Search Results (206)

Background: Field hockey is a high-intensity intermittent sport, where nutrition and sleep play an important role in the performance and health of all players, especially in women, who often exhibit a dietary pattern characterized by low energy and carbohydrate intake, along with poor nighttime habits. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the profile of female field hockey players by analyzing their energy and macronutrient intake, prevalence of LEA risk, use of SS, and sleep characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, and descriptive study was carried out with 75 female players. Validated questionnaires were used to determine general sports nutrition knowledge (NUKYA) and specific knowledge of carbohydrates in sports (CEAC-Q), sleep quality (ASSQ), low energy availability risk (LEAF-Q), and use of sport supplements. In addition, a 7-day dietary record was analyzed. Results: Players showed a high general nutrition knowledge (NUKYA mean: 66.0 ± 8.5 points; 68.0% scored high), but a pronounced deficiency in specific carbohydrate knowledge (CEAC-Q mean: 24.3 ± 14.9 points; 84.0% scored low). Dietary intake analysis revealed significant deficiencies: mean energy intake was 31.9 ± 10.8 kcal/kg/day, resulting in insufficient intake for 78.7% of players. Carbohydrate intake was particularly low (3.6 ± 1.5 g/kg/day), with 86.7% failing to meet recommendations. Furthermore, 33.3% of players were at risk of Low Energy Availability (LEA). LEA risk (LEAF-Q score) was negatively correlated with both protein (r = −0.363; p = 0.001) and carbohydrate intake (r = −0.347; p = 0.003). Regarding sleep, the mean disturbance score (SDS) was 6.5 ± 2.9 (mild disturbance), with 33.3% showing moderate–severe disturbance, and 92.0% sleeping ≤8 h. Finally, 78.7% of players used supplements, with usage correlated with CEAC-Q scores (r = 0.233; p = 0.044), and 86.4% were guided by non-professional sources. Conclusions: Female hockey players do not meet dietary recommendations for energy and carbohydrates and exhibit a high prevalence of low energy availability and sleep disturbances, despite having acceptable general sports nutrition knowledge. It is recommended to implement specific educational and nutritional strategies to enhance the knowledge, performance, and health of female hockey players. Full article

Background: Ultramarathon running represents an extreme physiological and metabolic challenge. Despite its growing popularity among recreational and competitive runners, evidence-based guidance for nutrition, energy balance, and recovery remains limited. Understanding metabolic response and hormonal regulation during such events is crucial for improving athletes’ health and performance. Methods: This prospective observational study examined participants of the 2024 TorTour de Ruhr^® (100 km, 160.9 km, and 230 km). Pre- and post-race assessments included body composition, energy intake and expenditure, metabolic and hormonal biomarkers (leptin, ghrelin, insulin, glucagon, irisin, creatine kinase muscle type (CKM), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)), and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Blood and saliva samples, bioimpedance analysis, and validated symptom questionnaires (General Assessment of Side Effects (GASE)) were used. Results: Of the 43 ultra runners (16 women, 27 men), 39 finished the race: 19 participants of the 100 km group, 8 of the 160.9 km group, and 16 of the 230 km group. Mean energy deficit was 6797 kcal (range: 417–18,364 kcal) with carbohydrate-dominant fueling (79%). Significant reductions in leptin and insulin and increases in ghrelin, glucagon, CKM, and LDH were observed, indicating disrupted energy homeostasis and muscle damage. The 230 km subgroup showed the greatest changes. Gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal symptoms increased post-race, aligning with biomarker patterns. Conclusions: Ultramarathon participation induces profound disturbances in metabolic and structural integrity, regardless of race distance. These findings underline the importance of developing individualized nutritional and recovery strategies and highlight the need for future research to investigate how energy deficit and macronutrient composition interact to influence metabolic strain and post-race recovery. Full article

