Functional Lipids and Cardiovascular Disease Reduction: A Concise Review.

Functional lipids are dietary substances that may have an impact on human health by lowering the risk of chronic illnesses and enhancing the quality of life. Numerous functional lipids have been reported to have potential health benefits in the prevention, management, and treatment of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. However, there is still insufficient and contradictory information in the literature about their effectiveness and associated mechanisms of action. The objective of this review, therefore, is to evaluate available literature regarding these functional lipids and their health benefits. Various studies have been conducted to understand the links between functional lipids and the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Recent studies on phytosterols have reported that CLA, medium-chain triglycerides, and omega-3 and 6 fatty acids have positive effects on human health. Also, eicosanoids, which are the metabolites of these fatty acids, are produced in relation to the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and may modulate disease conditions. These functional lipids are available either in dietary or supplement forms and have been proven to be efficient, accessible, and inexpensive to be included in the diet. However, further research is required to properly elucidate the dosages, dietary intake, effectiveness, and their mechanisms of action in addition to the development of valid disease biomarkers and long-term effects in humans.

Nutritional and potential health benefits of fermented food proteins.

BACKGROUND: Protein fermentation continues to gain popularity as a result of several factors, including the cost-effectiveness of the process and the positive correlation of fermented protein consumption, with a reduced risk of developing diet-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, as well as their enhanced nutritional and techno-functional properties. Nonetheless, the nutritional and health benefits of food protein fermentation such as enhanced nutrient bioavailability, reduced antinutritional factors (ANFs) and enriched bioactive peptides (BAPs) are often overlooked. The present study reviewed recent work on the influence of protein fermentation on nutrition and health. In total, 322 eligible studies were identified on the Scopus and Google Scholar databases out of which 69 studies were evaluated based on our inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Fermented protein ingredients and products show reduced ANF content, enhanced digestibility and bioavailability, and increased antioxidant and other biological activities, such as probiotic, prebiotic, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory and antihypertensive properties. In addition, co-products in protein fermentation such as BAPs possess and could contribute additional sensory and flavor properties, degrade toxins, and reduce allergens in foods. CONCLUSION: Thus, fermentation is not only a method for food preservation, but also serves as a means for producing functional food products for consumer health promotion and nutrition enrichment. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Using machine learning models to predict the quality of plant-based foods.

Plant-based foods (PBFs) are considered healthy, especially, minimally processed whole foods, fruits, whole grains, and legumes while highly processed PBFs maybe less nutritious. Educating consumers on nurient quality will help to guide their choices. This study was aimed at estimating and predicting the nutrient quality of PBFs using their Nutri-Score and micronutrient content. The NHANES (2017-2020) data shows the output for foods consumed in the US and their nutrient composition based on a 24-h recall. Though the Nutri-Score label has been used to discriminate food quality, it still needs to be implemented in most countries. It computes mostly macronutrients with less consideration for micronutrients which also contributes to product quality. ML methods used in this study combine the Nutri-Score grade and micronutrient content in predicting food quality. The FNDDS data of PBFs for 2017-2020 were split into training (n = 300) and testing (n = 74) datasets. Eight ML models were used to predict the Nutri-Score and the Nutri-Score grade of PBFs. Random forest (RF) and light gradient boost model (LightGBM) performed best with accuracy and coefficient of determination (R2) scores of 0.88 and 0.96, respectively, while DT had the least scores in predicting the Nutri-Score grade (0.81) and Nutri-Score (0.93). These results suggest that ML can be effectively leveraged to predict PBFs quality.

Bioactive fatty acids from non-conventional lipid sources and their potential application in functional food development.

