Food frontiers最新文献

Honey produced by stingless bees (Tribe: Meliponini) is well-known for their medicinal and antimicrobial properties from their diverse content of bioactive compounds. However, it has not been possible to fully characterize its active principles. The present systematic review is based on 117 full-text articles. Our review highlights (1) the need to apply complementary methodologies and consolidate protocols to quantify antimicrobial activity (2) to characterize antimicrobial agents in honeys of Heterotrigona itama, Tetragonisca angustula, and Melipona beecheii, and; (3) to search for compounds against multidrug-resistant and/or biofilm-forming pathogens. Moreover, we performed a meta-analysis of 29 articles with quantitative data using diffusion assays and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the most evaluated pathogens, evidencing 221 and 149 antimicrobial activity assays against honey samples of 36 and 24 stingless bee species, respectively. The highest pooled mean in diffusion assays against S. aureus showed a difference between methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and non-MRSA strains {14.43 [95% confidence interval (CI): 12.16–16.71] mm vs. 11.55 (95% CI: 10.22–12.87) mm}, whereas E. coli showed pooled means of 9.09 (95% CI: 7.93–10.25) mm. Regarding MIC expressed as volume/volume percentage (%, v/v), the estimated inhibitory concentrations were 7.89 (95% CI: 3.94–11.83) mL/100 mL for MRSA and 5.60 (95% CI: 2.66–8.55) mL/100 mL considering all S. aureus strains. In contrast, the estimated MICs as weight/volume percentage (%, w/v) showed 15.00 [(95% CI: 12.84–17.16) g/100 mL for S. aureus and 16.17 (95% CI: 5.78–26.55) g/100 mL for E. coli. However, honey remains an unexplored source of antimicrobial molecules.

The cover image is based on the Research Article Holothuria leucospilota polysaccharides (HLP) ameliorate colitis rats via regulation of the metabolic profiling and TLR4/NLRP3 signaling pathways by Xin Zhang et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.343.

Front-of-package nutrition labeling (FOPNL) is an important public health tool, and the introduction of harmonized FOPNL in Europe is one of the most ambitious food labeling changes in decades. Nutri-Score (NS) has been considered for implementation across Europe. However, NS is subject to strong opposition, particularly from the food industry and some agricultural sectors (such as cheese and cured meat), but also from some nutrition scientists and public health professionals, which highlights that the system is not sufficiently aligned with food-based dietary guidelines and the latest scientific literature. These concerns were recently addressed in a revised version of NS (NS2023), aiming to overcome the limitations of its predecessor (NS2021). Our aim was to assess whether these limitations were addressed and to investigate their alignment with dietary guidelines. A systematic literature review identified 20 limitations of NS, assigned to 3 groups (Food-based, Component-based, and Other Dimensions of Food Quality). Subsequent assessment of NS employed a large representative branded food database of 19,510 pre-packed foods. Alignment with dietary guidelines was assessed based on agreement with the WHO Europe nutrient profile (WHOE). NS2023 was shown as notably stricter compared to NS2021 (7% fewer products received the higher grades A or B) and more aligned with WHOE (κ_NS2021 = .59, κ_NS2023 = .65). Overall, most (65%) of the limitations were addressed to some extent; these were mostly Food-based limitations, followed by Component-based, whereas the Other Dimension of Food Quality (processing, sustainability, portion sizes) remained mostly unaddressed. We can conclude that the revised NS2023 increased its potential for implementation across Europe. Our review identified all limitations, relevant or not, which were mentioned in the scientific literature. Therefore, some mentioned limitations may never be solvable in the scope of nutrient profiling. Others could be further addressed by adaptation of the visual presentation, but increased complexity of the labeling message would also reduce the potential of the FOPNL to support consumers in healthier food choices. Additional research is also necessary to explore the potential impact of the revised NS2023 on food reformulation and its perception among consumers.

