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Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases
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Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 12459

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giuseppe Iacomino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, Via Roma 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy
2. Medical Genetics, Università degli Studi del Sannio, 82100 Benevento, BN, Italy
Interests: molecular and cell biology; obesity; food-related diseases; epigenomics; transcriptomics; microRNAs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fabio Lauria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, Via Roma 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy
Interests: microRNAs; GWA; SNPs; metabolic diseases; obesity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a new Special Issue entitled "Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-related Diseases”.

Nutrition plays a critical role in health. A healthy diet throughout life is responsible for normal growth, development, ageing, and longevity, and also helps to maintain a healthy body weight, leading to general well-being. Epidemiological evidence has suggested that bioactive food components such as polyphenols, polysaccharides peptides, and others may offer beneficial health-promoting effects by decreasing the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

This Special Issue encourages authors to submit their original research or review articles bringing new pieces of evidence or synthesis of the most recent and breakthrough data in the study of food components in health promotion and disease prevention, as well as the study of diet interconnected diseases.

Specifically, investigations may include an evaluation of the biological effects through in vitro models, animal models, and preclinical and clinical data.

 Article proposals should be focused on the following topics:

  • Establishing the cause-and-effect relationship between food components, food extracts, and nutrition, in the context of health-promoting effects or diet-related metabolic disorders.
  • Isolation, identification, and characterization of bioactive food derivative antioxidants, phytochemicals, protein, peptides, polysaccharides, etc.
  • Effect of processing methods on the chemistry of bioactive constituents in food.
  • Bioavailability of bioactive components in food.
  • Development of innovative food solutions.

Research in this field is expected to offer insights that allow the development and scientific validation of intervention strategies for sustaining good health through all phases of life.

Dr. Giuseppe Iacomino
Dr. Fabio Lauria
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. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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 food components 
  • phytochemicals 
  • antioxidants 
  • natural compounds 
  • bioavailability of bioactive components 
  • health promotion 
  • disease prevention

