Benders'dictionary of nutrition and food technology

59Occurs naturally in a number of fruits, including cranberries,prunes, greengages, cloudberries and cinnamon. Cloudberriescontain so much benzoic acid that they can be stored for longperiods of time without any precautions being taken against bacterialor fungal spoilage.Benzoic acid and its derivatives are excreted conjugated withthe amino acids glycine (forming hippuric acid) and alanine.Because of this, benzoic acid is sometimes used in the treatmentof argininaemia, argininosuccinic aciduria and citrullinaemia,permitting excretion of nitrogenous waste as theseconjugates.benzoyl peroxide Used as a bleaching agent for flour, see ageing.bergamot (1) A pear-shaped orange, Citrus bergamia, grownmainly in Calabria, Italy, for its peel oil.(2) An ornamental herb, Monarda didyma, the dried leaves ofwhich were used to make Oswego tea.(3) A type of pear, Pyrus persica.beriberi The result of severe and prolonged deficiency of vitaminb 1 , still a problem in parts of SE Asia where the diet is high incarbohydrate (polished rice) and poor in vitamin B 1 . In developedcountries vitamin B 1 deficiency is associated with alcoholabuse; while it may result in beriberi, more commonly the resultis central nervous system damage, the wernicke–korsakoffsyndrome.In beriberi there is degeneration of peripheral nerves, startingin the hands and feet and ascending the arms and legs, with a lossof sensation and deep muscle pain. There is also enlargement ofthe heart, which may lead to oedema (wet beriberi), and deathresults from heart failure. Fatal heart failure may developwithout the nerve damage being apparent (Shoshin or suddenberiberi).The name is derived from the Bahasa-Malay word for sheep,to describe the curious sheep-like gait adopted by sufferers.berry Botanical term for fleshy juicy fruits with one or more seedsnot having a stone, e.g. grape, gooseberry, tomato, banana, blackcurrant,cranberry.best before See date marking.beta-carotene (b-carotene) See carotene.betacyanins See betalains.betaine N-Trimethyl glycine, a source of methyl groups in variousreactions, especially the methylation of homocysteine to methioninein tissues other than the brain; an intermediate in themetabolism of choline. Occurs in beetroot and cottonseed.(Obsolete names lycine, oxyneurine.)betalains Red and yellow N-containing pigments (chromoalkaloids)in plants. Betacyanins (e.g. betanin and isobetanin in