The increasing incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) worldwide poses serious social and family problems. Various risk factors for ASD are gradually being recognized, and there are also various options for the treatment of ASD. It is worth noting that dietary interventions have been shown to have a positive effect in terms of mitigating and preventing some psychiatric disorders, such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and ASD, and they are gradually receiving attention as a safe adjuvant treatment. In this review, based on the current understanding of the pathogenic factors and intervention strategies for ASD, different dietary patterns that can be selected for children with ASD are discussed in depth. Moreover, a review was conducted on the use of dietary factors, such as natural products from food sources, prebiotics, and probiotics, as effective supplements to existing dietary patterns. As increasing evidence shows that maternal risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, are associated with an increased risk of ASD in offspring, dietary suggestions are also made for pregnant woman with ASD-related risk factors to counteract the impact of these risk factors. With compensation from food-derived natural products, prebiotics, and probiotics, suitable dietary patterns can further enhance the effectiveness of dietary interventions for ASD. In addition, dietary recommendations for pregnant woman may reduce the potential impact of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension and may help to prevent the occurrence of ASD to the maximum extent possible.

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) is one of the most important legume crops grown in subtropical and tropical regions with high nutritional quality. However, the consumption of pigeon pea is very limited worldwide owing to its high level of anti-nutrients, hard texture, and unpleasant characteristic taste. The present review summarized the nutritional profile and health benefit of pigeon pea with special attention to its bioactive phytochemicals (e.g., cajanin, cajanol, and cajaninstilbene acid). Furthermore, some aspects that can help promote the application of pigeon pea in foods were highlighted from the perspectives of physical (i.e., thermal, extrusion, and ultrasound-assisted), chemical (i.e., chemical modification and enzymatic hydrolysis), and biological treatment (i.e., sprouting and fermentation). The primary impact of physical methods was confined to the mitigation of anti-nutrients. Chemical approaches were less explored and mainly targeted on the modification of starch and protein in pigeon pea. In contrast, the biological methods were found to decrease the level of anti-nutritional factors, increase the production of bioactive phytochemicals, and improve the sensory properties of pigeon pea. Therefore, biological methods, especially sprouting techniques, are considered to be more promising.

Various edible chrysanthemum flowers possess different anti-glycation effects due to various compositions; however, the interaction mechanism is unclear. Our study aimed to compare the anti-glycation effects of different edible chrysanthemum flowers and investigate the effect of phenolic compounds among them. The bovine serum albumin (BSA)-glucose model was used for evaluating anti-glycation effects of various chrysanthemums flowers, and C. HBJ, C. TJ, and C. JSHJ showed better anti-glycation effects compare to aminoguanidine. Seventeen phenolic compounds were detected, and characteristic compounds were identified via omics analysis. The interactions between BSA and different phenolic acids were analyzed by molecular docking, and the anti-glycation model was used for further verification. In this way, apigetrin, chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, quercetin-3β-d-glucoside, and afzelin were identified. They were proved to affect the secondary structure of proteins due to excellent hydrophobic interactions. Our results identified the chrysanthemum species with the most promising anti-glycation effect as well as their representative phenolic compounds. The binding of phenolic compounds and BSA due to hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds might contribute to their anti-glycation activities. Overall, our research is helpful for designing edible flower products with anti-glycation functions and providing a better understanding of the structure–function relationship.

Broad bean (Vicia faba L.) has received attention from the food and animal feed industries as a sustainable, inexpensive, and versatile plant-based protein source. However, long-term consumption of broad bean, especially unprocessed ones, can lead to hepatic lipid accumulation. To investigate how broad bean affected hepatic lipid metabolism and its underlying mechanisms, we conducted a multi-omics analysis of crisp grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus C. et V) model with hepatic steatosis after feeding with single broad bean for 120 days. The glycolysis inhibition, increased de novo lipogenesis, abnormalities in lipid metabolism, and activation of oxidative stress were the key processes involved in broad bean-induced hepatic lipid accumulation. Disturbances in intestinal flora caused by damage to the intestinal barrier and increased lipopolysaccharide caused by broad bean promoted hepatic lipid accumulation. Reduction of antinutritional factors and balanced diet offer potential strategies to mitigate the liver damage caused by broad bean consumption. Overall, our findings provided a theoretical basis for the wide application of broad bean as animal feeds.

