NPJ Science of Food最新文献

Plant-derived vesicles (PDVs) are lipid-membrane structures that enclose proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and metabolites, reflecting the phytochemical profile of their plant source. This study investigated PDVs from Rosmarinus officinalis leaves (RVs) and Coffea arabica powder (CVs), isolated using a patented method. A multidisciplinary and multi-omic approach was employed to characterize their physico-chemical properties, metabolic and lipid profiles, and in vitro biological activities using fibroblasts (BJ-T5A) and myotubes (C2C12). RVs yield showed a higher vesicles concentration, with 1.37 × 10¹² nanovesicle/mL, compared to 1.74 × 10¹⁰ nanovesicles/mL for CVs. RVs were found to be rich in diterpenes, flavonoids, and free fatty acids, while CVs contained chlorogenic and phenolic acids with higher lipid diversity, mainly diacylglycerols. Both RVs and CVs exhibited a defined morphology and showed strong antioxidant activity, reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) production in both cell models. Additionally, they enhanced collagen production and secretion in fibroblasts and positively modulated molecular targets related to fatty acid synthesis and glucose transport in myotubes. These findings support the potential of PDVs as natural delivery systems with beneficial properties in muscle health and tissue function.

Fermented foods are culturally significant and increasingly recognised for their potential health benefits, yet scientific data on household fermentation practices remain limited. We launched a co-designed citizen science (CS) initiative within the HealthFerm project to collect information about the diversity of sourdough fermentation practices implemented at the household level across Europe, how these practices vary by location and baker demographics, and their relationship with baking motivations and attitudes. This manuscript describes the citizen science survey results, as a resource for evaluating sourdough baking practices and motivations across Europe. Over 1000 participants from 33 countries registered, with 671 samples submitted. Participants also completed standardised at-home experiments and sensory evaluations, generating a dataset linking baking habits with physicochemical and sensory profiles. Distinct patterns emerged: professional bakers used older, more frequently refreshed starters and fermented at higher temperatures than household bakers. Ingredient choices and motivations varied by country, shaped by perceived health benefits. Beyond fermentation practice data collection, this initiative established a microbial biobank and harmonised metadata resource, while offering practical insights into co-design, logistics, and public engagement. The resulting framework provides a transferable model for participatory research in microbiology and food systems science.

Diet derived extracellular vesicles (EV) can be absorbed and influence physiological processes. Herein, this study investigates the potential health impacts of extracellular vesicles in meat products. Experimental results showed the extracellular vesicles derived from cooked red meat (RM-EV) and white meat (WM-EV) were successfully isolated via ultra-high speed centrifugation. The median particle size of RM-EV is 137.5 nm and that of WM-EV is 116.1 nm. RM-EV and WM-EV are added to the drinking water of mice for ten weeks. The mice developed insulin resistance and abnormal lipid metabolism in the liver. The influences of RM-EV are more pronounced for mice than WM-EV. High-throughput sequencing indicated that ssc-miR-1 (52.05%) and scc-miR-133a-3p (14.21%) are the most abundant microRNA in RM-EV. However, the highest content of microRNA is gga-miR-133a-3p (44.16%) in WM-EV, followed by gga-miR-1 (21.58%). Therefore, the most abundant ssc-miR-1 in red meat EV (RM-EV-miR-1) was selected for in vitro studies. In vitro experiments revealed that RM-EV-miR-1 inhibited cell proliferation by targeting IGF1 in NCTC1469 liver cell. Besides, RM-EV-miR-1 exacerbates insulin resistance in NCTC1469 insulin resistance cell model by targeting PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Our findings show that the differential health impacts of red and white meat may be partially attributed to the presence of EV. These results provide novel insights into dietary health from the perspective of EV.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent metabolic disorder with limited treatment options. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of water extract of Ajania fruticulosa (WEAF) against NAFLD in cellular and animal models. WEAF significantly attenuated obesity, lipid accumulation, liver injury, and inflammation in NAFLD mice. Next, UPLC-MS/MS-based network pharmacology and molecular biology revealed that WEAF alleviated NAFLD by TLR2-mediated MYD88/NF-κB and SREBP1/PPAR-γ pathways, with 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid, glycitein, and isorhapontigenin identified as the primary bioactive compounds. Finally, molecular docking, molecular dynamics, drug affinity responsive target stability, and cellular thermal shift assay confirmed that glycitein and isorhapontigenin directly bind to TLR2 to modulate the NF-κB/PPAR-γ signaling, and their anti-NAFLD effects were abolished by TLR2 agonist Pam3CSK4. In conclusion, WEAF and its key active compounds, glycitein and isorhapontigenin, effectively ameliorate obesity-induced NAFLD via the NF-κB/PPAR-γ signaling pathway by targeting TLR2, supporting their potential as therapeutic target and agents for NAFLD.

