On the other hand, the results showed that taurine supplementation has anti-inflammatory effects before and during this period, and prevents significant alterations of the mentioned cytokines. Thus, short-term taurine supplement consumption could be recommended to elite soccer players during the high pressure competition and the training weeks. Keywords: Soccer specific protocol, Taurine supplement, Interleukin-6, Alpha tumor necrosis factor

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Background and Objectives: Several studies have shown that parents of overweight/obese children sometimes perceive their child's weight as normal. This can affect their level of concern and follow ups to correct their child's weight. This study aimed to evaluate association between maternal weight status and self-efficacy in controlling child’s weight-related behavior with their perception of their child's weight status. Materials and Methods: A total of 159 overweight/obese first grade students and their mothers from two districts of Tehran city were studied. Their height and weight were measured, and maternal BMI and children's BMI z-scores were calculated. Socio-demographic characteristics of the family, mother's self-efficacy and perception of their child's weight were assessed by a questionnaire through interview. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate factors effecting mother's perception. Results: Mean age of children was 6.7±0.34 years. Among the children, 20.1% were overweight and 79.9% were obese, while 48% and 35% of the mothers were overweight and obese, respectively. About 77% of the mothers had misperception about their child's weight status. There was no significant relationship between the mothers' occupation, education and weight status with misperception of child weight. Maternal self-efficacy in controlling the child’s weight related behaviors was low in 23.8% of the mothers while it was medium and high in 50.3 and 25.8%, respectively. There was a reverse but insignificant association between self-efficacy and weight status of children. Conclusion: Considering the critical role of parents, especially mothers in the process of child obesity management, informing mothers on the definition and importance of desirable body weight in children and proper means to combat it is a priority. Keywords: Childhood obesity, Maternal perception, Self-efficacy

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Background and Objectives: Due to the increasing incidence of overweight and obesity among rural children, despite the high prevalence of underweight, identification of dietary patterns and their association with weight status can provide valuable information about health of children. This study was conducted to detect major dietary patterns and their relationship with weight status in school age children in rural areas of Bijar, Iran

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 255 rural school age children living in the rural areas of Bijar were selected by simple random sampling. Dietary intakes during the past year were examined by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Assessment of anthropometric indicators, physical activity, and socioeconomic information was performed by standard methods. Dietary patterns were determined using factor analysis, and their relation to weight status of children was investigated.

Results: Three major dietary patterns, "traditional", "modern" and "mixed" were identified. There was no significant adjusted relationship between overweight or obese and identified dietary patterns. After adjustment for age and physical activity, individuals in the highest quartile of the traditional dietary pattern score were more likely to be overweight or obese (OR = 4.33, CI 95%: 1.14 -16.46). More adherence to modern dietary pattern resulted in a significant increase in the odds ratio of severe thinness and thinness (P for trend = 0.04).

Conclusion: Modern and mixed dietary patterns next to the traditional dietary pattern can be found among rural children. While following the traditional dietary pattern probably due to higher energy is associated with an increased risk of obesity, modern dietary pattern leads to thinness in rural areas.

Keywords: Dietary pattern, Rural, Children, Weight status

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Background and Objectives: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most widely used containers in both the packaging and food industries. Despite having convenient features, components of the PET polymer structure may migrate into food, and the accumulation of PET in the human body may cause health problems.

Material and Methods: 27 samples of rose water with 1 liter volume were collected from one of the factories of Fars Province, Iran. Levels of monomer migration were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with three repetitions at 4, 25 and 42 °C temperatures and at 2-day, 2-week and 2-month timings using the air assisted liquid liquid micro-extraction method.

Results: On the second day, with an increase of temperature from 4˚C to 25˚C, the migrations of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and di-butyl phthalate (DBP) increased from 14.76 to 24.55 ppb and 131.9 to 149.6 ppb, respectively. When increasing the temperature further to 42 °C, the migration levels increased 8.9 and 29.4 ppb, respectively. Finally, at the end of the second month, migration of DMP and DBP at 4, 25 and 42 °C reached 38.6, 67.8 and 83.05 ppb & 173.7, 181.1 and 268.7 ppb, respectively.

