Functional Food and Chronic Disease III

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2024) | Viewed by 4083

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Bio-Nano Technology, Gachon University, Seongnam-si 13120, Republic of Korea
2. Gachon Advanced Institute for Health Science and Technology (GAIHST), Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Republic of Korea
3. Institute for Aging and Clinical Nutrition Research, Gachon University, Seongnam-si 13120, Republic of Korea
Interests: bioactive compounds; phytochemicals; antioxidants; inflammation; brown cell; chronic diseases; in vitro mechanism
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Guest Editor
Department of Seafood Science and Technology, Gyeongsang National University, Tongyeong 53064, Republic of Korea
Interests: health functional food; health functional cosmetics; in vitro mechanism; animal model; clinical trials; toxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of the journal Applied Sciences, “Functional Food and Chronic Disease III”.

Chronic diseases are multifactorial pathological conditions considered to be serious public health problems, accounting for about 60% of deaths worldwide. A disease is considered chronic if it has a duration of more than 3 months since its incidence. Chronic diseases are difficult to recover from, and owing to the associated after-effects, require long-term treatment and observation. Foods and natural products or ingredients can be used to help treat, suppress, or prevent chronic diseases. Claims linking the consumption of functional foods or food ingredients with health outcomes require sound scientific evidence. Therefore, research into the impact of food or natural products on chronic diseases is in demand, and the results should provide useful data on food to guide health policies toward the promotion of health.

Chronic diseases include various cancers; cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, and stroke; chronic liver diseases, such as diabetes and hepatocirrhosis; chronic kidney failure; dyslipidemia; arthritis and osteoporosis; obesity; asthma and other atopic diseases; and chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In particular, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the implementation of national-level measures by designating cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancers with high disease burdens worldwide as major chronic diseases.

Health-functional foods have been studied widely and are used to prevent such chronic diseases and relieve the associated symptoms. This Special Issue, “Functional Food and Chronic Disease III”, focuses on the functional evaluation and mechanistic research of functional foods and ingredients in the prevention and suppression of chronic diseases. Articles on a wide range of related topics are also welcome. The target materials can include the food itself, food extracts, natural substances, specific ingredients of food, and any other subject of relevance to the topic. For this Special Issue, we welcome submissions covering a broad range of article types, such as research methods including in vitro, in vivo, and epidemiological studies; reviews; systemic reviews; and clinical trials.

We look forward to your participation.

Prof. Dr. Hae-Jeung Lee
Prof. Dr. Jae-Suk Choi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • functional food
  • food ingredients
  • nutraceuticals
  • food consumption
  • chronic disease
  • functionality evaluation
  • mechanism verification
  • cancer
  • cardiovascular disease
  • chronic liver disease
  • chronic kidney failure
  • arthritis and osteoporosis
  • obesity
  • asthma and atopic diseases
  • chronic respiratory disease

