Strong and Bitter Vegetables from Traditional Cultivars and Cropping Methods Improve the Health Status of Type 2 Diabetics: A Randomized Control Trial

Glucosinolate derivatives as antifungals: A review

Fungal infections are becoming a severe threat to the security of global public health due to the extensive use of antibiotic medications and the rise in immune-deficient patients globally. Additionally, there is an increase in the development of fungus resistance to available antifungal medications. It is necessary to focus on the development of new antifungal medications in order to address these problems. The wide range of chemical structures, low cost, high availability, high antimicrobial action, and lack of adverse effects are the characteristics of plant secondary metabolites. In order to find and develop new antifungal medications, plant secondary metabolites like glucosinolate (GSL) derivatives are crucial sources of information. These natural compounds are enzymatically transformed into isothiocyanates (ITCs), nitriles, epithionitriles, oxazolidin-2-thion, and thiocyanate when they get mechanically damaged. The current review offers a thorough understanding of how isothiocyanates affect fungi with detailed mechanism. Along with this antifungal activity of nitriles, epithionitriles, oxazolidin-2-thion, and thiocyanate are mentioned. The review summarizes our present understanding of the following subjects: role of isothiocyanate by inhibiting aflatoxin biosynthesis, effect of isothiocyanate on transcriptomes, isothiocyanate targets cell membrane, role of isothiocyanate in efflux, and the role of isothiocyanate in synergistic activity. Antifungal activity of nitrile, epithionitrile, oxazolidine-2-thion, and thiocyanate is mentioned. Cytotoxicity study and clinical trials data were also added. More extensive studies will be needed in this field to assess safety concerns and clinical efficacies of GSL derivatives.

Unveiling the Nutritional Veil of Sulforaphane: With a Major Focus on Glucose Homeostasis Modulation

Abnormal glucose homeostasis is associated with metabolic syndromes including cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity, highlighting the significance of maintaining a balanced glucose level for optimal biological function. This highlights the importance of maintaining normal glucose levels for proper biological functioning. Sulforaphane (SFN), the primary bioactive compound in broccoli from the Cruciferae or Brassicaceae family, has been shown to enhance glucose homeostasis effectively while exhibiting low cytotoxicity. This paper assesses the impact of SFN on glucose homeostasis in vitro, in vivo, and human trials, as well as the molecular mechanisms that drive its regulatory effects. New strategies have been proposed to enhance the bioavailability and targeted delivery of SFN in order to overcome inherent instability. The manuscript also covers the safety evaluations of SFN that have been documented for its production and utilization. Hence, a deeper understanding of the favorable influence and mechanism of SFN on glucose homeostasis, coupled with the fact that SFN is abundant in the human daily diet, may ultimately offer theoretical evidence to support its potential use in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Protective Role of Lycopene in Subjects with Liver Disease: NUTRIHEP Study

BACKGROUND

Liver diseases are constantly increasing throughout the world and are often associated with other diseases, but above all they are caused by improper diet. Adherence to a diet with abundant vegetables has now been widely demonstrated to be important in combating this pathological condition. The aim of this study was to explore the protective role of lycopene (LYC) extracts from cooked and fresh tomato.

METHODS

The study cohort included 969 participants assessed in the NUTRIHEP cohort (2005-2006) and the associated follow-up (2014-2016), divided into two groups, based on liver condition: NAFLD, or AFLD and FLD.

RESULTS

The results indicated a statistical significance of LYC consumption, showing a protective role against liver disease, the best concentration being 9.50 mg/die, with an RR value of 0.59, p = 0.01, 0.39 to 0.90 at 95% C.I., and RRR = 0.40, p = 0.002, 0.22 to 0.71 at 95% C.I.

CONCLUSIONS

The protective role of LYC extracts from tomato has not been amply demonstrated in humans. We conclude that this is one of the few papers in the literature to evaluate the protective effect of LYC against liver disease, as well as how this molecule could be used in future possible treatments. Utilizing lycopene as a supplement alone or in combination with other foods could be useful for developing treatments with reduced contraindications.

