內容: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading global cause of mortality and disease burden. Statins are the most prescribed lipid-lowering drugs to treat hypercholesterolemia and prevent CVDs. The biochemical mechanism of statins consists of competitive inhibition of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase enzyme (HMG-CoAR), the limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis. Due to statin intolerance in some patient groups, the search for new inhibitors is a field of great interest. This review focusses on the studies reporting the inhibitory effect of protein hydrolysates and biopeptides on the HMG-CoAR enzyme activity. The analysis of the action mechanism and physicochemical characteristics of the HMG-CoAR inhibitory peptides revealed that the molecular weight, amino acid composition, charge, and polarity are key aspects of the interaction with the HMG-CoAR enzyme. In conclusion, this review reveals the potential of using food peptides as new cholesterol-lowering agents and opens a new interesting field of research. However, clinical approaches are mandatory to confirm their therapeutic hypercholesterolemic effect.

內容: Probiotics participate in various physiological activities and contribute to body health. However, their viability and bioefficacy are adversely affected by gastrointestinal harsh conditions, such as gastric acid, bile salts and various enzymes. Fortunately, encapsulation based on various nanomaterials shows tremendous potential to protect probiotics. In this review, we introduced some novel encapsulation technologies involving nanomaterials in view of predesigned stability and viability, selective adhesion, smart release and colonization, and efficacy exertion of encapsulated probiotics. Furthermore, the interactions between encapsulated probiotics and the gastrointestinal tract were summarized and analyzed, with highlighting the regulatory mechanisms of encapsulated probiotics on intestinal mechanical barrier, chemical barrier, biological barrier and immune barrier. This review would benefit the food and pharmaceutical industries in preparation and utilization of multifunctional encapsulated probiotics.

內容: Plant-based meat analogues (PBMA) are formulated to mimic the sensory characteristics of traditional meat products (TMP) using vegetarian ingredients and are increasingly popular with the trend towards plant-based diets, even among meat-eating consumers. This narrative review compared the nutritional quality of PBMA and TMP to broaden the discussion on the suitability of simulated meat products to substitute TMP, while exploring other attributes for their comparison. The complexity of PBMA and TMP means they are not entirely interchangeable. Importantly, PBMA health effects extend beyond their basic nutrient content and quality. Postprandial metabolism and satiety, for example, can be affected by product formulation, ingredient interactions, and thermomechanical processing involved in producing organoleptically acceptable PBMA. There are specific opportunities for low-sodium PBMA products to contribute to a healthy shift toward plant-based diets. In conclusion, PBMA cannot be assumed to be healthier than TMP. They should be designed with comprehensive consideration of composition and processing to ensure they support consumers who are adopting plant-based diets in realizing the theoretical health benefits.

內容: Beer is a fermented beverage prepared from water, malted barley, hops, and yeast that has been around for centuries. Alcoholic beverages alter the composition of the gut microbiota, which in turn causes oxidative stress brought on by alcohol, increases intestinal permeability to luminal bacterial products. However, beer has been shown to contain several intriguing non-alcoholic chemicals. Recent research demonstrates that moderate beer drinking could have positive impacts on human health. Beer’s non-alcoholic ingredients have a significant impact on gut microbiota, and this type of diet is known to modulate gut microbiota, which has a variety of effects on the body, including effects on intestinal permeability, mucosal immune function, intestinal motility, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory activity. Although the negative consequences of excessive alcohol intake are widely known, it is still debatable whether or not some non-alcoholic components, such as polyphenols and carbohydrates, have any positive benefits. In this review, we explain the primary benefits of moderate beer consumption on the gut microbiota, which are mostly attributable to non-alcoholic components such polyphenols. Despite any potential advantages of moderating consumption of alcoholic beverages, the lowest alcohol intake is the most secure.

內容: Understanding and monitoring the cross-contamination of food allergens is crucial for safeguarding public health and ensuring food safety. Food allergen risk assessment, derived from classical toxicological principles, can identify and quantify the risk of allergies. This study aimed to investigate the risk of wheat allergic reactions to prepackaged foods from China through the utilization of food allergen risk assessment. A total of 575 products have been surveyed, wheat/gluten, milk and egg were major allergens labelled on products. According to voluntary incidental trace allergen labelling 3.0 (VITAL? 3.0) program, the number of products belonged to Action Level 2 were 303. Integration of precautionary allergen labeling (PAL) analysis indicated that 9.57% products would pose a potential risk to wheat allergic individuals. The probabilistic risk assessment results suggest that 7 984 allergic reactions may arise among wheat-allergic consumers during 10 000 eating occasions due to the consumption of pre-packaged food products with incorrect wheat-related allergen labelling. This study demonstrated that a risk assessment-based approach can support the guidance of allergen labelling and management of food allergen for pre-packaged food products, providing protection for allergic individuals in food consumption and for food manufacturers in food production and trade.