Background/Objectives: Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but traditional risk calculators such as Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE2) may not fully capture the elevated risks in individuals with obesity, especially when metabolic health is considered. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of QRESEARCH risk estimator version 3 (QRISK3) in estimating 10-year cardiovascular risk in individuals with varying obesity phenotypes compared to SCORE2. Methods: A total of 88 participants (25 men, 63 women; mean age 37.4 ± 11.8 years) were categorized into four obesity phenotypes according to metabolic and anthropometric criteria. The 10-year CVD risk was calculated using SCORE2 and QRISK3 algorithms. Functional cardiovascular assessment included blood pressure (BP) measurement and electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation for conduction abnormalities and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Biochemical analysis included carbohydrate metabolism (fasting glucose, postprandial glucose, HbA1c) and lipid profile (total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides, atherogenic index). Results: SCORE2 underestimated CVD risk (3–8%), whereas QRISK3 predicted higher values (6–16%), particularly in metabolically unhealthy phenotypes. LVH occurred in 26–45% of participants, with elevated BP and early subclinical ECG changes even in metabolically healthy obesity individuals. Carbohydrate metabolism disturbances were observed in metabolically unhealthy participants with normal or elevated BMI, while lipid abnormalities—including elevated total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides, and atherogenic index—were prominent in these metabolically unhealthy phenotypes. Insulin resistance, assessed via the triglyceride–glucose index, exceeded reference ranges in all obesity phenotypes, with the highest values seen in metabolically unhealthy individuals. Conclusions: QRISK3 provides a more precise and thorough assessment of 10-year cardiovascular risk in individuals with obesity than SCORE2. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating anthropometric and metabolic data into cardiovascular risk assessments and support the clinical use of QRISK3 for more personalized risk stratification, especially in populations with obesity and metabolic disturbances. Early identification of high-risk individuals using QRISK3 could lead to more timely and targeted preventive interventions, improving long-term cardiovascular outcomes. Full article

Developmental programming, shaped by environmental and lifestyle stressors during prenatal life, is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) later in life. Oxidative stress, one of key mechanisms linking these stressors to fetal metabolomic reprogramming and disease pathogenesis, leaves measurable metabolomic signatures that reflect disrupted redox balance. Alterations in glucose, lipid, and amino acid metabolism and antioxidant response could reveal the main pathways driving NCD development. This review summarizes epidemiological studies that have investigated biochemical responses of the prenatal exposure to metals, air pollution, and tobacco smoke and e-cigarette vapor in maternal–placental–fetal compartments using a metabolomic approach. Summarized studies indicate that maternal exposure to metals primarily disrupts amino acid pathways related to one-carbon metabolism, glutathione synthesis, and oxidative stress defense, while air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter, mainly affects lipid oxidation, fatty acid β-oxidation, and amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. Tobacco smoke and e-cigarette vapor induce widespread disturbances involving reduced citric acid cycle intermediates, altered acylcarnitines and phospholipids, and impaired antioxidant capacity, collectively promoting oxidative damage and inflammatory signaling. The identification of these metabolome alterations might contribute to a deeper understanding of the toxicity and biological impact of environmental stressors on offspring health. These results may eventually lead to the identification of early biomarkers and to the development of therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing NCD risk. Full article

Fire is a crucial ecological factor, however, the organ-level effects of wildfire on plant non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) and stoichiometric characteristics are poorly understood. We studied the effects of fire on sugar, starch, carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) content in the needles, branches, stems, and fine roots of fire-damaged Pinus yunnanensis trees (F-trees). Starch, sugar, and NSC content were higher in the roots and needles of F-trees than in that of undamaged individuals (H-trees). C, N, and P content and stoichiometry characteristics of F-trees also differed significantly from H-trees. The N/P content of both F-tree and H-tree needles were <14 prior to forest fire disturbance and increased thereafter, indicating that the N limitation increased after fire disturbance. In addition, F-tree physiology did not return to control levels nine months after fire disturbance, indicating that more time is needed to recover. These findings suggest that forest management practices that increase soil N content will likely accelerate post-fire recovery. Because fire frequency and intensity will continue to increase in response to climate change, our results are of great value in improving our understanding of post-fire ecosystem dynamics. Full article

