Monday, October 22, 2018


plant sources vitamin d precursers


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4981617/




Plant Oils as Potential Sources of Vitamin D

Introduction

Food sources of vitamin D are scarce. Although oily fish is considered to be a good source of vitamin D3 (), its consumption and its vitamin D content is not high enough to significantly improve the vitamin D status of humans (). Besides fish, mushrooms are often considered as another valuable source of vitamin D, in particular of vitamin D2. However, the major natural vitamin D metabolite in fungi and yeast is the vitamin D precursor ergosterol, which can be converted to vitamin D2 by UVB irradiation (). The UVB-exposed baker’s yeast, which has been approved by the European Food Safety Authority as a reliable ingredient to enrich bakery products with vitamin D, is a prominent example for a successful application of UVB irradiation to enhance vitamin D in natural foods (). However, less data are available on vitamin D precursors and metabolites in plants. Yellow oat grass (Trisetum flavescens) is well described for its capability to synthesize bioactive vitamin D. It contains vitamin D glycosides which can be hydrolyzed in the gut or by the gastrointestinal microflora to the biologically active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (). Other so-called calcinogenic plants that contain active vitamin D forms are Solanum malacoxylon, Cestrum diurnum, and Nierembergia veitchii of the Solanaceae family (). These plants are presumed to cause calcinosis in grazing animals due to the hypercalcemic effect of toxic 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels (). Vitamin D metabolites were also found in Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae (). Besides that, certain plants are associated with fungal endophytes () or are capable to produce the vitamin D3precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) on its own via the lanosterol pathway (). Based on these data, we hypothesized that plant oils could also contain vitamin D precursors or metabolites. The main aims of this investigation were [1] to identify and quantify precursors and metabolites of vitamin D in plant oils that are used in human nutrition and [2] to investigate whether a short-term exposure of selected oils to UVB light could increase their vitamin D content. To elucidate possible adverse effects of UVB exposure on the quality of the oils, we analyzed oxidative biomarkers and tested the sensory quality of the UVB-exposed oils. Additional tests were conducted to assess the stability of these vitamin D metabolites subsequent to thermal treatment and storage of the UVB-exposed oil. Finally, we aimed to elucidate the efficacy of plant-derived vitamin D to improve the vitamin D status by feeding an UVB-exposed plant oil to mice......................................
ng/g; 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, 2.1 ng/g).

