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Functional Foods and Cardiometabolic Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 8375

Special Issue Editor

Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
Interests: bioactive peptides; functional foods; hypertension; inflammation; insulin resistance; integrated hemodynamics; vascular function

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional foods, containing physiologically active compounds, are categorized as foods with specific health or medical functions over and above their traditional role in satisfying the body’s nutritional demands. A growing body of research has identified a variety of food-derived bioactive compounds including polyphenols, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and peptides with benefits towards cardiovascular and metabolic health. Bioactive compounds have the potential to reduce blood pressure and atherosclerosis, improve glucose homeostasis, and reduce body weight through diverse mechanisms including but not limited to improving endothelial function, scavenging reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, reducing inflammation, modulating the renin–angiotensin system, regulating food intake, enhancing glucose–insulin homeostasis, improving adipose tissue function, as well as blood lipids and lipoproteins. Food-derived bioactive compounds also have the potential to modulate the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota, which eventually exerts a beneficial impact on human health. Therefore, food-derived bioactive compounds have a great potential for innovation in the field of food, nutrition, and health.

Dr. Forough Jahandideh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bioactive peptides
  • cardiovascular system
  • functional foods
  • glucose metabolism
  • gut microbiota
  • hypertension
  • insulin resistance
  • obesity
  • polyphenols
  • unsaturated fatty acids

