Food Science & Nutrition最新文献

Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that is not well understood in relation to the microbiome. Our objective was to demonstrate changes in the microbiota and the relationships between nutrients in children with celiac disease (CD) who followed a gluten-free diet (GFD). A group of 11 children who were recently diagnosed with CD, ranging in age from 3 to 12, were monitored for a period of 6 months. GFD is designed based on the individual's specific energy and nutrient needs, with strict control over dietary adherence. Food consumption, blood, and fecal samples were taken. Fecal samples were put through 16s rRNA sequencing. Microbial modifications were demonstrated using alpha diversity, beta diversity, nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis (NDMS), t-test, and metastats. Mean age was 6.4 ± 2.66 years and 54.5% were male participants. Serological parameters were negative after 6 months. Both unweighted (p = .019) and weighted (p = .021) Unifrac distances were higher before GFD, and differences were reliable according to NDMS analysis (stress = 0.189). The abundance of Bacteroides ovatus was increased (p = .014), whereas unidentified Lachnospiraceae, Paeniclostridium, Paraclostridium Peptostreptococcus, and Dielma were decreased after GFD (p < .001). Associations between nutrients and several genera and species were identified. The presence of genus Bifidobacterium and Bifidobacterium adolescentis was inversely associated with fat intake after GFD (p < .01). Microbiota changes became evident over a period of 6 months. The presence or absence of small bacteria may play a role in the development of CD. Modifying the children's dietary intake can potentially influence the microbial composition.

This study aimed to determine the biofunctional properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, and antidiabetic activities, of peel extracts obtained through microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of red beet, dragon fruit, and prickly pear peels using water as a green solvent. Results indicated that the peel extracts exhibited high total phenolic content (TPC), ranging from 345.93 to 1651.17 mg GAE/L. The DPPH scavenging capacity of the extracts ranged between 7.16 and 34.65 mg/mL, while the ABTS scavenging capacity ranged between 0.93 and 15.27 mg/mL. Dragon fruit peel extract (DFE) and prickly pear peel extract (PPE) showed significant α-glucosidase inhibition effects, with 67.79% and 37.50% inhibitions, respectively. Moreover, significant antibacterial activities were observed against five pathogenic bacterial strains (B. cereus, E. coli, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and S. enterica) at various concentrations of extracts. The cytotoxic effect of the extracts on HT-29 and HeLa cancer cells was also observed. The most abundant phenolic compound in DFE was rutin (0.558 mg/g); in PPE, hesperidin was the most abundant (0.596 mg/g); and in red beet peel extract (RBE), hesperidin (0.426 mg/g) was the predominant compound.

There is a pressing need for healthy diets guided by environmental and nutritional targets. Plant-based proteins have emerged as a recent and rapidly growing trend in response to the challenge of sustainable and healthy food systems. While plant-based protein foods are widely promoted as sustainable alternatives, shifting beliefs and attitudes about conventional protein sources present an ongoing challenge. The study examined Canadians' intentions to transition to plant-based protein diets, partially or entirely. A nationally representative survey was conducted among Canadian consumers to achieve our research objective. The survey was administered online using the Qualtrics platform by a market research firm and yielded valid responses from over 1800 participants. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) constructs—attitudes, self-efficacy, and perceived availability—explained only 12% of the variation in intentions toward plant-based protein foods, while sustainability and ethical concerns accounted for 10% of the variation in dietary patterns. Meat attachment negatively impacted changes in dietary patterns, explaining 11% of the intention variation. Additionally, individual past behavior accounted for 7% of intentions toward plant-based proteins. Demographic factors, such as gender and education, strongly and positively predicted purchase intentions, while contextual factors, such as residing in rural neighborhoods and being from Atlantic Canada, showed a strong negative association with intentions toward plant-based protein diets. The findings underscore the multifaceted nature of individuals' intentions toward plant-based protein diets and emphasize the significance of considering cognitive, social, emotional, and past behavioral factors, alongside sustainability values and messaging, to transition to a more plant-based protein diet. This approach should carefully balance individuals' emotional connection and the perception of meat as essential to their meals. Also, targeting interventions based on demographic characteristics, specifically gender, education, and residential neighborhood, can enhance changes in dietary protein sources. The findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge on consumer behavior and sustainable diets, guiding future research and policies informing the design of effective interventions to promote plant-based protein consumption and dietary changes.

