Assessment of Plant Sterols in the Diet of Adult Polish Population with the Use of a Newly Developed Database

Negative Association of Lignan and Phytosterol Intake with Stress Perception during the COVID-19 Pandemic-A Polish Study on Young Adults

BACKGROUND

There has been an increasing global prevalence of depression and other psychiatric diseases in recent years. Perceived stress has been proven to be associated with psychiatric and somatic symptoms. Some animal and human studies have suggested that consuming foods abundant in lignans and phytosterols may be associated with lower levels of stress, depression, and anxiety. Still, the evidence is not yet strong enough to draw firm conclusions. Thus, we investigated the association between dietary intake of these phytochemicals and the level of stress experienced by adult individuals.

METHODS

Diet was assessed using self-reported 7-day dietary records. The intakes of lignans and phytosterols were estimated using databases with their content in various food products. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was implemented to measure the level of perceived stress. A logistic regression analysis was used to test for associations.

RESULTS

The odds of elevated PSS were negatively associated with dietary intake of total phytosterols, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol, with evidence of a decreasing trend across tertiles of phytochemicals. The analysis for doubling the intake reinforced the aforementioned relationships and found protective effects against PSS for total lignans, pinoresinol, and campesterol.

CONCLUSIONS

Habitual inclusion of lignans and phytosterols in the diet may play a role in psychological health. To address the global outbreak of depression and other mental health issues triggered by stress, it is important to take a holistic approach. There is a need to develop effective strategies for prevention and treatment, among which certain dietary interventions such as consumption of products abundant in lignans and phytosterols may play a substantial role.

Heating and storage of structured acylglycerols with succinyl-linked stigmasterol residue does not cause negative chemical or biological changes

Four structured acylglycerols with stigmasterol bonded by a succinyl linker were investigated and their stability were analyzed. Samples were heated to 60 °C and kept at that temperature to simulate storage, and to 180 °C to simulate frying conditions. The degradation of the synthesized compounds and formed derivatives was determined, and their cytotoxicity and genotoxicity on normal human cells from the digestive system was determined. Holding at 180 °C resulted in greater degradation of the compounds than holding at 60 °C. The most stable compound in each sample proved to be one with oleic acid in its structure-1,3-dioleoyl-2-stigmasterylsuccinoyl-sn-glycerol (DO2SSt) at 60 °C and 1,2-dioleoyl-3-stigmasterylsuccinoyl-sn-glycerol (DO3SSt) at 180 °C. These results indicate that the type of fatty acid in the molecule is more important than its position in the glycerol structure. None of the diacylmonostigmasterylsuccinoyl-sn-glycerols (DASStGs) before or after heating exhibited cytotoxic or genotoxic potential to small intestine and colon mucosa cells.

Phytochemicals and bioactive constituents in food packaging - A systematic review

Designing and manufacturing functional bioactive ingredients and pharmaceuticals have grown worldwide. Consumers demand for safe ingredients and concerns over harmful synthetic additives have prompted food manufacturers to seek safer and sustainable alternative solutions. In recent years the preference by consumers to natural bioactive agents over synthetic compounds increased exponentially, and consequently, naturally derived phytochemicals and bioactive compounds, with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, becoming essential in food packaging field. In response to societal needs, packaging needs to be developed based on sustainable manufacturing practices, marketing strategies, consumer behaviour, environmental concerns, and the emergence of new technologies, particularly bio- and nanotechnology. This critical systematic review assessed the role of antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds from natural resources in food packaging and consumer behaviour patterns in relation to phytochemical and biologically active substances used in the development of food packaging. The use of phytochemicals and bioactive compounds inside packaging materials used in food industry could generate unpleasant odours derived from the diffusion of the most volatile compounds from the packaging material to the food and food environment. These consumer concerns must be addressed to understand minimum concentrations that will not affect consumer sensory and aroma negative perceptions. The research articles were carefully chosen and selected by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines.

Association of dietary intake of polyphenols, lignans, and phytosterols with immune-stimulating microbiota and COVID-19 risk in a group of Polish men and women

Objectives

Devastating consequences of COVID-19 disease enhanced the role of promoting prevention-focused practices. Among targeted efforts, diet is regarded as one of the potential factors which can affect immune function and optimal nutrition is postulated as the method of augmentation of people's viral resistance. As epidemiological evidence is scarce, the present study aimed to explore the association between dietary intake of total polyphenols, lignans and plant sterols and the abundance of immunomodulatory gut microbiota such as Enterococcus spp. and Escherichia coli and the risk of developing COVID-19 disease.

Methods

Demographic data, dietary habits, physical activity as well as the composition of body and gut microbiota were analyzed in a sample of 95 young healthy individuals. Dietary polyphenol, lignan and plant sterol intakes have been retrieved based on the amount of food consumed by the participants, the phytochemical content was assessed in laboratory analysis and using available databases.