Discussion

The presented studies demonstrated that plant oils contain high amounts of ergosterol, but comparatively low amounts of 7-DHC. It was striking that the ergosterol concentrations in the plant oils were on average 100 times higher than the 7-DHC concentrations. It is assumed that plants are per se not capable of producing ergosterol or vitamin D2 (), and that any of these metabolites are synthesized by endophytic fungi or by superficial fungal infections (). Regarding 7-DHC, the analyses revealed 10 times higher concentration of this cholesterol precursor in the WGO than in the other oils. 7-DHC is an intermediate of the cholesterol synthesis pathway. It is well described that plants from the Solanaceae, Fabaceae, and Poacaea families are capable of producing cholesterol (), which is assumed to be used for the synthesis of glycoalkaloids and ecdysteroids (). The 7-DHC has also been proposed to function as an UV light protector (), because the 7-DHC absorbs UVB irradiation that would otherwise damage the ribonucleic acids. The detectable amounts of 7-DHC in the linseed, rapeseed, and pumpkinseed oil suggest that cholesterol is also synthesized in plants from the Linaceae, Brassicaceae, and Cucurbitaceae families. However, in contrast to other researchers, who measured vitamin D in certain parts of the plant (), we were not able to detect vitamin D in untreated plant oils.
The detection of vitamin D precursors in the plant oils prompted us to speculate that exposure of oils to UVB irradiation could convert ergosterol and 7-DHC into vitamin D2and vitamin D3, respectively. Among the analyzed plant oils, the highest levels of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 in response to an UVB irradiation were found in the WGO. After an 8-min exposure of thin-layered WGO, 1 g of this oil contained 1.5 μg vitamin D2 and 0.08 μg vitamin D3. We further found that the conversion rate of vitamin D precursors to vitamin D in the WGO was reduced by 40% if the oil layer thickness was increased from 1.0 to 3.2 mm. One gram of this thick-layered WGO provided in total a vitamin D content of 885 ng. With an average consumption of 12 g oil/day (), a total of 10.6 μg vitamin D could be supplied by intake of UVB-exposed WGO, which matches 50% of the recommended daily vitamin D intake ().
An interesting finding of this study was that the vitamin D content in the oils increased with the time of storage and a moderate thermal treatment. It is well described that the UVB photon converts the precursors, 7-DHC and ergosterol, to pre-vitamin D which in turn isomerizes to vitamin D by a thermal reaction (). Therefore, we assume that the preformed pre-vitamin D can convert to vitamin D in conditions with absent UVB irradiation. Our data further indicate that taste and aroma, and also biomarkers that are indicative of autoxidation such as the tocopherol concentration, peroxides, and free acids were not significantly influenced by a short-term exposure of the plant oils to UVB irradiation. This makes the short-term UVB treatment of plant oils to a safe and reliable technique to produce vitamin D supplements.
To evaluate the efficiency of UVB-exposed plant oils to improve the vitamin D status in vivo, we conducted a study with mice that were fed diets with either UVB-exposed WGO, untreated WGO, or WGO with supplemented vitamin D3. Here, we found that the UVB-exposed WGO is suitable to improve the vitamin D status of the mice as the group fed the UVB-exposed oil developed higher 25(OH)D plasma levels than the group fed the untreated oil. Compared with the group fed the vitamin D3-supplemented WGO, the UVB-exposed oil was less effective in increasing the 25(OH)D plasma concentrations. However, it should be noted that the livers of mice that received the UVB-exposed WGO stored huge amounts of vitamin D2 in comparison to that of mice fed the vitamin D3 supplemented oil. The increased storage of hepatic vitamin D2 in combination with the reduced plasma concentration of 25(OH)D2 in the group fed the UVB-exposed oil suggests that vitamin D2 is less appropriate as a substrate for hepatic hydroxylation than vitamin D3. It has been a debate for many years whether both forms of vitamin D are bioequivalent. A series of studies has shown that vitamin D2 does not increase 25(OH)D serum concentrations to the same amount as vitamin D3 does (). The current data confirm the different efficacy of both vitamin D isoforms. However, we cannot exclude at this stage, that photo-isomers that are produced by the UVB treatment may also impact the bioavailability of the vitamin D form in UVB-exposed oil.
To conclude, plant oils that are commonly used in human nutrition contain considerable quantities of ergosterol, but small amounts of 7-DHC. Among the different analyzed oils, WGO has the highest amounts of vitamin D precursors. A short-term UVB irradiation was successful in increasing the vitamin D content of the selected oils. The in vivo study has shown that UVB-exposed WGO can improve the vitamin D status, although less effective than vitamin D3.

Author Contributions

CB, BK, and GS conceived and designed the experiment. AB performed the experiment. AB and FH analyzed the data. AB, CB, and GS wrote the manuscript. BK and FH critically reviewed the manuscript

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Counterintuitive:Cacao,(Chocolate),Fungus A  Source Of Vitamin D ?



http://www.freshplaza.com/article/9031121/mushrooms-a-weapon-in-fight-against-global-vitamin-d-shortage/