Myo-inositol may be efficient to improve sperm parameters to increase the chance of fertility. Although, the data are controversial. This study aimed to assess the impact of Myo-inositol supplements on semen quality and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, a comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. The objective was to identify relevant human studies that investigated the effects of Myo-inositol treatment on various sperm factors, such as sperm motility, sperm concentration, sperm morphology, viable spermatozoa, spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation, and pregnancy rate. Additionally, the testosterone levels of patients with Oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia (OAT) after Myo-inositol application were considered. The findings of 16 selected studies from 2240 citations indicated significant improvements in several parameters of sperm after Myo-inositol administration. Myo-inositol treatment was associated with a notable increase in total sperm motility (SMD 0.90; 95% CI: 0.34 to 1.46; I² = 0%, p = .001) and progressive sperm motility (SMD 1.48; 95% CI: 0.37 to 2.59; I²  = 0%, p = .008). Additionally, there was a significant improvement in testosterone levels (SMD 0.54; 95% CI: 0.34 to 0.73; I²  = 0%, p < .0001). Furthermore, Myo-inositol therapy demonstrated a significant decrease in spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation (SMD −1.37; 95% CI: −2.43 to −0.32; I²  = 85%, p = .01). This study suggests that Myo-inositol therapy has a positive impact on specific sperm parameters, such as total and progressive sperm motility, along with testosterone levels. These findings provide support for the potential benefits of Myo-inositol in improving male fertility parameters related to sperm factors.

Cancer cell can be killed in a programmed way by natural products in a process known as paraptosis.

Overweight and obesity are among the most serious public health problems, making new methods for their prevention, as well as treatment, constantly being sought. This study was designed as a 6 month intervention study. The main objective was to evaluate the effect of an energy deficit (10%, 20%, and 25%—groups D10, D20, and D25, respectively) on the rate of weight loss and waist and hip circumferences. The protocol was completed by 180 participants. Men as well as women comprised 90 patients each. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 30.5 ± 5.0 kg/m² (min 21.3–max 49.2). Among the patients, there were 86 with a BMI indicating overweight. Fifty-four patients had class 1 obesity, while the remaining 30 patients had class 2 or greater obesity. After 6 months of intervention, the D10 group noted a 7.6% (median) reduction in weight, the D20 group a 9.9% (median) reduction in weight, and the D25 group a 10.3% (median) reduction in weight. After the intervention, 51.7% of patients chose to continue further weight reduction already outside the research protocol. Key factors influencing the willingness to stay on the diet longer than 6 months were higher baseline body weight and/or higher BMI and a rate of weight loss of at least 1.5% of body weight per month. In summary, it appears that a larger energy deficit (on the order of 20%–25%) is most appropriate in terms of weight loss lasting 6 months and motivation for continued therapy.

β-Sitosterol is a major bioactive constituent and the most abundant phytosterol in nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils. It is structurally similar to cholesterol, except for the addition of the ethyl group. The primary benefit of β-sitosterol is that it lowers the body's absorption of low-density lipoprotein, or “bad” cholesterol. Research efforts to date and information from the available literature have demonstrated that β-sitosterol has many pharmacological benefits to improve human health; it effectively prevents heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes. To date, many investigations on β-sitosterol have been conducted in in vitro and in vivo studies. There are considerable research gaps because there are almost no clinical studies to examine the safety and effectiveness of β-sitosterol for various human diseases. This review aims to discuss the dietary sources and variations of β-sitosterol in food crops and how it can successfully prevent cancer and diabetes, including the mechanism underlying these benefits. In addition, we also discuss the research gaps and provide our perspective on future research to propose β-sitosterol as a nutraceutical candidate to prevent human diseases.

