Will the Addition of Saline Reduce Residual Activity in the Preparation of a Plant Based Burger

Introduction: Gastric emptying studies have used a standardized meal to replicate a normal meal for the average person, however, there is one major problem, it does not consider people with dietary restrictions and preferences. An alternative to the standardized meal of eggs, bread, and jam, a plant-based burger was used but it presented with a higher activity lost during cooking in comparison to the traditional meal (Duarte, 2022). In addition, it was found that the largest amount of activity lost is the residual activity left in the syringe, but if you add saline to the syringe prior to injection into the eggs the residual activity was lower (Parent, 2019). What is not known is whether the addition of saline to the syringe will lower the total activity lost in the preparation of a plant-based burger or if it will increase the amount lost during cooking. The purpose of this study is to assess if adding more saline to the syringe will cause more activity to be lost during cooking the plant-based burger due to injecting a larger volume.

Methods: The research design is a continuation of prior research involving a plant-based patty. Unit doses of 1mCi of Tc-99m Sulfur Colloid in 2.5 mL were ordered from the radiopharmacy for a total of ten trials. The dose was measured in a dose calibrator before after injection into the burger to check for residual activity. The following count measurements were acquired using a dual-headed camera set at 20cm distance: room background, the pan before and after cooking, the unit dose before and after injection, the burger on the plate after cooking, and the plate and utensils after simulating the consumption of the meal.

Results: The total loss of activity during meal preparation was 36%. The greatest total activity loss was seen in the syringe with 16% residual activity after injection. Approximately 10% of the total counts remained in the pan post cooking and another 10% of the counts remained on the plate and utensils post simulated meal consumption.

Conclusions: : In previous research an average of 33% total activity loss was seen in comparison to the 36% loss in activity in this trial. The amount residual in the syringe was consistent with the previous study, proving that the addition of the volume didn’t change the residual activity. The biggest difference was noted on the plate and utensil measurements post simulated meal consumption with it being 10% with this research and 4% previously. This may in part be due to activity leaking out of the burger during the injection. The same plate was used while injecting the burger and once the burger was cooked it was placed back on the same plate. With the increased volume of the injection at 2.5ml, where in previous research the volume was less than 1mL, it is assumed that some of the activity leaked out of the burger during the injection