Mushrooms + UV light = Vitamin D bombs

Mushrooms a weapon in fight against global vitamin D shortage

Vitamin D mushrooms. After three years of effort, the European Commission approved the claim
this summer. With the aid of UV light, mushrooms change into small vitamin D bombs. Scelta
Mushrooms and Banken Champignons made an effort to also be allowed to use the claim in Europe. Now what? Are consumers ready for ‘functional foods?’ How do you market a product like this?
The technique is simple in theory. Mushrooms contain the substance ergosterol, which is turned
 into vitamin D under the influence of UV light. “Mushrooms naturally produce vitamin D under the
influence of sunlight (UV radiation),” Alex Bos of Banken Champignons explains. Chanterelles and
other wild mushrooms picked in forests naturally contain vitamin D. But that’s the theory, the practice
 is more stubborn. “No vitamin D is produced because mushrooms are grown indoors, and never
see sunlight. Illumination occurs after the harvest. The complexity of this can be found in the
consistency,” Roy Janssen of Scelta Mushrooms mentions another bottleneck. “To remain within
legislation and regulations, the lamps have to constantly be readjusted.”
Claim’s burden of proof important


“It sounds simple,” says Alex. “But you have to give proper shape to the process to guarantee the
claim that the mushrooms contain vitamin D. We use patented lamps.” The claim isn’t exclusive to
 Banken Champignons or Scelta Mushrooms. Other players within the framework of the EFSA
process can also get started with UV lamps. “We have a first mover advantage because we gained
a lot of knowledge and skill in recent years,” Roy says. “It’s still calm in this field on the market for
processed mushrooms, and we’re the only ones to offer these mushrooms.”............


..........................................................................................................

https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/dark-chocolate-cocoa-butter-important-source-of-vitamin-d/291996

Berlin: Cocoa butter and dark chocolate can be a significant source of Vitamin D 
and may help reduce the risk of respiratory diseases and brittle bones, a study has 
found. Vitamin D is crucial for the human body. It comes in two types: vitamin D2 
and D3. Vitamin D3 is produced in the human skin through exposure to the sun. 
Humans get 90 per cent of their vitamin D requirements this way. The rest is ideally 
consumed through food, such as fatty fish or chicken eggs. Vitamin D2, which can 
also be utilised by the human body, is found in fungi. 
The study, published in the journal Food Chemistry, found that cocoa and foods 
containing cocoa have significant amounts of vitamin D2. "Many people do not get 
enough vitamin D. The problem increases in the winter months when sunshine is 
scarce," said Gabriele Stangl from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in 
Germany.Researchers investigated the vitamin D content of cocoa and products 
containing cocoa because they suspected that they contained a previously unknown 
source of the vitamin. Cocoa beans are dried after fermentation. They are placed 
on mats and exposed to the Sun for one to two weeks. The precursors of vitamin D, 
which presumably originate from harmless fungi, are transformed by the sunlight 
into vitamin D2.In order to test their theory, the research group analysed various 
cocoa products and powders using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry. What they 
found is that products containing cocoa are indeed a source of vitamin D2, but the 
amount varies greatly from food to food. While dark chocolate has a relatively high 
vitamin D2 content, researchers found very little in white chocolate.


Dark chocolate, cocoa butter important 

source of vitamin D

Health
Updated Sep 29, 2018 | 23:27 IST | PTI

According to studies, cocoa butter and dark chocolate can be a significant source of 

Vitamin D and may help in reducing the risk of respiratory diseases and brittle bones.

Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate, cocoa butter important source of vitamin D (Representational Image)  |  Photo Credit: Thinkstock