Bitter taste sensitivity, cruciferous vegetable intake, obesity, and diabetes in American adults: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013-2014

Objective: To examine the associations between bitter taste sensitivity, cruciferous vegetable consumption, and likelihood of obesity and diabetes among American adults. Research design and method: Cross-section observation of 2129 adults aged 40-80 years of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014. Bitter taste sensitivity was estimated by the generalized labeled magnitude scale (gLMS) rating for bitterness (non-tasters: the lowest 25%, the others were tasters). Consumption of cruciferous vegetables was recorded by the 2 day 24 hours dietary records. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg m-2. Diabetes was defined as self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes, or who reported taking diabetes medication or individuals with a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥ 126 mg dL-1 or Hemoglobin A1c ≥ 6.5%. Results: The proportion of participants who ate cruciferous vegetables over the two days was 29.5% among bitter tasters, significantly lower than that (35.7%) among non-tasters (P = 0.04) after adjustment of age, gender, race/ethnicity, dietary energy intake, physical activity, education, smoking and income levels. Among participants who ate cruciferous vegetables, bitter tasters on average consumed 15.5 g (±7.0) grams less cruciferous vegetables per day compared to non-tasters. The multi-variates adjusted odds ratio of obesity was 1.29 (95% confident interval (CI): 0.76-2.17), 1.40 (95% CI: 0.90-2.18) and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.05-2.67) among bitter tasters who ate cruciferous vegetables, among non-tasters who did not ate cruciferous vegetables, and among bitter tasters who did not eat cruciferous vegetables, respectively, as compared with non-tasters who ate cruciferous vegetables. The prevalence of diabetes was 17.3% and 13.0% among bitter tasters and non-tasters, respectively, with a multi-adjusted odds ratio of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.02-1.69, P = 0.033) for diabetes comparing bitter tasters with non-tasters, which was attenuated to 1.26 (95% CI: 0.95-1.67, P = 0.108) by further adjustment of cruciferous vegetables consumption and obesity, with a mediation effect of 17.8% (95% CI: 2.9%-60.9%; P = 0.069). Conclusion: Bitter taste sensitivity was associated with less consumption of cruciferous vegetables and a high likelihood of obesity, which may mediate its association with diabetes.

Sulforaphane: A nutraceutical against diabetes-related complications

There is an increasing interest in the use of nutraceuticals and plant-derived bioactive compounds from foods for their potential health benefits. For example, as a major active ingredient found from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, there has been growing interest in understanding the therapeutic effects of sulforaphane against diverse metabolic complications. The past decade has seen an extensive growth in literature reporting on the potential health benefits of sulforaphane to neutralize pathological consequences of oxidative stress and inflammation, which may be essential in protecting against diabetes-related complications. In fact, preclinical evidence summarized within this review supports an active role of sulforaphane in activating nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 or effectively modulating AMP-activated protein kinase to protect against diabetic complications, including diabetic cardiomyopathy, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic nephropathy, as well as other metabolic complications involving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and skeletal muscle insulin resistance. With clinical evidence suggesting that foods rich in sulforaphane like broccoli can improve the metabolic status and lower cardiovascular disease risk by reducing biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes. This information remains essential in determining the therapeutic value of sulforaphane or its potential use as a nutraceutical to manage diabetes and its related complications. Finally, this review discusses essential information on the bioavailability profile of sulforaphane, while also covering information on the pathological consequences of oxidative stress and inflammation that drive the development and progression of diabetes.

Dietary approach for management of Type-2 diabetes: An overview of glycemic indices of commonly consumed foods in Nigeria

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is on the increase, and Africa, particularly Nigeria is not left out. The management of the disease using a diabetes drug is often a hard choice to make for many. Information on the right food is inevitably important, as eating some type of food and avoiding or limiting some could help manage diabetes. Therefore, this study investigated glycemic indices of commonly consumed staples in Nigeria.

METHODS

Databases like PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google scholars, African journal online and Nigerian journal online was used to search for relevant information. Keywords like: nutritional management, diabetes in Nigeria, quality of life, prevalence, glycemic index, foods and diabetes, macronutrients and diabetes, were used separately or combined to obtain the relevant information.

