Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

Sanlier, Nevin; Kocabas, Şule

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1973957pmid: 34486891

Abstract Autism spectrum disorder is a serious neurodevelopmental disease that affects social communication and behavior, characterized by an increasingly common immune mechanism and various complications in the gastrointestinal system. Symptoms of autism can generally vary according to the genetic background of the individuals, the environment in which they live. The microbiota of individuals with autism is also different from healthy individuals. Recently, probiotics, prebiotic, fecal microbiota transplantation, diet therapy, etc. options have come to the fore. Cofactors are even more important at this stage. Since it is related to the gut microbiota, immune mechanism, gastrointestinal system, attention has been drawn to the relationship between dysbiosis, autism in the intestine. The component of the gut microbiota in individuals with autism has been linked with gastrointestinal symptoms that develop with autism severity. However, the role of the microbiota in diagnosis, follow-up, treatment is not clear yet, and its two-way relationship with the nervous system makes it difficult to establish a cause-effect relationship. Nutritional cofactors required in neurotransmitter synthesis and enzyme activation must be regularly and adequately taken to maximize brain functions in autistic individuals. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the cause-effect relationship of ASD with microbiota and brain-gut axis, probiotic-prebiotic use.

Chen, Jie-Hua; Lu, Louise Weiwei; Ge, Qian; Feng, Dana; Yu, Jianfeng; Liu, Bin; Zhang, Ruijie; Zhang, Xinying; Ouyang, Caiqun; Chen, Feng

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1974335pmid:

Zhou, Qi; Wei, Zihao

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1974337pmid: 34590971

Abstract Docosahexaenoic acid (C22: 6n-3, DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (C20: 5n-3, EPA) have been shown to provide the opportunity to inhibit onset and escalation of chronic diseases. Nevertheless, their undesirable characteristics including poor water solubility, oxidation sensitivity, high melting point and unpleasant sensory attributes hinder their application in the food industry. In recent years, utilizing food-grade delivery systems to deliver DHA/EPA and improve their biological efficacy has emerged as an attractive approach with fascinating prospects. This review focuses on introducing potential delivery systems for DHA/EPA, including microemulsions, nanoemulsions, Pickering emulsions, hydrogels, lipid particles, oleogels, liposomes, microcapsules and micelles. The opportunities, fabrication and characterization of these delivery systems loaded with DHA/EPA are highlighted. Besides, food sources of DHA/EPA, their benefits to the human body and a series of challenges for effective utilization of DHA/EPA are discussed. Promising future research trends of food-grade systems for delivery of DHA/EPA are also presented. Conducting in vivo experiments, applying DHA/EPA-loaded delivery systems into real food, improving the applicability of such delivery systems in industrial production, co-encapsulating DHA/EPA with other substances, seeking measures to improve the performance of existing delivery systems and developing novel food-grade delivery systems inspired by other fields are various future considerations.

Papp, Rebecca-Evelyn; Hasenegger, Verena; Ekmekcioglu, Cem; Schwingshackl, Lukas

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1975092pmid: 34542332

Abstract According to previous cohort studies it is suggested that a high intake of poultry does not adversely affect cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize and analyze the association between dietary poultry intake and the risk for CVDs, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and all-cause mortality (ACM). Twenty-four cohort studies were included, and the results showed a trivial inverse association for the highest vs. lowest intake category between poultry and ACM (risk ratio [RR] = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93, 0.98; I2 = 5%). For all other outcomes no association was observed in the high vs. low intake meta-analysis. The results from the primary pooled data for each 100 g/d increase in poultry intake indicated no association for all outcomes. Further, the non-linear dose-response analysis showed some evidence for non-linearity between poultry consumption and risk for CVD and ACM. Additionally, substituting red and/or processed meat with poultry was inversely associated with the risk for ACM, CVDs, CHD and stroke. The certainty of evidence was rated as very low or low. This meta-analysis suggests that based upon the results from the substitution analyses poultry could be a healthier alternative to red and processed meat. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.1975092

Huang, Rui; Zhu, Zhenjun; Wu, Qingping; Bekhit, Alaa El-Din Ahmed; Wu, Shujian; Chen, Mengfei; Wang, Juan; Ding, Yu

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1975093pmid: 34553662

Abstract Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Recently, sustained neuroinflammatory response in microglia and astrocytes has been found to cause the deposition of amyloid beta plaques and the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, thereby accelerating AD progression. The lipoxin A4-transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways have been shown to play important roles in the regulation of inflammatory processes. There is growing research-based evidence suggesting that dietary whole-plant foods, such as mushrooms and berries, may be used as inhibitors for anti-neuroinflammation. The beneficial effects of whole-plant foods were mainly attributed to their high contents of functional macromolecules including polysaccharides, polyphenols, and bioactive peptides. This review provides up-to-date information on important molecular signaling pathways of neuroinflammation and discusses the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of whole-plant foods. Further, a critical evaluation of plants’ macromolecular components that have the potential to prevent and/or relieve AD is provided. This work will contribute to better understanding the pathogenetic mechanism of neuroinflammation in AD and provide new approaches for AD therapy.

