Maternal secretin ameliorates obesity by promoting white adipose tissue browning in offspring.

Our knowledge of the coordination of intergenerational inheritance and offspring metabolic reprogramming by gastrointestinal endocrine factors is largely unknown. Here, we showed that secretin (SCT), a brain-gut peptide, is downregulated by overnutrition in pregnant mice and women. More importantly, genetic loss of SCT in the maternal gut results in undesirable phenotypes developed in offspring including enhanced high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and attenuated browning of inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT). Mechanistically, loss of maternal SCT represses iWAT browning in offspring by a global change in genome methylation pattern through upregulation of DNMT1. SCT functions to facilitate ubiquitination and degradation of DNMT1 by activating AMPKα, which contributes to the observed alteration of DNMT1 in progeny. Lastly, we showed that SCT treatment during pregnancy can reduce the development of obesity and improve glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in offspring of HFD-fed females, suggesting that SCT may serve as a novel biomarker or a strategy for preventing metabolic diseases.

Whole grains-derived functional ingredients against hyperglycemia: targeting hepatic glucose metabolism.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by the dysregulation of glucose homeostasis, resulting in hyperglycemia. However, concerns have been raised about the safety and efficacy of current hypoglycemic drugs due to undesirable side effects. Increasing studies have shown that whole grains (WG) consumption is inversely associated with the risk of T2DM and its subsequent complications. Thus, dietary strategies involving functional components from the WG provide an intriguing approach to restoring and maintaining glucose homeostasis. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the major functional components derived from WG and their positive effects on glucose homeostasis, demonstrates the underlying molecular mechanisms targeting hepatic glucose metabolism, and discusses the unclear aspects according to the latest viewpoints and current research. Improved glycemic response and insulin resistance were observed after consumption of WG-derived bioactive ingredients, which are involved in the integrated, multi-factorial, multi-targeted regulation of hepatic glucose metabolism. Promotion of glucose uptake, glycolysis, and glycogen synthesis pathways, while inhibition of gluconeogenesis, contributes to amelioration of abnormal hepatic glucose metabolism and insulin resistance by bioactive components. Hence, the development of WG-based functional food ingredients with potent hypoglycemic properties is necessary to manage insulin resistance and T2DM.

MRTCM: A comprehensive dataset for probabilistic risk assessment of metals and metalloids in traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is still considered a global complementary or alternative medical system, but exogenous hazardous contaminants remain in TCM even after decocting. Besides, it is time-consuming to conduct a risk assessment of trace elements in TCMs with a non-automatic approach due to the wide variety of TCMs. Here, we present MRTCM, a cloud-computing infrastructure for automating the probabilistic risk assessment of metals and metalloids in TCM. MRTCM includes a consumption database and a pollutant database involving forty million rows of consumption data and fourteen types of TCM potentially toxic elements concentrations. The algorithm of probabilistic risk assessment was also packaged in MRTCM to assess the risks of eight elements with Monte Carlo simulation. The results demonstrated that 96.64% and 99.46% had no non-carcinogenic risk (hazard indices (HI) were < 1.0) for animal and herbal medicines consumers, respectively. After twenty years of exposure, less than 1% of the total carcinogenic risk (CRt) was > 10-4 for TCM consumers, indicating that they are at potential risk for carcinogenicity. Sensitivity analysis revealed that annual consumption and concentration were the main variables affecting the assessment results. Ultimately, a priority management list of TCMs was also generated, indicating that more attention should be paid to the non-carcinogenic risks of As, Mn, and Hg and the carcinogenic risks of As and Cr in Pheretima and Cr in Arcae Conch. In general, MRTCM could significantly enhance the efficiency of risk assessment in TCM and provide reasonable guidance for policymakers to optimize risk management.

Wheat bran, as the resource of dietary fiber: a review.

