Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
9.0
5.9
Journals
Nutrients
Special Issues
Functional Foods for Gut Health
nutrients-logo
Submit to Nutrients Review for Nutrients Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Functional Foods for Gut Health

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 7529

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nadia Calabriso

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council (CNR) Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: dietary bioactive compounds; polyphenols; nutraceuticals; functional foods; oxidative stress; molecular mechanisms; inflammation; nutrigenomics; vascular function; chronic and metabolic diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Barbara Laddomada

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CNR, Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), Lecce, Italy
Interests: phenolic acids; bioactive compounds; quality of wheat-based products; genetic diversity; traceability of agri-food products; wheat by-products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional foods are food products with valuable bioactive substances that offer health benefits beyond their nutritional value. The bioactive ingredients in functional foods include, but are not limited to, probiotics, prebiotics (ingestible food constituents), synbiotics (combinations of probiotics and prebiotics), and polyphenols that overall are important to promote gut health.

The intestine is an organ metabolically active which constitutes the largest and most important barrier between the external environment and the internal milieu. It allows the selective absorption of dietary components, maintaining an effective defense against harmful substances through a complex system of junctions between adjacent cells. The intestinal epithelial barrier interacts strongly with the intestinal microbiome and the immune system. Alteration in the gut microbiota composition, also termed dysbiosis, may affect immune system development and favor intestinal barrier disruption leading to various pathological conditions, including intestinal inflammatory diseases.

Functional foods may represent an important and promising strategy to promote intestinal health by interacting closely with the gut microbiota and by improving barrier function through several molecular mechanisms such as the regulation of oxidative stress regulation and inflammation.

The aim of this Special Issue on “Functional Food for Gut Health” is to collect original research and review articles on the characterization of functional foods and their impact on intestinal homeostasis. We hope that this Special Issue will improve the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective properties of functional food ingredients leading to the formulation of new and innovative products with improved health properties tailored to promote the health of the intestinal ecosystem.

Dr. Nadia Calabriso
Dr. Barbara Laddomada
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. Nutrients 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 2900 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

  • gut inflammation
  • immune response
  • intestinal microbiome
  • functional foods
  • nutraceuticals
  • polyphenols
  • bioactive metabolites
  • prebiotics
  • probiotics
  • synbiotics

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 750 KiB  
Article
A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of an Anthocyanin-Rich Functional Ingredient on Cognitive Function and Eye Dryness in Late Adulthood Volunteers: Roles of Epigenetic and Gut Microbiome Modulations
by Jintanaporn Wattanathorn, Terdthai Tong-un, Wipawee Thukham-mee, Pongsatorn Paholpak and Poonsri Rangseekhajee
Nutrients 2023, 15(16), 3499; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15163499 - 08 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1882
Abstract
Due to the rising demand for supplements targeting cognitive enhancement and dry eye together with the health benefits of anthocyanins, we have developed a functional soup containing an anthocyanin-rich functional ingredient, or “Anthaplex,” and assessed the effects on cognitive function and eye dryness [...] Read more.
Due to the rising demand for supplements targeting cognitive enhancement and dry eye together with the health benefits of anthocyanins, we have developed a functional soup containing an anthocyanin-rich functional ingredient, or “Anthaplex,” and assessed the effects on cognitive function and eye dryness together with the possible mechanisms. A total of 69 male and female health volunteers were randomized and divided into placebo, D2, and D4 groups. All subjects consumed 120 mL of placebo or functional soup containing “Anthaplex” either at 2 or 4 g per serving per day within 5 min in the morning for eight weeks. The cognitive function, working memory, dry eye, AChE, MAO, MAO-A, MAO-B, and GABA-T activities, BDNF, HAC, HDAC, and DNMT activities, pH, and amount of lactic acid-producing bacteria, particularly Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. in feces, were determined before intervention and after eight weeks of consumption. Subjects who consumed the “Anthaplex” soup had improved cognitive function, working memory, eye dryness, histone acetylation, ACh E suppression, and BDNF with increased Bifidobacterium spp. but decreased pH in feces. These data suggest that “Anthaplex” improves cognitive function and eye dryness via the modulations of the histone acetylation process, gut microbiome, and cholinergic function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods for Gut Health)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