Objective: This narrative review summarizes current evidence on the associations between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, childhood and adolescent obesity, and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), and examines the metabolic, inflammatory, microbial, and gut–brain mechanisms underlying these links. Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed and Scopus identified articles published between January 2010 and September 2025. Eligible studies included human research in individuals aged 0–18 years; adult studies were considered when contributing relevant mechanistic insights. Of 335 records screened, 112 studies met the inclusion criteria and were synthesized narratively according to methodological appropriateness. Results: High UPF intake was consistently associated with increased adiposity, metabolic dysregulation, and greater cardiometabolic risk in youth. Children with overweight or obesity showed a higher prevalence of FGIDs compared with their normal-weight peers. Mechanistic evidence suggests that UPFs, rich in refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats, and additives, may promote gut microbiota dysbiosis, impair intestinal barrier integrity, alter motility, and induce low-grade inflammation, thereby disrupting gut–brain signaling and contributing to FGID symptoms. Early-life and maternal UPF exposure may further increase susceptibility to metabolic and gastrointestinal disturbances through epigenetic and microbiome-mediated pathways. Conclusions: UPFs emerge as a shared etiological factor for obesity and FGIDs in childhood. This review contributes an integrated synthesis of epidemiological and mechanistic data while highlighting key research gaps, particularly the need for standardized methodologies and pediatric interventional studies to strengthen the evidence base. Full article

Diabetes mellitus and chronic venous disease (CVD) are multifactorial, long-lasting diseases. Although usually considered separately, they often coexist, and individuals with diabetes are more prone to CVD development. Despite different etiology, CVD and diabetic vascular complications share several pathomechanisms, and oxidative stress is one of them. In this study the antioxidative potential of two venoactive flavonoids—diosmin and hesperidin—in the course of type 1 diabetes was compared for the first time. Type 1 diabetic rats were treated with diosmin or hesperidin, each at two doses, 50 and 100 mg/kg, for four weeks. In order to evaluate the antioxidative potential of tested compounds, the antioxidative enzyme activity (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase), thiols homeostasis, oxidative status markers (total antioxidative response—TAR, total oxidative status and oxidative stress index—OSI), and oxidative damage markers (advanced oxidation protein products and malondialdehyde) in the serum were measured. Diabetes caused disturbance in the serological redox homeostasis, especially by decreasing enzyme activity and TAR while increasing levels of oxidative damage markers and OSI, increasing advanced glycation end products (AGEs) levels, as well as altering carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Flavonoids improved the majority of lipid metabolism markers and reduced AGEs with no effect on glycemia. In the context of oxidative stress, their effect was moderate and dose-dependent, and better potency of hesperidin over diosmin was noted, both in individual and multivariate analyses of the parameters. The collective analysis of all parameters led to the conclusion that both diosmin and hesperidin can be considered complementary agents averting negative impact of diabetes due to their multi-faceted actions, including antioxidative properties. Full article