There is growing evidence that bioactive fatty acids (BFAs), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5-3), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6-3), and conjugated fatty acids offer multiple biological benefits and constitute ingredients in functional food development. Despite their potential, novel and alternative/nonconventional sources with unique bioactive properties to meet growing demand remain largely unexplored, poorly characterized, and their effects are not well understood. We systematically reviewed the literature to identify studies on alternative sources of BFAs, their functions, extraction, and application in the food and nutraceutical industry. Twenty studies delved into alternate sources such as plants, bacteria, and algae. Six studies found EPA and DHA as the dominant FA in algal sources, while ten studies reported several BFAs from plant sources. Five studies assessed the health benefits of docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), arachidonic acid (ARA), EPA, γ-linolenic acid (GLA), and linoleic acid (LA). Eleven studies compared the quality of oil recovered by green solvents, pressurized liquid, supercritical fluid, and assisted extraction methods. Three studies assessed the effects of assisted extraction methods and reported that these approaches improved oil yield and quality, but the findings may have limited applicability to other lipid sources. The quality of nonconventional lipids largely depends on extraction techniques. Four studies suggested methods like 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, LC-MS/MS; however, their analytical differences make accurate comparison inadequate. Five studies found that the incorporation of algal and seafood biolipids during product development increased EHA and DHA contents.

Characteristics of gelatin from lizardfish (Saurida micropectoralis) and threadfin bream (Nemipterus hexodon) skins as influenced by extraction conditions.

Gelatins from lizardfish and threadfin bream skins were extracted using distilled water at 45 and 60 °C and 4, 8 and 12 h. Gelatin recovered from both lizardfish and threadfin bream skins was in the range of 63.96-91.46%. As extraction temperature and duration increased, the turbidity of gelatin solution from both species increased. Gelatins isolated from either lizardfish or threadfin bream skins at 45 °C for 4 and 8 h showed the maximum bloom strength (245.03-320.85 g), which were also greater than commercial gelatin from bovine (208.55 g) (P < 0.05). The gelatin gels (6.67%, w/v) could set at 4 °C within 3 min and were able to set at room temperatures within 51.83 min. Gelatins extracted from both fish skins contained α1-, ß- and γ-chains as predominant protein components. The lightness of all gelatin gels faintly declined with an increase in extraction temperature and time. Among the various production conditions explored, lizardfish/threadfin bream skin gelatin developed at 45 °C and 8 h was found to be highly comparable to commercial bovine gelatin. Based on the results obtained, gelatin from both fish species could be used as a replacement for land animal counterparts and can be used in many different food and pharmaceutical products.

Machine Learning Approaches for Predicting Fatty Acid Classes in Popular US Snacks Using NHANES Data.

In the US, people frequently snack between meals, consuming calorie-dense foods including baked goods (cakes), sweets, and desserts (ice cream) high in lipids, salt, and sugar. Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) are reasonably healthy; however, excessive consumption of food high in saturated fatty acid (SFA) has been related to an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases. The National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) uses a 24 h recall to collect information on people's food habits in the US. The complexity of the NHANES data necessitates using machine learning (ML) methods, a branch of data science that uses algorithms to collect large, unstructured, and structured data sets and identify correlations between the data variables. This study focused on determining the ability of ML regression models including artificial neural networks (ANNs), decision trees (DTs), k-nearest neighbors (KNNs), and support vector machines (SVMs) to assess the variability in total fat content concerning the classes (SFA, MUFA, and PUFA) of US-consumed snacks between 2017 and 2018. KNNs and DTs predicted SFA, MUFA, and PUFA with mean squared error (MSE) of 0.707, 0.489, 0.612, and 1.172, 0.846, 0.738, respectively. SVMs failed to predict the fatty acids accurately; however, ANNs performed satisfactorily. Using ensemble methods, DTs (10.635, 5.120, 7.075) showed higher error values for MSE than linear regression (LiR) (9.086, 3.698, 5.820) for SFA, MUFA, and PUFA prediction, respectively. R2 score ranged between -0.541 to 0.983 and 0.390 to 0.751 for models one and two, respectively. Extreme gradient boost (XGR), Light gradient boost (LightGBM), and random forest (RF) performed better than LiR, with RF having the lowest score for MSE in predicting all the fatty acid classes.

Current trends in nano-delivery systems for functional foods: a systematic review.

Background: Increased awareness of the relationship between certain components in food beyond basic nutrition and health has generated interest in the production and consumption. Functional foods owe much of their health benefits to the presence of bioactive components. Despite their importance, their poor stability, solubility, and bioavailability may require the use of different strategies including nano-delivery systems (NDS) to sustain delivery and protection during handling, storage, and ingestion. Moreover, increasing consumer trend for non-animal sourced ingredients and interest in sustainable production invigorate the need to evaluate the utility of plant-based NDS. Method: In the present study, 129 articles were selected after screening from Google Scholar searches using key terms from current literature. Scope: This review provides an overview of current trends in the use of bioactive compounds as health-promoting ingredients in functional foods and the main methods used to stabilize these components. The use of plant proteins as carriers in NDS for bioactive compounds and the merits and challenges of this approach are also explored. Finally, the review discusses the application of protein-based NDS in food product development and highlights challenges and opportunities for future research. Key Findings: Plant-based NDS is gaining recognition in food research and industry for their role in improving the shelf life and bioavailability of bioactives. However, concerns about safety and possible toxicity limit their widespread application. Future research efforts that focus on mitigating or enhancing their safety for food applications is warranted.

Improving nutrition through biofortification-A systematic review.

Nutritious foods are essential for human health and development. However, malnutrition and hidden hunger continue to be a challenge globally. In most developing countries, access to adequate and nutritious food continues to be a challenge. Although hidden hunger is less prevalent in developed countries compared to developing countries where iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are common. The United Nations (UN) 2nd Sustainable Development Goal was set to eradicate malnutrition and hidden hunger. Hidden hunger has led to numerous cases of infant and maternal mortalities, and has greatly impacted growth, development, cognitive ability, and physical working capacity. This has influenced several countries to develop interventions that could help combat malnutrition and hidden hunger. Interventions such as dietary diversification and food supplementation are being adopted. However, fortification but mainly biofortification has been projected to be the most sustainable solution to malnutrition and hidden hunger. Plant-based foods (PBFs) form a greater proportion of diets in certain populations; hence, fortification of PBFs is relevant in combating malnutrition and hidden hunger. Agronomic biofortification, plant breeding, and transgenic approaches are some currently used strategies in food crops. Crops such as cereals, legumes, oilseeds, vegetables, and fruits have been biofortified through all these three strategies. The transgenic approach is sustainable, efficient, and rapid, making it suitable for biofortification programs. Omics technology has also been introduced to improve the efficiency of the transgenic approach.

Valorization of seed and kernel marcs and evaluation of their antioxidant potential.

The processing and consumption of mango (Mangifera indica) generate a sizeable amount of kernel waste with enormous and largely unexplored potential, while by-products from njangsa (Ricinodendron heudelotii) seed and bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis) kernel oil extraction are often discarded. This study aims to repurpose these kernels and seed wastes into added/high-value products and evaluate the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of their pressed marcs for polyphenolic content and potential antioxidant activity. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) in the marc extracts ranged between 47.87 and 376.0 mg GAE/g and 4.85 and 13.70 mg Rutin/g, respectively. Both mango kernel marc extracts showed higher potent reducing power, ABTS+ radical and DPPH radical scavenging activities with half effective concentration (EC50) values (0.20-0.22 mg/mL) comparable to the reference compound; ascorbic acid (0.20 mg/mL). The TPC and TFC of the marc extracts generally strongly correlated with antioxidant activity. Relatively higher contents of xanthophyll and ß-carotene were detected in bush mango kernel methanolic extract than in the other extracts. Extraction solvent affected the composition and content of bioactives in pressed marcs of njangsa seed and mango kernel.

Cell Culture-Based Assessment of Toxicity and Therapeutics of Phytochemical Antioxidants.

Plant-derived natural products are significant resources for drug discovery and development including appreciable potentials in preventing and managing oxidative stress, making them promising candidates in cancer and other disease therapeutics. Their effects have been linked to phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activities. The abundance and complexity of these bio-constituents highlight the need for well-defined in vitro characterization and quantification of the plant extracts/preparations that can translate to in vivo effects and hopefully to clinical use. This review article seeks to provide relevant information about the applicability of cell-based assays in assessing anti-cytotoxicity of phytochemicals considering several traditional and current methods.

Influence of conventional and recent extraction technologies on physicochemical properties of bioactive macromolecules from natural sources: A review.

