Recent advances in food, nutrition & agriculture最新文献

Background: Today's food industry is extensive and complicated, encompassing anything from subsistence agriculture to multinational food corporations. The mobility of food and food elements in food systems has a major impact on biodiversity preservation and the overall sustainability of our fragile global ecosystem. Identifying the human and livestock consumption patterns across regions and territories will optimize the dietary standards of the habitually undernourished and the expanding population without substantially increasing the amount of land under cultivation. Food preservation is the basis for economic advancement and social sustainability, so the food industry, both local and global, is fundamental to everyone. As a primary mechanism for ensuring global food preservation, there is currently a strong emphasis on accelerating food supply and decreasing waste. Thus, analyzing the production and distribution of food supply will boost economic sustainability.

Methods: In this paper, we present a quantitative analysis of global and regional food supply to reveal the flow of food and feed products in various parts of the world. Using data mining and machine learning-based approaches, we seek to quantify the production and distribution of food elements. The study aims to employ artificial intelligence-based methods to comprehend the shift and change in supply and consumption patterns with timely distribution to meet the global food instability. The method involves using statistical-based approaches to identify the hidden factors and variables. Feature engineering is used to uncover the interesting features in the dataset, and various clustering-based algorithms, like K-Means, have been utilized to group and identify the similar and most notable features.

Results: The concept of data mining and machine learning-based algorithms has helped us in identifying the global food production and distribution subsystem. The identified elements and their relationship can help stakeholders in regulating various external and internal factors, including urbanization, urban food needs, the economic, political and social framework, food demand, and supply flows. The exploratory analysis helps in establishing the efficiency and dynamism of food supply and distribution systems.

Conclusion: The outcome demonstrates a pattern indicating the flow of currently grown crops into various endpoints. Few countries with massive populations have shown tremendous growth in their production capacity. Despite the fact that only a few countries produce a large portion of food and feed crops, still it is insufficient to feed the estimated global population. Significant changes in many people's socioeconomic conditions, as well as radical dietary changes, will also be required to boost agricultural credit and economic foundations.

Food toxins can be of natural origin, chemicals, or inadvertent additives that get incorporated during food packaging and processing. When food is contaminated with bacteria or viruses, or other contaminants, serious foodborne diseases arise, causing severe health issues. To overcome these issues, proper food processing and packaging needs to be addressed to protect humans and animals from foodborne diseases. There are many smart food packaging materials that have evolved recently. Researchers enabled the use of nanomaterials in food packaging and have improved the efficacy of food packaging. In this mini-review, the objectives are to summarize the different types of food contaminants, conventional food packaging materials, and recent developments in nanotechnology-based food packaging materials.

Vernonia is a woody shrub of the family Asteraceae. Over 1500 species are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia. There are more than 54 species known to possess similar morphological features with the characteristic bitter taste. The pharmacological properties of different parts like seeds, leaves, and roots are well documented in folk medicine. They are rich in biologically active constituents such as alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroid tannins, and carotenoids having broad therapeutic activities like antiinflammatory, hypoglycemic, hyperlipidemia, antimicrobial, antitumor, antioxidative, antiproliferative, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, etc. The present study summarizes and discusses the phytochemical profile, pharmacological properties, and toxicological effects of the Vernonia plant.

Dietary patterns, nutrition, physical activity, air pollution, tobacco smoke, ethnicity and genetics affect heart disease. Vegetarian food diets are one of the important factors in its prevention and control. People living in the five blue zones, mostly consuming the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), have the highest longevity in the world and the least incidence of heart disease. There are several forms of heart pathology, e.g., the most common coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world and varies by race, where indigenous and people of color have a higher risk for its complications than the white population. The morbidity of cardiovascular pathology in the Afro-American community persists high and is a primary source of disparities in life expectancy between Afro-Americans and whites in the United States. Adherence to healthy diets higher in vegetable foods and lower in animal foods is correlated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, morbidity and mortality in the general population. A detailed literature review was performed of the Medline, EMBASE, and Ebsco databases to synthesize and compare evidence on this topic to produce a review of the importance of a Mediterranean diet in the prevention of heart disease. Consumption of a MedDiet consisting of fruits and vegetables (including berries due to their high fibre and antioxidant content), nuts, whole grains, leafy greens, beans like chickpeas, eggplants, Greek yogurt and extra virgin olive oil are associated with longer life and lower incidence of heart disease. The latter diet is superior to consuming large quantities of meat and refined carbohydrates, such as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup and grains that have had the fibrous and nutritious parts removed.