Conclusion: PET containers are not suitable for storing distillates. Additionally, measuring migration in glass containers has demonstrated that the plastic reservoirs, in which distillates are stored are important factors in monomer migration. Therefore, in order to raise public health levels, it is recommended that alternative reservoirs made of glass and stainless steel be used.

Keywords: Migration, Dimethyl phthalate, Dibutyl phthalate, Rose water, PET

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Background and Objectives: Due to the importance of food environment of the public dining places in promoting sustainable diets, the present study was carried out to analyze canteen menu of the School of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology sustainability and to develop a sustainable lunch menus.
 Materials & Methods: First, nutrition information and quantity per capita of foods served within the last 20 days were asked from the food service manager of the canteen during the second semester of 2019–2020. The frequency of each food served, as well as food waste durung their preparation and consumption were recorded. Quantities of carbon, water and land footprints, costs and nutrient-rich food (NRF) index of the foods in the  two menus  were calculated. Then, a sustainable food menu for each two menus was designed in order to minimize water, carbon and land footprints and cost, as well as maxmizing NRF  through goal programming method.
Results: Foods served in Menu 1, had higher mean water (P=0.011), carbon (P=0.001) and land footprints (P=0.022) and higher costs (P=0.001) but lower NRF (P=0.001), compared to those served in Menu 2. The average daily non-compostable, compostable and recyclable wastes included 19660, 6320 and 9010 g, respectively. Replacing the sustainable food menu designed for Menu 1 could decrease carbon, total water and land footprints and costs by 10, 13, 22 and 6%, respectively, and increased the NRF profile by 8%. Furthermore, replacing the sustainable menu designed for Menu 2 could result in 25, 23, 27 and 28% decreases in carbon, total water and land footprints and costs, respectively, and increased the NRF profile by 23%.
Conclusion: Replacement of the current menus with sustainable ones and planning to decrease food wastes are recommended to achieve national targets of resistive economy and sustainable development and to promote sustainable diets.

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Background and Objectives: It is necessary to investigate nutritional statuses of the people and how household consume foods in the country provide evidence and use them for education, promotion of food literacy and nutritional policies. The objective of this study was to assess and compare energy and nutrient intakes from the usual household food baskets based on climatic regions classification, 2015–2018.
Materials and Methods: In this repeated cross-sectional study, data of the household`s income and expenditure survey (HIES) of 128,716 Iranian households, 2015–2018, were used. Based on the division of Iran's provinces into 11 climatic regions in a study on the micronutrient status of Iran (National Integrated Micronutrient Survey 2012, NIMS-2), national data of the household income expenditure survey in 2015–2018 were separated. To estimate quantities of intake from the household usual baskets, the household intake quantity for each food item was converted to the individual level using adult male equivalent (AME) index. Using Nutritionist 4 software and coding in R program, quantities of energy intakes and micronutrients of iron, calcium, riboflavin and vitamin A were calculated. One-way analysis of variance and post-hoc tests were used to compare energy intakes and nutrients received from the usual household food baskets, 2015–2018.
Result: In the four studied years, the highest average intake of energy (3127.575 kcal) and iron (27.453 mg) belonged to the Climatic Region 10 (Ilam, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Lorestan and Hamedan), the highest average calcium (1070.82 mg) and riboflavin (2.275 mg) belonged to the Climatic Region 2 (West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Ardabil) and the highest average of vitamin A intake (624.347 µg) belonged to the Climatic Region 9 (Zanjan, Qazvin, Qom and Markazi). The lowest average intake of all items except vitamin A in the four years of the study was linked to the Climatic Region 11 (Fars, Kerman, Kohkilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad) and the lowest average intake of vitamin A belonged to the Climatic Region 5 (Sistan Baluchistan and South Khorasan). Except for energy consumption, iron, calcium and riboflavin in the Climatic Region 7 (Bushehr, Hormozgan and Khuzestan) and calcium and riboflavin in the Climatic Region 8 (Tehran and Alborz), energy consumption and assessed micronutrients decreased in all climatic regions in 2018, compared to 2015. Regarding consumption of micronutrients, the average consumption of iron in all climatic regions in the four years of the study was higher than the recommended RDA. For calcium, intake was more than the RDA recommendation only in the Climatic Region 2. The average consumption of riboflavin was higher than the RDA recommendation in all the climatic regions. Regarding vitamin A, the average consumption in the four years of the study was lower than the RDA recommendation in all the climatic regions.
Conclusion: Overall, the findings showed that energy and micronutrient intakes from the usual household food baskets generally decreased over the years of the study. This situation was more significant in the Climatic Region 11 with significant droughts and in the Climatic Region 5 as a dry climatic region with low socioeconomic statuses. In addition, the average intakes of calcium and vitamin A in all climatic regions (except Climatic Region 2 regarding calcium) were lower than the recommended RDA. These findings emphasize the necessity of further planning for the implementation of policies focusing on food supports in drought-affected and deprived climatic regions. 