Ammonia is a key water quality factor limiting shrimp aquaculture. Intestinal health is closely associated with the nutrition, metabolism and immunity of shrimp. However, the response characteristics of the shrimp intestine to ammonia stress under seawater and low-salinity environments remain unclear. In this study, the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei reared in seawater (salinity 30) or low-salinity (salinity 3) water were subjected to ammonia stress for 14 days, respectively. The changes in intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity, immune response, energy metabolism, and microbial community were systematically investigated. The results showed that ammonia stress induced intestinal tissue damage in both seawater and low-salinity cultured shrimp, characterized by epithelial cell detachment and mucosal structural disruption. At the molecular level, ammonia stress triggered intestinal stress responses by interfering with key physiological processes such as antioxidant defense and endoplasmic reticulum stress. This process further led to varying degrees of disorders in physiological functions, including immune regulation, inflammatory response, and autophagic activity. In addition, ammonia stress disrupted the homeostatic balance of intestinal energy metabolism by affecting the expression of genes related to glucose metabolism, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and mitochondrial respiratory chain. In addition, ammonia stress increased the diversity of intestinal microbiota and caused microbial dysbiosis by increasing harmful bacteria (e.g., Vibrio) and decreasing beneficial bacterial groups (e.g., Bacillus). Ammonia stress generally enhanced intestinal microbiota chemotaxis. Specifically, predicted functions of microbiota in seawater-cultured shrimp showed increased carbohydrate, linoleic acid, and cofactor/vitamin metabolism; in low-salinity-cultured shrimp, functions including protein digestion/absorption, flavonoid/steroid hormone biosynthesis, and glycosaminoglycan degradation were reduced. These results revealed that ammonia stress compromised shrimp intestinal health by disrupting mucosal structure, triggering stress responses, and disturbing immune function, energy metabolism, and microbial homeostasis. Notably, low-salinity cultured shrimp exhibited more pronounced intestinal stress responses and greater physiological vulnerability than seawater-cultured counterparts. Full article

Dermatitis in the diapered area (DDA) is the most common skin condition in infants and can cause significant pain and discomfort, leading to disturbed sleep, changes in temperament, and heightened concern and anxiety for caregivers. This study investigates the relationship between skin pH, microbiome composition, and DDA severity in 158 infants from China, the US, and Germany, focusing on the buttocks, perianal, and thigh regions. Significant variations in DNA biomass and microbiota profiles were noted. Escherichia coli and Veillonella atypica were linked to higher rash scores and elevated skin pH, while Bifidobacterium longum showed a negative correlation with buttocks pH and rash severity but not with perianal rash. Correlation patterns emerged for other species, like Enterococcus faecalis, between perianal and buttocks rashes. Functional analysis identified key categories, including lipid and fatty acid metabolism, cofactor, amino acid, and carbohydrate metabolism, homeostasis and osmolarity stress, and microbial virulence and oxidative stress response, which are vital for skin health, DDA, and pH regulation in infants. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining a mildly acidic skin pH and minimizing fecal and urine residues for optimal infant skin health, suggesting that microbiota significantly influence DDA development, and provide insights for future preventive strategies and therapeutic interventions. Full article

Background: High-throughput metabolomics studies have promoted the discovery of candidate biomarkers linked to atherosclerosis (AS). This narrative systematic review summarises metabolomics studies conducted in (1) individuals with subclinical AS (assessed by imaging techniques such as carotid intimal media thickness, IMT, and coronary artery calcium, CAC), (2) patients with established atherosclerotic plaques, and (3) individuals with AS risk factors. Methods: The systematic search was conducted in the PubMed database according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (i) publication date between 2009 and 2024; (ii) identification of potential biomarkers for AS in subjects with a diagnosis of AS or with one or more traits characteristic of the disease (i.e., CAC or IMT); (iii) identification of potential AS biomarkers in subjects with atherogenic clinical conditions (i.e., Down’s syndrome, DS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, PCOS, and systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE); (iv) metabolomic studies; and (iv) studies in human samples. Exclusion criteria comprised the following: (i) studies on lipid metabolic diseases unrelated to AS, (ii) “omics” results not derived from metabolomics, (iii) reviews and studies in animal models or cell cultures, and (iv) systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Of 90 eligible studies screened, 24 met the inclusion criteria. Results: Across subclinical and overt AS, consistent disturbances were observed in amino acid, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism. Altered profiles included branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), aromatic amino acids (AACs) and derivatives (e.g., kynurenine–tryptophan pathway), bile acids (BAs), androgenic steroids, short-chain fatty acids (FAs)/ketone intermediates (e.g., acetate, 3-hydroxybutyrate, 3-HB), and Krebs cycle intermediates (e.g., citrate). Several metabolites (e.g., glutamine, lactate, 3-HB, phosphatidylcholines, PCs/lysophosphatidylcholines, lyso-PCs) showed reproducible associations with vascular phenotypes (IMT/CAC) and/or clinical AS. Conclusions: The identification of low-weight metabolites altered in both subclinical and overt AS suggests their potential as candidate biomarkers for early AS diagnosis. Given the steady increase in deaths from cardiovascular disease, a manifestation of advanced AS, this finding could have significant clinical relevance. Full article