Herein, we aimed to investigate the physicochemical, bioactive, microbial, and sensory properties of 5 different ultraviolet (UV) treatment conditions, varying in flow rate (1.5–2.5–3.5 L/min), temperature (5–25°C), and UV-intensities (5.1–10.1 mW/cm²), along with heat treatment (HT, 72°C for 20 s), and untreated samples (C) over a storage period of 150 days. At the beginning of storage, the samples exhibited a dry matter content ranging from 2.15% to 2.38%, pH levels ranging from 3.46 to 3.53, and total acidity between 6.35 and 6.51 mg/L. L* values were recorded between 33.09 and 33.50, while ΔC values ranged from 9.13 to 9.24. However, by the end of storage, these values had changed to 2.28–2.43% for dry matter, 3.47–3.49 for pH, 6.22–6.35 mg/L for acidity, 34.94–35.57 for L* values, and 6.95–7.01 for ΔC values. Throughout storage, total mesophilic aerobic bacteria (TMAB), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and yeast and molds were measured at the highest levels in the C samples when compared to HT and UV-treated samples. At the end of storage, compared to the initial values, TMAB levels in UV-treated samples decreased from 3.29–4.80 log cfu/mL to 3.13–3.92 log cfu/mL. On the other hand, compared to the initial values (3.29–4.01 log cfu/mL), LAB levels decreased by 1.93–2.42 log cfu/mL by the end of storage. Initially, in UV-treated samples, the TPC (total phenolic content) ranged from 398.15 to 403.86 mg GAE/g, DPPH antioxidant activity ranged from 811.52 to 834.89 mg TE/L, and TAC (total anthocyanin content) ranged from 5.58 to 5.74 mg/L. By the end of storage, an increase was observed in all bioactive properties analyzed. Furthermore, UV treatment positively impacted the bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds compared to the HT-treated sample. Overall, this study confirms that UV-C technology can be used as an alternative method for extending the shelf life of shalgam juice while preserving its sensory and bioactive attributes.

Hyperlipidemia presents a significant global healthcare challenge, necessitating innovative therapeutic strategies for more effective outcomes. Recent studies have highlighted the beneficial impact of moderate beer intake on metabolic diseases. The purpose of this research is to explore the possible molecular mechanisms of isoxanthohumol (IXN), the major hop flavonoid in beer, in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. The mice model of acute hyperlipidemia was constructed by intraperitoneal injection of Triton WR-1339. The therapeutic effect of IXN was assessed by biochemical and histological analyses. Furthermore, comprehensive data mining across various public databases was conducted to identify underlying therapeutic targets of IXN on hyperlipidemia. A protein–protein interaction network was constructed to pinpoint hub targets, and subsequent GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were used to elucidate underlying biological functions. Molecular docking was utilized to validate the binding affinity between hub targets and IXN. Western blotting analysis further verified the protein expression of potential IXN targets. IXN administration significantly improved blood lipid and hepatic lipid levels, alongside increased SOD activity and decreased MDA content in hyperlipidemia mice. Histological analyses, including H&E and Oil Red O staining, showed the improvement of hepatic steatosis with IXN treatment. At the molecular level, IXN significantly increased protein levels of p-AMPK, PPARα, p-PI3K, and p-AKT. IXN activates AMPK/PPARα and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, leading to reduction in lipid accumulation and oxidative stress, and ultimately ameliorating hyperlipidemia.

Grape molasses (GM), produced from grapes, is a traditional Iranian food and is widely consumed in Iran. However, GM adulteration is among the most widespread illegitimate procedures involving contamination of food with foreign materials, such as adding sugar–water solution, date syrup, sugar beet syrup, and grape sauce. This study used stable carbon ¹³C/¹²C isotope ratio analysis method to detect adulteration of GM samples with glucose syrups (GS), fructose syrups (FS), and beet sugar syrups (BS) at the ratio of 0%, 10%, 30%, and 50% (by weight). Physicochemical properties of GM including °Brix, conductivity, specific gravity, pH, moisture content, ash content, hydroxymethyl furfural, sugar content, and rheological properties of samples were investigated. The δ¹³C isotope ratio of the GM was determined as −26.61%, that of the GS as −13.23%, that of the FS as −13.42%, and that of the BS as −16.58%. The δ¹³C isotope ratio increased by the addition of adulterant syrups to GM. The addition of each adulterant syrup had a different effect on the physicochemical parameters; however, the °Brix and specific gravity had a positive correlation with the δ¹³C isotope ratio results. The magnitudes of G' and G" increase with an increase in frequency representing the viscoelastic behavior of samples. The obtained results of this study suggest the use of δ¹³C isotope ratio method as a fast and accurate method to investigate the adulteration of grape molasses.