RESULTS

Findings from literature search revealed that the glycemic indices of many staples such as Rice dough (Tuwo shinkafa), maize dough (tuwo masara), millet dough (tuwo gero), yam/cassava flour (amala), pounded fermented cassava (fufu, akpu), garri (eba), african salad (abacha), pounded yam (ema, iyan), rice (shinkafa, isesi), beans (wake, ewa, Agwa), and plantain (Ojoko, Ogbagba, Ogede) that are consumed in different parts of Nigeria are high (75.0%-97.0%). However, available information revealed that less commonly consumed foods like, Maize pudding (igbangwu), dried beef floss (dambu), Fonio (acha), bean pudding (moi-moi) and Tom Brownvita (Turnbrown) exhibit lower glycemic indices (14.1%-52.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed the few among several local foods in Nigeria that are low in glycemic indices that could be useful in the management of Type-2 diabetes. However, these foods may require further certification by appropriate authorities and agencies to enable persons with diabetes, particularly in Nigeria make informed choices on the right food to consume.

Association between non-tea flavonoid intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: the Australian diabetes, obesity and lifestyle study

Studies examining the association between flavonoid intake and measures of insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction, as markers of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) across the adult lifespan, may provide insights into how flavonoids influence T2DM risk. This study examined the cross-sectional associations between flavonoid intakes, from dietary sources other than tea, and biomarkers of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in adults aged 25 years and older participating in the Australian diabetes, obesity and lifestyle (AusDiab) study. Additionally, longitudinal associations between non-tea flavonoid intakes and incident T2DM over 12 years were explored. Eligible participants (n = 7675) had no previous history of T2DM and had completed a food-frequency questionnaire at baseline (1999-2000) from which flavonoid intakes were calculated using United States Department of Agriculture Databases. Restricted cubic splines in regression models were used to examine cross-sectional associations between intakes of total non-tea flavonoids and selected flavonoid subclasses and measures of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity including glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function (HOMA2-% β) and insulin sensitivity (HOMA2-% S), 2-hour post load plasma glucose (PLG), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin levels. Associations between flavonoid intakes and T2DM risk were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Cross-sectionally, significant beneficial associations were observed for intakes of total flavonoids and the flavan-3-ol-monomer, proanthocyanidin, flavonol and anthocyanidin subclasses with measures of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity (P < 0.05 for all), except fasting plasma glucose. During follow-up, 344 incident T2DM cases were recorded. Participants with the highest total flavonoid intake had a 21% lower risk of T2DM over 12 years, although this was not statistically significant in multivariable adjusted models [HR (95% CI): 0.79 (0.57, 1.09)]. This study provides some evidence that consuming flavonoid-rich foods may be protective against T2DM through mechanisms related to glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.

Is Bitterness Only a Taste? The Expanding Area of Health Benefits of Brassica Vegetables and Potential for Bitter Taste Receptors to Support Health Benefits

The list of known health benefits from inclusion of brassica vegetables in the diet is long and growing. Once limited to cancer prevention, a role for brassica in prevention of oxidative stress and anti-inflammation has aided in our understanding that brassica provide far broader benefits. These include prevention and treatment of chronic diseases of aging such as diabetes, neurological deterioration, and heart disease. Although animal and cell culture studies are consistent, clinical studies often show too great a variation to confirm these benefits in humans. In this review, we discuss causes of variation in clinical studies, focusing on the impact of the wide variation across humans in commensal bacterial composition, which potentially result in variations in microbial metabolism of glucosinolates. In addition, as research into host-microbiome interactions develops, a role for bitter-tasting receptors, termed T2Rs, in the gastrointestinal tract and their role in entero-endocrine hormone regulation is developing. Here, we summarize the growing literature on mechanisms of health benefits by brassica-derived isothiocyanates and the potential for extra-oral T2Rs as a novel mechanism that may in part describe the variability in response to brassica among free-living humans, not seen in research animal and cell culture studies.

Glucosinolates From Cruciferous Vegetables and Their Potential Role in Chronic Disease: Investigating the Preclinical and Clinical Evidence

An increasing body of evidence highlights the strong potential for a diet rich in fruit and vegetables to delay, and often prevent, the onset of chronic diseases, including cardiometabolic, neurological, and musculoskeletal conditions, and certain cancers. A possible protective component, glucosinolates, which are phytochemicals found almost exclusively in cruciferous vegetables, have been identified from preclinical and clinical studies. Current research suggests that glucosinolates (and isothiocyanates) act via several mechanisms, ultimately exhibiting anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and chemo-protective effects. This review summarizes the current knowledge surrounding cruciferous vegetables and their glucosinolates in relation to the specified health conditions. Although there is evidence that consumption of a high glucosinolate diet is linked with reduced incidence of chronic diseases, future large-scale placebo-controlled human trials including standardized glucosinolate supplements are needed.