Search Results (148)

Sweetness is a key dimension of sensory experience in food, and variations in the type and concentration of sweeteners can elicit distinct brain responses. In this study, electroencephalography (EEG) was employed to systematically evaluate neural activity elicited by different concentrations of sucrose solutions (1%, 3%, 5%, and 7%) and by non-nutritive sweeteners matched in perceived sweetness to a 7% sucrose solution (10% erythritol, 0.0133% sucralose, and 0.0368% stevioside). The results revealed that an increased sucrose concentration was associated with progressively weaker EEG signal intensity, suggesting that the brain can effectively distinguish sweetness intensity. Under iso-sweet conditions, different types of sweeteners induced significantly distinct EEG patterns, indicating that the nature of the sweetener modulates flavor perception at the neural level. Further analysis showed increases in both δ- and α-band power following sweet taste stimulation, with prominent activations observed in the frontal, parietal, and right temporal regions. These findings demonstrate the utility of EEG in detecting subtle differences in brain responses to sweeteners, offering new insights into the neural mechanisms underlying sweet taste perception. Full article

Peptides are currently vital components in nutrition with physiological advantages beyond a basic diet. This systematic review aims to explain their significance in metabolic, behavioral, and musculoskeletal health, focusing on their therapeutic benefits, molecular mechanisms, and bioactivities. This systematic review analyzed clinical trials from PubMed and Scopus databases in the time range of 2019 to 2024, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards, that investigated the role of peptides in human nutrition. Eight randomized clinical trials (RCTs) met the predefined metabolic, behavioral, and musculoskeletal health inclusion criteria. Peptides are derived from various sources, including milk, fish, and plants, and show various bioactive characteristics such as anti-inflammatory effect, improved muscle protein synthesis, and immune modulation. Some important findings emphasize their potential to govern metabolic processes, defend against chronic diseases, and enhance gut health. For instance, glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) controls taste perception and appetite stimulation, and collagen peptides strengthen the musculoskeletal system. Peptides display intriguing potential as nutrients for addressing global health challenges, including behavioral responses, aging, and metabolic syndrome. Future investigations would focus on bioavailability, optimizing dosage, and demographic-specific treatments. Full article

The unique geographical environment of karst regions provides pickles with a favorable flavor and taste; however, the contribution of the microbial community to pickle fermentation has not been fully explored. In this study, high-throughput sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were used to characterize 60 naturally fermented pickle samples from 12 different karst regions. The bacterial communities and metabolites of naturally fermented pickles changed significantly between different karst regions. Lactobacillus delbrueckii, L. homohiochii, and L. fermentum were the dominant bacterial species in pickle samples, with relative abundances of 29.66, 8.05, and 7.12%, respectively. There exist significant variations in the core biomarkers of traditional pickles across diverse regions characterized by rocky desertification and varying temperatures. Both L. homohiochii and L. buchneri stimulated complicated interspecies interactions in the bacterial community. Lactobacillus species exhibit excellent inhibitory effects against harmful bacterial populations under E-low- and E-high-temperature conditions. In total, 1976 metabolites were identified in pickles, including many previously undiscovered metabolites (e.g., Citrulline, GABA, tyrosol, and L-hydroxyroline) attributable to the dominances of L. homohiochii, L. brevis, L. buchneri, and L. plantarum. Lower levels of biogenic amines were found in pickles from the low-temperature regions. Furthermore, L. delbrueckii and L. fermentum were significantly negatively (p < 0.05) correlated with spermine and tyramine, and Weissella cibaria was negatively (p < 0.05) correlated with histamine. These data indicated that a low-temperature environment may be beneficial to the fermentation of pickles. This work provides new insights into the flavor of pickles resulting from the geological distribution of bacterial flora in karst regions. Full article

