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Use of “Omics”-Based Technologies for Exploring the Potential Health Benefits of Naturally Derived Products

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 February 2023) | Viewed by 13750

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
Interests: bee products; dietary supplements; polyphenol; gut health; gut microbiota; inflammatory bowel diseases;
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
1. Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra 2617, ACT, Australia
2. Functional Foods and Nutrition Research (FFNR) Laboratory, University of Canberra, Ngunnawal Land 2617, Australia
3. University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra 2617, ACT, Australia
4. Discipline of Nutrition-Dietetics, Harokopio University, 17671 Athens, Greece
Interests: green tea; plant polyphenols; catechins; EGCG; bioactives, nutrition; the effects of resveratrol supplementation on obesity in humans; plant bioactives; nutraceuticals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Interests: algae; bioactive compounds; biorefinery; gastrointestinal digestion; gut health; metabolites; microbiota; plant extracts; polyphenols; polysaccharides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Developments in “omics” approaches in recent decades have greatly increased our knowledge in many fields of science, including food and nutrition. Bioactive compounds/nutrients derived from natural products, such as herbal medicines, fatty acids, pre-, pro-, and post-biotics, and peptides, have been proposed as effective therapeutic agents resulting in different health outcomes, such as improvements in metabolic, inflammatory, and neurological disorders. Naturally found active substances with potential health benefits, whether consumed as part of food, dietary supplements, or functional foods, have been extensively but not exhaustively investigated. Omics-based technologies (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics) are particularly useful for multiple aspects of natural product-related studies, such as the investigation of characteristic secondary metabolite expression and biomarkers. Exploring novel sources of natural products and deeper investigations on natural product-based nutritional interventions can for the basis of single/multiple omics approaches to obtain and comprehensively understand the potential mechanisms of action. Integrating “omics” techniques into natural product-related studies enables researchers to more adequately connect food and diet with health and diseases. Furthermore, there has been rapid growth in terms of the wide application of foodomics technologies for investigating the beneficial activities of natural products on human health, nutrition, and wellbeing.

For this Special Issue of Nutrients, we would like to invite authors to submit original manuscripts within the scope of the proposed topics. Submissions of original research, reviews of the current scientific literature, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and short reports are welcomed.

Dr. Kai Wang
Dr. Nenad Naumovski
Dr. Suvimol Charoensiddhi
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