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 16126 KiB  
Article
Pueraria lobata–Prunus mume Complex Alleviates Alcoholic Liver Disease by Regulating Lipid Metabolism and Inhibiting Inflammation: A Transcriptome and Gut Microbiota Analysis
by Ruixi Gao, Qi Huang, Yanfeng Zeng, Dandan Chen, Ziming Jia, Bingchen Han, Xianju Huang, Qiang Wang, Xin Hu, Maochuan Liao and Jun Li
Foods 2024, 13(15), 2431; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13152431 - 1 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1289
Abstract
Background: Lipid metabolism disorder appears to be one of the early features of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which can be speculated via omics analysis including liver transcriptomics and gut microbiota. A complex consisting of the roots of Pueraria lobata and dried fruits of [...] Read more.
Background: Lipid metabolism disorder appears to be one of the early features of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which can be speculated via omics analysis including liver transcriptomics and gut microbiota. A complex consisting of the roots of Pueraria lobata and dried fruits of Prunus mume (PPC), which possesses hepatoprotective effects, could serve as a drug or functional food. The lack of non-polysaccharide compounds in PPC with their moderation effects on gut microbiota suggests the necessity for a relevant study. Methods: Six groups of Kunming mice (control, Baijiu injury, silybin, low, medium, and high) were modelled by gavage with Baijiu (for 14 days) and PPC (equivalent to a maximum dose of 9 g/kg in humans). The liver transcriptome data were analyzed to predict gene annotation, followed by the verification of gut microbiota, serum, tissue staining, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to detect the components. Results: PPC normalized serum ALT (40 U/L), down-regulated TLR4-NF-κB signaling pathway to inhibit the release of TNF-α (90 pg/mL), improved the expression of occludin, claudin-4, and ZO-1, and restored the abundance of Muribaculaceae, Bacteroides and Streptococcus. Conclusion: PPC can alleviate ALD by regulating the gut microbiota with an anti-inflammatory and intestinal barrier, and has an application value in developing functional foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases)
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13 pages, 599 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Chocolate Consumption and the Severity of Acne Lesions−A Crossover Study
by Magdalena Daszkiewicz, Dorota Różańska and Bożena Regulska-Ilow
Foods 2024, 13(13), 1993; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13131993 - 24 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2136
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the daily consumption of 50 g of chocolate with 85% cocoa content and the severity of acne lesions. Methods: The study involved 92 participants with acne who were divided into two groups, [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the daily consumption of 50 g of chocolate with 85% cocoa content and the severity of acne lesions. Methods: The study involved 92 participants with acne who were divided into two groups, A (n = 51) and B (n = 41). In the first week, both groups had to follow an anti-inflammatory diet (AID), then for the next 4 weeks, group A continued on with the AID, and group B followed an AID with chocolate. After this time, group B started a 4-week AID without chocolate, and group A started a 4-week AID with chocolate. The severity of acne lesions was assessed using the Investigator’s Static Global Assessment scale, where zero points indicated no lesions and five points indicated severe acne. Results: As a result of the consumption of 50 g of chocolate, a statistically significant intensification of acne lesions was observed in both groups. After 4 weeks of following the chocolate diet, the severity of acne lesions increased from 2.5 ± 0.7 to 3.4 ± 0.8 points (p < 0.0001) in group A, and from 2.4 ± 0.7 to 3.5 ± 0.6 points (p < 0.0001) in group B. Overall, chocolate intake contributed to the exacerbation of acne lesions by one point in 65 participants, by two points in 13 participants and by three points in one participant. Conclusions: The obtained results suggest that daily consumption of 50 g of chocolate with 85% cocoa content, even with an anti-inflammatory diet, may intensify acne lesions in this study group. However, it remains unclear which chocolate components may lead to the exacerbation of acne. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases)
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13 pages, 4115 KiB  
Article
Tritordeum: Promising Cultivars to Improve Health
by Salvatore De Caro, Antonella Venezia, Luigia Di Stasio, Donatella Danzi, Domenico Pignone, Gianfranco Mamone and Giuseppe Iacomino
Foods 2024, 13(5), 661; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13050661 - 22 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1535
Abstract
Tritordeum is an amphiploides species resulting from the hybridization between durum wheat (T. durum) and wild barley (H. chilense). This new cereal is considered a natural crop as it is obtained by traditional breeding techniques. Given its appreciable organoleptic [...] Read more.
Tritordeum is an amphiploides species resulting from the hybridization between durum wheat (T. durum) and wild barley (H. chilense). This new cereal is considered a natural crop as it is obtained by traditional breeding techniques. Given its appreciable organoleptic characteristics, agronomic features, presence of interesting components, and good technological properties, Tritordeum is of promising interest for the development of health-oriented foods. In this study, we evaluated two registered Tritordeum cultivars, Bulel and Aucan. T. durum (Provenzal) was employed as the positive control. The extracted proteins were digested by gastric/pancreatic proteases, and their biological effects on Caco-2 differentiated on transwell inserts were determined. Changes in cell viability, monolayer permeability, organization of F-actin microfilaments, and ER stress triggered by protein-digested samples (DPs) were inspected. Our results showed that exposure to Provenzal-DPs promptly disrupted the tight junction barrier. Conversely, Aucan-DPs did not enhance monolayer permeability, whereas Bulel-DPs exerted only slight effects. Provental-DPs-induced toxicity was also confirmed by changes in cell viability and by the deep reorganization of the enterocyte cytoskeleton. In contrast, Aucan-DPs and Bulel-DPs did not affect monolayer viability and cytoskeleton structure. Overall, our findings suggest that both Tritordeum cultivars could be potential candidates for mitigating the toxicity of wheat flour. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases)