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2293 KiB  
Article
Cytoprotective–Antioxidant Effect of Brunfelsia grandiflora Extract on Neuron-like Cells
by José-Luis Rodríguez, Raquel Mateos, Olga Palomino, Maria S. Fernández-Alfonso, Norma Ramos-Cevallos, Luis Inostroza-Ruiz, Nadia Panduro-Tenazoa, Wendy Bada-Laura, Noé Ramírez-Flores and Luis Goya
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(22), 12233; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132212233 - 11 Nov 2023
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Abstract
Brunfelsia grandiflora is a South American solanaceae widely used since long ago for its recognized medicinal properties. We have recently reported its chemical composition, showing a relevant number of bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity, and proved the cytoprotective and antioxidative stress potential of [...] Read more.
Brunfelsia grandiflora is a South American solanaceae widely used since long ago for its recognized medicinal properties. We have recently reported its chemical composition, showing a relevant number of bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity, and proved the cytoprotective and antioxidative stress potential of B. grandiflora in cultured endothelial cells. Since B. grandiflora extracts have shown effects on the central nervous system, the present study was designed to show the potential cytoprotective capacity and the antioxidative stress potential of phenolic extracts from the plant on cultured neuron-like cells, as a model to reduce the presentation or effects of chronic diseases of the nervous system. To this end, we studied its reactive oxygen species (ROS)-reducing capacity, its antioxidant defense mechanisms, and some molecular markers involved in redox balance and apoptosis. The results show that cell survival and most changes in biomarkers related to oxidative status, ROS, reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and reductase, malondialdehyde, and caspase 3/7 activity, and molecular expression of cell death-related genes (BAX, BNIP3, and APAF1), NFκB, SOD, and NRF2 (genes from oxidative stress—antioxidants) induced by oxidative stress were prevented by either co- or pretreatment of neuron-like cells with B. grandiflora extracts (25–200 µg/mL). The results demonstrate the chemoprotective potential of the plant and support its medicinal use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Food and Chronic Disease III)
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19 pages, 2390 KiB  
Article
Efficacy Confirmation Test of Immature Asian Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) Extract on Ovalbumin-Induced Asthma in Mice
by Mi Ran Kim, Khawaja Muhammad Imran Bashir, Jin-Hwa Lee, Mo-Un Ku, Joo Wan Kim, Ki-Young Kim, Su Shin, Eun-Jin Hong, Sae-Kwang Ku and Jae-Suk Choi
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(16), 9342; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169342 - 17 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1009
Abstract
Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the infiltration of leukocytes, particularly eosinophils, into the airways, resulting in respiratory dysfunction. To develop new asthma treatment materials with minimal side effects and excellent bioactivities, we evaluated the efficacy of immature Asian pear [...] Read more.
Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the infiltration of leukocytes, particularly eosinophils, into the airways, resulting in respiratory dysfunction. To develop new asthma treatment materials with minimal side effects and excellent bioactivities, we evaluated the efficacy of immature Asian pear extract (IAP extract; 400–100 mg/kg) in alleviating ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in female C57BL/6J mice. This study assesses various parameters associated with OVA-induced allergic asthma including lung weight, macroscopic necropsy findings, the total cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), the total leukocyte count and leukocyte differential count, serum ovalbumin-specific Ig E (OVA-sIg E) levels, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 contents in BALF, histopathological changes in the lungs, and alterations in oxidative stress and inflammation-related mRNA expressions. The results of this study demonstrate clear asthma-related findings in the OVA control group. However, the oral administration of IAP extract (at doses ranging from 400 to 100 mg/kg) significantly suppressed the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities by regulating the expressions of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/phosphatase and TENsin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PI3K/Akt/PTEN), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) in a dose-dependent manner. These effects are comparable to those observed with dexamethasone at a concentration of 0.75 mg/kg. As a result, the oral administration of an appropriate dose of IAP extract holds promise as a potential natural drug or health-functional food material for improving respiratory function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Food and Chronic Disease III)
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16 pages, 12802 KiB  
Article
The Protective Effects of Unripe Apple (Malus pumila) Extract on Ultraviolet B-Induced Skin Photoaging Mouse Model
by Hye Rim Park, Jae Kwang Kim, Jae Kyoung Lee, Beom Rak Choi, Sae Kwang Ku and Kyung Hwan Jegal
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4788; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084788 - 11 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1873
Abstract
An unripe apple (immature fruit of Malus pumila Mill) contains more polyphenols than mature fruit. To explore the anti-photoaging effects of unripe apple extract (UAE), we investigated the effects of UAE on wrinkle improvement, skin moisturizing, skin inflammation, and antioxidant activities using the [...] Read more.
An unripe apple (immature fruit of Malus pumila Mill) contains more polyphenols than mature fruit. To explore the anti-photoaging effects of unripe apple extract (UAE), we investigated the effects of UAE on wrinkle improvement, skin moisturizing, skin inflammation, and antioxidant activities using the ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiated SKH1-hr hairless mouse model. The mice were irradiated with UVB (0.18 J/cm2) three times per week and orally administrated UAE (100, 200, or 400 mg/kg) once a day for 15 weeks. The administration of UAE significantly prevented UVB-induced wrinkle formation and skin water loss, potentially by increasing the effects of UAE on type I collagen (COL1) and hyaluronic acid through the transcriptional regulation of COL1α (COL1A1 and COL1A2), hyaluronan synthesis (HAS1, HAS2, and HAS3) and the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP1, MMP9, and MMP13) gene. Moreover, UAE significantly reduced UVB-induced skin edema, infiltrated neutrophils, and pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β), while increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. UAE also exerted anti-oxidative stress properties by increasing the glutathione content and inhibiting lipid peroxidation and superoxide anion production. The histopathological analysis demonstrated that UAE-induced anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative stress, and anti-apoptotic properties on the UVB-irradiated skin tissues. Therefore, UAE may be an effective natural resource to mitigate UVB-induced skin photoaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Food and Chronic Disease III)
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