Berlin: Cocoa butter and dark chocolate can be a significant source of Vitamin D 
and may help reduce the risk of respiratory diseases and brittle bones, a study has 
found. Vitamin D is crucial for the human body. It comes in two types: vitamin D2 
and D3. Vitamin D3 is produced in the human skin through exposure to the sun. 
Humans get 90 per cent of their vitamin D requirements this way. The rest is ideally 
consumed through food, such as fatty fish or chicken eggs. Vitamin D2, which can 
also be utilised by the human body, is found in fungi. 
The study, published in the journal Food Chemistry, found that cocoa and foods 
containing cocoa have significant amounts of vitamin D2. "Many people do not get 
enough vitamin D. The problem increases in the winter months when sunshine is 
scarce," said Gabriele Stangl from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in 
Germany.Researchers investigated the vitamin D content of cocoa and products 
containing cocoa because they suspected that they contained a previously unknown 
source of the vitamin. Cocoa beans are dried after fermentation. They are placed 
on mats and exposed to the Sun for one to two weeks. The precursors of vitamin D, 
which presumably originate from harmless fungi, are transformed by the sunlight 
into vitamin D2.In order to test their theory, the research group analysed various 
cocoa products and powders using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry. What they 
found is that products containing cocoa are indeed a source of vitamin D2, but the 
amount varies greatly from food to food. While dark chocolate has a relatively high 
vitamin D2 content, researchers found very little in white chocolate.
"This is not surprising as the cocoa content in white chocolate is significantly lower. 
It confirms our assumption that cocoa is the source of vitamin D2," said Stangl. 
The findings do not prompt researchers to recommend consuming large quantities 
of chocolate.
"You would have to eat enormous amounts of chocolate to cover your vitamin D2 
requirements. That would be extremely unhealthy because of the high sugar and 
fat content," said Stangl. Instead, the results of the study are important for obtaining accurate data on the average nutrients consumed by the population. 

................................
http://www.freshplaza.com/article/9031121/mushrooms-a-weapon-in-fight-against-global-vitamin-d-shortage/

Mushrooms + UV light = Vitamin D bombs

Mushrooms a weapon in fight against global vitamin D shortage

Vitamin D mushrooms. After three years of effort, the European Commission approved the claim
this summer. With the aid of UV light, mushrooms change into small vitamin D bombs. Scelta
Mushrooms and Banken Champignons made an effort to also be allowed to use the claim in Europe. Now what? Are consumers ready for ‘functional foods?’ How do you market a product like this?
The technique is simple in theory. Mushrooms contain the substance ergosterol, which is turned
 into vitamin D under the influence of UV light. “Mushrooms naturally produce vitamin D under the
influence of sunlight (UV radiation),” Alex Bos of Banken Champignons explains. Chanterelles and
other wild mushrooms picked in forests naturally contain vitamin D. But that’s the theory, the practice
 is more stubborn. “No vitamin D is produced because mushrooms are grown indoors, and never
see sunlight. Illumination occurs after the harvest. The complexity of this can be found in the
consistency,” Roy Janssen of Scelta Mushrooms mentions another bottleneck. “To remain within
legislation and regulations, the lamps have to constantly be readjusted.”
Claim’s burden of proof important


“It sounds simple,” says Alex. “But you have to give proper shape to the process to guarantee the
claim that the mushrooms contain vitamin D. We use patented lamps.” The claim isn’t exclusive to
 Banken Champignons or Scelta Mushrooms. Other players within the framework of the EFSA
process can also get started with UV lamps. “We have a first mover advantage because we gained
a lot of knowledge and skill in recent years,” Roy says. “It’s still calm in this field on the market for
processed mushrooms, and we’re the only ones to offer these mushrooms.”
Three years of literature and practical research preceded the approval. In those years, Scelta
Mushrooms and Banken Champignons worked together to prove the claim. “We worked in a
controlled environment for three years so as not to harm the quality of the product, but also to be
able to guarantee a percentage of vitamin D,” Alex explains. Other producers are free to market
vitamin D mushrooms, but they’ll also have the burden of proof. Companies have to show that the
mushrooms contain a certain number of micrograms of vitamin D. “Banken Champignons and
Scelta offer their customers the comfort that these claim has been proven, and that it has been
officially approved by the European Commission.”
Available this autumn
“It would technically also work with other mushrooms, but that isn’t in our scope,” Roy explains.
Scelta Mushrooms practically only works with white mushrooms. That’s not the case for Banken
Champignons. With an assortment of various mushrooms, it became an interesting matter. “For
now, the claim can only be made for white and brown mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus),” Alex says.
“However, considering these are the mushroom varieties sold most, it offers prospects for the
continued growth of the category.”
Now that approval has been granted, production can get started. Scelta starts the production of the
vitamin D mushrooms at one of their production locations in October. From there, the process will
be rolled out to the other branches, until all white mushrooms contain the additional vitamin D in
principle. “Not all parts of the mushrooms are as susceptible to this technique. For example, we
have a factory where we make flavour enhancers from the stems of the mushrooms. These stems
contain less ergosterol, and therefore have less vitamin D than the caps.”

