Benders'dictionary of nutrition and food technology

ambient-stable foods Foods that have been cooked in a can orplastic microwaveable container, so that only reheating isrequired prior to consumption.See also retort pouches.amblyopia Poor sight not due to any detectable disease of the eye.May occur in vitamin b 2 deficiency.amenorrhoea Cessation of menstruation, normally occurringbetween the ages of 45 and 55 (the menopause), but sometimesat an early age, especially as a result of severe undernutrition (asin anorexia nervosa) when body weight falls below about 45 kg.Amer Picon TM Pungent bitters invented in 1830 by GastonPicon; contains quinine, gentian and orange.Ames test An in vitro test for the ability of chemicals, includingpotential food additives, to cause mutation in bacteria (themutagenic potential). Commonly used as a preliminary screeningmethod to detect substances likely to be carcinogenic. Thetest is based on treating bacteria that are already mutant at aneasily detectable locus for reversal of the mutation (e.g. a strainof bacteria that cannot grow in the absence of histidine to a formthat can do so).amines Formed by the decarboxylation of amino acids. Physiologicallyactive amines with vasoconstrictor (pressor) activitypresent in foods or formed by intestinal bacteria include tyramine,tryptamine, phenylethylamine and histamine.Have been proposed as triggers for diet-induced migraine, andin patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors as antidepressantmedication; intake of foods such as cheese, chocolate andfermented foods that are rich in these amines may provoke apotentially lethal hypertensive crisis.amino acid disorders A number of extremely rare genetic diseases,occurring between 1 and 80 per million live births, whichaffect the metabolism of individual amino acids; if untreatedmany result in mental retardation. Screening for those conditionsthat can be treated is carried out shortly after birth in most countries.Treatmentis generally by feeding specially formulated dietsproviding minimal amounts of the amino acid involved.See also argininaemia; argininosuccinic aciduria; citrullinaemia;cystathioninuria; cystinuria; hartnup disease; homocystinuria;hyperammonaemia; maple syrup urine disease;phenylketonuria.amino acid, limiting The essential amino acid present in a proteinin the lowest amount relative to the requirement for that aminoacid. The ratio between the amount of the limiting amino acid ina protein and the requirement for that amino acid provides achemical estimate of the nutritional value (protein quality) of19