Wheat bran is a major by-product of white flour milling and had been produced in large quantities around the world; it is rich in dietary fiber and had already been used in many products such as whole grain baking or high dietary fiber addition. It has been confirmed that a sufficient intake of dietary fiber in wheat bran with appropriate physiological functions is beneficial to human health. Wheat bran had been considered as the addition with a large potential for improving the nutritional condition of the human body based on the dietary fiber supplement. The present review summarized the available information on wheat bran related to its dietary fiber functions, which may be helpful for further development of wheat bran as dietary fiber resource.

Geniposide reduces cholesterol accumulation and increases its excretion by regulating the FXR-mediated liver-gut crosstalk of bile acids.

Hypercholesterolemia is the main risk factor to threaten human health and geniposide has been found to have hypolipidemic functions. However, its underlying mechanism is not clear. In this study, we firstly confirmed the hypolipidemic functions of geniposide in C57BL/6 and ApoE-/- mice (i.p, 50 mg/kg/d). Then hepatic or arterial lipid accumulation was analyzed through histomorphology. Moreover, the effects of geniposide on the bile acid metabolism were analyzed by the hepatic RNA-seq and biological molecular analysis. Mechanistically, GW4064, an FXR agonist, was carried out to verify the mechanisms of geniposide in human HepG2 and Caco2 cells. As expected, geniposide decreased the lipid accumulations both in plasma and liver. Morever, the atherosclerotic plaque shrank in HCD-fed ApoE-/- mice with geniposide treatment. The molecular analysis revealed that geniposide accelerated the hepatic synthesis of bile acids through inactivating the negative feedback regulation of bile acids mediated by FXR, led to the enhancive reverse cholesterol transport and cholesterol catabolism. What's more, geniposide reduced ileal FXR-mediated reabsorption of bile acids, resulting in the increasing excretion of bile acids. Our study pointed out the regulatory functions of geniposide on FXR-mediated liver-gut crosstalk of bile acids and geniposide might be a novel strategy for maintaining cholesterol homeostasis.

Quinoa Polyphenol Extract Alleviates Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease via Inhibiting Lipid Accumulation, Inflammation and Oxidative Stress.

Recently, the incidence of NAFLD has exploded globally, but there are currently no officially approved medications for treating the condition. The regulation of NAFLD through plant-derived active substances has become a new area of interest. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) has been discovered to contain a large quantity of bioactive compounds. In this study, we established a free fatty acid (FFA)-induced steatosis model and explored the effects of quinoa polyphenol extract (QPE) on the major hallmarks of NAFLD. The results indicated that QPE significantly reduced intracellular triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels. Additionally, QPE remarkably elevated the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) and lowered levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Further examination revealed that QPE attenuated intracellular inflammation, which was verified by the reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Mechanistically, QPE inhibited fatty acid biosynthesis mainly by targeting de novo lipogenesis (DNL) via the AMPK/SREBP-1c signaling pathway. Moreover, network pharmacology was used to analyze key targets for NAFLD mitigation by ferulic acid (FA), a major component of QPE. Taken together, this study suggests that QPE could ameliorate NAFLD by modulating hepatic lipid metabolism and alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation.

In vitro fermentation reveals an interplay relationship between oat ß-glucan and human gut Bacteroides and their potential role in regulating gut cytokines.

Dietary oat ß-glucan regulates the gut microbial composition and structure; however, the interplay relationship between oat ß-glucan and the gut microbiota is unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate the interaction between oat ß-glucan and human gut Bacteroides, a versatile carbohydrate utilizer, and explore the effect of their interaction on gut immunity homeostasis. The results of in vitro fermentation showed that oat ß-glucan significantly increased the abundance of gut Bacteroides at the genus level. Then, Bacteroides strains were isolated from human gut microbiota and 9 strains of Bacteroides could grow on oat ß-glucan and degrade oat ß-glucan to reducing sugars. Notably, strains Bacteroides xylanisolvens Bac02 and Bacteroides koreensis Bac08 possessed the strongest degradation capacity towards oat ß-glucan. Genome analysis and functional annotations suggested that B. xylanisolvens Bac02 and B. koreensis Bac08 contained abundant genes encoding glycoside hydrolases family 3 (GH3) and GH16, which might be responsible for ß-glucan degradation. Moreover, cell experiments revealed that the metabolites from oat ß-glucan fermentation by these 9 strains of Bacteroides could regulate the polarization of macrophages and maintain gut immunity homeostasis. Our study provides a novel insight into research on the interplay between dietary compounds and the gut microbiota.

