Food Science and Human Wellness最新文献

Recent studies indicated that vitamin A (VA) might be involved in the pathology of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the association between circulating VA level and T2DM. A total of 1 818 subjects aged 50 years old and above were recruited from the community. Binomial logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were applied to analyze the association of plasma VA level with the risk of T2DM. Serum VA and lipid-adjusted VA levels of T2DM patients were significantly higher than that of non-T2DM subjects (P < 0.05). The ratios of plasma VA/total cholesterol (TC), VA/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and VA/low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) were positively associated with the risk of T2DM in the aging population (P < 0.05). Compared with the Q1 level, subjects with Q2 to Q3 levels of plasma VA/triglyceride (TG) have decreased risk of T2DM (odds ratio (OR)_Q2 = 0.68, P_Q2 = 0.021; OR_Q3 = 0.59, P_Q3 < 0.01). Our results indicated that the imbalance of circulating lipids and VA might affect the relationship between VA and T2DM. The middle and aging subjects with higher ratios of plasma VA/TC, VA/HDL-c, and VA/LDL-c displayed increased risk for T2DM, but the moderate ratio of VA/TG might protect against risk of T2DM.

Ovalbumin (OVA) is the major allergenic protein that can induce T helper 2 (Th2)-allergic reactions, for which current treatment options are inadequate. In this study, we developed a polymerized hypoallergenic OVA product via laccase/caffeic acid (Lac/CA)-catalyzed crosslinking in conjunction with galactomannan (Man). The formation of high molecular weight crosslinked polymers and the IgG-binding were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blotting. The study indicated that Lac/CA-catalyzed crosslinking plus Man conjugation substantially altered secondary and tertiary structures of OVA along with the variation in surface hydrophobicity. Gastrointestinal digestion stability assay indicated that crosslinked OVA exhibited less resistance in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). Mouse model study indicated that Lac-Man/OVA ameliorated eosinophilic airway inflammatory response and efficiently downregulated the expression of Th2-related cytokines (interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and IL-13), and upregulated IFN-γ and IL-10 expression. Stimulation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells with Lac-Man/OVA suppressed the expression of phenotypic maturation markers (CD80 and CD86) and MHC class II molecules, and suppressed the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines. The knowledge obtained in the present study offers an effective way to acquire a hypoallergenic OVA product that can have a therapeutic effect in alleviating OVA-induced allergic asthma.

Hericium erinaceus is a nutritious edible and medicinal fungi, rich in a variety of functional active ingredients, with various physiological functions such as antioxidation, anticancer, and enhancing immunity. It is also effective in protecting the digestive system and preventing neurodegenerative diseases. In this review paper, we summarize the sources, structures and efficacies of the main active components in H. erinaceus fruiting body, mycelium, and culture media, and update the latest research progress on their biological activities and the related molecular mechanisms. Based on this information, we provide detailed challenges in current research, industrialization and information on the active ingredients of H. erinaceus. Perspectives for future studies and new applications of H. erinaceus are proposed.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a chronic disease associated with the disturbance of gut microbiota homeostasis. Metabolites derived from gut microbes play essential roles in MetS prevention and therapy. Here, we focused on the inhibitory effect of the extract of millet bran protein (EMBP) on a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced MetS, aiming to identify gut microbiota and their metabolites that involve in the anti-MetS activity of EMBP. The obesity, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance in MetS mouse models were abolished after EMBP treatment. The protective mechanism of EMBP against HFD-induced MetS may depend on improved gut barrier function. Using microbiome analysis, we found that EMBP supplementation improved gut microbiome dysbiosis in MetS mice, specifically upregulating Bacteroides acidifaciens. The fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) also demonstrated this phenomenon. In addition, metabolomic analysis showed that EMBP mediates metabolic profiling reprogramming in MetS mice. Notably, a microbiota-derived metabolite, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), is enriched by EMBP. In addition, exogenous GABA treatment produced a similar protective effect to EMBP by improving NRF2-dependent gut barrier function to protect HFD-induced MetS. The results suggest that EMBP suppress host MetS by remodeling of gut microbiota as an effective candidate for next-generation medicine food dual purpose dietary supplement to intervene in MetS.

Hyperoside and quercetin are similar in molecular structures. In this study, the antioxidant regulatory targets of hyperoside and quercetin are mainly in the nuclear factor (erythroid-2-derived)-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway predicted by network pharmacology. And the antioxidant effect and mechanism of hyperoside and quercetin were measured and compared in H₂O₂-induced HepG2 cells and Caenorhabditis elegans. The findings indicated that quercetin was more effective than hyperoside in reducing oxidative damage, which was proved by improved cell viability, decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, decreased cellular apoptosis, and alleviated mitochondrial damage. In addition, quercetin was more efficient than hyperoside in enhancing the expression of Nrf2-associated mRNAs, increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT), and reducing the cellular malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Quercetin was superior to hyperoside in prolonging the lifespan of worms, decreasing the accumulation of lipofuscin, inhibiting ROS production, and increasing the proportion of skn-1 in the nucleus. With the Nrf2 inhibitor ML385, we verified that quercetin and hyperoside primarily protected the cells against oxidative damage via the Nrf2 signalling pathway. Furthermore, molecular docking and dynamics simulations demonstrated that the quercetin- Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) complex was more stable than the hyperoside-Keap1 complex. The stable structure of the complex might hinder the binding of Nrf2 and Keap1 to release Nrf2 and facilitate its entry into the nucleus to play an antioxidant role. Overall, quercetin had a better antioxidant than hyperoside.

