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Natural Food Ingredients for Human Health: New Insights from a Metabolic Perspective

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemicals and Human Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2022) | Viewed by 18605

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Leixuri Aguirre

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Guest Editor

1. Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Institute, Vitoria, Spain
2. CIBERobn Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Interests: polyphenols; polyphenol bioavailability; polyphenol metabolites; resveratrol; quercetin; NAFLD; obesity; type 2 diabetes

Dr. Itziar Eseberri

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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, great attention has been paid to natural food ingredients due to their positive effects on health. Some ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, probiotics, prebiotics and omega 3, among others, are naturally present in foodstuffs. They show beneficial effects on various physiological and biochemical processes, and thus, their use represents a potential tool for the prevention or treatment of highly prevalent diseases in our society, such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, cancer or diabetes, among others. Although several beneficial effects have been described for human beings, others have only been established in preclinical studies so far. Furthermore, generally, not all key aspects are already well known. For these and other reasons, it is mandatory to continue with scientific research in this field. Indeed, new knowledge concerning these issues could enable the development of novel functional foods or nutraceuticals incorporating these ingredients, which should be suitable for preventing or treating several important diseases.

It is our great pleasure to invite researchers to provide manuscripts either describing original research or providing an up-to-date review of the scientific literature for a Special Issue of Nutrients on “Natural Food Ingredients for Human Health: New Insights from a Metabolic Perspective”. Very welcome will be manuscripts that present recent advances in the knowledge on natural food ingredients’ effects on health, including but not limited to the better understanding of their mechanisms of action, dose-response patterns, bioavailability enhancement strategies, and the study of population-group specific effects, among others.

Dr. Leixuri Aguirre
Dr. Itziar Eseberri
Guest Editors

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 2900 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 compounds
Benefits on health
Cardiovascular diseases
Cancer
Obesity
Diabetes
Mechanisms of action
Bioavailability
Dose-response
Additive effects

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Oral Supplement Containing Hydroxytyrosol and Punicalagin Improves Dyslipidemia in an Adult Population without Co-Adjuvant Treatment: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled and Crossover Trial

by Rebeca Quirós-Fernández, Bricia López-Plaza, Laura M. Bermejo, Samara Palma Milla, Andrea Zangara and Carmen Gómez Candela

Nutrients 2022, 14(9), 1879; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14091879 - 29 Apr 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3566

Abstract

Hydroxytyrosol (HT) and punicalagin (PC) exert cardioprotective and antiatherosclerotic effects. This study evaluated the effect of an oral supplement containing HT and PC (SAx) on dyslipidemia in an adult population. A randomized, double-blind, controlled, crossover trial was conducted over a 20-week period. SAx significantly reduced the plasma levels of triglycerides (TG) in subjects with hypertriglyceridemia (≥150 mg/dL) (from 200.67 ± 51.38 to 155.33 ± 42.44 mg/dL; p < 0.05), while no such effects were observed in these subjects after the placebo. SAx also significantly decreased the plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in subjects with high plasma levels of LDL-C (≥160 mg/dL) (from 179.13 ± 16.18 to 162.93 ± 27.05 mg/dL; p < 0.01), while no such positive effect was observed with the placebo. In addition, the placebo significantly reduced the plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the total population (from 64.49 ± 12.65 to 62.55 ± 11.57 mg/dL; p < 0.05), while SAx significantly increased the plasma levels of HDL-C in subjects with low plasma levels of HDL-C (<50 mg/dL) (from 44.25 ± 3.99 to 48.00 ± 7.27 mg/dL; p < 0.05). In conclusion, the supplement containing HT and PC exerted antiatherosclerotic and cardio-protective effects by considerably improving dyslipidemia in an adult population, without co-adjuvant treatment or adverse effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Food Ingredients for Human Health: New Insights from a Metabolic Perspective)

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15 pages, 5288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trans-ε-Viniferin Encapsulation in Multi-Lamellar Liposomes: Consequences on Pharmacokinetic Parameters, Biodistribution and Glucuronide Formation in Rats

by Pauline Beaumont, Chrystel Faure, Arnaud Courtois, Michael Jourdes, Axel Marchal, Pierre-Louis Teissedre, Tristan Richard, Claude Atgié and Stéphanie Krisa

