Total fat and fatty acid intakes and food sources in Mediterranean older adults requires education to improve health

Underrated aspects of a true Mediterranean diet: understanding traditional features for worldwide application of a "Planeterranean" diet

Over the last decades, the Mediterranean diet gained enormous scientific, social, and commercial attention due to proven positive effects on health and undeniable taste that facilitated a widespread popularity. Researchers have investigated the role of Mediterranean-type dietary patterns on human health all around the world, reporting consistent findings concerning its benefits. However, what does truly define the Mediterranean diet? The myriad of dietary scores synthesizes the nutritional content of a Mediterranean-type diet, but a variety of aspects are generally unexplored when studying the adherence to this dietary pattern. Among dietary factors, the main characteristics of the Mediterranean diet, such as consumption of fruit and vegetables, olive oil, and cereals should be accompanied by other underrated features, such as the following: (i) specific reference to whole-grain consumption; (ii) considering the consumption of legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices often untested when exploring the adherence to the Mediterranean diet; (iii) consumption of eggs and dairy products as common foods consumed in the Mediterranean region (irrespectively of the modern demonization of dietary fat intake). Another main feature of the Mediterranean diet includes (red) wine consumption, but more general patterns of alcohol intake are generally unmeasured, lacking specificity concerning the drinking occasion and intensity (i.e., alcohol drinking during meals). Among other underrated aspects, cooking methods are rather simple and yet extremely varied. Several underrated aspects are related to the quality of food consumed when the Mediterranean diet was first investigated: foods are locally produced, minimally processed, and preserved with more natural methods (i.e., fermentation), strongly connected with the territory with limited and controlled impact on the environment. Dietary habits are also associated with lifestyle behaviors, such as sleeping patterns, and social and cultural values, favoring commensality and frugality. In conclusion, it is rather reductive to consider the Mediterranean diet as just a pattern of food groups to be consumed decontextualized from the social and geographical background of Mediterranean culture. While the methodologies to study the Mediterranean diet have demonstrated to be useful up to date, a more holistic approach should be considered in future studies by considering the aforementioned underrated features and values to be potentially applied globally through the concept of a "Planeterranean" diet.

Hepatoprotective effect and metabonomics studies of radix gentianae in rats with acute liver injury

CONTEXT

As a well-known traditional Chinese medicine for protecting the liver, the mechanism of Radix Gentianae (RG) remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

The hepatoprotective effect and metabonomics of RG were studied to explore the molecular and metabolic mechanisms of RG protecting the liver.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control and model group (n = 10, orally given distilled water), intervention group (4 subgroups, n = 10, prophylactically and orally given 0.63, 2.5 and 5.6 g/kg RG and 0.2 g/kg bifendatatum for 7 d). On day 7 of the intervention, all rats except the control were injected intraperitoneally with 2.5% carbon tetrachloride vegetable oil solution (1.5 mL/kg) to induce liver injury. After 24 h of carbon tetrachloride injection, rat serum and liver tissue were collected for determining AST, ALT, TNF-α, MCP-1, IL-6, SOD, MDA, GSH, and GSH-PX. Rat serum was used for analysing endogenous metabolism by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS.

RESULTS

Different doses of RG can significantly decrease the levels of AST, ALT, TNF-α, MCP-1, IL-6 and MDA, and increase the levels of SOD, GSH, and GSH-PX in rats with liver injury (p < 0.05; TNF-α, and IL-6, p < 0.05 only at 5.6 g/kg dose). Eight biomarkers of liver injury were obtained in serum metabonomics, involving five significant metabolic pathways. RG can improve steroid biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, and fatty acid biosynthesis.

CONCLUSION

RG demonstrated a good ability to protect the liver and improving endogenous metabolism in rats with liver injury. This can help us understand the mechanism of RG and more clinical verifications were inspired.

Nutritional status, diet and viral respiratory infections: perspectives for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was recognised by the WHO as a pandemic in 2020. Host preparation to combat the virus is an important strategy to avoid COVID-19 severity. Thus, the relationship between eating habits, nutritional status and their effects on the immune response and further implications in viral respiratory infections is an important topic discussed in this review. Malnutrition causes the most diverse alterations in the immune system, suppressing of the immune response and increasing the susceptibility to infections such as SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, obesity induces low-grade chronic inflammation caused by excess adiposity, which increases angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. It decreases the immune response favouring SARS-CoV-2 virulence and promoting respiratory distress syndrome. The present review highlights the importance of food choices considering their inflammatory effects, consequently increasing the viral susceptibility observed in malnutrition and obesity. Healthy eating habits, micronutrients, bioactive compounds and probiotics are strategies for COVID-19 prevention. Therefore, a diversified and balanced diet can contribute to the improvement of the immune response to viral infections such as COVID-19.

A High-Fat Diet Induces Lower Systemic Inflammation than a High-Carbohydrate Diet in Mice

Background: We previously established that male Swiss mice (Mus musculus) receiving a high-fat diet (HFD) during 8 weeks exhibit similar caloric ingestion and body weight (grams) compared with mice fed a high-carbohydrate diet (HCD). HFD mice exhibit a lower inflammatory state than an HCD in the liver, skeletal muscle, and brain. In addition, we demonstrated that HFD and HCD modulated fatty acids (FA) composition in these tissues. In this study, our objective was to compare HFD mice and HCD mice in terms of systemic inflammation. Methods: Saturated FA (SFA), monounsaturated FA, omega-6 polyunsaturated FA (n-6 PUFA), and n-3 PUFA were evaluated at the time points 0, 1, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days after starting the administration of the diets. We investigated n-6 PUFA:n-3 PUFA, SFA:n-3 PUFA, palmitic acid:α-linolenic acid (ALA), and myristic acid:docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ratios as potential serum biomarkers of systemic inflammation. We also measured the serum levels of basic fibroblast growth factor, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), inducible protein 10 (IP-10), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1-α), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Results: The HFD group had lower (P < 0.05) n-6 PUFA:n-3 PUFA, palmitic acid:ALA, myristic acid:DHA ratios, and lower plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, MIG, GM-CSF, and IL-6). Conclusion: The HFD mice showed lower systemic inflammation compared with a caloric ingestion-body weight-matched control HCD mice.

Eggplant Fruit (Solanum melongena L.) and Bio-Residues as a Source of Nutrients, Bioactive Compounds, and Food Colorants, Using Innovative Food Technologies

Consumers are very concerned with following a healthy diet, along with some precautions that may influence environmental impact. Solanum melongena L. is one of the most consumed vegetables due to its excellent nutritional value and antioxidant action. Associated with its high consumption, considerable amounts of agro-food wastes are produced. This work targets the valorization of this matrix, through the use of its bio-residues to study the obtention of coloring pigments, applying innovative technologies. Its nutritional value, chemical composition, and bioactive potential were evaluated, and the ultrasound-assisted extraction to obtain coloring pigments of high industrial interest was optimized. Considering the results, low contents of fat and carbohydrates and energy value were evident, as well as the presence of compounds of interest (free sugars, organic acids, unsaturated fatty acids, and phenolic acids). In addition, the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential was detected. Response surface methodology was performed to optimize the extraction of natural pigments, showing a concentration of 11.9 mg/g of anthocyanins/g of extract, applying optimal conditions of time, solvent, and solid/liquid ratio of 0.5 min, 68.2% (v/v) and 5 g/L, respectively. S. melongena proved to be a good source of bioactive compounds and natural pigments, which can generate great interest in the food industry.