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Nutrition and Health of Food Molecules

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 8252

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Warren McNabb

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Guest Editor

Riddet Institute - Advancing Frontiers in Food Science, New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
Interests: nutritional sciences; food chemistry; oligosaccharides; protein; human health

Dr. Hao Wu

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Guest Editor

Department of Palaeontology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Interests: food nutrition; isotope; food authentication; food chemistry; electrochemical analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of food molecules has recently received much attention in reference to their effects on food nutrition and health, and this has even extended to food authenticity. Molecules are the basic units that constitute different food matrices and structures, and their effects on food nutrition metabolism, toxic effects, and human health are diverse and complex, and have become a leading research topic in the field of food nutrition and health. Thus, food molecules can be included in the study of food safety, food quality, food chemistry, food toxicology, food nutrients, and food authenticity. In these applications, spectroscopic (NIR, Raman), chromatographic (GC, LC), high-resolution mass spectrometric (TOFMS, GCMS/MS), and stable isotope techniques have become mainstream, and novel algorithms such as chemometrics, artificial intelligence, and deep learning have become important tools for jointly revealing the role of food molecules in nutrition and health. We encourage research on the function, processing, and purification of functional active molecules such as polyphenols, polysaccharides, polyols, polyunsaturated fatty acids, peptides, and proteins in food products; however, research on other related topics is also welcome. Functional foods, infant foods, medicinal and edible foods, traditional foods, and other special food matrices are also part of our field of interest.

This Special Issue on “Nutrition and Health of Food Molecules” invites researchers to submit original research or review articles related to this topic.

Prof. Dr. Warren McNabb
Dr. Hao Wu
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. Molecules 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 2700 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

food quality
food safety
authenticity
human health
organic food
polyphenols

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 5019 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Polysaccharides from Paecilomyces hepiali Prevent Acute Colitis in Association with Modulating Gut Microbiota and Treg/Th17 Immune Balance in Mice

by Luwen Cui, Ningning He, Shengnan Yu, Hao Pang, Zixuan Zhang, Jingyi Wang, Jianhua Hao and Shangyong Li

Molecules 2023, 28(13), 4984; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28134984 - 25 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1261

Abstract

Cordyceps exopolysaccharide (CEP) has shown emerging potential in adjustment of gut microbiota and immune cell function. In this study, a water-soluble CEP with a molecular weight of 58.14 kDa was extracted from the fermentation broth of Paecilomyces hepiali, an endophytic fungus of Cordyceps sinensis. Our results indicated that Paecilomyces hepiali polysaccharide (PHP) showed significantly preventive potential on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice, which can prevent colon shortening, reduce intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) destruction, suppress inflammatory cell infiltration, and regulate the balance between regulatory T (Treg) cells and T helper type 17 (Th17) cells. Meanwhile, the disturbed gut microbiota was partially restored after PHP treatment. Further Pearson correlation coefficient analyses exhibited that the alteration of the gut microbiota was significantly related to adjustment of the IEC barrier and Treg/Th17 balance. In conclusion, all findings proposed that purified PHP has the potential to develop into a promising agent for colitis prevention and adjuvant therapy via maintaining intestinal homeostasis of gut microbiota and immune system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Health of Food Molecules)

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15 pages, 4250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanistic Understanding of Tyrosinase Inhibition by Polymeric Proanthocyanidins from Acacia confusa Stem Bark and Their Effect on the Browning Resistance of Fresh-Cut Asparagus Lettuce

by Guanghui Li, Yaying Zhao, Zeya Qin, Shudong Wei, Dandan Liang, Yun Liang, Wei Song and Baomiao Ding

Molecules 2023, 28(8), 3435; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28083435 - 13 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1361

Abstract

Tyrosinase inhibitors are capable of preventing unfavorable enzymatic browning of fruits and vegetables. In this study, the capacity of Acacia confusa stem bark proanthocyanidins (ASBPs) to inhibit tyrosinase activity was evaluated. ASBPs were shown to be a high-potential inhibitor of tyrosinase with IC₅₀ values of 92.49 ± 4.70 and 61.74 ± 8.93 μg/mL when using L-tyrosine and L-DOPA as the substrate, respectively. The structural elucidation performed with UV-vis, FT-IR spectroscopy, ESI-MS and thiolysis coupled to HPLC-ESI-MS suggested that ASBPs had structural heterogeneity in monomer units and interflavan linkages and consisted mainly of procyanidins dominant with B-type linkages. To gain insights into the inhibitory mechanisms of ASBPs against tyrosinase, different spectroscopic and molecular docking methods were further conducted. Results validated that ASBPs possessed the ability to chelate copper ions and could prevent the oxidation process of substrates by tyrosinase. The hydrogen bond formed with Lys-376 residue played a key role in the binding force of ASBPs with tyrosinase that induced a certain alteration in the microenvironment and secondary structure of tyrosinase, resulting in the enzymatic activity being ultimately restricted. It was also observed that ASBPs treatment effectively inhibited the activities of PPO and POD to retard the surface browning of fresh-cut asparagus lettuce and thus extended their shelf-life. The results provided preliminary evidence supporting the exploitation of ASBPs into potential antibrowning agents for the fresh-cut food industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Health of Food Molecules)