  • omics
  • polyphenols
  • nutrigenomics

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2549 KiB  
Article
Industrial and Ruminant Trans-Fatty Acids-Enriched Diets Differentially Modulate the Microbiome and Fecal Metabolites in C57BL/6 Mice
by Farzad Mohammadi, Miranda Green, Emma Tolsdorf, Karine Greffard, Mickael Leclercq, Jean-François Bilodeau, Arnaud Droit, Jane Foster, Nicolas Bertrand and Iwona Rudkowska
Nutrients 2023, 15(6), 1433; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061433 - 16 Mar 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2217
Abstract
Industrially originated trans-fatty acids (I-tFAs), such as elaidic acid (EA), and ruminant trans-fatty acids (R-tFAs), such as trans-palmitoleic acid (TPA), may have opposite effects on metabolic health. The objective was to compare the effects of consuming 2–3% I- [...] Read more.
Industrially originated trans-fatty acids (I-tFAs), such as elaidic acid (EA), and ruminant trans-fatty acids (R-tFAs), such as trans-palmitoleic acid (TPA), may have opposite effects on metabolic health. The objective was to compare the effects of consuming 2–3% I-tFA or R-tFA on the gut microbiome and fecal metabolite profile in mice after 7 and 28 days. Forty C57BL/6 mice were assigned to one of the four prepared formulations: lecithin nanovesicles, lecithin nanovesicles with EA or TPA, or water. Fecal samples and animals’ weights were collected on days 0, 7, and 28. Fecal samples were used to determine gut microbiome profiles by 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolite concentrations by GC/MS. At 28 days, TPA intake decreased the abundance of Staphylococcus sp55 but increased Staphylococcus sp119. EA intake also increased the abundance of Staphylococcus sp119 but decreased Ruminococcaceae UCG-014, Lachnospiraceae, and Clostridium sensu stricto 1 at 28 days. Fecal short-chain fatty acids were increased after TPA while decreased after EA after 7 and 28 days. This study shows that TPA and EA modify the abundance of specific microbial taxa and fecal metabolite profiles in distinct ways. Full article
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11 pages, 2728 KiB  
Article
IRW (Ile–Arg–Trp) Alleviates DSS–Induced Intestinal Injury by Remodeling Gut Microbiota and Regulating Fecal SCFA Levels
by Yanquan Fei, Siying Li, Zaoyi Wang, Yong Ma, Jun Fang and Gang Liu
Nutrients 2023, 15(4), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15040953 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2072
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease of unknown etiology with a progressive and destructive course and an increasing incidence worldwide. Dietary peptides have a variety of biological functions and are effective anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, making them a prospective class of material [...] Read more.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease of unknown etiology with a progressive and destructive course and an increasing incidence worldwide. Dietary peptides have a variety of biological functions and are effective anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, making them a prospective class of material for treating intestinal inflammation. Our study investigated the association between Ile–Arg–Trp (IRW), a dietary oligopeptide, and intestinal microbial changes during the relief of colitis using different concentrations of IRW. We found that IRW can significantly alleviate mouse colonic barrier damage caused by dextran sulphate sodium salt (DSS) and promote intestinal health. The results of microbial community composition showed that the relative abundance of Bacillota and Lactobacillus in the gut microbiota at different concentrations of IRW was significantly increased and that the abundance of Bacteroides was suppressed. Surprisingly, the relative abundance of Odoribacter also received regulation by IRW concentration and had a positive correlation with acetic acid. IRW at 0.02 mg/mL and 0.04 mg/mL significantly altered the abundance of Bacillota, Odoribacter, and Lactobacillus. Full article
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15 pages, 4474 KiB  
Article
Glutathione Protects against Paraquat-Induced Oxidative Stress by Regulating Intestinal Barrier, Antioxidant Capacity, and CAR Signaling Pathway in Weaned Piglets
by Xuan Xiang, Houfu Wang, Wentao Zhou, Chenyu Wang, Peng Guan, Gang Xu, Qiang Zhao, Liuqin He, Yulong Yin and Tiejun Li
Nutrients 2023, 15(1), 198; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15010198 - 30 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3076
Abstract
Endogenous glutathione (GSH) effectively regulates redox homeostasis in the body. This study aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of different dietary levels of GSH supplementation on the intestinal barrier and antioxidant function in a paraquat-induced stress-weaned piglet model. Our results showed that dietary [...] Read more.
