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Functional Foods in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Volume II

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 10278

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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A healthy diet is one of the essential conditions for a healthy lifestyle. However, in order to implement a healthy diet, it is necessary to have access to food of a high nutritional value that contain significant amounts of health-promoting ingredients with preventive effects against the so-called lifestyle diseases, which are rapidly spreading in today’s world. These include cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and depression, and also entail a generalized decline in immunity, consequently increasing the body’s susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections. Many natural food ingredients can lower the risks to individual health, such as polyphenols, omega-3 LC PUFA, vitamins, minerals, and many other bioactive substances of plant and animal origins.

Science and technology work in parallel in the context of food enhancement in terms of both the preservation and enhancement of the nutritional values and desirable health influences of food products. There is an urgent need for evidence confirming the effects of the bioactive substances that are, or could be developed into, food ingredients, and which of these—whether alone or in synthesis with the entire matrix (i.e., a food product)—can strengthen the human immune system’s capacity to fight diseases and yield positive effects on the metabolism. While collecting this evidence will require a great deal of work, it also provides scientists in the fields of biology, food technology, medicine, dietetics, animal husbandry, and agronomy with an opportunity to conduct innovative and much-needed research. We anticipate that many interesting papers from these fields of research will be submitted to this Special Issue, in which the results will be published and disseminated.

Prof. Dr. Wojciech Kolanowski
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

health-promoting ingredients
bioactive substances
disease prevention
functional food

Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 2208 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ameliorative Effect of Omega-3-Rich Fish Diet on the Neurotoxic Effects of Propionic Acid in a Rodent Model of Autism

by Nouf Saad Alsaqer, Doha M. Al-Nouri, Ramesa Shafi Bhat, Shaista Arzoo, Laila Naif Al-Harbi, Manal Abdulaziz Bin Obead, Abdullah Yaseen Almubarak, Hisham Alkhalidi, Ahmad Almotairi and Afaf Kamal El-Din El-Ansary

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(13), 7392; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137392 - 21 Jun 2023

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Abstract

Despite the increased social and financial burden associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no particular treatment for this illness has been identified. A detailed examination of prior trials conducted to treat autism revealed that nutrition intervention was commonly utilised as an additional method of therapy. Indeed, the early detection of nutritional deficiencies and metabolic problems, together with appropriate therapeutic measures, can be a cornerstone for enhancing the metabolic and behavioural abilities of individuals with autism. In this work, a propionic acid (PPA)-induced rodent model of ASD was fed Spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebuloses), Dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus), and Parrot Fish (Scaridae), which are locally named Hammour, Shour, and Hareed, respectively, in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary intervention with three kinds of whole fish (Lethrinus nebuloses, Epinephelus marginatus, and Scaridae), as a rich source of ω-3 fatty acids, on selected biochemical markers (reduced glutathione (GSH), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), dopamine) together with a histopathological examination of the cerebellum and hippocampus as neurotoxic features of propionic acid in a rodent model of autism. Briefly, our findings give preliminary evidence in favour of employing fish as a rich supply of omega-3 fatty acids to reduce the neurotoxic effect of a PPA-induced ASD in a rat model. It may be beneficial to provide an extra marine omega-3-rich diet for improving certain metabolic autistic features related to oxidative stress, energy metabolism, and brain neurotransmitters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Volume II)

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Review

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16 pages, 925 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of the Relationship between Gut Microbiome and Obesity

by Dorottya Zsálig, Anikó Berta, Vivien Tóth, Zoltán Szabó, Klára Simon, Mária Figler, Henriette Pusztafalvi and Éva Polyák

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(1), 610; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13010610 - 02 Jan 2023

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 8644

Abstract

Obesity is a rapidly growing problem of public health on a worldwide scale, responsible for more than 60% of deaths associated with high body mass index. Recent studies underpinned the augmenting importance of the gut microbiota in obesity. Gut microbiota alterations affect the energy balance of the host organism; namely, as a factor affecting energy production from the diet and as a factor affecting host genes regulating energy expenditure and storage. Gut microbiota composition is characterised by constant variability, and is affected by several dietary factors, suggesting the probability that manipulation of the gut microbiota may promote leaning or prevent obesity. Our narrative review summarizes the results of recent years that stress the effect of gut microbiota in the development of obesity. It investigates the factors (diet, dietary components, lifestyle, and environment) that might affect the gut microbiota composition. Possible strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of obesity include restoring or modifying the composition of the microbiota by consuming prebiotics and probiotics, fermented foods, fruits, vegetables, and avoiding foods of animal origin high in saturated fat and sugar. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Volume II)

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