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16 pages, 3177 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Isolation and Identification of Anti-Inflammatory Peptide from Goose Blood Hydrolysate to Ameliorate LPS-Mediated Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in RAW264.7 Macrophages

by Yeye Du, Shuangjie Zhu, Ran Wang, Xingyong Chen and Kezhou Cai

Molecules 2022, 27(24), 8816; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27248816 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1437

Abstract

This study was designed to isolate an anti-inflammatory activity oligopeptide from goose blood (GBP) for ameliorating LPS-mediated inflammation response and oxidative stress in RAW264.7 macrophages. In this study, GBP was isolated by tangential flow ultrafiltration system (TFUS) combined with size exclusion chromatography (SEC), ion exchange chromatography (IEC), and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC), and then identified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The experiment results indicated that the amino acid sequence of oligopeptide with the best anti-inflammatory activity was IIe-Val-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Thr-Gln-Arg (IVYPWTQR), which had a molecular weight of 1062.5720 Da, and was derived from haemoglobin subunit beta OS in goose blood. In addition, IVYPWTQR was confirmed to have satisfactory stability and maintained high anti-inflammatory activity in a simulated gastrointestinal digestion. The mechanism by which the IVYPWTQR protected against LPS-mediated inflammation response was attributed to downregulating the TLR4/NF-kB/iNOS pathway. Moreover, IVYPWTQR ameliorated oxidative stress damage in inflammatory state was attributed to activating antioxidant defence system, which was regulated by Keap-1/NRF2/HO-1 signalling pathway for decreasing the accumulation of reactive oxide species (ROS). In summary, these results indicated GBP could serve as a potential functional factor for prevention and improvement of inflammation mediated by LPS and provided an affordable dietary intervention strategy to prevent inflammation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Health of Food Molecules)

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16 pages, 3736 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Isolation and Identification of Antioxidative Peptide from Goose Liver Hydrolysate to Ameliorate Alcohol-Mediated Oxidative Stress Damage in HHL-5 Hepatocytes

by Yeye Du, Zhihong Chen, Haiyang Wei, Shuangjie Zhu and Kezhou Cai

Molecules 2022, 27(21), 7151; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27217151 - 22 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1113

Abstract

The aim of this study was to isolate and identify antioxidative peptide from goose liver hydrolysate (GLHP) for ameliorating oxidative stress damage by alcohol in HHL-5 hepatocytes. In this research, the target antioxidative peptides in GLHP were separated, purified, and identified via a tangential flow ultrafiltration system combined with size exclusion chromatography (SEC), ion exchange chromatography (IEC), reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC), and LC-MS/MS. The results suggested that the amino acid sequence of the target antioxidative peptide for ameliorating alcohol-mediated oxidative stress damage in HHL-5 hepatocytes was Leu-Pro-Leu-Pro-Phe-Pro (LPLPFP), which had a molecular weight of 683.41 Da, and was derived from NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 1 in goose liver. In addition, LPLPFP was confirmed to have a satisfactory stability and maintained high hepatic protective activity in a simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Moreover, the mechanism of LPLPFP prevented against oxidative stress damage in HHL-5 hepatocytes was attributed to inhibiting the production of reactive oxide species (ROS) by upregulating genes expression in the Ahr-NQO1 signal pathway. In conclusion, these results indicated that dietary GLHP supplementation could ameliorate alcohol-mediated oxidative stress damage and provide an affordable dietary intervention strategy to prevent alcohol-mediated hepatocyte damage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Health of Food Molecules)

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Review

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29 pages, 2731 KiB

Open AccessReview

Food Plant Secondary Metabolites Antiviral Activity and Their Possible Roles in SARS-CoV-2 Treatment: An Overview

by Deborah Giordano, Angelo Facchiano and Virginia Carbone

Molecules 2023, 28(6), 2470; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28062470 - 08 Mar 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2198

Abstract

Natural products and plant extracts exhibit many biological activities, including that related to the defense mechanisms against parasites. Many studies have investigated the biological functions of secondary metabolites and reported evidence of antiviral activities. The pandemic emergencies have further increased the interest in finding antiviral agents, and efforts are oriented to investigate possible activities of secondary plant metabolites against human viruses and their potential application in treating or preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this review, we performed a comprehensive analysis of studies through in silico and in vitro investigations, also including in vivo applications and clinical trials, to evaluate the state of knowledge on the antiviral activities of secondary metabolites against human viruses and their potential application in treating or preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a particular focus on natural compounds present in food plants. Although some of the food plant secondary metabolites seem to be useful in the prevention and as a possible therapeutic management against SARS-CoV-2, up to now, no molecules can be used as a potential treatment for COVID-19; however, more research is needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Health of Food Molecules)

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