Recent advances in mung bean protein: From structure, function to application.

With the surge in protein demand, the application of plant proteins has ushered in a new wave of research. Mung bean is a potential source of protein due to its high protein content (20-30 %). The nutrition, structure, function, and application of mung bean protein have always been a focus of attention. In this paper, these highlighted points have been reviewed to explore the potential application value of mung bean protein. Mung bean protein contains a higher content of essential amino acids than soybean protein, which can meet the amino acid values recommended by FAO/WHO for adults. Mung bean protein also can promote human health due to its bioactivity, such as the antioxidant, and anti-cancer activity. Meanwhile, mung bean protein also has well solubility, foaming, emulsification and gelation properties. Therefore, mung bean protein can be used as an antioxidant edible film additive, emulsion-based food, active substance carrier, and meat analogue in the food industry. It is understood there are still relatively few commercial applications of mung bean protein. This paper highlights the potential application of mung bean proteins, and aims to provide a reference for future commercial applications of mung bean proteins.

Effects of short-term carbohydrate deprivation on glycolipid metabolism and hepatic lipid accumulation in mice.

To investigate the effect of dietary carbohydrate levels on liver glycolipid metabolism, this study used C57BL/6J male mice receiving standard diet (CON), no-carbohydrate high-fat diet (NCD), and high-carbohydrate no-fat diet (HCD). One week after intervention, mice in the NCD group showed lower blood glucose, HbA1c and LDL-C as well as liver weight and liver index compared with the CON group. Further research found that the liver fat synthesis genes of mice in the NCD group were significantly down-regulated at the gene level, and histopathological sections showed that the livers of mice in the NCD group had less lipid accumulation. Furthermore, liver metabolomic analysis showed that primary bile acid levels and acylcarnitine levels in the liver of mice in the NCD group were significantly increased, and conversely, lysophosphatidylcholine and fatty acyl metabolites were significantly decreased. KEGG metabolic pathway analysis showed that metabolic pathways such as biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and starch and sucrose metabolism were significantly inhibited in mice in the NCD group, while metabolic pathways such as primary bile acid biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism were enhanced. Taken together, these results indicate that short-term carbohydrate deprivation improves blood glucose and lipid metabolism levels in mice; the molecular mechanism of action may involve inhibition of de novo lipogenesis and enhancement of bile acid metabolism.

Aqueous Extract of Wolfberry Alleviates Aging-Related Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction by Modulating PRRs Signaling Pathways and Enhancing DNA Repair.

Aging can lead to a series of degenerative changes in skeletal muscle, which would negatively impact physical activity and the quality of life of the elderly. Wolfberry contains numerous bioactive substances. It's vital to further explore the mechanisms underlying its healthy effects on skeletal muscle function during aging progress. This study discusses the benefits and mechanisms of aqueous extract of wolfberry (AEW) to protect skeletal muscle from aging-related persistent DNA damage based on its anti-inflammatory activity. It is found that AEW improves muscle mass, strength, and endurance, modulates the expression of Atrogin-1, MyH, and MuRF-1, and decreases oxidative stress and inflammation levels in aging mice, which is consistent with the in vitro results. Mechanistically, AEW inhibits the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) pathway induced by inflammatory gene activation, suggesting its potential in response to DNA damage. AEW is also observed to mitigate chromatin decompaction. Network pharmacology is conducted to analyze the potential targets of AEW in promoting DNA repair. In conclusion, the study shows the anti-aging effects of AEW on skeletal muscle by promoting DNA repair and reducing the transcriptional activity of inflammatory factors. AEW intake may become a potential strategy for strengthening skeletal muscle function in the elderly.

Maternal Dietary Carbohydrate and Pregnancy Outcomes: Quality over Quantity.

Dietary nutrition plays a crucial role in determining pregnancy outcomes, with poor diet being a major contributor to pregnancy metabolic syndrome and metabolic disorders in offspring. While carbohydrates are essential for fetal development, the excessive consumption of low-quality carbohydrates can increase the risk of pregnancy complications and have lasting negative effects on offspring development. Recent studies not only highlighted the link between carbohydrate intake during pregnancy, maternal health, and offspring well-being, but also suggested that the quality of carbohydrate foods consumed is more critical. This article reviews the impacts of low-carbohydrate and high-carbohydrate diets on pregnancy complications and offspring health, introduces the varied physiological effects of different types of carbohydrate consumption during pregnancy, and emphasizes the importance of both the quantity and quality of carbohydrates in nutritional interventions during pregnancy. These findings may offer valuable insights for guiding dietary interventions during pregnancy and shaping the future development of carbohydrate-rich foods.

Unraveling the complex nexus: Interplay of volatile compounds, free amino acids, and metabolites in oat solid state fermentation.

This study delves into the dynamic interplay of volatile compounds, free amino acids, and metabolites, meticulously exploring their transformations during oat fermentation. Analysis via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) unveiled significant alterations: 72 volatile compounds in unfermented oats (NFO) and 60 in fermented oats (FO), reflecting the profound impact of Saccharomyces cerevisiae TU11 and Lactobacillus plantarum Heal19 on oat constituents. A marked increase in Heptane (5.7-fold) and specific alcohol compounds, like 2-methyl-1-propanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and Phenylethyl alcohol in FO samples, while reductions in Hexanal, Hexanoic acid, and Acetic acid were observed. Notably, 4 phenolic compounds emerged post-fermentation, revealing diverse microbial actions in flavor modulation. Orthogonal-partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) indicated a clear separation between NFO and FO, demonstrating distinct volatile compound profiles. Further analysis revealed a noteworthy decrease in all free amino acids except for a significant increase in serine during fermentation. Differential metabolite screening identified 354 metabolites with 219 upregulated and 135 down-regulated, uncovering critical markers like isophenoxazine and imidazole lactic acid. Correlation analyses unveiled intricate relationships between volatile compounds and diverse metabolites, illuminating underlying biochemical mechanisms shaping oat flavor profiles during fermentation.

A multi-scale approach to arabinoxylan-based emulsions: From molecular features, interfacial properties to emulsion behaviors.

Arabinoxylan (AX) is well-known for its emulsification and beneficial biological activity, but the roles of AX's molecular features and interfacial properties in AX-based emulsion behaviors were unknown. We first used a multi-scale approach to correlate molecular, interfacial, droplet characteristics, and bulk emulsion of AXs from corn and wheat bran (CAXs and WAXs). Our results showed that among CAXs and WAXs solution (1 %, 2 % and 3 %, w/v), 0.25 M NaOH-treated CAX and WAX showed smaller particle sizes (493 nm and 8621 nm), lower interfacial tension and stronger interfacial layer, whose emulsion exhibited smaller initial droplets (541 nm and 660 nm) and better stability. Moreover, WAXs had bigger particle sizes, lower interfacial tension and stronger interfacial layer than CAXs, but CAXs exhibited better emulsifying and emulsion-stabilizing properties than WAXs. There is a satisfactory correlation among CAXs' or WAXs' molecular features, interfacial properties and emulsion behaviors. However, a good correlation from different grains AXs cannot be established.

5-Heptadecylresorcinol Improves Aging-Associated Hepatic Fatty Acid Oxidation Dysfunction via Regulating Adipose Sirtuin 3.