Background: Pain is prevalent in almost all populations and may often hinder visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and taste perception as it alters brain neural processing. The quantitative methods emerging to define pain and assess its effects on neural functions and perception are important. Identifying pain biomarkers is one of the initial stages in developing such models and interventions. The existing literature has explored chronic and experimentally induced pain, leveraging electroencephalograms (EEGs) to identify biomarkers and employing various qualitative and quantitative approaches to measure pain. Objectives: This systematic review examines the methods, participant characteristics, types of pain states, associated pain biomarkers of the brain’s electrical activity, and limitations of current pain studies. The review identifies what experimental methods researchers implement to study human pain states compared to human control pain-free states, as well as the limitations in the current techniques of studying human pain states and future directions for research. Methods: The research questions were formed using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) framework. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, the Cochrane Library, IEEE Explore, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science until December 2024, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to obtain relevant studies. The inclusion criteria included studies that focused on pain states and EEG data reporting. The exclusion criteria included studies that used only MEG or fMRI neuroimaging techniques and those that did not focus on the evaluation or assessment of neural markers. Bias risk was determined by the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Target data were compared between studies to organize the findings among the reported results. Results: The initial search resulted in 592 articles. After exclusions, 24 studies were included in the review, 6 of which focused on chronic pain populations. Experimentally induced pain methods were identified as techniques that centered on tactile perception: thermal, electrical, mechanical, and chemical. Across both chronic and stimulated pain studies, pain was associated with decreased or slowing peak alpha frequency (PAF). In the chronic pain studies, beta power increases were seen with pain intensity. The functional connectivity and pain networks of chronic pain patients differ from those of healthy controls; this includes the processing of experimental pain. Reportedly small sample sizes, participant comorbidities such as neuropsychiatric disorders and peripheral nerve damage, and uncontrolled studies were the common drawbacks of the studies. Standardizing methods and establishing collaborations to collect open-access comprehensive longitudinal data were identified as necessary future directions to generalize neuro markers of pain. Conclusions: This review presents a variety of experimental setups, participant populations, pain stimulation methods, lack of standardized data analysis methods, supporting and contradicting study findings, limitations, and future directions. Comprehensive studies are needed to understand the pain and brain relationship deeper in order to confirm or disregard the existing findings and to generalize biomarkers across chronic and experimentally induced pain studies. This requires the implementation of larger, diverse cohorts in longitudinal study designs, establishment of procedural standards, and creation of repositories. Additional techniques include the utilization of machine learning and analyzing data from long-term wearable EEG systems. The review protocol is registered on INPLASY (# 202520040). Full article

Grape (Vitis vinifera) is a popular fruit with a rich color, favorable taste, and high nutritional quality. The formation of the color of its berries is primarily determined by anthocyanin composition and concentration. Basic helix–loop–helix proteins (bHLHs) serve as critical modulators of anthocyanin synthesis, yet many bHLHs in grape have not been systematically studied and remain uncharacterized. In this study, we tracked and detected berry components in ‘Moldova’ grapes during three developmental stages using UPLC-MS/MS and identified malvidin derivatives as the primary main anthocyanins. Our transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed 40 genes and several transcription factors (TFs) involved in anthocyanin pathways and berry coloration, with VvCHS2 (Vitvi05g01044) showing the highest expression. Among TFs, six bHLH candidates were identified, and VvbHLH137 was determined to positively regulate anthocyanin synthesis. The over-expression of VvbHLH137 in Arabidopsis thaliana significantly augmented the anthocyanin content. In addition, VvbHLH137 was found to form interactions with VvMYB15, VvMYB44, and VvMYB306 to impact anthocyanin accumulation. It also directedly stimulates VvDFR and VvF3H transcription via binding to their promoters. These findings provide insights into anthocyanin synthesis in grapes and support molecular breeding efforts for grape cultivars with enhanced coloration. Full article

Background/Objectives: Studies have hypothesised that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TAS1R2 and TAS1R3 genes may alter sweet compound detection and eating habits, thereby increasing the risk of obesity. This in vitro study aims to measure the impact of human TAS1R2/TAS1R3 polymorphisms, some of which are thought to be involved in obesity, on the response of the sweet taste receptor to various sweeteners. It also aims to identify new SNPs in an obese population associated with a decrease in or loss of TAS1R2/TAS1R3 function. Methods: First, the effects of 12 human TAS1R2-SNPs and 16 human TAS1R3-SNPs, previously identified in the literature, on the response of the sweet taste receptor stimulated by 12 sweeteners were investigated using functional cellular assays. Second, a total of 162 blood samples were collected from an obese population (BMI between 25 and 35 kg/m²) involved in the SWEET project. The TaqMan method for SNP genotyping was carried out using DNA extracted from blood samples to identify new SNPs and predict possible/probable TAS1R2/TAS1R3 loss of function. Results: Although certain human TAS1R2/TAS1R3 SNPs showed reduced receptor response, they were not associated with particular phenotypes. Seven SNPs were predicted to severely impair the human TAS1R2/TAS1R3 response to sweeteners. Conclusions: Although some TAS1R2- and TAS1R3-SNPs have previously been associated with obesity, our cellular results do not confirm this association and reinforce the hypothesis, put forward by other researchers, that sweet taste perception and sugar consumption are governed by factors other than the TAS1R2 and TAS1R3 genes. Full article