This study mainly investigated the regulatory effect of Rosa roxburghii Tratt fruit juice fermented by Lacticaseibacillus paracasei SR10-1 (LAB-RRTJ) on modulating gut microbiota in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice. Compared to control group, DSS induction decreased body weight of mice, indexes of Shannon, Simpson, Chao 1 and Faith_pd, and increased disease activity index (DAI) and levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ); And this induction also led to an increase in Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria at phylum level, harmful bacterial species richness at genus level, and relative richness of S. sciuri, desulfovibrio C21_c20, R. gnavus and Akkermansia muciniphila at species level, and a decrease in Firmicutes at phylum level and relative richness of B. acidifaciens in mice. LAB-RRTJ increased body weight of mice with DSS induced ulcerative colitis (UC) and indexes of Shannon, Simpson, Chao 1 and Faith_pd, reduced DAI and the content of four inflammatory factors and improved gut microbiota imbalance in DSS induced UC mice. Besides, the number of OTUs increased, alpha diversity and beta diversity were restored and similar to those in mice in the Control group after LAB-RRTJ treatment. Compared with the positive drug treatment group, LAB-RRTJ has a better effect on regulating gut microbiota diversity in colitis mice. Correlation analysis showed that inflammatory factors were positively correlated with harmful bacteria and negatively correlated with beneficial bacteria which commonly found in some colitis mice. Taken together, our study demonstrated that LAB-RRTJ could alleviate DSS-induced colitis in mice through the modulation of inflammatory cytokines and gut microbiota composition.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are a group of heterogeneous compounds formed in heat-processed foods and are proven to be detrimental to human health. Currently, there is no comprehensive database for AGEs in foods that covers the entire range of food categories, which limits the accurate risk assessment of dietary AGEs in human diseases. In this study, we first established an isotope dilution UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS-based method for simultaneous quantification of 10 major AGEs in foods. The contents of these AGEs were detected in 334 foods covering all main groups consumed in Western and Chinese populations. Nε-Carboxymethyllysine, methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone isomers, and glyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone-1 are predominant AGEs found in most foodstuffs. Total amounts of AGEs were high in processed nuts, bakery products, and certain types of cereals and meats (> 150 mg/kg), while low in dairy products, vegetables, fruits, and beverages (< 40 mg/kg). Assessment of estimated daily intake implied that the contribution of food groups to daily AGE intake varied a lot under different eating patterns, and selection of high-AGE foods leads to up to a 2.7-fold higher intake of AGEs through daily meals. The presented AGE database allows accurate assessment of dietary exposure to these glycotoxins to explore their physiological impacts on human health.

Low molecular weight polysaccharides can be isolated from Sargassum thunbergii (LMPST) and in vitro experiments were conducted to evaluate the inhibitory effects on lipids. Two natures of LMPST were attained from S. thunbergii and appraised their LMPST on palmitic acid (PA) induced lipid accretion in HepG2, and 3T3-L1 cells. LMPST treatment lessened lipid deposition and intracellular free fatty acid and triglyceride intensities in PA-treated above mentioned cells. The mechanistic study publicized that LMPST2 significantly suppressed adipogenesis and stimulated the PA-treated 3T3-L1 cells occupied in the lipolysis pathway. Furthermore, in PA-treated HepG2 cells, the free fatty acid oxidation was significantly increased by LMPST2. Given these constructive properties of LMPST2 from S. thunbergii, is a potential candidate for diminishing the intracellular lipids, and for a therapeutic agent in those conditions.

The high intraspecies heterogeneity of Baciillus coagulans leads to significant phenotypic differences among different strains. Thus, 6 B. coagulans strains were tested in the present study using an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) animal model to determine whether the IBS-alleviating effects of B. coagulans strains are strain-specific. The results of this study showed that the ingestion of B. coagulans GBI-30, 6086, and B. coagulans CCFM1041 significantly alleviated IBS symptoms in mice. In contrast, other B. coagulans strains showed no or limited alleviating effects on IBS symptoms. According to our experimental results, the two main common features of these strains were as follows: 1) The resistance of vegetative cells to bile salts, and 2) ability to synthesize specific lipids and secondary metabolites. Screening strains based on these two indicators may greatly reduce costs and provide a basis for mining new functional B. coagulans strains. Our results also suggest that administration of B. coagulans could significantly regulate microbiota dysbiosis in animal models. Moreover, the close relationships between the gut microbiota, gut microbiota metabolites, and IBS were further confirmed in this study.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory liver disease that threatens human health worldwide. The aim of this study was to detect the protective effect of a fermented Lentinus edodes extract containing α-glucan (FLA), in a concanavalin A (ConA)-induced AIH mouse model and to determine the underlying liver-protective mechanism. The results showed that compared with the model group, the level of proinflammatory cytokines in serum of FLA pretreated mice was significantly decreased, and the degree of inflammatory cell infiltration in liver, thymus and spleen was significantly reduced. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting showed that FLA pre-treatment inhibited the ConA-induced apoptosis of hepatocytes by down-regulating the expression of BAX and up-regulating the expression of BCL-2. Further research found that FLA may improve liver injury in mice by activating NRF2 signaling pathway and inhibiting TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway. Thus, FLA may improve liver injury in mice by shifting gut microbial composition to reduce the release of inflammatory cytokines in the serum and prevent the necrosis of hepatocytes. Up-regulation of NRF2 signaling pathway, down-regulation of TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway, and an increase in the relative abundance of Lactobacillus_johnsonii and Ligilactobacillus_murinus play a protective role in liver.