Aging-associated hepatic fatty acid (FA) oxidation dysfunction contributes to impaired adaptive thermogenesis. 5-Heptadecylresorcinol (AR-C17) is a prominent functional component of whole wheat and rye, and has been demonstrated to improve the thermogenic capacity of aged mice via the regulation of Sirt3. However, the effect of AR-C17 on aging-associated hepatic FA oxidation dysfunction remains unclear. Here, 18-month-old C57BL/6J mice were orally administered with AR-C17 at a dose of 150 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks. Systemic glucose and lipid metabolism, hepatic FA oxidation, and the lipolysis of white adipose tissues (WAT) were measured. The results showed that AR-C17 improved the hepatic FA oxidation, and especially acylcarnitine metabolism, of aged mice during cold stimulation, with the enhancement of systemic glucose and lipid metabolism. Meanwhile, AR-C17 improved the WAT lipolysis of aged mice, promoting hepatic acylcarnitine production. Furthermore, the adipose-specific Sirt3 knockout mice were used to investigate and verify the regulation mechanism of AR-C17 on aging-associated hepatic FA oxidation dysfunction. The results showed that AR-C17 failed to improve the WAT lipolysis and hepatic FA oxidation of aged mice in the absence of adipose Sirt3, indicating that AR-C17 might indirectly influence hepatic FA oxidation via regulating WAT Sirt3. Our findings suggest that AR-C17 might improve aging-associated hepatic FA oxidation dysfunction via regulating adipose Sirt3.

Maternal Brown Rice Diet during Pregnancy Promotes Adipose Tissue Browning in Offspring via Reprogramming PKA Signaling and DNA Methylation.

SCOPE: Brown rice, the most consumed food worldwide, has been shown to possess beneficial effects on the prevention of metabolic diseases. However, the way in which maternal brown rice diet improves metabolism in offspring and the regulatory mechanisms remains unclear. The study explores the epigenetic regulation of offspring energy metabolic homeostasis by maternal brown rice diet during pregnancy. METHODS AND RESULTS: Female mice are fed brown rice during pregnancy, and then body phenotypes, the histopathological analysis, and adipose tissues biochemistry assay of offspring mice are detected. It is found that maternal brown rice diet significantly reduces body weight and fat mass, increases energy expenditure and heat production in offspring. Maternal brown rice diet increases uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) protein level and upregulates the mRNA expression of thermogenic genes in adipose tissues. Mechanistically, protein kinase A (PKA) signaling is likely responsible in the induced thermogenic program in offspring adipocytes, and the progeny adipocytes browning program is altered due to decreased level of DNA methyltransferase 1 protein and hypomethylation of the transcriptional coregulator positive regulatory domain containing 16 (PRDM16). CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that maternal brown rice during pregnancy improves offspring mice metabolic homeostasis via promoting adipose browning, and its mechanisms may be mediated by DNA methylation reprogramming.

Study on the prediction model of basic components on the quality of buckwheat noodles.

The sensory quality of noodles is the key factor in determining consumers' acceptance, and the physicochemical properties can reflect the quality of noodles. In this study, the rheological and thermodynamic properties, noodle quality indexes, and molecular and structural parameters were characterized by adding different levels of buckwheat flour. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between physicochemical indexes and basic components of noodles. A comprehensive evaluation model was established by the combination of principal component analysis (PCA) and regression analysis (RA) to evaluate the sensory quality of noodles. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between the physicochemical indexes and the basic components. The two principal components extracted by PCA could explain 89.4% of the total variance of the data. RA showed that the comprehensive evaluation value of the principal component model had a very significant negative correlation with the total score of sensory evaluation (R2  = 0.94). In conclusion, this work demonstrated that PCA and RA as an objective protocol had great potential in predicting the sensory quality of noodles.

Analysis of the aroma volatile compounds in different stabilized rice bran during storage.