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, and other conditions, which are leading causes of global morbidity and mortality. It is very important to establish preventive measures against CVDs, including hypertension. Against this background, forest bathing/shinrin-yoku is attracting attention as a new method of health promotion and disease prevention. Forest bathing/shinrin-yoku is an activity that utilizes the healing effects of forests to promote people’s health and prevent disease by stimulating the five senses, including sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch, through forest visits. Since 2004, many scientific studies on the psychological and physiological effects of forest bathing/shinrin-yoku have been conducted, and many original scientific articles have been published. It has been reported that forest bathing/shinrin-yoku boosted immune system by increasing human natural killer activity and anticancer proteins in natural killer, lowered blood pressure and pulse rate, reduced stress hormones including adrenaline, noradrenaline in urine and cortisol in serum and saliva, increased the parasympathetic nervous activity and decreased the sympathetic nervous activity, improved sleep, reduced the negative emotions and increased positive feelings. In this article, the author reviewed the preventive effects of forest bathing/shinrin-yoku on CVDs from the perspectives of the effects of forest bathing/shinrin-yoku on stress hormones, parasympathetic nervous and sympathetic nervous systems, sleep, blood pressure and heart/pulse rate, and other mechanisms based on the published scientific evidence. Full article

Background: Many studies, for example, on taste-visual dissonance, have shown that the influence of the visual cortex on taste sensation is enormous. The presented work aims to investigate, using fNIRS, whether a taste stimulus, in this case, the taste of bitter, also causes stimulation of the visual cortex in the fNIRS study. Methods: fNIRS was used to examine 51 participants (204 examinations, 9996 records), collecting signals from the left hemisphere. Differences between the maximum and minimum changes in oxyHb concentrations (ΔoxyHb) for the areas of the brain cortex considered responsible for recording visual and gustatory signals were analyzed. Protocols I, II, III, and IV—activation with distillate water, coffee with lower concentration, reference (no stimulation), and coffee with higher concentration, respectively, were used. Results: We recorded high signals for teste activation on channels covering the gustatory cortex, which confirms the correctness of the choice of research method. As expected, a significant statistical difference was observed between protocols I, II, and IV and reference III (without stimulation). What seems important is the fact that we also received high signals for the channels 45–49, which cover the visual cortex. The statistical analysis shows no differences between protocols I, II, and IV (different taste activation—water, coffee A, and coffee B) for specific channels for analyzing regions of interest. As a result of the analysis of the correlation between the subjective bitterness assessment solutions and the signal ΔoxyHb height, it was observed that a statistically significant correlation, although weak, occurs only for 14 and gustatory channels, only for coffee with a higher concentration. Additionally, the only statistically significant difference between women and men was observed in Protocol I (water), where the ΔoxyHb signal was twice as high in women compared to men. Conclusions: In conclusion, we can clearly state that the senses of sight and taste work closely together. Moreover, this cooperation is not one-sided: while visual activation influences taste perception, interestingly, a taste stimulus can also generate a hemodynamic response, activating the visual cortex. Full article

Background: Scientists have recently developed a technology that induces artificial taste through electronic stimulation. However, scattered reports have made it difficult to comprehensively understand the technology’s details and appreciate its potential applications in healthcare. To address these gaps, a meta-review was conducted. We re-viewed the current literatures on the technology behind artificial taste. Targeted original research papers were analyzed, with data extracted to address five key aspects: interface design, stimulation parameters, sensation verification results, applications to health problems, and potential side effects in human subjects. Results: A total of 19 relevant papers were identified. Eight studies focused on tongue-tip electrode interfaces, while others integrated technology into eating utensils. Eleven studies examined stimulation frequencies (50–1000 Hz), with five altering temperature and two changing water color to enhance taste perception. Only six studies reported verification results, showing that most participants perceived sour and salty tastes, mild bitter responses, and unreliable sweet evocation. Sixteen papers discussed applications in healthcare (dietary and weight management), entertainment (food and beverage sampling), and education. Side effects included reduced sensitivity after repeated trials and occasional discomfort from excessive stimulation, though no immediate tissue damage was reported. Conclusions: Artificial taste technology offers an innovative approach to managing food and beverage intake without compromising taste sensations. When applied on a large scale, it holds significant potential for regulating eating behaviors and providing novel strategies for addressing chronic health issues associated with diet. Full article