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with obesity, numerous metabolic complications, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Adipokines, secreted by adipose tissue, may contribute to the development of these cardiometabolic disturbances. The aim of this study was to investigate the adipokine levels and their relationship with metabolic status in adolescent girls with PCOS. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 66 adolescent girls with PCOS (mean age: 16.5 ± 1.08 years; study group, SG) and 30 regularly menstruating girls (mean age: 16.2 ± 1.37 years; control group, CG) recruited between 2012 and 2017. All participants underwent physical examination, body composition assessment, liver ultrasonography, and biochemical and hormonal evaluations. Fasting venous blood samples were collected to determine the adipokine profile, and the leptin-to-adiponectin ratio (L/A) was calculated. Results: Compared with the control group, the PCOS group demonstrated significantly lower adiponectin (p = 0.019) and vaspin (p = 0.037) concentrations, and higher RBP-4 levels (p = 0.048). Positive correlations were observed between adiponectin, apelin, and omentin, while negative correlations were found between leptin and L/A and HDL cholesterol levels in the SG. Omentin showed a negative association, and leptin and L/A a positive association, with triglyceride concentration. In the SG, resistin and visfatin levels were negatively correlated with total cholesterol, and resistin also showed a negative correlation with LDL cholesterol. In patients with PCOS, adverse associations were observed between carbohydrate metabolism parameters and insulin resistance indices, while insulin sensitivity indices correlated positively with adiponectin and omentin concentrations. Visfatin levels in the SG correlated negatively with QUICKI. Conclusions: The adipokine profile of adolescent girls with PCOS differs from that of regularly menstruating peers, particularly in adiponectin, RBP-4, and vaspin concentrations. However, the absence of significant correlations between RBP-4 and vaspin and lipid or carbohydrate metabolism parameters suggests that these adipokines are not reliable markers of metabolic disturbances in adolescent girls with PCOS. Full article

Background/Objectives: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by sustained inflammation, leading to diabetic kidney disease (DKD). This study investigated urinary tubular injury biomarkers and metabolomic profiles in relation to albuminuria and renal function across varying durations of T1D. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 247 youth-onset T1D patients categorized by disease duration: short ≤ 5 years (T1D-S, n = 62), medium 6–10 years (T1D-M, n = 67), and long > 10 years (T1D-L, n = 118). Urinary cytokines (MCP-1, KIM-1, NGAL) were measured by ELISA. Metabolomic profiling was performed using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. Results: Urinary MCP-1/Cr, KIM-1/Cr, and NGAL/Cr levels were significantly elevated in T1D patients compared with non-diabetic controls, but did not correlate with disease duration. Metabolomic profiling identified distinct urinary signatures across T1D duration. Specifically, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and N-delta-acetylornithine (NAO) increased progressively, while N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and pyruvic acid decreased with longer disease duration. These four metabolites remained statistically significant after both based on Mann–Whitney tests with false discovery rate (FDR) correction (q < 0.05) and application of a conservative alpha threshold (p < 0.01), suggesting potential disruptions in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. Conclusions: Urinary biomarkers (MCP-1/Cr, NGAL/Cr, and KIM-1/Cr) are sensitive indicators of subclinical kidney dysfunction in T1D patients, often preceding albuminuria. Alterations in amino acid-related metabolites (NAC, NAA, and NAO) and pyruvate highlight possible metabolic disturbances associated with T1D duration and oxidative stress. However, given the cross-sectional design, longitudinal studies are needed to confirm causality and clarify their predictive value in DKD progression. Full article