We previously reported inverse associations of coarse grain (CG) intake with blood pressure, mediated by metabolites and gut microbiota. In this 12-week randomized controlled trial among 172 prehypertension participants, both the CG (100 g/day) group and the control group (refined grain) showed significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) over 12 weeks, with no significant time by group interaction. In the exploratory analyses of secondary outcomes, significant time by group interactions were detected for 26 taxa (such as g__Lactococcus and g__Faecalibacterium), associated with 23 differential fecal metabolites, which in turn were correlated with blood pressure changes over the CG intervention. Microbial ATP-binding cassette transporter was highlighted in the pathway annotation for the CG-derived differential microbial taxa. Baseline gut microbiota exhibited predictive potential for blood pressure reduction, while host ABO variance rs514659 modulated the intervention effect on SBP and DBP (P interaction < 0.05), providing preliminary evidence for the tailored nutrition strategies optimizing blood pressure and gut microbiota profiles.

Modern nutrition science still lacks a comprehensive, machine-readable map linking diet to molecular composition and biological effects. Here we present FoodAtlas, a large-scale knowledge graph that links 1430 foods to 3610 chemicals, 2181 diseases, and 958 flavor descriptors through 96,981 provenance-tracked edges. A transformer-based text-mining pipeline extracted 48,474 quantitative food-chemical associations from 125,723 literature sentences (F₁ = 0.67) and integrated them with 23,211 chemical-disease assertions from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, 15,222 chemical-bioactivity records from ChEMBL, 3645 flavor annotations from FlavorDB and PubChem, and 6429 taxonomic relationships. Graph embeddings revealed six dietary modules whose signature metabolites delineate distinct, multisystem disease-risk trajectories. Models built on FoodAtlas demonstrate practical utility: a bioactivity predictor achieved strong correlation with antioxidant assays (R² = 0.52; ρ = 0.72), and a substitution engine reduced simulated total disease risk by 11.9%.

Real-world data help clarify the contribution of food to nutrition, the environment, and food expenditure. We studied the implications of a hypothetical transition in protein sources for these sustainability dimensions using loyalty-card holders' (n = 22,901) food purchases. Six consumer clusters were identified via sequence analysis, representing realistic transitions in protein sources alongside other food consumption changes. Cross-sectional comparisons revealed that higher expenditure of Plant-based and Fish clusters per 2500 kcal was largely driven by other food groups than the protein sources, while the protein source expenditure was relatively consistent across clusters. Environmental impact differences were largely attributable to the protein sources, with meat and fish contributing the most. Aside from protein sources, discretionary foods accounted for 22% of spending and contributed up to 17-32% of environmental impacts. Therefore, alongside protein source changes, reducing discretionary food consumption could yield notable environmental benefits and allow reallocation of expenditure towards more nutritious foods.

The popularity of low-temperature dairy products is challenged by Bacillus species, whose heat-resistant spores and biofilms often survive pasteurization. Moreover, heat treatment can paradoxically enhance biofilm formation in some Bacillus spp., a phenomenon whose metabolic basis is not fully understood. Combining untargeted metabolomics with random forest analysis, we decoded the metabolic adaptations behind this heat-induced biofilm enhancement in raw milk Bacillus isolates. Our results demonstrate strain-specific mechanisms: in BC01, heat stress activated glutaminase, depleting L-glutamine and free histidine to relieve metabolic inhibition and activate biofilm genes, while reduced xanthosine promoted the biofilm-state transition. In BS01, metabolic network restructuring led to decreased synthesis of arginine, D-amino acid, dopamine, and arachidonic acid, thereby mitigating their known inhibitory effects on biofilm formation. This study clarifies the metabolic drivers of biofilm adaptation under heat stress, highlighting novel targets for metabolic intervention in dairy safety.

Aflatoxin contamination is a major food safety concern and has a particularly negative impact on peanuts. Climate conditions are known to influence the natural occurrence of mycotoxins; however, the specific impacts of climate change on the prevalence of aflatoxin remain poorly understood. In this study, we analysed a national-scale dataset comprising 17263 records of peanut aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) contamination in China from 2009 to 2022. Our results revealed that the occurrence of AFB₁ contamination in 2017 and 2021 significantly increased compared with that in 2009. The key climatic drivers included nighttime temperature, wind speed, and precipitation. Notably, temperature variations explain 49.46% of the observed increase. In a high-emissions scenario, future projections estimated that AFB₁ contamination would reach 15.06 μg·kg⁻¹ by the end of the century, representing a 8.50% increase relative to the current level. In 2022, the AFB₁ level in approximately 478,400 metric tons of peanuts exceeded the regulatory limit, and the amount was projected to rise to 1.16 million metric tons by 2100. These results underscore the urgent need to enhance aflatoxin surveillance and develop proactive strategies to mitigate aflatoxin contamination under accelerating climate change.