Results

For all investigated polyphenols and phytosterols, except campesterol, every unit increase in the tertile of intake category was associated with a decrease in the odds of contracting COVID-19. The risk reduction ranged from several dozen percent to 70 %, depending on the individual plant-based chemical, and after controlling for basic covariates it was statistically significant for secoisolariciresinol (OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.11-0.61), total phytosterols (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.22-0.95) and for stigmasterols (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.14-0.72). We found an inverse association between increased β-sitosterol intake and phytosterols in total and the occurrence of Escherichia coli in stool samples outside reference values, with 72% (OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.08-0.86) and 66% (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.10-1.08) reduced odds of abnormal level of bacteria for the highest compared with the lowest tertile of phytochemical consumption. Additionally, there was a trend of more frequent presence of Enterococcus spp. at relevant level in people with a higher intake of lariciresinol.

Conclusion

The beneficial effects of polyphenols and phytosterols should be emphasized and these plant-based compounds should be regarded in the context of their utility as antiviral agents preventing influenza-type infections.

Evaluation of Selected Medicinal, Timber and Ornamental Legume Species' Seed Oils as Sources of Bioactive Lipophilic Compounds

Bioactive lipophilic compounds were investigated in 14 leguminous tree species of timber, agroforestry, medicinal or ornamental use but little industrial significance to elucidate their potential in food additive and supplement production. The tree species investigated were: Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia concinna, Albizia lebbeck, Albizia odoratissima, Bauhinia racemosa, Cassia fistula, Dalbergia latifolia, Delonix regia, Entada phaseoloides, Hardwickia binata, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Senegalia catechu, Sesbania sesban and Vachellia nilotica. The hexane-extracted oils of ripe seeds were chromatographically analysed for their fatty acid composition (GC-MS), tocochromanol (RP-HPLC/FLD), squalene and sterol (GC-FID) content. A spectrophotometrical method was used to determine total carotenoid content. The results showed generally low oil yield (1.75-17.53%); the highest was from H. binata. Linoleic acid constituted the largest proportion in all samples (40.78 to 62.28% of total fatty acids), followed by oleic (14.57-34.30%) and palmitic (5.14-23.04%) acid. The total tocochromanol content ranged from 100.3 to 367.6 mg 100 g^-1 oil. D. regia was the richest and the only to contain significant amount of tocotrienols while other oils contained almost exclusively tocopherols, dominated by either α-tocopherol or γ-tocopherol. The total carotenoid content was highest in A. auriculiformis (23.77 mg 100 g^-1), S. sesban (23.57 mg 100 g^-1) and A. odoratissima (20.37 mg 100 g^-1), and ranged from 0.7 to 23.7 mg 100 g^-1 oil. The total sterol content ranged from 240.84 to 2543 mg 100 g^-1; A. concinna seed oil was the richest by a wide margin; however, its oil yield was very low (1.75%). Either β-sitosterol or Δ5-stigmasterol dominated the sterol fraction. Only C. fistula oil contained a significant amount of squalene (303.1 mg 100 g^-1) but was limited by the low oil yield as an industrial source of squalene. In conclusion, A. auriculiformis seeds may hold potential for the production of carotenoid-rich oil, and H. binata seed oil has relatively high yield and tocopherol content, marking it as a potential source of these compounds.

Dietary Plant Sterols and Phytosterol-Enriched Margarines and Their Relationship with Cardiovascular Disease among Polish Men and Women: The WOBASZ II Cross-Sectional Study

Dietary cholesterol has been suggested to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Phytosterols, present in food or phytosterol-enriched products, can reduce cholesterol available for absorption. The present study aimed to investigate the association between habitual intake of total and individual plant sterols (β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol) or a diet combined with phytosterol-enriched products and CVD in a cross-section of Polish adults, participants of the Multicenter National Health Survey II (WOBASZ II). Among men (n = 2554), median intakes of plant sterols in terciles ranged between 183−456 mg/d and among women (n = 3136), 146−350 mg/d in terciles. The intake of phytosterols, when consumed with food containing phytosterols, including margarine, ranged between 184−459 mg/d for men and 147−352 mg/d for women. Among both men and women, beta-sitosterol intake predominated. Plant sterol intake was lower among both men and women with CVD (p = 0.016) compared to those without CVD. Diet quality, as measured by the Healthy Diet Index (HDI), was significantly higher in the third tercile of plant sterol intake for both men and women and the entire study group (p < 0.0001). This study suggests that habitual dietary intake of plant sterols may be associated with a lower chance of developing CVD, particularly in men.

The Bioavailability and Biological Activities of Phytosterols as Modulators of Cholesterol Metabolism

Phytosterols are natural sterols widely found in plants that have a variety of physiological functions, and their role in reducing cholesterol absorption has garnered much attention. Although the bioavailability of phytosterols is only 0.5–2%, they can still promote cholesterol balance in the body. A mechanism of phytosterols for lowering cholesterol has now been proposed. They not only reduce the uptake of cholesterol in the intestinal lumen and affect its transport, but also regulate the metabolism of cholesterol in the liver. In addition, phytosterols can significantly reduce the plasma concentration of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), with a dose-response relationship. Ingestion of 3 g of phytosterols per day can reach the platform period, and this dose can reduce LDL-C by about 10.7%. On the other hand, phytosterols can also activate the liver X receptor α-CPY7A1 mediated bile acids excretion pathway and accelerate the transformation and metabolism of cholesterol. This article reviews the research progress of phytosterols as a molecular regulator of cholesterol and the mechanism of action for this pharmacological effect.