Effects of whole peanut within an energy-restricted diet on inflammatory and oxidative processes in obese women: a randomized controlled trial

Unlocking the Nutraceutical Potential of Legumes and Their By-Products: Paving the Way for the Circular Economy in the Agri-Food Industry

Legumes, including beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils, are cultivated worldwide and serve as important components of a balanced and nutritious diet. Each legume variety contains unique levels of protein, starch, fiber, lipids, minerals, and vitamins, with potential applications in various industries. By-products such as hulls, rich in bioactive compounds, offer promise for value-added utilization and health-focused product development. Various extraction methods are employed to enhance protein extraction rates from legume by-products, finding applications in various foods such as meat analogs, breads, and desserts. Moreover, essential fatty acids, carotenoids, tocols, and polyphenols are abundant in several residual fractions from legumes. These bioactive classes are linked to reduced incidence of cardiovascular diseases, chronic inflammation, some cancers, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, among other relevant health conditions. The present contribution provides a comprehensive review of the nutritional and bioactive composition of major legumes and their by-products. Additionally, the bioaccessibility and bioavailability aspects of legume consumption, as well as in vitro and in vivo evidence of their health effects are addressed.

Effects of energy-restricted diets with or without nuts on weight, body composition and glycaemic control in adults: a scoping review

Energy-restricted (ER) diets promote weight loss and improve body composition and glycaemic control. Nut consumption also improves these parameters. However, less is known about the combined benefit of these two strategies. This scoping review implemented a systematic search of Medline, Embase and Scopus to identify randomised controlled trials evaluating the effect of ER diets with or without nuts on body mass, body composition and glycaemic control in adults. After reviewing titles and abstracts, twenty-nine full-text articles were screened, resulting in seven studies reported in eight papers that met the inclusion criteria. Energy restriction was achieved by prescribing a set energy target or reducing intake by 1000-4200 kJ from daily energy requirements. Interventions ranged from 4 to 52 weeks in duration and contained 42-84 g/d of almonds, peanuts, pistachios or walnuts. While all studies reported that energy restriction resulted in significant weight loss, the addition of nuts to ER diets demonstrated significantly greater weight loss in only approximately half of the included studies (4/7 studies). There was limited evidence to support additional benefits from nuts for body composition measures or glycaemic control. Although improvements in weight loss and glycaemia were not consistent when nuts were included in ER diets, no study revealed an adverse effect of nut consumption on health outcomes. Future studies could explore the effect of consuming different types and amounts of nuts, combined with various levels of energy restriction on weight, body composition and glycaemic control.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seeds and by-products in metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disorders: A systematic review of clinical studies

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease (CVDs) is the leading cause of death worldwide. The main risk factors are hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and increased serum lipids. The peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), also known as the groundnut, goober, pindar, or monkey nut, belongs to the Fabaceae family and is the fourth most cultivated oilseed in the world. The seeds and skin of peanuts possess a rich phytochemical profile composed of antioxidants, such as phenolic acids, stilbenes, flavonoids, and phytosterols. Peanut consumption can provide numerous health benefits, such as anti-obesity, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, and hypolipidemic effects. Accordingly, peanuts have the potential to treat CVD and counteract its risk factors.

PURPOSE

This study aims to critically evaluate the effects of peanuts on metabolic syndrome (MetS) and CVD risk factors based on clinical studies.

METHOD

This review includes studies indexed in MEDLINE-PubMed, COCHRANE, and EMBASE, and the Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines were adhered to.

RESULTS

Nineteen studies were included and indicated that the consumption of raw peanuts or differing forms of processed foods containing peanut products and phytochemicals could improve metabolic parameters, such as glycemia, insulinemia, glycated hemoglobin, lipids, body mass index, waist circumference, atherogenic indices, and endothelial function.

CONCLUSION

We propose that this legume and its products be used as a sustainable and low-cost alternative for the prevention and treatment of MetS and CVD. However, further research with larger sample sizes, longer intervention durations, and more diverse populations is needed to understand the full benefit of peanut consumption in MetS and CVD.