Dark fermentation (DF) has gained increasing interest over the past two decades as a sustainable route for biohydrogen production; however, understanding how reproducible the process can be, both from macro- and microbiological perspectives, remains limited. This study assessed the reproducibility of a parallel continuous DF system using fruit-vegetable waste as a substrate under strictly controlled operational conditions. Three stirred-tank reactors were operated in parallel for 90 days, monitoring key process performance indicators. In addition to baseline operation, different process enhancement strategies were tested, including bioaugmentation, supplementation with nutrients and/or additional fermentable carbohydrates, and modification of key operational parameters such as pH and hydraulic retention time, all widely used in the field to improve DF performance. Microbial community structure was also analyzed to evaluate its reproducibility and potential relationship with process performance and metabolic patterns. Under these conditions, key performance indicators and core microbial features were reproducible to a large extent, yet full consistency across reactors was not achieved. During operation, unforeseen operational issues such as feed line clogging, pH control failures, and mixing interruptions were encountered. Despite these disturbances, the system maintained an average hydrogen productivity of 3.2 NL H₂/L-d, with peak values exceeding 6 NL H₂/L-d under optimal conditions. The dominant microbial core included Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Veillonella, Enterococcus, Eubacterium, and Clostridium, though their relative abundances varied notably over time and between reactors. An inverse correlation was observed between lactate concentration in the fermentation broth and the amount of hydrogen produced, suggesting it can serve as a precursor for hydrogen. Overall, the findings presented here demonstrate that DF processes can be resilient and broadly reproducible. However, they also emphasize the sensitivity of these processes to operational disturbances and microbial shifts. This underscores the necessity for refined control strategies and further systematic research to translate these insights into stable, high-performance real-world systems. Full article

Insulin resistance is a condition of impaired tissue reactivity to insulin. This state is primarily associated with obesity and the lifestyle of modern Western societies, which favors abnormalities of glucose and lipid homeostasis. As a result, more and more people suffer from illnesses that develop because of the disturbed metabolic function of insulin, including type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and polycystic ovarian syndrome. There are many studies describing the relationship between declining sensitivity to insulin and insufficient physical activity or unhealthy dietary habits. However, there is a vast number of other factors that may contribute to the development of this condition. In recent years, more attention has been paid to environmental pollutants as promoters of insulin resistance. As the overall grade of waste accumulation in the environment rises, factors like toxic metals, pesticides, dust, harmful gases and micro- or nanoplastics are starting to pose an increasingly serious threat in the context of metabolic disorder development. This review gathers data concerning the influence of the mentioned pollutants on the metabolic health of living organisms, with particular emphasis on the impact on carbohydrate processing, insulin resistance and molecular pathways associated with these processes. Full article

In many hardwood forests, resprouting is a common response to disturbance and basal resprouts may represent a substantial component of the forest understory, especially post-wildfire. Despite this, resprouts are often overlooked in biomass assessments and drivers of resprouting responses in certain species are still unknown. These knowledge gaps are problematic as the contribution of resprouts to understory fuel loads are needed for wildfire risk modeling and effective forest stewardship. Here, we validated the handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS) of basal resprout volume and field measurements of stem count and clump height as methods to estimate the mass of California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica) basal resprouts at Pepperwood and Saddle Mountain Preserves, Sonoma County, California. In addition, we examined the role of tree size and wildfire severity in predicting post-wildfire resprouting response. Both field measurements (clump height and stem count) and remote sensing (HMLS-derived volume) effectively estimated dry mass (total, leaf and wood) of U. californica resprouts, but underestimated dry mass for a large resprout. Tree size was a significant factor determining post-wildfire resprouting response at Pepperwood Preserve, while wildfire severity significantly predicted post-wildfire resprout size at Saddle Mountain. These site differences in post-wildfire basal resprouting predictors may be related to the interactions between fire severity, tree size, tree crown topkill, and carbohydrate mobilization and point to the need for additional demographic and physiological research. Monitoring post-wildfire changes in U. californica will deepen our understanding of resprouting dynamics and help provide insights for effective forest stewardship and wildfire risk assessment in fire-prone northern California forests. Full article