18 pages, 3025 KiB  
Article
Effects of Milk Polar Lipids on DSS-Induced Colitis Severity Are Dependent on Dietary Fat Content
by Chelsea Garcia, Liya Anto and Christopher N. Blesso
Nutrients 2022, 14(23), 5145; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235145 - 03 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2301
Abstract
In the United States, over three million adults suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The gut microbiome, host immune response, and nutrient-microbial interactions are known to play a role in IBD. The relationship between dairy and IBD is controversial; thus, the objectives of [...] Read more.
In the United States, over three million adults suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The gut microbiome, host immune response, and nutrient-microbial interactions are known to play a role in IBD. The relationship between dairy and IBD is controversial; thus, the objectives of this study were to identify how milk polar lipids (MPLs) and anhydrous milk fat affect colitis disease activity, the colonic transcriptome, and the gut microbiome in a mouse model of chemical-induced colitis. Male and female C57BL/6J mice (n = 120) were randomized into either a low (5% w/w) milk fat or a high (21% w/w) milk fat diet supplemented with either 0%, 1%, or 2% w/w of MPLs for three weeks (n = 10/group/sex). Afterwards, colitis was induced using 1% dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water for five days (colitis induction) and then switched to regular water for five days (colitis recovery). Mice fed added MPLs were protected against colitis when fed a high-fat diet, while added MPLs during low-fat diet attenuated disease activity during the colitis induction period yet promoted colitis and inflammation in male mice during the recovery period. Dietary fat content can alter colitis and influence the anti-inflammatory effect of milk polar lipids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods for Gut Health)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 343 KiB  
Article
Sheep Milk Symbiotic Ice Cream: Effect of Inulin and Apple Fiber on the Survival of Five Probiotic Bacterial Strains during Simulated In Vitro Digestion Conditions
by Magdalena Kowalczyk, Agata Znamirowska-Piotrowska, Magdalena Buniowska-Olejnik and Małgorzata Pawlos
Nutrients 2022, 14(21), 4454; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14214454 - 23 Oct 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2423
Abstract
We conducted a study to determine the survival of bacterial cells under in vitro digestion. For this purpose, ice cream mixes were prepared: control, with 4% inulin, 2.5% inulin and 1.5% apple fiber and 4% apple fiber. Each inoculum (pH = 4.60 ± [...] Read more.
We conducted a study to determine the survival of bacterial cells under in vitro digestion. For this purpose, ice cream mixes were prepared: control, with 4% inulin, 2.5% inulin and 1.5% apple fiber and 4% apple fiber. Each inoculum (pH = 4.60 ± 0.05), containing 9 log cfu g−1 bacteria, at 5% (w/w) was added to the ice cream mixes (Lacticaseibacilluscasei 431, Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L-26, Lacticaseibacillusrhamnosus, Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12) and fermentation was carried out to pH 4.60 ± 0.05. The in vitro digestion method simulated the stages of digestion that occur in the mouth, stomach and small intestine under optimal controlled conditions (pH value, time and temperature). At each stage of digestion, the survival rate of probiotic bacteria was determined using the plate-deep method. As expected, in the oral stage, there was no significant reduction in the viability of the probiotic bacteria in any ice cream group compared to their content before digestion. In the stomach stage, Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12 strain had the highest viable counts (8.48 log cfu g−1) among the control samples. Furthermore, a 4% addition of inulin to ice cream with Bifidobacterium BB-12 increased gastric juice tolerance and limited strain reduction by only 16.7% compared to the number of bacterial cells before digestion. Regarding ice cream samples with Bifidobacterium BB-12, replacing part of the inulin with apple fiber resulted in increased survival at the stomach stage and a low reduction in the bacterial population of only 15.6% compared to samples before digestion. At the stomach stage, the positive effect of the addition of inulin and apple fiber was also demonstrated for ice cream samples with Lacticaseibacilluscasei 431 (9.47 log cfu g−1), Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 (8.06 log cfu g−1) and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L-26 (5.79 log cfu g−1). This study showed the highest sensitivity to simulated gastric stress for ice cream samples with Lacticaseibacillusrhamnosus (4.54 log cfu g−1). Our study confirmed that the 4% addition of inulin to ice cream increases the survival rate of L. casei and Bifidobacterium BB-12 in simulated intestinal juice with bile by 0.87 and 2.26 log cfu g−1, respectively. The highest viable count in the small intestine stage was observed in ice cream with L. acidophilus. The addition of inulin increased the survival of L. rhamnosus by 10.8% and Bifidobacterium BB-12 by about 22% under conditions of simulated in vitro digestion compared to their control samples. The survival rates of L. casei and L. paracasei were also highly affected by the 4% addition of apple fiber, where the increase under gastrointestinal passage conditions was determined to range from 7.86–11.26% compared to their control counterparts. In comparison, the lowest survival rate was found in the control ice cream with L. rhamnosus (47.40%). In our study at the intestinal stage, only five ice cream groups: a sample with 4% inulin and L. acidophilus, a control sample with Bifidobacterium BB12, a sample with 2.5% inulin and 1.5% apple fiber with Bifidobacterium BB12, a control sample with L. rhamnosus, a sample with 4% fiber and L. rhamnosus reported bacterial cell counts below 6 log cfu g−1 but higher than 5 log cfu g−1. However, in the remaining ice cream groups, viable counts of bacterial cells ranged from 6.11 to 8.88 log cfu g−1, ensuring a therapeutic effect. Studies have clearly indicated that sheep milk ice cream could provide a suitable matrix for the delivery of probiotics and prebiotics and contribute to intestinal homeostasis. The obtained results have an applicative character and may play an essential role in developing new functional sheep milk ice cream. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods for Gut Health)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop