Comparison of the Declared Nutrient Content of Plant-Based Meat Substitutes and Corresponding Meat Products and Sausages in Germany.

Plant-based meat substitutes (PBMS) are becoming increasingly popular due to growing concerns about health, animal welfare, and environmental issues associated with animal-based foods. The aim of this study was to compare the declared energy and nutrient contents of PBMS with corresponding meat products and sausages available on the German market. Mandatory nutrition labelling data of 424 PBMS and 1026 meat products and sausages, surveyed in 2021 and 2020, respectively, as part of the German national monitoring of packaged food were used to test for differences in energy and nutrient contents. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to describe characteristics in the energy and nutrient contents. The comparison showed that most of the PBMS subcategories had significantly lower contents of fat and saturated fat but higher contents of carbohydrate and sugar than corresponding meat subcategories. For salt, the only striking difference was that PBMS salamis had lower salt content than meat salamis. Overall, the PCA revealed protein as a main characteristic for most PBMS categories, with the protein content being equivalent to or, in most protein-based PBMS, even higher than in the corresponding meat products. The wide nutrient content ranges within subcategories, especially for salt, reveal the need and potential for reformulation.

Effects of adipocyte-secreted factors on cell cycle progression in HT29 cells.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a chronic sub-inflammatory condition which is a risk factor for several cancer diseases, e.g. colon cancer. Adipose tissue secretes biologically active factors like leptin with a known pro-inflammatory or mitogenic activity. Both, chronic inflammation and an increased cell proliferation are considered to play an important role in colon carcinogenesis. Diverse phytochemicals were shown to have cell growth inhibiting effects. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim was to investigate whether adipocytes could mediate a proliferative capacity to HT29, a human colon adenocarcinoma cell line, and whether phytochemicals could modulate this effect. METHODS: Infranatants of adipocyte cultures from different donors were prepared and the effects of those conditioned adipocyte media (CAM) on HT29 cell growth were measured. Additionally, cell cycle progression was analyzed by flow cytometry after CAM treatment and ERK 1/2 phosphorylation was analyzed. RESULTS: CAM from a subgroup of adipose tissue donors stimulated HT29 cell growth, whereas others did not. This effect seems to be mediated via the ERK 1/2 pathway. Furthermore, CAM caused changes in cell cycle distribution with a shift of HT29 cells from G1- into the S-phase. This effect could be mimicked by leptin (1 nM). Co-incubation of CAM-treated HT29 cultures with beta-carotene or EGCG did not have a significant impact on cell cycle progression, whereas genistein (30 microM) tended to inhibit the CAM-stimulated transition of cells into the S-phase. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the mitogenic activity of leptin in HT29 cells, although leptin secretion from adipocytes is not likely to be responsible for CAM-stimulated cell growth in our test system. The investigated phytochemicals seem to have only a minor influence on CAM-mediated cell cycle progression.

Effects of carrot and tomato juice consumption on faecal markers relevant to colon carcinogenesis in humans.

High intakes of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of various cancers including colon cancer. A human intervention study with carrot and tomato juice should show whether a diet rich in carotenoids, especially high in beta-carotene and lycopene, can modify luminal processes relevant to colon carcinogenesis. In a randomised cross-over trial, twenty-two healthy young men on a low-carotenoid diet consumed 330 ml tomato or carrot juice per d for 2 weeks. Intervention periods were preceded by 2-week depletion phases. At the end of each study period, faeces of twelve volunteers were collected for chemical analyses and use in cell-culture systems. Consumption of carrot juice led to a marked increase of beta-carotene and alpha-carotene in faeces and faecal water, as did lycopene after consumption of tomato juice. In the succeeding depletion phases, carotenoid contents in faeces and faecal water returned to their initial values. Faecal water showed high dose-dependent cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects on colon adenocarcinoma cells (HT29). These effects were not markedly changed by carrot and tomato juice consumption. Neither bile acid concentrations nor activities of the bacterial enzymes beta-glucosidase and beta-glucuronidase in faecal water changed after carrot and tomato juice consumption. Faecal water pH decreased only after carrot juice consumption. SCFA were probably not responsible for this effect, as SCFA concentrations and profiles did not change significantly. In summary, in the present study, 2-week interventions with carotenoid-rich juices led only to minor changes in investigated luminal biomarkers relevant to colon carcinogenesis.