Chicken with Armillaria mellea prepared via pressure cooking is a traditional Chinese delicacy with great potential for food development. Optimizing its cooking time is crucial. In this study, chicken and Armillaria mellea were pressure-cooked for different amounts of time (20 min, 25 min, 30 min, 35 min, and 40 min). In total, 101 and 81 volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS and GC-IMS, respectively. The results showed that the content of volatile compounds was the highest at 40 min. Nonanal, decanal, (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, and 1-octen-3-ol were identified as the most critical aroma compounds at this time, which brought unique fat, oil, and mushroom aroma to chicken with Armillaria mellea during the pressure-cooking process. The optimal time was determined to be 35 min through sensory properties. In summary, the optimal cooking time for chicken with Armillaria mellea prepared via pressure cooking is 35–40 min. Our research results not only preliminarily determined the optimal conditions for industrial processing of the prepared dish of with Armillaria mellea prepared via pressure cooking, laying a foundation for the later industrial production of prepared dishes and international sales, but also stimulated innovative composite food development and promoted people’s exploration of the mechanism of heat treatment on composite food flavor and taste. Full article

A lower salt intake is an effective management strategy for hypertension and ultimately stroke. However, this strategy compromises the taste of food. To overcome this, a taste manipulation strategey using electronic taste simulation (ETS) has been established, but this has only been studied in healthy individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to demonstrate and quantitatively evaluate the taste enhancement effect of ETS in patients admitted to a hospital due to stroke. Twenty patients (mean = 67.8 ± 13.6 years) underwent two psychophysical experiments to assess the effects of ETS on salt taste perception using salt-impregnated filter paper. The patients’ stroke types included twelve ischemic and eight hemorrhagic strokes. The median salt taste thresholds without ETS and with ETS were 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively (p = 0.083). The perceived concentration for the 0.8% concentration increased from 0.8% to 1.0% with the ETS (p = 0.041), and for the 1.0% concentration, from 1.0% to 1.2% (p < 0.001). The findings suggest that ETS significantly enhances salty taste perception in patients who have experienced a stroke without altering salt concentration, potentially aiding in reducing daily salt intake. Further research is necessary to explore its broad applicability in dietary management and blood pressure control. Full article

Obesity is a chronic disease that profoundly impacts human health, and the role of plant-based formulas (PBFs) in combating obesity has garnered significant interest. Studies have revealed that fermentation significantly enhances the taste, aroma, quality, and health benefits of PBF water extract, with pasteurization being the preferred sterilization technology. However, few studies have investigated the effects of pasteurization on the active components and potential functions of PBF water extract fermentation broth. To examine the impact of pasteurization on fermented water extract of Millettia speciosa Champ (FH08F) and its potential anti-obesity properties, the components of FH08F and thermal-pasteurized FH08F (FH08FS) were analyzed in this study. The analysis revealed a substantial rise in ester content following sterilization. This can be attributed to the acidic environment that promotes the esterification reaction during the heating phase. Network pharmacology was employed to thoroughly examine seven active components of upregulated compounds (URCs) with potential obesity targets, which constituted 92.97% of the total URC content, and four of them were nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compounds (NAHCs), which accounted for 90.33% of the total URC content. Upregulated NAHCs appear to actively contribute to efficacy against obesity. Molecular docking analyses have shown that theophylline, an NAHC, has the strongest binding affinity with the obesity-related target PTGS2 (Prostaglandin G/H synthase 2, 5FLG). These results imply that theophylline may directly activate PKA/PKG-mediated phosphorylated hormone-sensitive lipase (p-HSL), thereby promoting lipolysis through the cAMP signaling pathway and stimulating the catabolism of triglycerides (TGs) to combat obesity. In conclusion, pasteurization substantially alters the composition of FH08F, and NAHCs are likely to play a significant role in its potential anti-obesity function. These findings provide a scientific foundation for the potential therapeutic effect of FH08FS on obesity and associated metabolic diseases. Full article