Endogenous glutathione (GSH) effectively regulates redox homeostasis in the body. This study aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of different dietary levels of GSH supplementation on the intestinal barrier and antioxidant function in a paraquat-induced stress-weaned piglet model. Our results showed that dietary 0.06% GSH supplementation improved the growth performance of weaned piglets under normal and stressful conditions to some degree and decreased the diarrhea rate throughout. Exogenous GSH improved paraquat-induced changes in intestinal morphology, organelle, and permeability and reduced intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis. Moreover, GSH treatment alleviated intestinal oxidative stress damage by upregulating antioxidant (GPX4, CnZnSOD, GCLC, and GCLM) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) gene expression and downregulating inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-12) gene expression. Furthermore, GSH significantly reduced the expression levels of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), RXRα, HSP90, PP2Ac, CYP2B22, and CYP3A29, and increased the expression levels of GSTA1 and GSTA2 in the jejunum and ileum of paraquat-induced piglets. We conclude that exogenous GSH protects against oxidative stress damage by regulating the intestinal barrier, antioxidant capacity, and CAR signaling pathway. Full article
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21 pages, 6353 KiB  
Article
Antioxidative and Energy Metabolism-Improving Effects of Maca Polysaccharide on Cyclophosphamide-Induced Hepatotoxicity Mice via Metabolomic Analysis and Keap1-Nrf2 Pathway
by Wenting Fei, Jianjun Zhang, Shuhui Yu, Na Yue, Danni Ye, Yingli Zhu, Ran Tao, Yan Chen, Yawen Chen, Aimin Li and Linyuan Wang
Nutrients 2022, 14(20), 4264; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14204264 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3051
Abstract
Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Maca), as a natural food supplement, has strong antioxidant and energy metabolism-improving characteristics, and Maca polysaccharide (MP) is its effective component. MP has been shown to mitigate liver damage in previous research, and Cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced hepatotoxicity is also a major [...] Read more.
Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Maca), as a natural food supplement, has strong antioxidant and energy metabolism-improving characteristics, and Maca polysaccharide (MP) is its effective component. MP has been shown to mitigate liver damage in previous research, and Cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced hepatotoxicity is also a major concern in clinical practice. We investigated the possible cytoprotective effect of MP on CYP-induced liver injury, and explored its underlying mechanism by analyzing the resulting liver metabolic profiles. MP significantly inhibited increases in serum transaminase, improved pathological changes, reduced oxidative stress, and increased the levels of energy metabolism-related enzymes. Metabolomic analysis showed that MP corrected lipid metabolic problems and regulated the pentose phosphate pathway and acid metabolism, thereby protecting against apoptosis of hepatocytes. The Pearson correlation analysis indicated that antioxidant enzymes and energy metabolism-related enzymes are closely correlated with these differential metabolites. In addition, the upstream Keap1-Nrf2 antioxidant signal transduction pathway was explored to validate the possible mechanism of the cytoprotective effect of MP. In conclusion, MP plays a protective role in CYP-induced hepatotoxicity through these potential metabolic means, where it ameliorates oxidative stress, improves energy metabolism, and restores mitochondrial respiration by regulating the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway, thereby preventing liver damage. Full article
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16 pages, 3163 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Ulcerative Colitis by Aspartate via RIPK Pathway Modulation and Gut Microbiota Composition in Mice
by Xian Hu, Xinmiao He, Can Peng, Yiwen He, Chenyu Wang, Wenjie Tang, Heshu Chen, Yanzhong Feng, Di Liu, Tiejun Li and Liuqin He
Nutrients 2022, 14(18), 3707; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183707 - 8 Sep 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2396
Abstract
The intestine requires a great deal of energy to maintain its health and function; thus, energy deficits in the intestinal mucosa may lead to intestinal damage. Aspartate (Asp) is an essential energy source in the intestinal mucosa and plays a vital part in [...] Read more.
The intestine requires a great deal of energy to maintain its health and function; thus, energy deficits in the intestinal mucosa may lead to intestinal damage. Aspartate (Asp) is an essential energy source in the intestinal mucosa and plays a vital part in gut health. In the current study, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation of Asp could alleviate DSS-induced colitis via improvement in the colonic morphology, oxidative stress, cell apoptosis, and microbiota composition in a mouse model of dextran. Asp administration decreased the disease activity index, apoptosis, myeloperoxidase, eosinophil peroxidase, and proinflammatory cytokine (IL-1β and TNF-α) concentrations in the colonic tissue, but improved the body weight, average daily food intake, colonic morphology, and antioxidant-related gene (GPX1 and GPX4) expression in DSS-treated mice. Expression levels of RIPK1 and RIPK3 were increased in the colon following Asp administration in the DSS-induced mice, whereas the MLKL protein expression was decreased. 16S rRNA sequencing showed that Asp treatment increased the abundance of Lactobacillus and Alistipes at the gene level, and Bacteroidetes at the phylum level, but decreased the abundance of Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia at the phylum level. Asp may positively regulate the recovery of DSS-induced damage by improving the immunity and antioxidative capacity, regulating RIPK signaling and modulating the gut microbiota composition. Full article
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