Benders'dictionary of nutrition and food technology

anthocyanidins The aglycones of anthocyanins.anthocyanins Violet, red and blue water-soluble pigments inmany flowers, fruits and leaves, used in food colours (E-163). Relativelystable to heat, light and oxygen. They can react with ironor tin, giving rise to discoloration in canned foods.anthoxanthins Alternative name for flavonoids.anthrone method See clegg anthrone method.anthropometry Measurement of the physical dimensions andgross composition of the body as an index of developmentand nutritional status; a non-invasive way of assessing bodycomposition.Weight-for-age provides information about the overall nutritionalstatus of children; weight-for-height is used to detect acutemalnutrition (wasting); height-for-age to detect chronic malnutrition(stunting). Mid-upper arm circumference provides anindex of muscle wastage in undernutrition.skinfold thickness is related to the amount of subcutaneousfat as an index of over- or undernutrition.Head circumference for age provides an index of chronicundernutrition during intrauterine development or the first twoyears of life.See also body composition; body mass index; cristal height;knee height; stunting; tuxford’s index; wetzel grid.antibiotics Substances produced by living organisms that inhibitthe growth of other organisms. The first antibiotic to be discoveredwas penicillin, which is produced by the mould Penicilliumnotatum and inhibits the growth of sensitive bacteria. Manyantibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections in human beingsand animals; different compounds affect different bacteria.Small amounts of antibiotics may be added to animal feed (afew grams per tonne), resulting in improved growth, possibly bycontrolling mild infections or changing the population of intestinalbacteria and so altering the digestion and absorption of food.To prevent the development of antibiotic-resistant strains ofdisease-causing bacteria, only those antibiotics that are not usedclinically are permitted in animal feed (e.g. nisin, which is alsoused as a food preservative (E-234) ).See also tetracyclines.antibodies A class of proteins formed in the body in response tothe presence of antigens (foreign proteins and other compounds),which bind to the antigen, so inactivating it. Immunityto infection is due to the production of antibodies against specificproteins of bacteria, viruses or other disease-causing organisms,and immunisation is the process of giving these markerproteins, generally in an inactivated form, to stimulate the productionof antibodies. adverse reactions to foods (food aller-29