Can different types of tree nuts and peanuts induce varied effects on specific blood lipid parameters? A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Tree nuts and peanuts have shown cardioprotective effects through the modulation of blood lipid levels. Despite the abundance of scientific evidence available, it remains uncertain whether the type of nut consumed influences these changes. The objective of this study was to evaluate and rank the effects of six types of nuts on total cholesterol (total-c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c), triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c) levels through a systematic search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), a frequentist network meta-analysis (NMA), and the estimation of SUCRA values. A total of 76 RCTs were ultimately analyzed. The total c for pistachios, almond, and walnuts; LDL-c for cashews, walnuts, and almond; and TG for hazelnuts and walnuts significantly decreased, while only peanuts exhibited a significant increase in HDL-c levels. According to the rankings, the most effective type of nut for reducing total cholesterol was pistachio, cashew for LDL-c, hazelnut for TG, and peanut for increasing HDL-c levels. It should be noted that every type of nut analyzed exhibited a significant positive impact on some parameters, and specific types demonstrated enhanced advantages for particular blood lipids. These results endorse the use of personalized nutritional strategies to address and prevent dyslipidemia.Registration: PROSPERO database CRD42021270779.

Ultraprocessed Foods and Obesity Risk: A Critical Review of Reported Mechanisms

Epidemiologic evidence supports a positive association between ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumption and body mass index. This has led to recommendations to avoid UPFs despite very limited evidence establishing causality. Many mechanisms have been proposed, and this review critically aimed to evaluate selected possibilities for specificity, clarity, and consistency related to food choice (i.e., low cost, shelf-life, food packaging, hyperpalatability, and stimulation of hunger/suppression of fullness); food composition (i.e., macronutrients, food texture, added sugar, fat and salt, energy density, low-calorie sweeteners, and additives); and digestive processes (i.e., oral processing/eating rate, gastric emptying time, gastrointestinal transit time, and microbiome). For some purported mechanisms (e.g., fiber content, texture, gastric emptying, and intestinal transit time), data directly contrasting the effects of UPF and non-UPF intake on the indices of appetite, food intake, and adiposity are available and do not support a unique contribution of UPFs. In other instances, data are not available (e.g., microbiome and food additives) or are insufficient (e.g., packaging, food cost, shelf-life, macronutrient intake, and appetite stimulation) to judge the benefits versus the risks of UPF avoidance. There are yet other evoked mechanisms in which the preponderance of evidence indicates ingredients in UPFs actually moderate body weight (e.g., low-calorie sweetener use for weight management; beverage consumption as it dilutes energy density; and higher fat content because it reduces glycemic responses). Because avoidance of UPFs holds potential adverse effects (e.g., reduced diet quality, increased risk of food poisoning, and food wastage), it is imprudent to make recommendations regarding their role in diets before causality and plausible mechanisms have been verified.

Urinary Phenolic Metabolites Associated with Peanut Consumption May Have a Beneficial Impact on Vascular Health Biomarkers

Phenolic compounds in peanuts may moderate inflammation and endothelial function. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association of urinary phenolic metabolites (UPMs) with vascular biomarkers after peanut product consumption. A three-arm parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted in 63 healthy young adults who consumed 25 g/day of skin roasted peanuts (SRP), 32 g/day of peanut butter (PB), or 32 g/day of a control butter for six months. UPMs were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Additionally, urinary eicosanoids, prostacyclin I2 (PGI2), and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) were determined using two competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Consumers of SRP and PB presented significantly higher excretion of UPMs (enterodiol glucuronide (p = 0.018 and p = 0.031), 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001), vanillic acid sulfate (p = 0.048 and p = 0.006), p-coumaric acid (p = 0.046 and p = 0.016), coumaric acid glucuronide I (p = 0.001 and p = 0.030) and II (p = 0.003 and p = 0.036), and isoferulic acid (p = 0.013 and p = 0.015) in comparison with the control group. An improvement in PGI2 (p = 0.037) levels and the TXA2:PGI2 ratio (p = 0.008) was also observed after the peanut interventions compared to the control. Interestingly, UPMs with significantly higher post-intervention levels were correlated with an improvement in vascular biomarkers, lower TXA2 (r from −0.25 to −0.48, p < 0.050) and TXA2:PGI2 ratio (r from −0.25 to −0.43, p < 0.050) and higher PGI2 (r from 0.24 to 0.36, p < 0.050). These findings suggest that the UPMs with higher excretion after peanut product consumption could have a positive impact on vascular health.