The incorporation of bioactive macromolecules from natural sources into marketable functional foods and nutraceuticals is of major significance to the agri-food sector. Interest in this area of research stems from the application of purified bioactive macromolecules in enhancing food quality and as an alternative to some pharmaceutical drugs for delivery of potential health benefits, with less associated adverse effects. To obtain bioactive macromolecules of high quality, appropriate use of extraction techniques and its influence on sensory and physicochemical properties is paramount. With the advent of technology-aided processes, there has been remarkable improvement in the extraction efficiency of these bioactive agents. An overview of the influence of these new techniques on extraction efficiency and physicochemical properties of proteins, lipids and fibers, which this detailed review provides, will prove to be a valuable resource to food industries aiming to maximize production of bioactive macromolecules from natural sources as well as the scientific community.

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion of glabrous canaryseed proteins as affected by variety and thermal treatment.

Glabrous or hairless canaryseed is a nutritional grain that could be a good addition to the diet if approved as a novel food. To assess the impact of thermal treatment on its digestibility; raw, roasted or boiled flours prepared from three different varieties of glabrous canaryseed were subjected to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion conditions and the effect on protein electrophoretic profiles was examined using sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Roasting was done by dry-heat in an oven at 176 °C for 12 min whereas boiling was done in water at 98 °C for 12 min. SDS-PAGE showed approximately twenty-five protein bands in the undigested raw flour with molecular masses (MM) ranging from <14 kDa to >97 kDa. The dominant proteins had low MM, between the ranges of ~57 to 12 kDa. Roasting markedly altered the protein electrophoretic profile with the appearance of large molecular weight aggregates. Canaryseed proteins were more easily digested after thermal treatment and under sequential gastric-duodenal conditions than under gastric or duodenal conditions alone. Furthermore, roasting appeared to have a greater impact on in vitro protein digestibility than boiling.

Immobilization of lipase from grey mullet.

Grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) lipase was isolated using para-aminobenzamidine agarose and immobilized on octyl Sepharose CL-4B (o-Sep). Immobilized grey mullet lipase (GMLi) had a 10 °C higher optimum temperature compared to the free enzyme and showed remarkable thermal stability. GMLi was most active within the pH range of 8.0-9.5 with an optimum at 8.5. Immobilization also enhanced the storage stability and reusability of the enzyme with minimal changes in efficiency during repeated batches. GMLi showed variable stabilities in various organic solvents. A signal in the amide I absorption region of the FTIR spectrum of GMLi was attributed to the protein layer on o-Sep. The surface morphology of o-Sep was visualized on a Zeiss stereomicroscope as globular-shaped beads.

Identification and quantitation of reaction intermediates and residuals in lipase-catalyzed transesterified oils by HPLC.

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) unit equipped with size exclusion column and a refractive index detector was used for simultaneous monitoring, identification, and quantitation of the reaction components from lipase-catalyzed transesterification of three oils. The procedure simultaneously separated and detected the unreacted triacylglycerols (TAG), diacyl-, and monoacyl-glycerol (DAG and MAG) co-products, residual alcohol as well as free fatty acid (FFA) based on retention times. The chromatograms showed well separated and resolved peaks. The elution of the components from the transesterification reaction in increasing order was: TAG < DAG < FFA < MAG. Generally, higher alcohol ratios decreased the conversion of TAG in all the oils studied with between 14% and 94% of TAG remaining at all the treatment combinations. Higher amount of salmon skin oil (SSO) TAG was generally converted to DAG than Rothsay composite (RC) and olive oil (OO) TAG. Relatively higher amount of OO DAG was converted to MAG than SSO and RC with only 5-14% DAG remaining in OO. RC and OO generally accumulated less MAG, and this was reflected as lower MAG levels in RC (<6%) and OO (<14%) compared with SSO (<27%). For the various treatment combinations and the three oils used in this study, the least amount of FFA was recorded in transesterified OO with a maximum of approximately 4%. This HPLC method can be used as a simple and fast technique to analyze the reaction components and products of transesterification reactions without the need for additional derivatization steps.