Tian, Yang; Li, Cheng; Xue, Wentong; Huang, Linjuan; Wang, Zhongfu

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1975257pmid: 34494479

Abstract Food allergy is a serious health problem affecting more than 10% of the human population worldwide. Medical treatments for food allergy remain limited because immune therapy is risky and costly, and anti-allergic drugs have many harmful side effects and can cause drug dependence. In this paper, we review natural bioactive substances capable of alleviating food allergy. The sources of the anti-allergic substances reviewed include plants, animals, and microbes, and the types of substances include polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, polyphenols, phycocyanin, polyunsaturated fatty acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, quinones, alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, and probiotics. We describe five mechanisms involved in anti-allergic activities, including binding with epitopes located in allergens, affecting the gut microbiota, influencing intestinal epithelial cells, altering antigen presentation and T cell differentiation, and inhibiting the degranulation of effector cells. In the discussion, we present the limitations of existing researches as well as promising advances in the development of anti-allergic foods and/or immunomodulating food ingredients that can effectively prevent or alleviate food allergy. This review provides a reference for further research on anti-allergic materials and their hyposensitizing mechanisms.

Secci, Riccardo; Hartmann, Alexander; Walter, Michael; Grabe, Hans Jörgen; Van der Auwera-Palitschka, Sandra; Kowald, Axel; Palmer, Daniel; Rimbach, Gerald; Fuellen, Georg; Barrantes, Israel

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1975638pmid: 34648415

Abstract The slowdown, inhibition, or reversal of age-related decline (as a composite of disease, dysfunction, and, ultimately, death) by diet or natural compounds can be defined as dietary geroprotection. While there is no single reliable biomarker to judge the effects of dietary geroprotection, biomarker signatures based on omics (epigenetics, gene expression, microbiome composition) are promising candidates. Recently, omic biomarkers started to supplement established clinical ones such as lipid profiles and inflammatory cytokines. In this review, we focus on human data. We first summarize the current take on genetic biomarkers based on epidemiological studies. However, most of the remaining biomarkers that we describe, whether omics-based or clinical, are related to intervention studies. Then, because of their promising potential in the context of dietary geroprotection, we focus on the effects of berry-based interventions, which up to now have been mostly described employing clinical markers. We provide an aggregation and tabulation of all the recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses that we could find related to this topic. Finally, we present evidence for the importance of the “nutribiography,” that is, the influence that an individual’s history of diet and natural compound consumption can have on the effects of dietary geroprotection. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.1975638

De Vuyst, Luc; Comasio, Andrea; Kerrebroeck, Simon Van

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1976100pmid: 34523363

Abstract Sourdough production is an ancient method to ferment flour from cereals for the manufacturing of baked goods. This review deals with the state-of-the-art of current fermentation strategies for sourdough production and the microbial ecology of mature sourdoughs, with a particular focus on the use of non-flour ingredients. Flour fermentation processes for sourdough production are typically carried out by heterogeneous communities of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Acetic acid bacteria may also occur, although their presence and role in sourdough production can be criticized. Based on the inoculum used, sourdough productions can be distinguished in fermentation processes using backslopping procedures, originating from a spontaneously fermented flour-water mixture (Type 1), starter culture-initiated fermentation processes (Type 2), and starter culture-initiated fermentation processes that are followed by backslopping (Type 3). In traditional recipes for the initiation and/or propagation of Type 1 sourdough productions, non-flour ingredients are often added to the flour-water mixture. These ingredients may be the source of an additional microbial inoculum and/or serve as (co-)substrates for fermentation. An example of the former is the addition of yoghurt; an example of the latter is the use of fruit juices. The survival of microorganisms transferred from the ingredients to the fermenting flour-water mixture depends on the competitiveness toward particular strains of the microbial species present under the harsh conditions of the sourdough ecosystem. Their survival and growth is also determined by the presence of the appropriate substrates, whether or not carried over by the ingredients added.

Fardet, Anthony; Lebredonchel, Louis; Rock, Edmond

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1976101pmid: 34494476

Abstract Scientific research generally follows two main methods: empirico-inductive (EI), gathering scattered, real-world qualitative/quantitative data to elaborate holistic theories, and the hypothetico-deductive (HD) approach, testing the validity of hypothesized theory in specific conditions, generally according to reductionist methodologies or designs, with the risk of over simplifying the initial complexity empirically perceived in its holistic view. However, in current food and nutrition research, new hypotheses are often elaborated from reductionist data obtained with the HD approach, and aggregated to form (ultra)reductionist theories, with no application of EI observations, limiting the applicability of these hypotheses in real life. This trend and the application of the EI method are illustrated as regards with the global health issue through the examples of food classifications/scoring, clinical studies, the definition of a sustainable diet, the “matrix effect”-related hypothesis, the concept of healthy core metabolism, and obesity prevention within the perspective of social sciences. To be efficient for producing food and nutritional data appropriable by the society, it finally appears that not only both approaches are necessary, starting with the EI method then the HD one, but also a back and forth between the two, this being not always realized, potentially leading to confusion and misunderstanding in society.

Sahin, Taha Koray; Bilir, Birdal; Kucuk, Omer

doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1976721pmid: 34529530

Abstract Treatment of cancer with chemotherapeutic drugs is associated with numerous adverse effects as well as the eventual development of resistance to chemotherapy. There is a great need for complementary therapies such as botanicals and nutritional supplements with little or no side effects that prevent resistance to chemotherapy and reduce its adverse effects. Inflammation plays a major role in the development of chemoresistance and the adverse effects of chemotherapy. Phytochemicals have well-established anti-inflammatory effects; thus, they could be used as complementary therapies along with chemotherapy to increase its efficacy and reduce its toxicity. Botanical compounds inhibit the NF-κB signaling pathway, which plays an important role in the generation of inflammation, chemotherapy resistance, and modulation of cell survival and apoptosis. Botanicals have previously been studied extensively for their cancer chemopreventive activities and are generally considered safe for human consumption. The present review focuses on the modulation of inflammation by phytochemicals and their role in increasing the efficacy and reducing the toxicity of cancer chemotherapy.