Obesity, caused $�\dot{V}$ by a long-term high-fat diet, is a risk factor for insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The gut microbiota plays an important role in NAFLD development by producing lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Isoleucine (ILE), as one of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), has a negative effect on glucose and lipid metabolism in obese mice. Therefore, we speculated that isoleucine-restricted diets could prevent high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance and NAFLD. For this purpose, 30 C57BL/6J mice received a control check diet (CK), a high-fat diet (HFD), and a isoleucine-restricted diet (IR) for 12 weeks, respectively. The current study revealed that IR diets reversed HFD-induced weight gain, increased fasting glucose levels, and lipid metabolism disorder. Furthermore, IR diets attenuated HFD-induced hepatic inflammation by regulating the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Moreover, hepatic insulin resistance and gluconeogenesis disorder were significantly improved by IR diets. In addition, IR diets reshaped HFD-induced gut microbiota imbalance, reflected in decreasing the proportion of Proteobacteria phylum and LPS contents. Taken together, our studies support that restricting isoleucine in high-fat diets was a novel means of preventing obesity-induced NAFLD and insulin resistance.

Much of nutrition research has been conventionally based on the use of simplistic in vitro systems or animal models, which have been extensively employed in an effort to better understand the relationships between diet and complex diseases as well as to evaluate food safety. Although these models have undeniably contributed to increase our mechanistic understanding of basic biological processes, they do not adequately model complex human physiopathological phenomena, creating concerns about the translatability to humans. During the last decade, extraordinary advancement in stem cell culturing, three-dimensional cell cultures, sequencing technologies, and computer science has occurred, which has originated a wealth of novel human-based and more physiologically relevant tools. These tools, also known as “new approach methodologies,” which comprise patient-derived organoids, organs-on-chip, multi-omics approach, along with computational models and analysis, represent innovative and exciting tools to forward nutrition research from a human-biology-oriented perspective. After considering some shortcomings of conventional in vitro and vivo approaches, here we describe the main novel available and emerging tools that are appropriate for designing a more human-relevant nutrition research. Our aim is to encourage discussion on the opportunity to explore innovative paths in nutrition research and to promote a paradigm-change toward a more human biology-focused approach to better understand human nutritional pathophysiology, to evaluate novel food products, and to develop more effective targeted preventive or therapeutic strategies while helping in reducing the number and replacing animals employed in nutrition research.

The related studies of probiotics-based functional foods have recently attracted increasing interests in developing new types of oral administration systems. Probiotics has various biological functions, including increasing adsorption ability of nutrients, competitively rejecting pathogenic organisms, and regulating the immune system. It is well known that probiotics cannot be worked until their colonies reach the intestine alive, as well as the amount reaches 10⁶–10⁷ colony-forming units/g at the end of product's shelf life. However, the delivery of probiotics to the colon through oral administration is always challenging due to weak viability under exposure to harsh conditions in the presence of ions and small molecules from the upper gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, the low viability of the probiotics due to the lack of resistance to the acidity of food matrices, high temperature during food processing, and oxygen changes during storage also limit the applications of probiotics in food products. Therefore, encapsulation of probiotics could particularly protect the probiotics from degradation and inactivation, resulting in enhanced viability during the transition from consumption to digestion in the gut. Emulsion cross-linking, complex coacervation, microcapsules, spray drying, layer-by-layer self-assembly, electrospinning, hydrogel, and other methods are used to encapsulate probiotics. Herein, this review mainly highlights the gut health functions and encapsulation techniques of probiotics, followed by the current challenges and future development prospects.