Background: Ananas comosus L. (family Bromeliaceae) is a plant innate to South America and has been cultivated in various world regions. The plant parts have traditionally been used to treat various ailments, like cancer, diabetes mellitus, bacterial infection, Covid-19 infection, inflammation, arthritis, asthma, malaria, cardiovascular disease, and burn, as debridement agents. The pineapple contains nutrients, including vitamin C, iron, potassium, and protein. It also contains flavonoids, carotenoids, tannins, polyphenols, and alkaloids.

Methods: An extensive literature search was conducted on Ananas comosus using three scientific databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The keywords in this paper were combined to form a search strategy. Ananas comosus and pineapple were the main criteria for judging abstracts, titles, and keywords. In the full text of the paper, the secondary judgment criteria included mentioning "therapeutic potential" or "pharmacological activities". Among the 250 references in the compiled bibliography, there were original articles, books, and web addresses dating back to 2001 to 2023. A review of articles was conducted after abstracts and titles were screened, and 61 duplicate articles were deleted. In this paper, information is provided on the therapeutic potential and pharmacological actions of Ananas comosus and its bioactive compounds.

Results: In this review, the therapeutic potential of A. comosus has been detailed. The current review intends to provide an updated comprehensive overview of the versatile plant's use and its clinical trials.

Conclusion: The plant has gained enormous attention and increasing consideration for treating various diseases. The therapeutic potential of pineapple, its compound, extracts, and their mode of action are discussed briefly. Also, clinical trials are emphasized, which are in great demand and need further in-depth investigation in the future.

Gut microbiota includes the microbes present in the gut; these microbes are an essential component in maintaining a healthy gut. Gut microbiota has a wide range of functions, including effects on colonization, pathogen resistance, intestinal epithelial maintenance, metabolizing food and pharmaceutical chemicals, and influencing immunological functions. Every disease associated with the gut starts due to a disbalance in the composition of the gut microorganisms and can be managed by balancing the composition of gut bacteria using various herbal remedies. Mentha herbs are a variety of perennial herbs that are grown commercially in various parts of the world. Mentha is a potent herb that shows anticholinergic action and can block PGE2 and GM1 receptors and interact with cholera toxins; it is used traditionally in different systems of medicines to treat various gastrointestinal diseases associated with the gut. Mentha herbs have potent bactericidal, viricidal, and fungicidal properties. Mentha has been used to cure stomach and digestion issues as well as to treat a variety of disorders. This review article summarizes diseases associated with the gut, the composition, and function of gut microbiota, and mentha's effectiveness along with its extraction methods and traditional uses. Research findings revealed that mentha could be an essential source against a wide range of diseases, especially gastrointestinal disorders. From its ayurvedic claims to its present use, various confirmed its clinically effective for human health. The present work also describes the mechanism of action along with the bioactives present in this well-known herb from Ayurveda.

Rice bran and rice bran protein are important sources of minerals, energy, and vitamins. Other bioactive compounds are abundantly available to exert therapeutical activity. Healthpromoting activities of high-value compounds of rice bran were significant, as observed in recent studies. A variety of bioactive components present in rice bran and rice bran extract are responsible to exhibit therapeutical potential like chemopreventive, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, and lipid-lowering activity. Several bioactivity representative compounds like γ-oryzanol, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, tricin, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, coumaric acid, phytic acid, isoferulic acid, gallic acid, γ-amino butyric acid, sinapic acid, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E complexes, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, cyanidin-3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside, quercetin, rutin, kaemferol, β-carotene, lutein, vitamin B and lycopene are known to display significant health benefits. The bioactive components produced therapeutical effects by regulation of different mechanisms like increasing faecal excretion, reducing oxidative stress, reducing the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), regulation of NF-kb activation, reduction of proinflammatory cytokines production, suppression of SREBP-1, reduction in the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, elevated the expression of proapoptotic protein Bax, up-regulating P53 expression and suppressing COX-2. Several research engines like PubMed, google scholar, science direct, etc. were used to collect the data on the mentioned keywords. Recent scientific works were included in this article. In this review paper, we profiled the high-value compounds and focused on their antioxidant, anti-hyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, and anticancer activity with their possible mechanism of action.

