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Functional Foods for Obesity—from Mechanisms to Treatments

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 36980

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Lindsay Brown

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Guest Editor

School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Griffith University Gold Coast Campus, Southport, QLD, Australia
Interests: cardiovascular and metabolic pharmacology; functional foods; animal models of chronic human disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Sunil Panchal

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Guest Editor

Functional Foods Research Group, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Interests: functional foods; gut microbiome; clinical trials; obesity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, and some cancers. Functional foods provide nutrition as well as being able to prevent or reverse diseases. The concept that functional foods can prevent or reverse human obesity sounds plausible but remains intuitive rather than proven. Possible mechanisms include suppression of inflammation and modification of gene expression, especially in the liver.

This Special Issue will contain both original research studies and reviews on the molecular mechanisms regulated by functional foods that may relieve obesity. Interventions could include fruit, vegetables, and algae that are included in human diets. Both preclinical studies on animal models of obesity, including diet-induced, genetic, and chemical models, as well as clinical trials in overweight or obese humans using dietary interventions with functional foods are welcome. The aim is to provide a solid basis for further research into functional foods in the treatment of obesity.

Prof. Dr. Lindsay Brown
Dr. Sunil Panchal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

Functional foods
Overweight/obese
Cardiovascular
Metabolic
Animal models
Clinical trials

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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29 pages, 6666 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physiological and Metabolic Effects of Yellow Mangosteen (Garcinia dulcis) Rind in Rats with Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome

by Oliver D. John, Peter Mouatt, Marwan E. Majzoub, Torsten Thomas, Sunil K. Panchal and Lindsay Brown

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(1), 272; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms21010272 - 31 Dec 2019

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4597

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of disorders that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This study has investigated the responses to rind of yellow mangosteen (Garcinia dulcis), usually discarded as waste, in a rat model of human metabolic syndrome. The rind contains higher concentrations of phytochemicals (such as garcinol, morelloflavone and citric acid) than the pulp. Male Wistar rats aged 8–9 weeks were fed either corn starch diet or high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet for 16 weeks, which were supplemented with 5% freeze-dried G. dulcis fruit rind powder during the last 8 weeks. We characterised metabolic, cardiovascular, liver and gut microbiota parameters. High-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats developed abdominal obesity, hypertension, increased left ventricular diastolic stiffness, decreased glucose tolerance, fatty liver and reduced Bacteroidia with increased Clostridia in the colonic microbiota. G. dulcis fruit rind powder attenuated these changes, improved cardiovascular and liver structure and function, and attenuated changes in colonic microbiota. G. dulcis fruit rind powder may be effective in metabolic syndrome by appetite suppression, inhibition of inflammatory processes and increased fat metabolism, possibly related to changes in the colonic microbiota. Hence, we propose the use of G. dulcis fruit rind as a functional food to ameliorate symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods for Obesity—from Mechanisms to Treatments)

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17 pages, 4926 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ishige okamurae Extract and Its Constituent Ishophloroglucin A Attenuated In Vitro and In Vivo High Glucose-Induced Angiogenesis

by K.H.N. Fernando, Hye-Won Yang, Yunfei Jiang, You-Jin Jeon and BoMi Ryu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(22), 5542; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms20225542 - 06 Nov 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2997

Abstract

Diabetes is associated with vascular complications, such as impaired wound healing and accelerated vascular growth. The different clinical manifestations, such as retinopathy and nephropathy, reveal the severity of enhanced vascular growth known as angiogenesis. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of an extract of Ishige okamurae (IO) and its constituent, Ishophloroglucin A (IPA) on high glucose-induced angiogenesis. A transgenic zebrafish (flk:EGFP) embryo model was used to evaluate vessel growth. The 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), gap closure, transwell, and Matrigel^® assays were used to analyze the proliferation, migration, and capillary formation of EA.hy926 cells. Moreover, protein expression were determined using western blotting. IO extract and IPA suppressed vessel formation in the transgenic zebrafish (flk:EGFP) embryo. IPA attenuated cell proliferation, cell migration, and capillary-like structure formation in high glucose-treated human vascular endothelial cells. Further, IPA down regulated the expression of high glucose-induced vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) and downstream signaling molecule cascade. Overall, the IO extract and IPA exhibited anti-angiogenic effects against high glucose-induced angiogenesis, suggesting their potential for use as therapeutic agents in diabetes-related angiogenesis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods for Obesity—from Mechanisms to Treatments)

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Review

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28 pages, 1314 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microbial Medicine: Prebiotic and Probiotic Functional Foods to Target Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

by Miranda Green, Karan Arora and Satya Prakash

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(8), 2890; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms21082890 - 21 Apr 2020

Cited by 119 | Viewed by 28423

Abstract

Obesity has become a global epidemic and a public health crisis in the Western World, experiencing a threefold increase in prevalence since 1975. High-caloric diets and sedentary lifestyles have been identified as significant contributors to this widespread issue, although the role of genetic, social, and environmental factors in obesity’s pathogenesis remain incompletely understood. In recent years, much attention has been drawn to the contribution of the gut microbiota in the development of obesity. Indeed, research has shown that in contrast to their healthier counterparts the microbiomes of obese individuals are structurally and functionally distinct, strongly suggesting microbiome as a potential target for obesity therapeutics. In particular, pre and probiotics have emerged as effective and integrative means of modulating the microbiome, in order to reverse the microbial dysbiosis associated with an obese phenotype. The following review brings forth animal and human research supporting the myriad of mechanisms by which the microbiome affects obesity, as well as the strengths and limitations of probiotic or prebiotic supplementation for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Finally, we set forth a roadmap for the comprehensive development of functional food solutions in combatting obesity, to capitalize on the potential of pre/probiotic therapies in optimizing host health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods for Obesity—from Mechanisms to Treatments)

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