Alex expects that the first fresh mushrooms with vitamin D will be available in supermarkets from
September. They couldn’t be available soon enough. When Rob Banken talked to BNR about the
new mushrooms earlier this year, the article was picked up by various media. Questions soon
started arriving at the company about where the mushrooms would be available. “Health is
becoming more and more important,” Alex explains the major interest both nationally and
internationally.
Functional foods and meat replacers
The category was already benefiting from the growing number of flexible vegetarians who think
mushrooms are a good alternative to meat. Both Banken and Scelta respond to that trend by
presenting mushrooms as a meat replacer and meat enhancer. “We’re too far removed from the
final consumer to directly influence this trend, we’re looking more at what’s important to our
customers,” Roy explains. A new trend is added to that because of the vitamin D claim: functional
foods. Banken Champignons responds to that directly. A packaging has been developed for six
mushrooms. “This can be offered as a two-person portion, three mushrooms contain 10 micrograms
of vitamin D, which is equal to the recommended daily amount of vitamin D.”
Communicating about the new product is one of the biggest challenges. “We have to get the
message across,” Alex says. For the communication, the company introduces a new packaging,
among other things. “Traditionally, mushrooms are packed in a blue punnet, but we developed a
cardboard punnet with a top seal. The advantage of this is that we can inform the consumers using
five sides of the punnet, and even the top seal, if necessary.”
International ambition
“We’re constantly in contact with our customers to inform them about the vitamin D mushrooms,”
Roy says. Most of the customers of the eco-pouch are active in food service. “They consider it a
good addition.” Customers can choose to use the claim and communicate to their customers when
offering, for example, a mushroom burger enhanced with vitamin D. “It’s up to the customer to
decide to what extent they want to inform final users. Up till now, we haven’t spoken to anyone who
objects to the vitamin D mushrooms.”
The vitamin D mushrooms have been available abroad for a while now. The UK and the US have a
 longer tradition of enhancing food with vitamins and minerals. “It’s a global trend that’s also headed
for Europe,” Roy says. It’s therefore not surprising Roy mentions North America as a market where
the vitamin D mushrooms will likely be absorbed without any problems. In Europe, the UK will
probably be the frontrunner, although interest is increasing in other countries. The British chain
Tesco has decided to offer brown mushrooms enhanced with vitamin D as a standard. “This trend
can also be seen in Australia and Canada,” Alex adds.
Why is there a vitamin D shortage?
Mushrooms as a source of vitamin D sounds positive, but why is vitamin D so important? Do we
have a chronic shortage of vitamin D? Alex: “The body gets vitamin D in two ways. The first is from
 food, this is good for about one-third of vitamin D in bodies. Two-thirds of the vitamin D is produced
by the body itself under influence of sunlight on our skin.” This isn’t a problem in the summer
 months, when the sun is shining and people tend to be outside more, so the body produces plenty
of vitamin D. This changes as days grow shorter, when the sun is less high in the sky and it’s often
hidden behind grey clouds, in short, when autumn starts. It becomes more difficult for bodies to
produce plenty of vitamin D. An addition is needed. “Vitamin D is important for calcium intake, for
instance,” Alex continues. Calcium is necessary for the production and maintenance of bones and
teeth.
“It’s a major theme that’s often talked about, and that’s why we’re seeing it in more and more
products. Mushrooms are the only natural source of vitamin D,” Roy adds. Globally, a shift can be
seen. As a result of the economic development and the fact people spend more time indoors, the
number of people with a vitamin D shortage is increasing globally.Besides, there’s increasing
interest in functional foods.