Rice bran is rich in nutrients and bioactive components, which plays an important role in reducing dyslipidemia and regulating intestinal flora. However, due to the rice bran's instability resulting from rancidity during storage, the development is limited. E-nose, GC-MS and E-tongue were used to monitor the flavor and bitterness of different stabilized rice bran during accelerated storage, and the change of physicochemical properties in rice bran was determined. The rice bran flavor significantly changed after five stabilization treatments. The bitterness increased during storage, but the growth was small (from 7.39 to 7.62). Besides, after stabilization treatments, lipase (LA) activities gradually decreased from 10.11 to 2.03 mg/g, and lipoxygenase (Lox) activities decreased from 3.71 to 1.38 U/g. These results comprehensively elucidate changes in volatile composition, bitterness and physicochemical properties of stabilized rice bran samples during storage and lay the foundation for improving its acceptability and edibility in the future.

Impact of red kidney bean protein on starch digestion and exploring its underlying mechanism.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different proportions of red kidney bean protein (RKP) on the digestibility of co-gelatinized wheat starch (WS) and corn starch (CS), as well as explore the potential underlying mechanisms. The results showed a significant reduction in both the rate and extent of digestion for WS and CS after adding the RKP during co-gelatinization. Furthermore, incorporating RKP at 0 % to 20 % levels increased the content of resistant starch (RS) by 34.89 % and 14.43 % in the digested systems of wheat starch and maize starch, respectively, while decreasing the concentration of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) by 12.24 % and 20.39 %, respectively. Furthermore, RKP was found to inhibit α-amylase in a dose-dependent and non-competitive manner. Its interaction with starch occurred through hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions, resulting in a modification of the short-range ordered structure of starch and ultimately leading to inhibition of starch digestion. The physical barrier effect of RKP on starch digestion also contributed to its inhibitory action. Considering the health-related delay in the rate and extent of postprandial starch digestion, Our findings have important inspirational value for the use of red kidney bean protein in hypoglycemic foods.

Effect of Lactylated Gluten and Freeze-Thaw Cycles on Frozen Dough: From Water State and Microstructure.

The influence of lactylated gluten and Freeze-Thaw Cycles on the water state, microstructure, and quality of frozen steamed bread dough was investigated. After three freeze-thaw cycles (3F/T), the specific volume of steamed bread with sodium lactate-treated gluten increased by 18.34% compared with the blank group and 5.73% compared with the wheat gluten (WG) group. Compared with wheat gluten, the texture properties of steamed bread with lactylated gluten increased significantly. Changes in rheological properties demonstrated that the frozen dough's viscoelasticity increased significantly. The lactylated gluten could reduce water mobility and decrease the content of freezable water in frozen dough. Moreover, the free sulfhydryl (SH) content increased, revealing that the protein was depolymerized. Based on the microstructure and corresponding protein network analysis (PNA), the total area and the number of protein network connection points of the dough adding lactylated gluten were significantly higher than those of the blank group and the WG group. In conclusion, lactylated gluten enhanced the freeze-thaw tolerance of frozen dough.

Effect of different enzymes on thermal and structural properties of gluten, gliadin, and glutenin in triticale whole-wheat dough.

Three enzymes promoted the development of the gluten network in triticale whole-wheat noodles (TWWN). To further understand the mechanism of gluten enhancement, the effects of three enzymes on the structure of gluten and its fractions (gliadin and glutenin) were evaluated. The results showed that glucose oxidase (GOD), xylanase (XYL), and laccase (LAC) decreased the content of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) extractable proteins. The content of glutenin subunits was reduced by 17.25 %, 30.60 %, and 20.09 % with the addition of GOD, XYL, and LAC, respectively. Furthermore, GOD and LAC increased the content of glutenin macropolymer (GMP) by 2.64 % and 7.71 %, respectively, suggesting the promotion of glutenin aggregation. The addition of three enzymes decreased the weight loss and increased the degradation temperature of the gluten and its fractions. GOD and XYL decreased the fluorescence intensity of gluten and its fractions, except for XYL which increased the fluorescence intensity of glutenin by 10.50 %. Intermolecular interactions and surface hydrophobicity were enhanced by XYL in gluten and its fractions. GOD and LAC decreased the free sulfhydryl content and increased the ß-sheet content, suggesting that the covalent interaction between gluten fractions was enhanced. Therefore, this research can enrich the theoretical study of enzymatic cross-linking.