Nutrients 2021, 13(12), 4212; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13124212 - 24 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1674

Abstract

Trans-ε-viniferin (εVin) is a resveratrol dimer exhibiting promising biological activities for human health. Its bioavailability being low, the development of encapsulation methods would be used to overcome this issue. The aim of this study was to measure the consequences of the encapsulation of εVin in multilamellar liposomes on its pharmacokinetic parameters, metabolism and tissue distribution in rats. After oral administration of εVin (20 mg/kg body weight), either as free or encapsulated forms, plasmas were sequentially collected (from 0 to 4 h) as well as liver, kidneys and adipose tissues (4 h after administration) and analyzed by LC-HRMS. The glucuronide metabolites (εVG) were also produced by hemisynthesis for their quantification in plasma and tissues. The encapsulation process did not significantly modify the pharmacokinetic parameters of εVin itself. However, a significant increase of the T_1/2 was noticed for εVG after administration of the encapsulated form as compared to the free form. An accumulation of εVin and εVG in adipose tissues was noticed, and interestingly a significant increase of the latter in the mesenteric one after administration of the encapsulated form was highlighted. Since adipose tissues could represent storage depots, and encapsulation allows for prolonging the exposure time of glucuronide metabolites in the organism, this could be of interest to promote their potential biological activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Food Ingredients for Human Health: New Insights from a Metabolic Perspective)

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Review

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26 pages, 4147 KiB

Open AccessReview

Beneficial Effects of Bovine Milk Exosomes in Metabolic Interorgan Cross-Talk

by Jorge García-Martínez, Íñigo M. Pérez-Castillo, Rafael Salto, José M. López-Pedrosa, Ricardo Rueda and María D. Girón

Nutrients 2022, 14(7), 1442; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14071442 - 30 Mar 2022

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4807

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles are membrane-enclosed secreted vesicles involved in cell-to-cell communication processes, identified in virtually all body fluids. Among extracellular vesicles, exosomes have gained increasing attention in recent years as they have unique biological origins and deliver different cargos, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids, which might mediate various health processes. In particular, milk-derived exosomes are proposed as bioactive compounds of breast milk, which have been reported to resist gastric digestion and reach systemic circulation, thus being bioavailable after oral intake. In the present manuscript, we critically discuss the available evidence on the health benefits attributed to milk exosomes, and we provide an outlook for the potential future uses of these compounds. The use of milk exosomes as bioactive ingredients represents a novel avenue to explore in the context of human nutrition, and they might exert important beneficial effects at multiple levels, including but not limited to intestinal health, bone and muscle metabolism, immunity, modulation of the microbiota, growth, and development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Food Ingredients for Human Health: New Insights from a Metabolic Perspective)

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Graphical abstract

16 pages, 7872 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Role of Bioactive Compounds from Dietary Spices in the Management of Metabolic Syndrome: An Overview

by Dana Hasan Alkhatib, Abdul Jaleel, Maryam Naveed Muhammad Tariq, Jack Feehan, Vasso Apostolopoulos, Leila Cheikh Ismail, Lily Stojanovska and Ayesha S. Al Dhaheri

Nutrients 2022, 14(1), 175; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14010175 - 30 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 7598

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a combination of physiologically dysregulated parameters that can include elevated fasting blood glucose, high blood pressure, central obesity, increased triglyceride levels, insulin resistance, diabetes, elevated low density lipoprotein levels, and reduced high density lipoprotein levels in the blood. Effective clinical management of MetS is critical as it is strongly associated with long lasting and fatal complications in patients. Alongside standard care of lifestyle changes and medication, dietary supplements derived from herbal resources could be an alternative therapeutic strategy that is safe, efficient, culturally acceptable, and has few side effects. Of the dietary supplements, spicy foods have always been considered a great source of functional bioactive compounds. Herbal therapy is broadly used in many countries as a treatment or as a preventive measure in the management of MetS risk factors, including blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipid levels. Herein, an attempt is made to evaluate the recent studies in the management of MetS with herbal alternatives, and to explore the possibility of their use as therapeutic treatments or supplements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Food Ingredients for Human Health: New Insights from a Metabolic Perspective)

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