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Background and Objectives: The optimal food basket is a scientific and powerful tool for developing food and nutrition policies, executive planning and assessment of programs to ensure food security and maintain the nutritional health of the community. This cross-sectional study was carried out with the aim of a) revising the optimal food basket of Iranians-2013 based on the principles of sustainable food and nutrition systems as a guide for policy making in the field of food and nutrition; and b) compiling a thrifty optimal food basket of Iran-2023 as a necessary tool in welfare and social support studies and planning.
 Materials & Methods: After collecting opinions of experts and stakeholders from various fields, data of the reports on the comprehensive study of the food consumption patterns and the nutritional status of the Iranian households and individuals, 2017–2018, and information of the statistics center (quantity of consumption of food groups by people, quantitative share of food items, average and price range of food groups, necessary quantities of energy, macronutrients and micronutrients) as well as the Iranian food composition table were used as inputs of the model. Energy, protein and nutrients were defined for age and sex groups based on the latest WHO/FAO references as 100% of the energy needs in the optimal food basket, at least 95% of the energy requirements and 80% of the key nutrients (vitamin B₂, vitamin A, Fe and Ca) for the thrifty food basket were covered. Considerations of national and international dietary guidelines promoting health and preventing diseases included fats, 15–30%; carbohydrates, 55–75%; proteins, 10–15%; saturated fatty acid, less than 10%; simple sugars, less than 10% energy; and total vegetables and fruits, more than 400 g. Solver was used as a Microsoft Excel add-in program to optimize the optimal and thrifty food basket values. To apply sustainability considerations, two environmental indicators of water and carbon footprint were calculated for the baskets.
Results: The recommended per capita quantities of food in grams per day for the optimum food basket of Iran-1402 included bread, 290; rice, 70; pasta, 25; legumes and nuts, 30; potatoes, 70; vegetables and fruits, 200; red meat, 30; white meat (chicken and fish), 60; eggs, 40; dairies, 300; vegetable oils, 35; and sugar, 30. In the key micronutrients, riboflavin and vitamin A were provided more than the necessary quantity and iron and calcium in a range of 80–85% of the requirement. The optimal food basket designed-2023 included 5% less water footprint and 2% less carbon footprint than that the optimal food basket did for 2013. Mild increases in the environmental sustainability of the optimal food basket-2023 was majorly due to decreases in the share of meats, fruits and rice and increases in the share of legumes, compared to the food basket-2013. Increasing the quantity of dairy products is one of the reasons that weaken the environmental sustainability of the novel optimal food basket.
Conclusion: Availability of sufficient appropriate nutrition is a human right and a prerequisite for comprehensive sustainable development. Optimum and thrifty food baskets include a big step towards a healthier and more prosperous future for everyone. It is necessary to design and implement food and nutrition policies at macro-levels and continuously assessment and monitoring of their effects on the households and individuals.