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4797 KiB  
Article
Vitamin D and Swimming Exercise Prevent Obesity in Rats under a High-Fat Diet via Targeting FATP4 and TLR4 in the Liver and Adipose Tissue
by Eman Kolieb, Shymaa Ahmed Maher, Mohammed Nader Shalaby, Amnah Mohammed Alsuhaibani, Afaf Alharthi, Wael A. Hassan and Karima El-Sayed
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 13740; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192113740 - 22 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2014
Abstract
The prevalence of obesity has risen in the last decades, and it has caused massive health burdens on people’s health, especially metabolic and cardiovascular issues. The risk of vitamin D insufficiency is increased by obesity, because adipose tissue alters both the requirements for [...] Read more.
The prevalence of obesity has risen in the last decades, and it has caused massive health burdens on people’s health, especially metabolic and cardiovascular issues. The risk of vitamin D insufficiency is increased by obesity, because adipose tissue alters both the requirements for and bioavailability of vitamin D. Exercise training is acknowledged as having a significant and long-term influence on body weight control; the favorable impact of exercise on obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities has been demonstrated via various mechanisms. The current work illustrated the effects of vitamin D supplementation and exercise on obesity induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and hepatic steatosis in rats and explored how fatty acid transport protein-4 (FATP4) and Toll-like receptor-4 antibodies (TLR4) might be contributing factors to obesity and related hepatic steatosis. Thirty male albino rats were divided into five groups: group 1 was fed a normal-fat diet, group 2 was fed an HFD, group 3 was fed an HFD and given vitamin D supplementation, group 4 was fed an HFD and kept on exercise, and group 5 was fed an HFD, given vitamin D, and kept on exercise. The serum lipid profile adipokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were analyzed, and the pathological changes in adipose and liver tissues were examined. In addition, the messenger–ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of FATP4 and immunohistochemical expression of TLR4 in adipose and liver tissues were evaluated. Vitamin D supplementation and exercise improved HFD-induced weight gain and attenuated hepatic steatosis, along with improving the serum lipid profile, degree of inflammation, and serum adipokine levels. The expression of FATP4 and TLR4 in both adipose tissue and the liver was downregulated; it was noteworthy that the group that received vitamin D and was kept on exercise showed also improvement in the histopathological picture of this group. According to the findings of this research, the protective effect of vitamin D and exercise against obesity and HFD-induced hepatic steatosis is associated with the downregulation of FATP4 and TLR4, as well as a reduction in inflammation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods and Cardiometabolic Health)
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14 pages, 1263 KiB  
Article
Broccoli Sprouts Promote Sex-Dependent Cardiometabolic Health and Longevity in Long-Evans Rats
by Ronan M. N. Noble, Forough Jahandideh, Edward A. Armstrong, Stephane L. Bourque and Jerome Y. Yager
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13468; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192013468 - 18 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1854
Abstract
Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds are potential candidates to prevent age-related chronic diseases. Broccoli sprouts (BrSp) are a rich source of sulforaphane—a bioactive metabolite known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We tested the effect of chronic BrSp feeding on age-related decline in cardiometabolic [...] Read more.
Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds are potential candidates to prevent age-related chronic diseases. Broccoli sprouts (BrSp) are a rich source of sulforaphane—a bioactive metabolite known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We tested the effect of chronic BrSp feeding on age-related decline in cardiometabolic health and lifespan in rats. Male and female Long-Evans rats were fed a control diet with or without dried BrSp (300 mg/kg body weight, 3 times per week) from 4 months of age until death. Body weight, body composition, blood pressure, heart function, and glucose and insulin tolerance were measured at 10, 16, 20, and 22 months of age. Behavioral traits were also examined at 18 months of age. BrSp feeding prolonged life span in females, whereas in males the positive effects on longevity were more pronounced in a subgroup of males (last 25% of survivors). Despite having modest effects on behavior, BrSp profoundly affected cardiometabolic parameters in a sex-dependent manner. BrSp-fed females had a lower body weight and visceral adiposity while BrSp-fed males exhibited improved glucose tolerance and reduced blood pressure when compared to their control counterparts. These findings highlight the sex-dependent benefits of BrSp on improving longevity and delaying cardiometabolic decline associated with aging in rats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods and Cardiometabolic Health)
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11 pages, 2343 KiB  
Article
Pea Protein-Derived Peptides Inhibit Hepatic Glucose Production via the Gluconeogenic Signaling in the AML-12 Cells
by Wang Liao, Xinyi Cao, Hui Xia, Shaokang Wang and Guiju Sun
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10254; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610254 - 18 Aug 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1480
Abstract
Pea protein is considered to be a high quality dietary protein source, but also it is an ideal raw material for the production of bioactive peptides. Although the hypoglycemic effect of pea protein hydrolysate (PPH) has been previously reported, the underlying mechanisms, in [...] Read more.
Pea protein is considered to be a high quality dietary protein source, but also it is an ideal raw material for the production of bioactive peptides. Although the hypoglycemic effect of pea protein hydrolysate (PPH) has been previously reported, the underlying mechanisms, in particular its effect on the hepatic gluconeogenesis, remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we found that PPH suppressed glucose production in mouse liver cell-line AML-12 cells. Although both of the gluconeogenic and insulin signaling pathways in the AML-12 cells could be regulated by PPH, the suppression of glucose production was dependent on the inhibition of the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB)-mediated signaling in the gluconeogenic pathway, but not the activation of insulin signaling. Findings from the present study have unveiled a novel role of PPH underlying its anti-diabetic activity, which could be helpful to accelerate the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals using PPH as a starting material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods and Cardiometabolic Health)
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18 pages, 568 KiB  
Article
Bioactive Compounds of Porcine Hearts and Aortas May Improve Cardiovascular Disorders in Humans
by Irina Chernukha, Elena Kotenkova, Svetlana Derbeneva and Daniil Khvostov
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(14), 7330; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18147330 - 08 Jul 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2058
Abstract
Functional foods promote health benefits in human metabolism, with bioactive compounds acting as therapeutic agents. The aim was to investigate the biological effects of a pâté made of pork hearts and aortas, minced, sterilised and packed in tins. Adults (61–66 years old) with [...] Read more.
Functional foods promote health benefits in human metabolism, with bioactive compounds acting as therapeutic agents. The aim was to investigate the biological effects of a pâté made of pork hearts and aortas, minced, sterilised and packed in tins. Adults (61–66 years old) with a body mass index of 26.4–60.7 kg/m2 (n = 36) were randomly divided into two groups: one group consumed a low-calorie diet (LCD), while the other consumed an LCD with the developed meat product (MP) for 28–30 days. Serum biochemical parameters, anthropometry and blood pressure were measured. Consumption of an LCD + MP by experimental group participants helped to maintain reduced cholesterol levels. The difference in total cholesterol was significantly different (p = 0.018) from that of the control group, mainly due to the difference in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = 0.005). Six peptides with potential cholesterol-binding properties and four peptides with potential antioxidant activity were identified in the MP, while elevation of the content of two peptides with potential angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitory activity was detected in patients’ plasma. Intervention with the MP can be considered as a supportive therapy to the main treatment for medical cardiovascular diseases due to a positive effect on serum cholesterol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods and Cardiometabolic Health)
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