Vitamin D life buoy for white mushrooms?
In recent months, the discussion regarding the pricing of white mushrooms in retail flared up in the
national media. Due to pressure on the prices, the Dutch mushroom production is in danger of
disappearing. Can the vitamin D enhancement change this?
“We’re considering this to be one of the great things we found in our mushrooms, and we can offer
something wonderful to the market from a social point of view with it,” Roy says. “People have a
global shortage of vitamin D. We can help find a solution this way,” he says.
It’s different for the fresh market, not least because that’s where the discussion is most intense.
Alex thinks the price discussion won’t disappear. “The discussion has been held before, but we’ve
now reached a point when something has to happen. Otherwise there won’t be any mushroom
growers left in the Netherlands.” Due to the pressure on prices, a lot of mushroom growers were
forced to quit in recent years. Despite the decreasing numbers of growers, total production
remained at the same level. That scaling-up, however, has now reached its limit. The existing
production companies are so large that if a grower collapses, a large part of the area is lost to the
market. “It’s hard, because the Netherlands is a pioneer in the field of mushroom production,” Alex
says. The European retailers have also become increasingly larger, so they can put more pressure
on prices. “It’s a shame when the Netherlands has to lose out because of competition from Poland.”
“The positive thing about the vitamin D mushrooms, is that we have the knowledge,” Alex says
about the positive developments on the market. “Because of that, there will always be demand for
Dutch product.” Zooming out, he describes the total sector more positively. “The product group has
grown in recent years. Chestnut mushrooms and exotic mushrooms are sold more often.” The
market for white mushrooms also appears to be stabilising after a few years of decreasing. “We
even see a slight plus,” Alex says, hopefully. “The biggest growers are the mixed packaging,
chestnut mushrooms and shiitake.” Vitamin D could break the downward pricing spiral of the white
mushrooms, he thinks. “It is an added value for retailers, which could be good for prices.”
A.vos@bankenchampignons.com
RoyJanssen@sceltamushrooms.com

Tuesday, August 7, 2018





Santa Cruz Indymedia: The Not So Silent Scream


Tony Ryals ... At most a baby-machine, and not a very good one at that. ... now dead in her mother's arms, after releasing her last gasp, her not so silent scream.

santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/18875/index.php




The Not So Silent Scream

This Latin woman-girl-child could as easily be from Asia, India, the Middle East or Africa. Born into her economic and sexual caste. No way out. At most a baby-machine, and not a very good one at that.
The cameras aren't rolling for a photo-op , as in the White House. But if they were, they might be filming in black and white or perhaps in a reddish hue as she takes the can or small paper box and adds water to help it go down a little better. It's extremely bitter, burning - extremely alkaline or acidic- as she swallows it.

But a minor bitter pill to swallow in a life filled with bitter pills. No birth control pills though, or RU-486.The US government with its protestant-fundamentalist leaders is united with the Catholic Church to see to that.

This Mexican , Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Guatemalan or Columbian girl-child swallowed her bitter brew in hopes of a lucky, safe abortion-away from the scrutiny of a prying and unhelpful Church and State -WAS SHE RAPED? Or was she the victim of her own hormone ecstacy or hormone hell, performing a reproductive behavior that in the end only led to grief? Is it really any of our business? Perhaps it was a minor brief pleasure, (or perhaps it wasn't), in an otherwise dreary, marginalized life where tortillas to quench that other drive-satiating a lingering hunger, is sometimes extremely hard to come by.

If she is a rural illiterate woman she might even occasionally envy the neighbor's cow, who is plumper and better fed than she. And more capable of producing milk than she would ever be. At least the cow, the cow could eat the grass now that the forest was cut and gone.

If this woman-girl-child is one of the urban poor, the millions upon millions driven to the city as population pressures make living off the land increasingly impossible, her plight is perhaps even worse, if that's possible.

This Latin woman-girl-child could as easily be from Asia, India, the Middle East or Africa. Born into her economic and sexual caste. No way out. At most a baby-machine, and not a very good one at that.

If she is of the urban middle class she may find an expensive dehumanizing illegal abortion, perhaps with dubious results. But if you're the 'doctor' - who's going to complain about a few complications from an illegal abortion?

