Relationship between intestinal microbiota, diet and biological systems: an integrated view.

The health-disease process can be influenced by the intestinal microbiota. As this plays a fundamental role in protecting the organism, the importance of studying the composition and diversity of this community becomes increasingly evident. Changes in the composition of the intestinal bacterial community may result in dysbiosis, and this process may contribute to triggering various diseases in all biological systems. This imbalance of intestinal microbiota homeostasis may alter commensal bacteria and the host metabolism, as well as immune function. Dysbiosis also causes an increase in intestinal permeability due to exposure to molecular patterns associated with the pathogen and lipopolysaccharides, leading to a chronic inflammatory process that can result in diseases for all biological systems. In this context, dietary intervention through the use of probiotics, prebiotics and antioxidant foods can be considered a contribution to the modulation of intestinal microbiota. Probiotics have been used to provide up to 10 billion colony forming units, and probiotic foods, Kefir and fermented natural yogurt are also used. Prebiotics, in turn, are found in supplemental formulations of processed foods and in functional foods that are also sources of phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. In this review, we will discuss the relationship between an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota with the development of diseases, besides indicating the need for future studies that can establish bacterial parameters for the gastrointestinal tract by modulating the intestinal microbiota, associated with the adoption of healthy habits during all life cycles.

Do Bioactive Food Compound with Avena sativa L., Linum usitatissimum L. and Glycine max L. Supplementation with Moringa oleifera Lam. Have a Role against Nutritional Disorders? An Overview of the In Vitro and In Vivo Evidence.

Functional clinical nutrition is an integrative science; it uses dietary strategies, functional foods and medicinal plants, as well as combinations thereof. Both functional foods and medicinal plants, whether associated or not, form nutraceuticals, which can bring benefits to health, in addition to being included in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Some functional food effects from Avena sativa L. (oats), Linum usitatissimum L. (brown flaxseed), Glycine max L. (soya) and Moringa oleifera have been proposed for nutritional disorders through in vitro and in vivo tests. A formulation called a bioactive food compound (BFC) showed efficiency in the association of oats, flaxseed and soy for dyslipidemia and obesity. In this review, we discuss the effects of BFC in other nutritional disorders, as well as the beneficial effects of M. oleifera in obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, metabolic syndrome, intestinal inflammatory diseases/colorectal carcinogenesis and malnutrition. In addition, we hypothesized that a BFC enriched with M. oleifera could present a synergistic effect and play a potential benefit in nutritional disorders. The traditional consumption of M. oleifera preparations can allow associations with other formulations, such as BFC. These nutraceutical formulations can be easily accepted and can be used in sweet preparations (fruit and/or vegetable juices, fruit and/or vegetable vitamins, porridges, yogurt, cream, mousses or fruit salads, cakes and cookies) or savory (vegetable purees, soups, broths and various sauces), cooked or not. These formulations can be low-cost and easy-to-use. The association of bioactive food substances in dietary formulations can facilitate adherence to consumption and, thus, contribute to the planning of future nutritional interventions for the prevention and adjuvant treatment of the clinical conditions presented in this study. This can be extended to the general population. However, an investigation through clinical studies is needed to prove applicability in humans.

Effectiveness of a bioactive food compound in anthropometric measures of individuals with HIV/AIDS: A nonrandomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Highly Active Antiretroviral therapy (HAART) promotes anthropometric changes in lipid metabolism and glucose in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Functional foods play an important role on metabolism. Bioactive Food Compound (BFC) has shown effective results in changes arising from decompensated lipid metabolism due to the effects of HAART on HIV patients. From this perspective, the objective of this study is to evaluate anthropometric indicators and the body composition of patients undergoing HAART before and after consumption of BFC. METHODS: This is a prospective intervention with 180 individuals with HIV undergoing HAART. They formed two groups and were monitored for 3 months: the first group consisted of individuals who consumed BFC (n = 121) at the recommended daily intake of 40 g. The second group consisted of individuals who did not consume BFC (n = 59). We determined body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), conicity index (CI) and antiretroviral regimen used by the patients. RESULTS: The BMI among adults (p<0.001), the WC (p<0.001 and p<0.014 for men and women, respectively) and the CI (p = 0.001 and p<0.001 for men and women, respectively) increased at the end of the study in the group of individuals who did not consume BFC and remained stable in the BFC group. There were no changes in WHR in any of the groups evaluated. Regarding the antiretroviral regimens used, we observed that there was no difference between regimens as for BMI, WC, WHR and CI. CONCLUSIONS: The BFC consumed by HIV patients undergoing HAART allowed the maintenance of anthropometric measures without increasing the mean values of conicity index, suggesting that the consumption of this bioactive compound protects the individual against the development of metabolic syndrome (MeS) in patients infected with HIV undergoing antiretroviral therapy.