內容: Infant formula (IF) based on cow milk and goat milk is a substitute food for infants who are underfed with human milk. In our previous study, we reported the composition and physicochemical stability of IF based on milk from cows and goats and a combination of both milks. Here, we investigated the effects of these 3 IFs on intestinal immunity and short-chain fatty acid production (SCFAs) using human microbiota-associated (HMA) mice and selected human milk as a positive control. The results showed that goat milk-based IF is associated with a functional immune advantage, due to the rise in the levels of immune-related cytokines interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-10, decreased levels of intestinal permeability markers D-lactic acid and endotoxin, and increased mRNA levels of intestinal tight junction proteins occludin and claudin. In addition, the intestine of mice fed with goat milk-based IF contained 12.06 μmol/g acetate, 2.42 μmol/g propionate, and 1.72 μmol/g butyrate, which reached 69%, 79%, and 60% of the levels in human milk, respectively. Our results indicate that goat milk-based IF improves intestinal immune function and promotes the production of intestinal SCFAs.

內容: Inflammatory stimulation plays a significant role in the development and worsening of insulin-resistant diabetes. Therefore, it is crucial to identify therapeutic agents that can alleviate insulin resistance by targeting inflammation. Here, we present evidence that Bakuchiol (BL), a monoterpene phenolic compound first discovered from Psoralea corylifolia L. as traditional Chinese medicine, can effectively improve insulin resistance in diabetic mice through anti-inflammation. Our findings demonstrate that BL alleviates inflammation by inhibiting the toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor κB/mitogen-activated protein kinase axis, consequently enhancing insulin receptor signaling through the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/suppressors of cytokine signaling 3/insulin receptor substrate1 pathway and improving glucolipid homeostasis. Furthermore, the insulin recovery achieved with BL (60 mg/kg) was comparable to that of metformin (200 mg/kg). These results provide further support for considering BL as a potential treatment option for insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus.

內容: Obesity, caused by excessive energy, leads to body weight gain and various diseases, including cognitive impairment. Current studies suggest that diet restriction such as optimal fasting and regular exercise are crucial for improving cognitive capacity. However, further exploration is needed to understand the specific mechanisms of high fat diet (HFD)-induced cognitive decline in obesity. In the present study, 4-month-old mice were subjected to HFD feeding for 18 weeks, followed by aerobic exercise and high-intensity intermittent exercise, regular diet feeding, and intermittent fasting for 8 weeks, and then used to evaluate cognitive capacity, inflammation, compromised insulin signaling pathway, and apoptosis in hippocampal tissue, as well as AMPK/SIRT1 and TLR4 signal pathways. Obese mice revealed impaired cognitive capacity as compared with mice fed with regular diets. In contrast, aerobic exercise, high-intensity intermittent exercise, regular diet, and intermittent fasting could inhibit apoptosis caused by inflammation-mediated compromised insulin signaling pathway in hippocampal tissues through activating the AMPK/SIRT1 signal pathway and suppressing the TLR4 signal pathway, thereby rescuing the cognitive impairment of obese mice. Therefore, diet restriction and exercise interventions may play a positive role in reverting obesity-induced cognitive impairment.

內容: Lactobacillus spp. can be beneficial for the prevention or treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, 153 participants who followed vegan, omnivorous, or high-meat diet were recruited. Compositional analysis of the Lactobacillus community in feces revealed that Lactobacillus fermentum strains were significantly affected by diet. Administration of mixed L. fermentum strains from vegans significantly improved inflammation compared to that from omnivores and high-meat consumers, as evidenced by a significant reduction in colonic tissue damage, improvement in inflammatory cytokines, enhanced expression of ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-3, and a significant increase in short chain fatty acids concentration. The effect of a single strain of L. fermentum was similar to that of a mixed strains of L. fermentum group. Genomic analysis suggested that L. fermentum strains from the guts of vegans possessed a higher prevalence of genes involved in carbohydrate catabolism than those from the guts of omnivores and high-meat eaters. In particular, the ME2 gene is involved in the biosynthesis of acetate, a compound considered to possess anti-inflammatory properties. In conclusion, this study indicates strain-specific differences in the ability of L. fermentum strains to alleviate UC in mice, influenced by habitual diets.

內容: Numerous studies currently compare the lipid metabolism in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and healthy individuals to identify lipid markers for predicting CVD. In this study, multidimensional mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics was used to examine the serum lipidomics of participants in a clinical randomized controlled feeding trial undergoing olive oil (OO), camellia seed oil (CSO), and soybean oil (SO) dietary interventions. 189 lipid molecules are identified, including 14 species of phosphatidylinositol, 45 species of ethanolamine glycerols (PE), 47 species of choline glycerophospholipids (PC), 39 species of triacylglycerols (TAG), 18 species of lysophosphatidylcholine, and 26 species of sphingomyelin. After screening, 10 lipid markers are found, among which 18:2 fatty acid (FA), 16:1 FA, C54:4/C55:11, C54:3/C55:10, and C52:3/C53:10 in TAG pool, p18:0/20:0 and a18:0/18:1 in PC pool, and p18:1/20:4 in PE pool have differential regulation in the SO group compared to OO and CSO. The d16:0/18:1 in PC pool and C52:2/C53:9 in TAG pool are differentially regulated by OO and CSO. The C52:2/C53:9 in TAG pool has a significant negative correlation with aspartate aminotransferase (r = -0.363, P = 0.048) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = -0.519, P < 0.01). This study provides a reference for researching the effect of dietary fat on blood lipid metabolism.