The police working for the church and state won't help. Maybe they’ll rape her for her efforts. Who's to complain? She was the one who had the illegal abortion. Both a criminal and a sinner.

Back to the poor campasina girl-child who has swallowed her bitter potion and is now writhing on the dirt floor of the family's one room scrap and cardboard shack-still muddy from leaks of the last rain.

Her mother has returned from her three or four mile walk into town to purchase a little bit of milled corn flour -hardly enough to stave off the hunger of her several children through the night.

And now to find her eldest daughter writhing on the floor, vomiting blood,as if her insides were dissolving. She'll be dead before her mother puts together the pieces. Although never the bigger picture of the religious holy men kissing W's ass in Washington. The son of the landowner next door will never confess his role in the nightmare. (Not that he's rich, not that he could afford another mouth to feed). But he'll never experience the nightmare or really be touched by it any more than W and his high priests will be by their religio-political decisions.

Had things gone right the abortion would have occurred, and although internal damage and pain would have lingered for some time, this girl-child(murderer?) would have survived. Now she would be saved the slow recovery, for she was now dead in her mother's arms, after releasing her last gasp, her not so silent scream.

And perhaps just as well, for with her poor malnourished body, the only milk she may have provided might have come from a few drops she might have stolen(a thief?)from the landowner's cow next door.

If she were caught she might be raped again. A vicious cycle.

Meanwhile, back in Washington D.C., W, the 'education president', takes his photo-ops with the very religious, pious, and of course affluent, men whose reproductive politics, ignorance, and laws just caused the death of this woman-girl-child (were they her true murderers?) 


http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/18875/index.php

Monday, August 6, 2018

u.s. now importer of russian phosphates for agriculture






APATIT, Russia


The Moneyed Professor: Putin's Dissertation Adviser Reportedly Now A Billionaire

https://www.rferl.org/a/moneyed-professor-putin-dissertation-adviser-reportedly-now-a-billionaire/28635741.html








July 24, 2017 17:24 GMT



Vladimir Litvinenko is the rector of the St. Petersburg Mining Institute.



https://www.rferl.org/a/moneyed-professor-putin-dissertation-adviser-reportedly-now-a-billionaire/28635741.html














Add another name to the list of Russian President Vladimir Putin's associates who have reportedly become billionaires under his reign.
Vladimir Litvinenko, a former Putin campaign manager and a St. Petersburg university rector who has said he supervised the Russian president’s dissertation, is now worth more than $1 billion, according to a respected Russian newspaper.
News of Litvinenko’s rising fortune ricocheted across the Russian media landscape on July 24 following an investigation of his wealth and assets published by the Vedomosti business daily.
The rector of the St. Petersburg Mining Institute is one of several Putin associates to have amassed fortunes during the Russian president’s 17 years in power. Their wealth has triggered accusations -- rejected by the Kremlin -- of corruption and cronyism from Russia's opposition and Western officials.
An analysis by the Russian version of Forbes magazine last year showed that three billionaires seen as close to Putin -- businessmen Arkady Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko, as well as Putin’s reported son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov -- netted billions of dollars in state orders in 2015.
Increased Stake
It was no secret that Litvinenko was a wealthy man -- at least not since 2011, when Russian fertilizer giant Phosagro revealed details of its ownership. Phosagro said the academic owned a 10-percent stake in the company, which waspreviously owned by Russian-tycoon-turned-jailed-Kremlin-foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Litvinenko -- who ran Putin’s presidential campaign in St. Petersburg in 2000, 2004, and 2012 -- has steadily increased his stake in Phosagro. In April, he bought up a further 4.81-percent share, bringing his total stake to 19.35 percent, according to Phosagro's website.
On its 2017 list of Russia’s richest people, the Russian version of Forbes magazine estimated Litvinenko’s wealth at $850 million.
But his purchase of additional Phosagro shares in April -- which made him the company’s second-largest shareholder behind the family of Russian tycoon and former lawmaker Andrei Guryev -- pushed Litvinenko’s wealth over $1 billion, Vedomosti reported.


Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin
The newspaper appeared to base its estimate on Phosagro’s value on Russia’s main stock index, the Micex, at the close of trading on July 21. Based on that measure, his stake was worth 59.9 billion rubles, or $1 billion. Litvinenko’s declared income last year was 195.7 million rubles ($3.27 million).
The Vedomosti investigation, which looked into how Litvinenko amassed his wealth, was the top news item on the leading Russian search engine Yandex on July 24. The report, which said Litvinenko refused to comment, came to no firm conclusions about how the rector obtained his original stake.

Forbes and other Russian media outlets had previously reported that Litvinenko took part in a 1990s voucher privatization of Apatit, a major fertilizer-component producer that was later acquired by Phosagro.
The allegedly illegal privatization of Apatit was part of Russia’s politically explosive prosecution of Khodorkovsky, whose bank, Menatep, acquired a 20-percent stake in the firm in 1994. The asset was seized by the state and sold back to Phosagro in 2012.
Estranged Daughter
Litvinenko’s estranged daughter, who has been locked in a custody battle with her parents over her daughter for years, said in an interview this month that she believes her father has been able to leverage his links to Putin to enrich himself.

“I don’t deny that he has excellent managerial abilities,” Olga Litvinenko, who lives in Europe and recently joined a civic group founded by the now-exiled Khodorkovsky, told RFE/RL’s Russian Service. “He undoubtedly has managerial talent. But it was his friendship with Putin that opened many doors.”
Litvinenko has served as the St. Petersburg Mining Institute’s rector since 1994. Three years after Litvinenko took the helm there, Putin earned a graduate degree from the institute, writing a dissertation that two scholars at the Washington-based Brookings Institution later alleged had been partly plagiarized.
Olga Litvinenko claimed in the interview with RFE/RL’s Russian Service that she had seen her father write the dissertation at the family dacha. The assertion could not be independently verified.
For his part, Litvinenko has defended Putin against the plagiarism allegation.
“I followed the work on [the dissertation] from day one,” Litvinenko was quoted by the Kommersant newspaper as saying in 2006, adding that he and his colleagues had told the former KGB officer and future president to rework the first draft of the paper.

Litvinenko said he had “no doubt” that Putin wrote the dissertation himself and that “enemies” of Putin were seeking to smear him, Kommersant reported at the time.






Top Russian Nutrient Maker Boosts US Sales as Mosaic Shuts

Bloomberg-Jul 13, 2018
PhosAgro sees overall demand for phosphate fertilizers, measured in ... cadmiumand arsenic may also affect the market, Guryev said.


Putin's Russia: One Man's Story Of Corruption & Persecution - EU Today

https://eutoday.net/news/.../putins-russia-one-mans-story-of-corruption-persecution

Dec 9, 2017 - Igor Sychev, a former senior manager of the Russian company PhosAgro, one of the world's leading producers of phosphate-based fertilisers, ...

Latvia has granted political asylum to Igor Sychev - EU Today

https://eutoday.net/news/human.../latvia-has-granted-political-asylum-to-igor-sychev

Mar 28, 2018 - Sychev is the former head of the tax department of Phosagro, one of the world's leading producers of phosphate-based fertilisers ... He escaped from Russia in 2016 after conflict with shareholders of Phosagro Andrey Guryev and Igor Antoshin, .... Nigel Farage: Americans Should Worry About The Jews.

PhosAgro Posts Sales Hike in 9M 2014 :: Russia-InfoCentre

russia-ic.com › News Archive › Russian Business and Law News

Nov 18, 2014 - PhosAgro, a leading global vertically integrated phosphate-based ... USD 360 per tonne a year ago,” said PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev.

undefined - Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/news/article.asp?docKey...

Ex-Trump staffer Scaramucci headlines Orthodox Jewish chamber at Bell Works ... of environmentally friendly phosphate-based fertilizers and the main supplier of ... of Entrepreneurs and CEO of PhosAgro, Andrey Guryev, noted: "A little more ...