Background: The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is known for its involvement in various regulatory functions, including in the central control of feeding. Activation of local elements of the central glucose-monitoring (GM) neuronal network appears to be indispensable in these regulatory processes. Destruction of these type 2 glucose transporter protein (GLUT2)-equipped chemosensory cells results in multiple feeding-associated functional alterations. Methods: In order to examine this complex symptomatology, (1) dopamine sensitivity was studied in laboratory rats by means of the single-neuron-recording multibarreled microelectrophoretic technique, and (2) after local bilateral microinjection of the selective type 2 glucose transporter proteindemolishing streptozotocin (STZ), open-field, elevated plus maze, two-bottle and taste reactivity tests were performed. Results: A high proportion of the anterior cingulate cortical neurons changed their firing rate in response to microelectrophoretic administration of D-glucose, thus verifying them as local elements of the central glucose-monitoring network. Approximately 20% of the recorded cells displayed activity changes in response to microelectrophoretic application of dopamine, and almost 50% of the glucose-monitoring units here proved to be dopamine-sensitive. Moreover, taste stimulation experiments revealed even higher (80%) gustatory sensitivity dominance of these chemosensory cells. The anterior cingulate cortical STZ microinjections resulted in extensive behavioral and taste-associated functional deficits. Conclusions: The present findings provided evidence for the selective loss of glucose-monitoring neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex leading to motivated behavioral and gustatory alterations. This complex dataset also underlines the varied significance of the type 2 glucose transporter protein-equipped, dopamine-sensitive glucose-monitoring neurons as potential therapeutic targets. These units appear to be indispensable in adaptive control mechanisms of the homeostatic–motivational–emotional–cognitive balance for the overall well-being of the organism. Full article

Food insecurity is a top economic and national security concern in many countries, and scientists worldwide are working to increase crop productivity in order to address this issue. In line with this information, the present study aimed to test the possibility of improving the yield and fruit quality of two tomato cultivars, namely ‘Vspyshka’ and ‘Lyana’. The effect of LSL (light of sodium lamps—control) and the short additional 4 h treatment of nighttime LED lighting (LSL+night LED) with an increase in the proportion of red, blue, and far-red spectra on tomato fruit yield as well as its physiological, biochemical, and consumer attributes were compared in this study. The results suggested that LSL+night LED significantly increased soluble solids concentration, vitamin C content, and polyphenolic compounds of tomato fruits, taking into account the varietal characteristics. Moreover, a moderate to high relationship was also observed between the polyphenolic complex, vitamin C content, and antioxidant activity. It was concluded that the LSL+night LED could further enhance the relationship between polyphenols and antioxidants, as well as soluble solids concentration. LSL+night LED treatment also provided an increased accumulation of five essential amino acids associated with the taste characteristics of fruits, namely histidine, valine, threonine, licin, and the sum of isoleucine. In addition, the contents of lysine and methionine increased in the ‘Lyana’ cultivar. LSL+night LED treatment was also noted to have a less pronounced effect on the contents of aspartic acid and asparagine, as bio stimulators of plant growth processes, as well as the amino acids arginine, serine, glycine, and tyrosine, which were additionally consumed to restore photosynthesis. LSL+night LED treatment reduced the concentration of nitrates in fruits, which is a toxic element for human health. Overall, the results of the study are believed to be demanded in practical applications, with potential benefits in improving the elements of resource-saving technology for growing vegetable crops. Full article

Salt stress significantly reduces rice yield and quality and is a global challenge, especially in arid and semi-arid regions with limited freshwater resources. The present study was therefore conducted to examine the potential of silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) in mitigating the adverse effects of saline irrigation water in salt-tolerant rice. Two salt-tolerant rice varieties, i.e., Y liangyou 957 (YLY957) and Jingliangyou 534 (JLY534), were irrigated with 0.6% salt solution to simulate high-salt stress and two SiO₂ NPs were applied, i.e., control (CK) and SiO₂ NPs (15 kg hm⁻²). The results demonstrated that the application of SiO₂ NPs increased, by 33.3% and 23.3%, the yield of YLY957 and JLY534, respectively, compared with CK, which was primarily attributed to an increase in the number of grains per panicle and the grain-filling rate. Furthermore, the application of SiO₂ NPs resulted in a notable enhancement in the chlorophyll content, leaf area index, and dry matter accumulation, accompanied by a pronounced stimulation of root system growth and development. Additionally, the SiO₂ NPs also improved the antioxidant enzyme activities, i.e., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activity and reduced the malondialdehyde content. The SiO₂ NPs treatment effectively improved the processing quality, appearance quality, and taste quality of the rice. Furthermore, the SiO₂ NPs resulted in improvements to the rapid viscosity analyzer (RVA) pasting profile, including an increase in peak viscosity and breakdown values and a reduction in setback viscosity. The application of SiO₂ NPs also resulted in a reduction in crystallinity and pasting temperature owing to a reduction in the proportion of B2 + B3 amylopectin chains. Overall, the application of silica nanoparticles improved the quality of rice yield under high-salt stress. Full article