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18 pages, 4071 KiB  
Article
Hypolipidemic, Hypoglycemic, and Ameliorative Effects of Boiled Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and Mallow (Corchorus olitorius) Leaf Extracts in High-Fat Diet-Fed Rats
by Albandari A. Almutairi, Waheeba E. Ahmed, Raya Algonaiman, Raghad M. Alhomaid, Mona S. Almujaydil, Sami A. Althwab, Ard ElShifa M. Elhassan and Hassan Mirghani Mousa
Foods 2023, 12(23), 4303; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12234303 - 28 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1884
Abstract
Obesity is a major health concern associated with serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the potential anti-obesity effects of heat-treated parsley and mallow extracts (PE and ME, respectively) in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rats. The selected herbs [...] Read more.
Obesity is a major health concern associated with serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the potential anti-obesity effects of heat-treated parsley and mallow extracts (PE and ME, respectively) in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rats. The selected herbs underwent three heat treatments (boiling, blanching, and microwaving), and the most effective treatment was orally administered to the HFD rats for eight weeks. All three treatments effectively increased the total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity of the herbs, with boiling treatment exhibiting the most significant increase. Boiled herbs demonstrated approximately 29% higher TPC and an impressive 348% increase in antioxidant activity compared to the other treatments. Oral administration of the boiled herb extracts to the HFD rats resulted in significant reductions in body weight, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol levels, while elevating the HDL cholesterol levels compared to the positive control rats. Additionally, the boiled herb extracts exhibited antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective effects. Notably, PE displayed more significant anti-obesity properties compared to ME, potentially due to higher TPC and antioxidant activity observed in PE compared to ME. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential positive effects of boiled parsley against obesity and recommends boiling treatment as the preferred method when heat treatment is required for herbs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases)
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13 pages, 671 KiB  
Article
Natural Antioxidant Potential of Melon Peels for Fortified Foods
by Filomena Monica Vella, Roberto Calandrelli, Domenico Cautela and Bruna Laratta
Foods 2023, 12(13), 2523; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12132523 - 28 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2116
Abstract
Agricultural and food waste recycling reduces natural resource losses, contributing significantly to the development of new green markets through the creation of redesigned products. In order to cycle valuable molecules, the peels from Italian cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars were studied and [...] Read more.
Agricultural and food waste recycling reduces natural resource losses, contributing significantly to the development of new green markets through the creation of redesigned products. In order to cycle valuable molecules, the peels from Italian cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars were studied and successfully characterized for high-added biomolecules to verify their possible exploitation as wealthy biomasses. Peels were investigated for their cell wall-modifying and browning enzymes, as well as for total polyphenols, ortho-diphenols, flavonoids, tannins, and antioxidant properties. The results of the analyses displayed great promise in one of the three cultivars investigated. Later on, a preliminary study using the best peel extract as a dietary supplement was carried out by preparing fortified seawater to enhance its antioxidant power. The effects of storage time (60 days) were examined at two temperatures through the determination of the stability of the polyphenol content. The kinetic parameters of degradation were also calculated. The “enriched sea water” retained great antioxidant activity in refrigerated conditions, demonstrating that there is good potential for melon by-products to add their natural compounds for food fortification. These findings may provide valuable data for scale-up, from the lab to the pilot or industrial application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases)
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16 pages, 857 KiB  
Article
Application of HPP for the Development of a Dessert Elaborated with Casein and Cocoa for a Dysphagia Diet
by Larisa Giura, Leyre Urtasun, Iciar Astiasaran and Diana Ansorena
Foods 2023, 12(4), 882; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12040882 - 18 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2552
Abstract
In this study, the application of high-pressure processing (HPP) for optimizing the texture of a cocoa dessert rich in casein and developed for people with dysphagia was investigated. Different treatments (250 MPa/15 min; 600 MPa/5 min) and protein concentrations (10–15%) were combined and [...] Read more.
In this study, the application of high-pressure processing (HPP) for optimizing the texture of a cocoa dessert rich in casein and developed for people with dysphagia was investigated. Different treatments (250 MPa/15 min; 600 MPa/5 min) and protein concentrations (10–15%) were combined and evaluated for choosing the optimum combination leading to an adequate texture. The selected formulation was a dessert containing 4% cocoa and 10% casein and subjected to 600 MPa for 5 min. It showed a high nutritional value (11.5% protein) and high antioxidant capacity, which was slightly affected by the HPP processing. The rheological and textural properties showed that HPP had a clear effect on the dessert structure. The loss tangent decreased from 2.692 to 0.165, indicating the transition from a liquid to a gel-like structure, which is in a suitable range for dysphagia foods. During storage (14 and 28 days at 4 °C), progressive significant changes in the structure of the dessert were observed. A decrease in all rheological and textural parameters occurred, except for the loss of tangent, which increased its value. In any case, at 28 days of storage, samples maintained the weak gel-like structure (0.686 loss tangent) that is acceptable for dysphagia management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Aspects: From Prevention to Diet-Related Diseases)
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