Background: According to the Persian Medicine (PM) point of view, the function of the cardiovascular system and the risk of cardiovascular events would be different between subjects having warm and cold temperaments. Moreover, different foods in terms of temperament may lead to different acute and chronic effects on the body.

Objective: We investigated the postprandial effects of PM-based warm and cold test meals on arterial stiffness indices in healthy men with warm and cold temperaments.

Methods: Twenty-one eligible warm or cold temperament subjects with a similar range of age, weight, and heights were enrolled in this pilot cross-over randomized controlled trial study during February- October 2020. Two test meals (cold and warm PM-based temperament foods) were designed as different interventions. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and pulse wave analysis (PWA) was obtained at the baseline state (following 12 hours fasting), 0.5, 2, and 4 hours after the test meal consumption during each test day.

Results: Warm temperament participants had higher values of lean body mass, total body water, and protein content (P = 0.03, 0.02, and 0.02, respectively). Cold temperament individuals had higher aortic heart rate (HR) following 12 hours of fasting (P <0.001). On the other hand, the augmentation pressure (AP) of warm temperament individuals was higher than the colds ( P = < 0.001).

Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, although warm temperament individuals could have higher arterial stiffness at the fasting state, arterial stiffness indices had a greater reduction following warm-temperament meal intake compared to cold-temperament meal.

Background: Sesamum indicum L. (sesame) is one of the most widely used herbs in the world. Sesame oil contains lignans such as sesamin and sesamolin, which are known to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic properties. Parkinson's disease (PD) is recognized as the most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease; however, the exact molecular mechanism of the progression of neural death is not clear yet. In this study, the effect of sesame seed extracts and their main bioactive components (sesamin and sesamolin) on in vitro model of Parkinson's disease has been compared.

Methods: Cell viability, the number of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and apoptosis were determined using resazurin assay, ROS assay, propidium iodide (PI) staining and flow cytometry, and western blot analysis.

Results: 6-OHDA caused cellular death and apoptosis but pretreatment with sesame seed extracts, sesamin, and sesamolin significantly increased cell viability (p<0.001) and decreased ROS (p<0.001) and apoptosis. ERK1/2 is activated by 6-OHDA in PC12 cells, and the level of survivin decreased. Pretreatment with sesame significantly reversed the entire cell death induced by 6- OHDA. Sesame seed extracts at 5 and 10 μg/ml, sesamin and sesamolin at 5 and 10 μM increased surviving (p<0.01), and reduced P-ERK1/2/ERK1/2 (p<0.05) levels close to the control values.

Conclusions: Overall, compounds in sesame seed extract and sesamin may assist as adjuvant therapeutics in PD. It seems sesame seeds have more potent protection effects against neural death compared with individual components, which might reflect the synergism among different phytochemicals present in the extract.

In recent times, bioplastics have become an integrated sustainable alternative to plastic management to lessen the dependency on fossil fuels as well as better plastic disposal methods. Through this study, the focus is laid upon the dire need for developing bio-plastics for transforming to a sustainable future as bio-plastics are renewable, more feasible, and a sustainable option when compared to the high-energy consuming conventional oil-based plastics. Bioplastics might not be a one-stop solution for all environmental issues caused by plastics, but it will be a beneficial step for expanding biodegradable polymer as society's current concerns about the environment makes this an ideal time for further growth of biopolymers. Moreover, the potential market for agricultural materials in bioplastics is leading to an economic push toward the growth of the bioplastic industry, thus providing better alternatives for a future sustainable environment. The objective of the review is to provide detailed knowledge about plastics obtained from various renewable sources, their production, life cycle, market share, applications, and roles to act as a sustainable source of synthetic plastics, thereby featuring various possibilities and potentialities of bioplastics to perform as an alternative solution for waste reduction.